Community health and wellbeing worker

This occupation is found in different organisations and is commissioned by a range of agencies, including local government, the NHS, and other funders such as voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) organisations.

Community Health and Wellbeing Workers are a rapidly expanding workforce supporting the increasing emphasis across government departments on improving the health of local people and communities by preventing poor health and tackling inequalities. Their work is informed by the wider social determinants of health, such as the social, cultural, political, economic, commercial and environmental factors that shape the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work and age.

The broad purpose of the occupation is to work in partnership with individuals and their communities to identify and address health and wellbeing needs, improve health, prevent ill-health and reduce inequalities. To do this, Community Health and Wellbeing Workers need to:

• address the causes of poor health and wellbeing in the broadest sense (causes of the causes). They do this by taking an holistic ‘whole person’ approach regarding physical, mental, emotional and social health and wellbeing and resilience.
• work with individuals, groups and communities to identify what matters to them, building on their strengths to improve health and wellbeing.
• understand the local and accessible services and resources available, to which people in the community can be signposted to support their health and wellbeing needs.
• identify gaps in available services and resources preventing individuals and communities from achieving optimal health and wellbeing.
• build relationships with local organisations and groups.

Community Health and Wellbeing Workers:

• enable individuals, networks and the communities in which people live or work, and in the ‘place’ or locality in which people are living, to address unmet needs to improve their health and wellbeing.
• work autonomously within the scope of their role and within legal and ethical requirements to implement strategies and policies that promote health and wellbeing.
• manage data and information and maintain accurate records.
• provide interventions that support health and wellbeing for individuals in specific settings (e.g. education, healthcare, housing, criminal justice, job centres, workplace, community, care) or in different communities (e.g. Black, Asian and ethnic minority (including Gypsy, Roma and Traveller) communities, carers).
• use a range of methods, and behavioural science, working with people to develop their knowledge, skills and confidence to tackle their own problems and challenges affecting their health and wellbeing.
• work alongside people as equal partners, actively listening to what matters to them, building trust and rapport to help them to recognise what they need, and to connect them with the best available support or intervention to meet their need.
• help people to identify barriers preventing them from accessing local resources or existing services appropriately. They are at the front line of the evolving integrated health and care system, helping people to navigate complex services and providing coordination when necessary.
• identify appropriate support and where there may not be any obvious provision by statutory health and care services, connect with and involve the wider public, private and voluntary sectors, and potentially initiate new activities or programmes.
• work collaboratively to help people identify sources of support within their local communities (particularly underserved areas). Work with local groups and organisations to help develop support in relation to identified needs and resources (assets) within that community.
• work collaboratively with leading agencies to tackle health inequalities that occur when certain groups, or people in certain areas, suffer more ill-health than people like them in other communities, areas or places.

In their daily work, an employee in this occupation interacts with:

• individual people on a one-to-one basis and people in groups.
• community-based organisations and service providers (including voluntary or charity-based providers).
• NHS and local authority health and care professionals, individually and in teams.
• Lay and professional workers from other sectors, including people representatives such as faith leaders or parish and ward councillors, as well as organisations such as Healthwatch.
• peers (paid and voluntary) in their own or other organisations.
• other workers (paid and voluntary) who they may supervise.
• local health and wellbeing services, such as lifestyle support services, IAPT (Improving Access to Psychological Therapies).
• sources of digital help and support, including those supporting mental and emotional health and wellbeing.
• the private sector, e.g. retail firms, local businesses.

Their lines of management, supervision and performance monitoring can vary depending on the organisation in which they are based. They will usually report to a senior team leader, for example a public health practitioner.

An employee in this occupation will be responsible for:

• literature, information and materials (collateral) relating to health, care, education, welfare, employment, appropriate for different levels of health literacy and in a range of languages.
• worker (paid or unpaid) supervision and/or guidance.
• small local budgets, ‘petty cash’, or being an authorised signatory for small payments within the scheme of delegation.
• equipment and resources, such as supplying carbon monoxide monitors, using cholesterol testing kits, android or smart devices, laptops and secure file storage.