Band 6 Specialist Intensive Practitioner

Avon And Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership Nhs Trust; Bristol; On-site; GBP 30,000 - 40,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading mental health service provider in Bristol is seeking a committed Specialist Practitioner to conduct emergency mental health assessments and deliver intensive interventions. The position supports newly qualified social workers with career progression opportunities. Emphasizing a diverse and collaborative work environment, the role offers flexibility in working patterns to ensure work-life balance while making a meaningful impact on service users' lives.

Benefits

Generous holiday entitlements

Regular supervision

Work-life balance support

Qualifications

• Experience in emergency mental health assessments.
• Ability to develop tailored crisis plans.
• Strong collaboration skills with multidisciplinary teams.

Responsibilities

• Conduct comprehensive mental health assessments in emergencies.
• Develop and evaluate complex treatment plans.
• Lead clinical supervision within the team.

Skills

Autonomous working

Crisis intervention

Assessment tools

Clinical leadership

Empathy

Flexible working

Education

Degree in Social Work

Completion of ASYE

Job description

Role Overview

The post holder will work autonomously to undertake emergency assessments in a wide range of locations, planning and delivering defined, intensive, specialist interventions in line with the CPA framework to people with severe and enduring mental health needs, who may be distressed and in crisis.

Where appropriate the post holder will work alongside other services to plan, deliver and review effective "wrap around" intensive interventions to manage risk and prevent hospital admission for those with the most complex needs.

This role will necessitate working rotational shift patterns including nights.

We can offer you a satisfying work life balance, generous holiday entitlements, regular supervision and the chance to make a real difference to somebody's life, whilst working in a friendly supportive team.

Key Responsibilities

In a wide range of situations and locations to undertake the full range of activities required to deliver comprehensive mental health assessment, in an emergency for service users, who may be distressed and in crisis. This will include:

• The use of standardised assessment tools i.e. Cluster Allocation Support Tool (CAST), KGV.
• Recovery Star.
• History, strengths and aspirations.
• Mental state.
• Impact of culture and diversity.
• Functional needs.
• The needs of family and carer.
• Evaluation of risk.
• Physical health.
• Complicating factors.
• Identifying and ensuring specialist involvement where required.
• The interventions and treatments required to enable positive change.
• Social Care.
• Safeguarding and public protection.
• Capacity under the Mental Capacity Act.

To be responsible for developing, delivering and reviewing comprehensive and complex treatment programmes using appropriate frameworks in line with evidence-based practice, including strategies to manage risk for service users with complex needs and carers, bringing in other resources as required.

To plan, deliver and evaluate defined, specialist therapeutic interventions as indicated in the assessment process, in line with personal recovery plans, including to service users who may be on other caseloads.

To deliver a range of defined activities/interventions to improve the carer's ability to support the service user and to enable them in their relationship with the service user.

To develop and maintain good partnership working with other services throughout all treatment episodes, including regular liaison within Primary Health Care Team, inpatient and intensive services, day services, voluntary sector and with nominated carers/advocates.

In collaboration with service users and carers, to be responsible for facilitating the development of comprehensive crisis plans, rapid access plans, advance statements etc, involving other agencies such as primary care etc where appropriate.

To personally build and lead others to build, hope inspiring relationships with service users, which acknowledge the personal journey of each person, and focus on strengths and aspirations to allow the creation of meaningful personal recovery plans.

To be responsible for maintaining own workload, as well as planning the workload of others, on a day-to-day basis, ensuring that time is prioritised effectively, utilising electronic resources such as diaries/scheduling.

To be responsible for the protection of individuals from abuse and harm in line with local safeguarding policies and procedures, including working with others in the planning development and review of protection plans.

Coordinating and undertaking protective interventions which may be required in the protection of others, as outlined in the protection plan, taking individual action where indicated.

Personally, and leading others to collaboratively and sensitively work with individuals, with a range of mental health needs to develop skills to manage their own health, in accordance with their personal recovery plan, by actively promoting and using approaches which are affirming, build on strengths, identify past positive experience and success, and use small steps to move towards the person's goal.

Undertake active clinical leadership and supervision within the team, covering for the manager and colleagues as required.

To maintain the single health and social care record, ensuring both paper and electronic records are kept up to date in accordance with professional and organisational standards.

Report and record within agreed timeframes, all activity relating to information reporting and performance requirements.

To participate in management, caseload and clinical supervision in accordance with trust policy.

To provide mentoring/training for others in relevant practice areas, according to professional requirements, taking a collaborative approach to practice development and evidence-based care. Specifically this means providing a safe and effective learning environment for the mentoring and supervising of students, participating in their learning objectives and assessments.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

We are proud to be fostering a diverse workforce that reflects our communities. A key commitment to this is improving staff representation from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities, those from the LGBTQ+ communities, people with 'lived-experience' of mental health conditions and people living with disabilities, we are a 'Disability Confident Employer' offering a guaranteed interview to Disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria. This includes people with a variety of disabilities and neurodivergent conditions (for example autism, ADHD, sensory, physical and learning disabilities).

We encourage applications from people who wish to work on a flexible basis, recognising that flexibility may mean a range of different working patterns and hours, we do our utmost to work with our staff to meet their needs and the needs of our service users.

Are You Empathetic, Motivated and Committed?

Bristol is a high performing well established Locality. The North Bristol Crisis Service is looking to recruit a committed and passionate Band 6 Specialist Practitioner on a 12 month fixed contact. We are a diverse, multi-disciplinary team providing high-quality person-centred care to service users at risk of psychiatric admission.

Newly Qualified Social Workers

This post is open to newly qualified social workers. In line with trust policy, all newly qualified social workers will be recruited initially at Band 5 level, regardless of advertised role banding. All NQSWs are expected to successfully complete their ASYE within 2 years of employment, unless there are exceptional circumstances in which case it may be agreed to extend this for a further 2 years. On successful completion of the ASYE, for which you will be given full support of an experienced Social Worker as well as Divisional Social Work Lead, and peer support from other ASYE candidates, you will then be eligible to progress to a Band 6 position. If you have been appointed to an advertised Band 6 role this will be an automatic progression, following confirmation of your successful completion. If you have been appointed to a Band 5 you will then be eligible to apply for a subsequent Band 6 vacancy.

Working for Our Organisation

We are AWP (Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust): a diverse organisation with over 5,000 dedicated staff providing inpatient and community-based mental health care. We provide services from a range of locations to approximately 1.8 million people living in Bath and North East Somerset (B&NES), Bristol, North Somerset, South Gloucestershire, Swindon, across the county of Wiltshire and in parts of Dorset. Our outstanding people promote mental health and wellbeing. The expertise and resources within AWP are dedicated to a person-centred approach for those who use our services and for all employees. We recognise that happy and fulfilled employees give better care. At AWP we actively encourage applicants from all backgrounds; we are particularly keen to encourage applications from people from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds, those with disabilities and from the LGBTQ+ community. We want people to bring their unique blend of experiences, backgrounds, perspectives and knowledge to AWP, as diversity makes us stronger.