CAMHS Crisis Practitioner | South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust

South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust; City Of London; On-site; GBP 45,000 - 55,000; Full time

Job summary

An NHS Trust in South London is seeking a CAMHS Crisis Practitioner to support young people in crisis. The role involves mental health assessments in A&E and community settings, collaborating within a diverse team. Candidates should be registered nurses or allied health professionals. This position offers flexible hours and opportunities for professional development. Applicants will join an innovative team committed to transforming Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services.

Benefits

Opportunities for postgraduate study

Training in CBT and DBT skills

Flexible working hours

Qualifications

• Must have completed preceptorship.
• Significant understanding of Mental Health law.
• Experience in crisis care preferred.

Responsibilities

• Conduct mental health crisis assessments independently.
• Plan and evaluate treatment interventions.
• Work in collaboration with a multidisciplinary team.

Skills

Crisis intervention skills

Assessment skills

Engagement skills

Communication skills

Education

Registered Nurse or allied health care qualification

Job description

CAMHS Crisis Practitioners focus on supporting young people in crisis, offering mental health assessments in local A&E departments and intensive interventions in the community. This varied role offers excellent opportunities to gain experience and skills in a variety of settings. The CAMHS Response Team operates from 8am to 10pm daily with flexible working opportunities within these hours. We seek a forward‑thinking, creative, responsive practitioner with a passion for young‑person and family‑centred care who is enthusiastic, resilient and able to respond flexibly to young people’s needs.

Main roles and responsibilities include:

• Referral screening
• Carrying out mental health crisis assessments independently
• Assessing and managing risk
• Planning, implementing and evaluating treatment and therapeutic interventions
• Working collaboratively with the team and allied health professionals within the network including Primary Health Care, Social Care and educational establishments.
• Assess and provide brief interventions to young people and families that are in crisis. This includes A&E assessments and assessments in the family home. The team offers specialist training regarding assessment and intervention skills including CBT skills, DBT skills and trauma informed work. They will be part of a small, enthusiastic, creative, diverse team whose primary role is engagement within flexible models including the home, A&E and community settings.
• Part of a multidisciplinary team and work closely with other crisis services and centralised team.
• High level engagement skills; specialist assessment skills; creative intervention skills.

Be part of an innovative team which is vital to plans to transform Child & Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) Tier 4 services across South London. The service works in collaboration with the South London Partnership (SLP) Crisis service. SLP CAMHS New Models of Care Programme aims to transform services through partnership‑working, delivering best practice consistently to support young people (YP) and their families. The SLP is a collaboration between Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, and South West London and St George’s Mental Health NHS Trust. The CAMHS Response Team aims to provide assessments for YP with mental health needs presenting with, or at risk of, going into crisis via the CAMHS Crisis Line, A&E departments, on paediatric wards or seen by Community CAMHS Tier 3 services. We aim to provide a range of short‑term community‑based assessment and treatment options for up to 2 weeks for this group of YP and provide advice and support to parents/carers, in partnership with various internal and external agencies.

Centralised CAMHS Crisis team is at Denmark Hill, 5 minutes from the train station (zone 2), within walking distance of Ruskin Park and a high street that offers shopping opportunities and a wide range of restaurants. The wider service covers the 4 boroughs (Croydon, Lambeth, Lewisham and Southwark). Wherever possible, case management is offered at the closest base to the staff member’s home, where suitable.

The CAMHS Crisis Practitioner role is suitable for Registered Nurses and allied health care professionals who have successfully completed preceptorship. The post holder will work as part of the South London Partnership CAMHS Response Team based at The Maudsley Hospital.

The post holder will deliver, or advise on the delivery of, high quality safe nursing care, ensuring consistently high standards of practice and clinical excellence which comply with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) code of professional conduct. As a CAMHS Crisis Practitioner you will promote and develop clinical leadership and clinical practice and be a positive role model to junior members of the team through the practice of evidence‑based care. You will be expected to support professional development through clinical appraisal and supervision and contribute to the ongoing educational program for staff, fostering a positive learning environment.

Your professional and personal development will include further postgraduate study and you will be encouraged and supported by your line manager to undertake Masters’ programmes.

Community roles vary and the specifics of the community setting in which you work are covered during induction and will be explained by your line manager and colleagues; this addendum sets out the expectations of all Band 6 staff working in a community setting and should be read alongside the detail of the requirements for a Band 6 set out in the generic Job Description.

1. Crisis Service

• Receiving and scrutinising appropriateness of referrals
• Carrying out safe therapeutic interventions, escalating concerns as appropriate
• Carrying out crisis CAMHS assessments in the A&E environment independently, liaising with family and professionals and taking an active role in risk‑assessing and safety planning.
• Liaising and working positively with members of the team and partner organisations
• Contributing towards the ongoing quality of service and care, to identify any risk issues in relation to the service users’ health and social care, responding appropriately if there are any changes, significant factors relevant or incidents related to the service user.

1. Crisis interventions

• Significant knowledge, awareness and understanding of Mental Health and social care law, including legislation of relevance to the community sector including the Community Care Act (2015) treatment legislation, Care Programme Approach (2008), Mental Capacity Act (2005) Community Treatment Orders (CTO) and The Children Act (2004)
• To be personally responsible and professionally accountable for a caseload as part of the crisis team and lead and manage the work of others as required.
• Co‑ordinating care, communicating with other professionals involved in the care and ensuring regular CPA reviews are held as required. This will include communication with other teams e.g., in‑patient services through attendance at ward meetings and with interface services e.g. Community services and A&E departments where appropriate.
• Independently carrying out assessment, care planning and care coordination with excellent interpersonal skills, ability to listen to others’ views, respect, and value individuals from a diverse range of backgrounds.
• Leading meetings with community team members on a regular basis to discuss report and evaluate client care.
• Ensuring a flexible approach in care provision with focus on choice and social inclusion opportunities.
• Recognising and addressing concerns about the physical health needs of service users with long term conditions (e.g., diabetes, asthma etc.); escalating these concerns as necessary to senior members of the multi‑disciplinary team.
• Promoting Recovery: Encouraging and empowering service users to have an optimum level of responsibility for their individual programme of care and with their consent, where appropriate, seeking the cooperation of relatives, carers, education & community provisions – following ‘recovery’ principles and approaches.
• Supporting service users to adopt recovery strategies that promote their wellbeing, healthy lifestyle, independence, and self‑care.

Risk Assessment and Risk Management

• Reporting any incident or Serious Untoward Incidents that may take place in a community setting and provide reports and accurate records relating to the incident.
• Working safely to ensure safe custody of medicines, sharps, and clinical equipment
• Recognising and responding appropriately to “self‑harm and suicide prevention” with regard to the risks in community settings
• Understanding and working within the boundaries of the Lone Working Policy and awareness of Personal Safety in a community setting
• Responding to urgent situations, emergencies or crises using protocols specific to the local community setting.

Safeguarding and Duty of Candour

• Understanding and implementing safeguarding procedures in a community setting; recognise, report and investigate safeguarding issues and raise safeguarding alerts if you suspect that a service user and/or carer has been exposed to harm or abuse.
• Understanding and implementing of Duty of Candour a community setting.

Communication and Collaboration

• Preparing and providing reports on information and statistics as required relating to case load, regularity of visits and details of contact with clients and families.
• Communicating/liaising effectively with relevant agencies to ensure an integrated programme of care is provided
• Advising families on prevention of illness and accidents in a community setting
• Liaising with other Health Care Professionals, Statutory and /or Voluntary Agencies to address the needs of service user.
• Working closely with relevant professionals identifying health needs of the practice population and support the development of services in response to those needs.
• Leading and participating in team, locality and Trust initiatives as required
• Leading and actively contributing to clinical or governance reviews of the team’s activity and monitoring of performance
• Documenting according to Trust policy

Legislation

• Demonstrating an awareness and understanding of relevant and up-to-date Mental Health Law of relevance to community settings
• Having knowledge of the legal requirements of the Mental Health Act, Care Act, Mental Capacity Act, Programme Approach, Deprivation of Liberty, Safeguarding Vulnerable Adults and Community Treatment Orders.
• Understanding of the admission and discharge procedure
• Completing referral forms as necessary.
• Networking/liaising across the teams e.g., Transition of CAMHS clients into Working Age Adult team

Medication Management

• Administering and monitoring the side effects of medication according to NMC professional standards.
• Having significant knowledge of medication used in a community setting and side effects.
• Giving medication including IMI to the right patient, right medication, right dose, right route, and right time and giving the right education to patients.
• Ordering and appropriate storage of medication in a community setting.

Administration and Leadership

• Ensuring that electronic patient’s records are complete. Writing reports and letters in a community setting.
• Engaging in practice reflection through clinical supervision and reflective practice groups and contributing to the delivery of clinical supervision to junior staff.
• Demonstrate leadership skills within the clinical context of the community, showing awareness of the challenges facing staff working in a community setting and supporting junior staff as appropriate.

This advert closes on Friday 14 Nov 2025.