We are recruiting for a Continuity of Care Coordinator for our London Prisons.
Here at Forward Trust, we deliver a complex range of drug and alcohol services in the unique prison environment. Our support includes providing advice, health and wellbeing, motivational work, clinical services, and a wider range of group work and treatment programmes.
The Forward Trust services which are delivered within prison settings are commissioned by NHS England and are delivered in partnership with primary healthcare providers and HMPPS. Integration and partnership are integral to the work we do.
We believe that everyone can live a fulfilling life, whatever their past. Our work in prisons aims to support those affected by drug or alcohol issues to create lasting change and reduce dependency, homelessness, unemployment, and re-offending.”
Role Responsibilities
The Continuity of Care Coordinator will lead on embedding and driving improvements within London Prisons, conducting data audits, liaising with local authorities to improve pathways of referrals and implementing continuity of care meetings with community substance misuse service providers to build relationships. The postholder will regularly review data and ensure clear channels of communication between the prison and the community are in place to support effective transition of care for service users.
The Continuity of Care Coordinators key activities will include:
• Conducting monthly release audits ensuring Service Users are appropriately discharged on NDTMS, and that any data errors are rectified.
• Conducting pre-release audits ensuring communication has been made with the community teams in preparation for release, ensuring alerts forms have been sent and that the community teams are aware of the individuals due for release.
• Engaging with key local authority community teams, ensuring joint working protocols are in place and signed, and ensuring our teams have up to date information on service offers.
• Establishing continuity of care forums and chairing relevant meetings, recording accurate minutes and actions where necessary
• Providing progress updates to managers and teams on continuity of care performance, sharing best practise etc.
• Being a SPOC for community prison in reach workers - supporting them to draw keys in establishments and overcoming any barriers identified in relation to conducting prerelease reviews.
• Leading on any regional NDTMS and other relevant audits as required. Position Title Continuity of Care Coordinator (London Prisons) Reports to Project & Partnership Development Manager Location: HMP Brixton V1.2025
• Supporting with coordinating any release fairs or events within the establishment.
• Regularly reviewing the continuity of care best practise framework, ensuring it remains up to date and reflects changes in guidance.
• Supporting the development of strong community partnerships that increase continuity of care outcomes
• Working closely in partnership with Health and Justice colleagues, NHSE and OHID playing a central role in the implementation of commissioning projects and initiatives to improve continuity of care
This role will be based on site working as part of the substance misuse team at: HMP Brixton. HMP Brixton is a dynamic and forward-thinking prison which accommodates a diverse and complex population of individuals both sentenced and/or remanded from courts across London. Services are designed to deliver psychosocial interventions and accredited group programmes. Whilst based mostly at Brixton, this role will work across Forward Trust services in London as part of the region, this will include HMP Wormwood Scrubs and Heathrow IRC. Travel between these sites will be required with reasonable travel expenses will be covered by the organisation.
Part of the Family Support and Specialist Programmes department, the Family Support Practitioner role will work in both their allocated prison and local community, providing specialist support to clients and family members through the delivery of effective 1:1 and group interventions. The role is also required to work closely with other Forward staff and external partners to ensure a holistic package of care and support is provided.
Recognising the importance of relationships in the lives of the people we support is crucial to providing the best possible treatment and services. This role will focus specifically on supporting clients to recognise healthy and unhealthy relationships, build new relationships and understand the role relationships play in their addiction, offending, mental health and other areas of need.
The Family Support Practitioner will also directly support family members and affected others, helping them to improve their health and wellbeing and help them to support clients to make positive changes. This role may be expected to work directly with children and young people, to promote whole family recovery and rehabilitation.
You will receive ongoing support and training including Organisational , specialist departmental training prison training and eLearning to support you with this role. This is a Hybrid role working from home and in the prison.
All prison-based roles will require enhanced DBS and HMPPS security vetting. Please note this process can take up to 3-12 weeks. All offers are subject to receiving both HMPPS vetting and DBS clearances.
Checks will require you to provide information on the below:
- Yourself (personal information, financial information, police information, criminal history).
- Your family (parents, parents’ partners, siblings, partner(s), children).
- Co-residents.
- Associations that may cause a conflict of interest with your role or the prison service.
- Background checks across police information systems on you, your family and other associates.
- Credit reference checks.
- Social media and Open-Source checks (these are checks on content about you that's publicly available on the internet to ensure there's nothing linked to you that could undermine public trust and confidence in the prison service).
- Other government and overseas agency or police checks.
The Ideal Candidate
Please see a list of skills and experience needed below for this role;
- Good organisational and administrative skills, including IT skills.
- The ability to set and hold sound professional boundaries.
- Understanding of and commitment to, the principles of equal opportunity and service user confidentiality
- Managing own workload effectively to deadlines and targets
- Experience of Multi-disciplinary working including community based agencies
- Good organisational and communication skills
- Experience of business administration or project management
- A thorough knowledge of Criminal Justice services
- An understanding of the issues faced by those experiencing substance misuse treatment