Job overview

Interviews are due to be held on 30 April 2025.
 
We are looking for a Band 4 Support Worker to join our Thames Valley Liaison and Diversion team. You will have a keen interest in Liaison and Diversion and a passion about supporting our service users as they make their way through police custody, court and up to prison.

We are a dynamic, people-centred team who are looking for some who is passionate about health outcomes for those making their way through the criminal justice system.

With a reputation for excellence, our service is committed to improving the health of our clients, identifying care pathways, and reducing reoffending.

Recognised with a number of awards, including a Thames Valley Commendation, a Gold Award from the Lived Experience Charter , Berkshire Healthcare ‘Team of the Year’ and runner-up for the Howard League for Penal Reform ‘Liaison and Diversion Service of the Year’.

We value our employees and put people first. We achieved an ‘Outstanding’ rating overall in our latest CQC inspection, which found that: ‘Managers across Berkshire Healthcare promoted a positive culture that supported and valued staff, creating a sense of common purpose based on shared values.’

We operate across Thames Valley, but this post is predominately based in Oxfordshire working for Berkshire Healthcare NHS Trust.

Main duties of the job

• Monday - Friday 9am-5pm based primarily within court settings within Buckinghamshire but also meeting service users within the community.
• You will support people within court and custody settings who are typically hard to engage, you will talk to families and friends, to gain a holistic understanding of the client’s circumstances and facilitate their access to support services, providing individualised support with practical problems or difficulties that may be affecting their health and wellbeing.
• An empathetic advocate of service users, you will promote their rights and responsibilities, building a rapport, whilst maintaining appropriate and transparent boundaries. You will be emotionally resilient, able to cope with people potentially displaying challenging behaviour and distressing situations.
• To provide help and advice to service users that includes housing, social isolation and exclusion, education, debt management and employment problems etc.
• To provide the court with written and verbal information pertaining to the individual in a timely fashion to inform disposal.
• To work closely and build links with all referring agencies within the custody suite, court and probation acting as a single point of contact for health.
• To work autonomously, with the ability to organise and manage own time according to delegated workload.

Working for our organisation

Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust is a specialist mental health and community health services trust. Rated ‘outstanding’ by the CQC, we’re committed to providing the best possible care to people across Berkshire. As an employer, we’re committed to offering an inclusive and compassionate environment where our people share in a sense of belonging and are supported to flourish.

Our values at Berkshire Healthcare are:

• Caring for and about you is our top priority
• Committed to providing good quality, safe services
• Working Together with you to develop innovative solutions

Your wellbeing is important to us. Some of the benefits of working for us include:

• Flexible working options to support work-life balance
• 27 days’ annual leave rising with service + opportunity to buy and sell
• Generous NHS pension scheme
• Excellent learning and career development opportunities
• ‘Cycle to Work’ and car leasing scheme including electric vehicles
• Access to a range of wellbeing tools and services
• Discounts at hundreds of popular retailers and restaurants
• Staff networks for race, diversity, disabilities, the environment and armed forces community to support equality
• Generous maternity, paternity, adoption and special leave
• Free parking across Trust site

At Berkshire Healthcare, we foster an inclusive workplace where everyone belongs.

Watch our careers video to learn more.

We welcome talent from all backgrounds and offer guaranteed interviews to disabled applicants and armed forces community members who meet the minimum criteria.

Please note we may close positions before the advertised date.

If you need help with your application, please contact us on [email protected]

Once you have applied, please check your email regularly for updates. All appointments are subject to NHS Employment Checks, and false information may result in withdrawal of offers. For information on how we store your information, please review our privacy statement.

No agencies, please.