Main area Social Work Grade NHS AfC: Band 7 Contract Permanent Hours Part time - 30 hours per week (Days tbc -Within Monday to Friday 9am - 5pm with some flexibility) Job ref 196-LIS10444E
Employer Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust Employer type NHS Site Haemostasis & Thrombosis Department, St Thomas' Hospital Town London Salary £58,133 - £65,261 PA inc HCA pro rata Salary period Yearly Closing 07/05/2026 23:59 Interview date 19/05/2026
Navigator: Specialist Social Worker, IBPS
NHS AfC: Band 7
Guy’s and St Thomas’ is among the UK’s busiest and most successful NHS foundation trusts. We provide a full range of hospital and community services for people in south London and as well as specialist care for patients from further afield including cancer, renal, orthopaedic, respiratory and cardiovascular services.
Guy’s is home to the largest dental school in Europe and a £160 million Cancer Centre opened in 2016. As part of our commitment to provide care closer to home, in 2017 we also opened a cancer centre and a kidney treatment centre at Queen Mary’s Hospital in Sidcup. St Thomas’ has one of the largest critical care units in the UK and one of the busiest emergency departments in London. It is also home to Evelina London Children’s Hospital.
Evelina London cares for local children in Lambeth and Southwark and provides specialist services across south east England including cardiac, renal and critical care services. We lead a number of specialist service networks aiming to ensure children are treated locally where possible, but have access to specialist expertise when they need it. Our community services include health visiting, school nursing and support for families of children with long-term conditions.
Our adult community services teams deliver care at the heart of the local communities we serve, working in partnership with GPs, local authorities and other healthcare and voluntary sector organisations. Working with our partners in Lambeth and Southwark, we are focusing on new ways of working to improve care for local patients.
In February 2021 the Royal Brompton and Harefield joined Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, bringing together world-leading expertise in the care and research of heart and lung disease. Our merger provides a once in a generation opportunity to build a lasting, world-renowned heart and lung centre, providing the highest quality care for patients and conducting world-leading research.
We have a reputation for clinical excellence and high quality teaching and research. We are part of King’s Health Partners, one of eight accredited UK academic health sciences centres. In partnership with King’s College London we have dedicated clinical research facilities including an MHRA accredited Phase I clinical trials unit.
Patients are at the heart of everything we do and we pride ourselves on ensuring the best possible patient experience as well as safe, high quality care. We are proud to have one of the lowest mortality rates in the NHS. Following a comprehensive Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspection in 2019 we maintained our overall rating of ‘good’. Our adult community services achieved a rating of ‘outstanding’.
The commitment of our 23,500 staff is key to our success. We are one of the largest local employers and we aim to develop and support all our staff so they are able to deliver high quality, safe and efficient care. The 2019 NHS staff survey results show that we have one of the most engaged and motivated workforces in the NHS. We know this has a positive impact on the care provided to our patients.
We have one of the most ambitious capital investment programmes anywhere in the NHS.
Job overview
An exciting opportunity has arisen for a care Navigator to join our Infected Blood Psychological Service (IBPS) at Guy’s and St Thomas’s (GSTT); one of 16 services in England supporting people and families across the lifespan impacted by the infected blood scandal.
This Navigator role involves providing psychosocial assessment and follow up care to people accessing the service. It emphasises working creatively and flexibly to engage with wider infected blood communities, including assertive outreach across South London, peer support programme development, and building relationships across agencies.
This role is ideal for an experienced, autonomous social worker, passionate about understanding community needs and developing services to better meet these. We are seeking a trauma informed, person-centred professional who brings initiative to service development.
Commitment to building safe, effective relationships within contexts of injustice, stigma and medical trauma is essential, alongside robust skills in safeguarding, rights-based approaches, signposting, advocacy and strengths-based practice.
You will appreciate working within a psychological framework with dedicated psychologists in the service and alongside Navigators across London and England. You will receive regular professional supervision from a Senior Social Worker, line management and clinical supervision from the Lead Psychologist.
We welcome applications from social workers registered with Social Work England.
Main duties of the job
The GSTT IBPS provides multidisciplinary care for those infected and affected by contaminated blood products by: a) conducting outreach, psychosocial assessment and support, as well as peer support development, led by the social worker (post holder); and b) providing psychological therapies by the psychologists. It is closely linked to the wider haematology department, while maintaining a distinct identity as part of the National IBPS.
The successful candidate will deliver a specialist and outreach social work role, navigating through the complex health and social care systems, and voluntary community services, while addressing the psycho-social, emotional and practical challenges faced by people and their families impacted by infected blood.
An advanced knowledge and skill in the application of a range of social work interventions to promote independence, choice, control, and wellbeing is a prerequisite. Also embedded in the forefront of the role is the use of rights and strength-based approaches to care and support delivered to this service user group.
No previous experience of working with this service user group is necessary although some knowledge of the infected blood scandal, inquiry and experiences of those impacted would be an advantage. Working from a trauma informed, psychological perspective is emphasised.
Working for our organisation
GSTT is an organisation which values and respects all its staff and the communities it serves. As a flexible working organisation, we are open to discuss flexible working on appointment.
You will work in a team which values your unique experience, ideas and interests. You will work as part of the GSTT IBPS and the GSTT Haemophilia Centre MDTs and will also be supported by social work colleagues within other IBPS’s, GSTT and South London and Maudsley NHS Trust. CPD is encouraged so you will be able to enhance your own practice via professional development and contact with other social workers.
The GSTT IBPS will have close links with the Haematology Psychology Service (HPS) which has been providing psychological support to patients with blood disorders and their families at GSTT for over 20 years. The HPS is comprised of Practitioner Psychologists at various stages in their career. The team has a strong ethos of supporting each other, with access to reflective practice, learning spaces and Trust wellbeing initiatives.
We are committed to equity and ensuring that the contributions of all members are respected and valued. Our HPS is recognised for being accessible to patients and staff and strives to be as representative of the local population as much as possible. We would particularly welcome applicants who can add to the diversity of the existing team and who value working with diverse communities.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Please view the attached Job Description and Person Specification documents for full details regarding this post.
Inquiries are very welcome.
Person specification
Professional/ Statutory Registration
* Registration with Social Work England
Qualifications/Education
* MSc in relevant subject or equivalent level of postgraduate training (e.g. short courses, specific training).
* Registration with Social Work England
* Training/education in supporting long-term health conditions
Experience
* Substantial post-qualification experience in social work including social care of people with complex problems and chronic physical health conditions.
* Experience in community health teams or acute hospital Trust settings.
* Taking a keyworker role and managing own caseload
* Experience of team working.
* Working with people from diverse cultural backgrounds.
* Working with hard to engage communities
* Working with external agencies to address social care needs
* MDT working in a health setting.
* Planning and delivering community engagement events.
* Teaching to lay and professional groups.
Knowledge
* An understanding of, and adherence to, legislation, procedures, policies and good practice guidelines relevant to the role..
* Knowledge of key issues relating to developments in Infected Blood Inquiry and implication for service provision.
* Sound knowledge of current issues in the profession.
* Understanding of social issues that impact adversely on service-users.
* Awareness of diversity and inequality issues affecting access to services.
* Knowledge of external agencies (both statutory and voluntary) that can be used as part of a care plan to help address social care needs.
* Understanding how social context can interact with and impact on service-users’ mental and physical health and vice versa.
Skills
* Excellent skills in communicating complex information in different ways to audiences with different levels of understanding.
* Excellent listening skills and able to manage difficult and emotionally-charged conversations.
* Skills in liaising with a wide range of external agencies and referring service-users to such agencies in a timely and effective way.
* Competence in consultancy to other staff groups.
* Evidence of having contributed to service development / audit
Guy’s and St Thomas’celebrates, respects and values the diversity of its staff and patients. We review our policies, procedures and practices to ensure that all employees, patients and carers are treated equitable according to their needs. We are actively committed to ensuring that no one who applies for a job, works or study’s at the Trust, or accesses our services is discriminated against on the grounds of race, ethnicity, nationality, disability, religion or belief, age, gender identity, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity/paternity, or marital/civil partnership.
Applications are welcomed from applicants with a disability. We can make reasonable adjustments and offer support and advice in a variety of ways throughout the application process. Equality of opportunity is our policy.
As an organisation we are committed to developing our services in ways that best suit the needs of our patients. This means that some staff groups will increasingly be asked to work a more flexible shift pattern so that we can offer services in the evenings or at weekends.
We are committed to supporting all employees to achieve a healthy work life balance and to work in a way that is best for them and our patients. We will consider all requests to work flexibly, taking in to account the individual’s personalcircumstances as well the needs of the service. We encourage all prospective applicants to discuss their individual circumstances with the recruiting manager as part of the on-boarding process.
Due to recent changes inthe UK immigration rules which affect Skilled Worker Visas, Global Business Mobility, Higher Skill Level and Increased Salary Thresholds, please ensure that you are able to meet the requirements to live and work in the UK before applying. Further informationabout eligibilityis available on the UK Government website.
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Employer certification / accreditation badges
You must have appropriate UK professional registration.
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.
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