Band 7 Senior Practitioner - Bath

Integrated Care System; Bath; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 50,000; Full time

Job summary

A healthcare partnership agency based in Bath is seeking a Band 7 Senior Practitioner to lead a mental health liaison team. The successful candidate will provide clinical leadership, support team members, and oversee complex care situations, ensuring the highest standards of patient safety. Strong communication skills and experience in the mental health domain are essential for this pivotal role, aiming to enhance the quality of care for service users.

Benefits

Diverse and inclusive workplace

Support for professional development

Mental health support programs

Qualifications

• Substantial post-registration experience in front-line services.
• Experience in managing complex cases and leading clinical supervision.
• Strong understanding of recovery principles in mental health.

Responsibilities

• Provide clinical leadership and consultation to MDT staff.
• Support staff training and development across the acute hospital.
• Assess individuals with complex mental health needs.

Skills

Clinical leadership

Strong communication skills

Risk management

Experience in therapeutic interventions

Team collaboration

Crisis management

Education

Registered Mental Nurse (RMN)

Post-graduate diploma in relevant field

Current NMC or HCPC registration

Tools

DBT

CBT

Job description

An exciting opportunity, has arisen to join a diverse and experienced mental health liaison team. We are looking for a registered practitioner, who can bring a wealth of knowledge, mental health experience and strong leadership skills into our dynamic, fun and high performing team.

The Band 7 Senior Practitioner will clinically lead the team, empower, develop, and support the team whilst doing this with compassion, kindness and inclusivity.

This role includes a focus on clinical quality , and this person will lead on patient safety and quality improvement and will be able to foster a just culture within our team. Excellent communication skills is a must, not only engaging within AWP teams but also partner agencies in the acute trust and third sector organisations.

Working in MHLT can be fast paced, varied often with no two days looking the same, the band 7 needs to be able to adapt, prioritise and be clinically astute.

If you are passionate about making a real difference in people's lives, join our team and help bridge the gap between physical and mental healthcare.

Main duties of the job

The senior practitioner will be involved with and support complex and high risk situations; experience of managing and leading on complex cases is essential.

The post-holder will provide leadership support to the team and coordinate day to day activities alongside the systemic lead for team and with support from the clinical service manager.

Support the team to work with service users through providing consultation, training, reflective practice and clinical supervision.

Oversee the Nurse duty and clinic responsibilities.

There will be some opportunity for direct clinical interventions in conjunction with related services and the opportunity to build relationships with partner agencies.

About us

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.

AWP is committed to support and create a positive research and evidence-based environment and culture, which can have a beneficial impact on everyone who works for the organisation and the care we provide to those who use our services.

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.

Job responsibilities

1. To provide clinical leadership, supervision, support and consultation to nursing staff and MDT staff in the team, in line with the relevant clinical pathway as outlined within the operational procedures.

2. Take a clinical lead on the training and development of staff both within the team and across the wider acute hospital footprint.

3. Be expected to support the band 6 practitioners in the assessment of people attending the A&E department, offering highly developed risk assessments and management plans.

4. Provide a service to the wards, assessing individuals with a range of complex mental health needs.

5. Deputise for the Team Manager in their absence and take on any delegated management duties as and when required.

6. To be responsible for, both individually and within the team, the development, delivery and review of comprehensive and complex treatment programmes using appropriate frameworks in line with evidencebased practice, including strategies to manage risk for service users with complex needs and carers, bringing in other resources as required.

7. To plan, deliver, and evaluate defined advanced specialist therapeutic interventions within sphere of expertise ,including to service users who maybe on other caseloads.

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

9. To lead, in partnership with the team manager, ensuring the service develops and maintains excellent clinical standards, and effective caseload supervision, underpinned by robust and effective individual and team supervision processes.

10. To oversee and ensure, across the team, there are effective risk management plans and strategies, for service users and carers, taking account of risks to service users, carers, the organisation, staff and the public.

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

12. 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.

13. Develop and maintain communication with a wide range of people/services/ agencies about complex matters or in complex situations with the purpose of sharing developing or resolving difficult or complex issues for the benefit of service users/carer and the service.

14. To represent the organisation in a range of settings, presenting, facilitating or explaining as appropriate and dealing with any questions or difficulties as they arise.

15. 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.

16. To support the team manager in developing systems and processes for the effective management and monitoring of the team caseload, on a day to day basis, ensuring that time is prioritised effectively, and service users and carer receive the appropriate level of service.

17. To lead and promote a whole team approach within the service to ensure a shared ownership of the team caseload.

18. To be responsible for regularly monitoring and evaluating treatment programmes for service users and carers, making appropriate clinical/practice decision in regard to ongoing needs, and offering supervision to others.

19. To be responsible for the protection of individuals from abuse and harm in line with local safeguarding policies and procedures, by developing and reviewing with others protection plans and management strategies, ensuring the appropriate sharing of information.

20. 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 experiences and success, and use small steps to move towards the persons goal.

21. To provide a leadership role within the team, in the absence of the Team manager, providing cover for the manager and colleagues as required.

22. To work with the Team Manager to ensure the continuing improvements to the service in line with organisational goals.

23. 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.

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

25. To participate in, and deliver as required, management, caseload and clinical supervision in accordance with trust policy.

26. Demonstrate responsibility for developing own practice in line with professional qualifications and for the development of others, both practitioners, and those in training by making use of and providing, effective feedback, specialist therapeutic clinical supervision, coaching and appraisal.

27. To adhere to professional codes of conduct ensuring required skills andcompetencies required are maintained.

28. Promote monitor and maintain best practice in health, safety and security of self and others, undertaking assessments and taking appropriate action where required.

29. Work with the Team Manager to develop a culture that promotes equality and values diversity.

30. Lead, practices which enable effective team working.

Person Specification

• Registered Mental Nurse (RMN), Social Work qualification, Occupational Therapy qualification
• Formal post-graduate diploma level qualification in a relevant field, an equivalent level of knowledge and expertise gained in practice.
• Current relevant registration with the NMC or HCPC
• Substantial post-registration experience gained working in front-line services, undertaking assessments and delivering therapeutic interventions including in the most complex clinical cases
• Demonstrates a highly developed understanding of the principles of recovery and the role of secondary mental health services in the delivery of care and able to show how this has been delivered in practice
• Significant experience of complex assessment, risk management and care planning in complex need
• Able to articulate an advanced and detailed understanding of the relevant legal frameworks/legislation including CPA process, Mental Health Act , Mental Capacity Act, and Safeguarding, in order to lead and manage others
• Experience of providing clinical supervision to colleagues at independent practitioner level, ensuring complex interventions are delivered safely
• Evidence of teaching / training skills and of mentoring/assessing students and learners
• Experience of and a commitment to working with older adults
• Significant experience of assessing risk and developing risk management strategies
• Evidence of recent professional development.
• Highly developed verbal communication skills, able to engage effectively with people at all levels even when a more assertive approach is needed.
• Highly developed active listening skills, which allow for reframing and testing of understanding
• Highly developed written communication skills, with experience of compiling and sorting notes and reports, establishing statistical data and analysing information
• Ability to work in self-directed manner
• Ability to prioritise, particularly when working under pressure
• Understanding of roles of multi-disciplinary team members in mental health care.
• Networking, team working and chairing skills.
• Management Qualification
• Experience managing others
• Therapeutic interventions such as DBT, CBT, Motivational interviewing
• Knowledge of joint planning and commissioning structures
• Knowledge of physical health impact on mental health.
• Experience in working with Police or probation services or perinatal services
• Experience in working with students as a practice assessor or supervisor.
• Knowledge of dual diagnosis.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.