Bank Mental Health Practitioner - HMP Bristol

NHS; Bristol; On-site; GBP 40,000; Part time

Job summary

Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust is seeking Mental Health Practitioners to join their team within the prison service. This role involves providing specialized mental healthcare to offenders, working collaboratively to promote health and well-being, and ensuring continuity of care. The position offers flexible working patterns and the opportunity to make a significant impact in the lives of individuals within the criminal justice system.

Qualifications

• Two years substantive post-registration experience in frontline adult mental health services.
• Post registration training in areas like Learning disability or Psychological therapies is desirable.

Responsibilities

• Provide specialist mental healthcare to offenders as part of the Mental Health In-Reach Team.
• Conduct assessments, triage, and develop care plans for offenders.

Skills

Good written and verbal communication skills

Education

Diploma level/Degree in relevant health/social care profession

Current relevant registration with the NMC or HCPC

Job description

Job summary

Are you ready to unlock your potential within a challenging, creative and fast paced work environment? Do you want to escape your current job role and work with people to build positive and productive lives, whatever their past? Now is the time to break into offender healthcare and develop your career.

Oxleas NHS trust were awarded the South West prison contract in 2022 and currently have a portfolio of 19 prisons across the South of England. We are currently looking to expand our pool of bank workers by recruiting Mental Health Practitioners to work within the Prison service on a flexible basis.

Our healthcare team have a real impact on promoting health and well-being to those in prison and we pride ourselves on using skills and strategies that instil hope for patients future resettlement back into the community. We directly deliver Mental Health, Physical Health, Pharmacy and Clinical Substance Misuse in an integrated healthcare delivery model to provide effective and responsive care to improve wellbeing and support better outcomes in the future.

Main duties of the job

As a Mental Health Practitioner you will be providing specialist mental healthcare to offenders and working as part of the Mental Health In-Reach Team, plus wider mental health services. You will be required to work in a psychologically minded way with offenders in achieving their agreed goals and quality health outcomes.

Our Mental Health Team provide specialist interventions at primary and secondary care level including; referral management, screening assessment, triage, evidence-based interventions, care planning and risk assessing, plus one-to-one and group-work facilitation.

Our Mental Health Practitioners manage a mixed and challenging caseload and are required to perform robust assessment, screening and interventions to offenders with learning disabilities and mental health conditions. You will contribute to alternatives to inpatient admission and assisting with early discharge through the implementation of high intensity interventions and complex case management arrangements.

One of our key aims is to ensure continuity of care for an offender on ordinary location and reduce the length of stay, both in relation to prison inpatient services and external NHS/independent in-patient services. You will work closely with community mental health teams to ensure appropriate sharing of information, continuity of care and the Care Programme Approach for all offenders as necessary.

About us

Oxleas - About Us

Oxleas offers a wide range of NHS healthcare services to people in community and secure environment settings. Our services include community health care such as district nursing and speech and language therapy, care for people with learning disabilities and mental health care such as psychiatry, nursing and therapies. Our multidisciplinary teams look after people of all ages and we work in close partnership with other parts of the NHS, local councils and the voluntary sector and through our new provider collaboratives. Our 4,300 members of staff work in many different settings including hospitals, clinics, prisons, secure hospitals, children's centres, schools and people's homes.

We have over 125 sites in a variety of locations in the South of England. In London we operate within the Boroughs of Bexley, Bromley Greenwich and into Kent. We manage hospital sites including Queen Mary's Hospital, Sidcup and Memorial Hospital, Woolwich, as well as the Bracton Centre, our medium secure unit for people with mental health needs. We are the largest NHS provider of prison health services providing healthcare to prisons within Devon, Dorset, Bristol, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire, Kent and South London. We are proud of the care we provide and our people.

Our purpose is to improve lives by providing the best possible care to our patients and their families. This is strengthened by our new values:

• We're Kind
• We're Fair
• We Listen
• We Care

Details Date posted

22 May 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 6

Salary

£39,405 a year per annum pro-rata

Contract

Bank

Working pattern

Flexible working

Reference number

277-BankMHPrac-B6-HMPBRI

Job locations

HMP Bristol

19 Cambridge Road

Bristol

BS7 8PS

Job description Job responsibilities

• To communicate effectively on a range of issues that are often complex in their nature and in complex situations.
• Participate in the annual appraisal reviews and demonstrate reflective practice through the Knowledge and Skills Framework
• To maintain comprehensive and timely electronic clinical records ensuring confidentiality is maintained at all times.
• Provide supervision, mentorship & leadership for junior staff.
• Take all necessary care in the working environment, adhering to relevant health and safety policies.
• Participate and positively contribute to the services integrated clinical governance arrangements
• Carry out administrative tasks as directed including research, audit, data, and activity statistics.

(Full JD can be downloaded in supporting documents section)

IMPORTANT INFORMATION, PLEASE READ:

All applicants must be willing to undertake National Security Vetting in order to work in a Prison Setting. This will be completed as part of the pre-employment checks through Oxleas and the prison vetting team.

You will need to provide:

Proof of right to work documentation

Proof of ID, needs to include 1 photographicID

Proof of address documentation

Non-UK passport holders will need to have correct documentation (right to work in the UK) and a Home office Share code.

Address History:

5 years address history will be needed.

Applicants that are not UK Passport holders who provide less than 5 years UK address history will need to provide a Police Certificate which must be in English from where they resided previously.

Applicants who are UK Passport holders who have lived abroad for a period of more than six months during the last three years will need to provide a certificate of good conduct or an overseas police check in English from the countries resided in or visited .

In order to assist you in obtaining a Police Certificate, guidance can be sought from: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/criminal-records-checks-for-overseas-applicants

If the country you have resided in is not listed here, you can obtain the necessary information by contacting the relevant Embassy or High Commission for that Country. Their contact details can be found on the Foreign & Commonwealth Office website ( http://www.fco.gov.uk/en ).

Job description Job responsibilities

• To communicate effectively on a range of issues that are often complex in their nature and in complex situations.
• Participate in the annual appraisal reviews and demonstrate reflective practice through the Knowledge and Skills Framework
• To maintain comprehensive and timely electronic clinical records ensuring confidentiality is maintained at all times.
• Provide supervision, mentorship & leadership for junior staff.
• Take all necessary care in the working environment, adhering to relevant health and safety policies.
• Participate and positively contribute to the services integrated clinical governance arrangements
• Carry out administrative tasks as directed including research, audit, data, and activity statistics.

(Full JD can be downloaded in supporting documents section)

IMPORTANT INFORMATION, PLEASE READ:

All applicants must be willing to undertake National Security Vetting in order to work in a Prison Setting. This will be completed as part of the pre-employment checks through Oxleas and the prison vetting team.

You will need to provide:

Proof of right to work documentation

Proof of ID, needs to include 1 photographicID

Proof of address documentation

Non-UK passport holders will need to have correct documentation (right to work in the UK) and a Home office Share code.

Address History:

5 years address history will be needed.

Applicants that are not UK Passport holders who provide less than 5 years UK address history will need to provide a Police Certificate which must be in English from where they resided previously.

Applicants who are UK Passport holders who have lived abroad for a period of more than six months during the last three years will need to provide a certificate of good conduct or an overseas police check in English from the countries resided in or visited .

In order to assist you in obtaining a Police Certificate, guidance can be sought from: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/criminal-records-checks-for-overseas-applicants

If the country you have resided in is not listed here, you can obtain the necessary information by contacting the relevant Embassy or High Commission for that Country. Their contact details can be found on the Foreign & Commonwealth Office website ( http://www.fco.gov.uk/en ).

Person Specification Qualifications Essential

• Diploma level/Degree in relevant health/social care profession, eg RMN, RLDN OT, Social Worker.
• Current relevant registration with the NMC or HCPC

Desirable

• Post registration training in one of the following areas: Learning disability, Personality disorder, Substance misuse/dual diagnosis, Psychological therapies

Experience Essential

• Two years substantive post-registration experience gained working in a range of frontline adult mental health services, undertaking assessment and delivering interventions

Desirable

• Previous prison/secure experience

Skills Essential

• Good written and verbal communication skills

Person Specification Qualifications Essential

• Diploma level/Degree in relevant health/social care profession, eg RMN, RLDN OT, Social Worker.
• Current relevant registration with the NMC or HCPC

Desirable

• Post registration training in one of the following areas: Learning disability, Personality disorder, Substance misuse/dual diagnosis, Psychological therapies

Experience Essential

• Two years substantive post-registration experience gained working in a range of frontline adult mental health services, undertaking assessment and delivering interventions

Desirable

• Previous prison/secure experience

Skills Essential

• Good written and verbal communication skills

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.

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).

Additional information 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.

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).

Employer details Employer name

Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust

Address

HMP Bristol

19 Cambridge Road

Bristol

BS7 8PS

Employer's website

http://oxleas.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)

Employer details Employer name

Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust

Address

HMP Bristol

19 Cambridge Road

Bristol

BS7 8PS

Employer's website

http://oxleas.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)