Vacancy Detail

Accident & Emergency Independent Domestic Violence Advocate

Role:               Accident & Emergency Independent Domestic Violence Advisor (IDVA)

Based:            Walsall

Rate:               Unqualified £24310.04 Qualified £26430.04

Start Date:      ASAP

Duration:        Permanent

Hours:             37.5 hours 9am – 5pm

Our client, a specialist Domestic Violence charity based in the Black Country is looking to recruit an Accident & Emergency Independent Domestic Violence Advisor (IDVA) to provide a high quality service to victims of domestic abuse and other interpersonal violence (rape and sexual violence, child sexual exploitation, honour based violence, forced marriage and female genital mutilation (FGM)) accessing Accident & Emergency Services.

Synopsis of duties:

• Improve identification of victims of interpersonal violence, whether or not they make an initial disclosure at check-in, through monitoring the A&E admissions tracker, liaising with A and E staff and cross referencing with the BCWA case management system.
• Provide an effective, consistent presence in A&E to advocate for the service and improve the response to victims of interpersonal violence, by supporting, empowering and training clinical staff to identify signs of abuse and ask screening questions.
• Working collectively as a team with A&E staff, to offer a safe space where support is provided and choices are offered for immediate safeguarding.
• To provide on-the-spot advice, support and safety planning to victims of abuse and violence at the point of crisis in A&E and where required to offer short term support.
• Conduct comprehensive risk assessments with victims of abuse and where needed make referrals to the MARAC team, safeguarding children and vulnerable adults.
• Provide immediate referrals into BCWA’s specialist support services for ongoing support and safeguarding were consent has been obtained. All safeguarding referrals to be made immediately to the appropriate safeguarding teams.
• Support clients to access refuge where necessary to act quickly to keep victims safe and reduce bed blocking. This may require working out of hours in the event of an emergency.
• Prepare reports to feed into MARAC and other operational safeguarding forums.
• Maintain effective case management from the point of identification until the case has been referred to additional services, including comprehensive case notes. 
• Active involvement to help improve data capture within A&E, ensuring that patients attending due to domestic abuse (and other interpersonal violence) issues are accurately identified and recorded as such, to improve the visibility of the issues and quality of information.
• Attend health review meetings to exchange information on exit pathways from A&E into other health services, auditing outcomes, identifying gaps in support/missed opportunities e.g. where a victims’ coping strategies could have been picked up at GP stage, before escalation to A&E level.
• Facilitate the Trust’s alignment with national best practice in response to victims of violence through: supporting the implementation of NICE guidance; training; supporting staff to develop good practice.

Essential Requirements:

• Experience of working with vulnerable adults and children, acknowledging safeguarding concerns and responding appropriately
• Experience of working with victims of domestic abuse in a professional capacity
• Experience of managing a caseload of vulnerable individuals
• Experience of managing complex casework, including issues such as child abuse, mental health, substance abuse, working with trauma in adults and children and crisis intervention

Supporting Futures Consulting acts as both an employer and an agency.

 

 

Location: walsall | Salary: 24310 - 26430 per year | Job type: Permanent | Posted: 18/12/2023