Clinical Lead

Eput; Basildon; On-site; GBP 49,000 - 57,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

27 days holiday + bank holidays

NHS pension up to 14.5%

£8K relocation package

Season ticket loans

Staff discounts

Job summary

EPUT is seeking a Clinical Lead for the Mental Health Urgent Care Department at Basildon Hospital. This full-time role requires senior clinical leadership to coordinate urgent mental health assessments and 24/7 service delivery.

You will oversee clinical practice, lead a multi-disciplinary team and ensure high-quality, evidence-based care aligned with national guidance and local policies.

Qualifications

• Registered Mental Health Nurse (RMN) with current registration.
• Degree-level qualification or equivalent.
• Experience as mental health practitioner at Band 6 or above; MDT working in Mental Health.

Responsibilities

• Provide senior clinical leadership and day-to-day coordination of clinical practice.
• Lead and inspire delivery of high-quality urgent care service for patients, carers and professionals.
• Monitor referrals, waiting times, workload and capacity within the department and report performance issues.
• Manage staff performance, sickness absence and recruitment in line with policies.

Skills

Clinical leadership

Team leadership

Risk management

Staff management

Education

RMN with current registration

Degree-level qualification or equivalent

Job description

Site Mental Health Urgent Care Department Town Basildon Salary £49,387 - £56,515 per annum, plus 5% High Cost Allowance Salary period Yearly Closing 12/11/2026 23:59

Please be aware that, due to current allocation constraints, Certificates of Sponsorship (CoS) are being prioritised for registered roles at this time.

Our Trust cares for more than 100,000 patients at any one time across our community health, mental health and learning disability services across Essex and parts of Bedfordshire and Suffolk.

We want you to be part of our journey of transformation, where our patients and their families are at the heart of everything we do and to achieve our vision to be the leading health and wellbeing service in the provision of mental health and community care.

You’ll be part of a Trust where you will be supported to be your authentic self and be the best you can be, where we will help you to grow, develop and thrive.

The Trust is recognised by the University of Essex and is a top provider of apprenticeships for people looking to be an assistant practitioner, senior health care support worker (CAP). Our trailblazing CAP apprenticeship won a national HSJ Award.

We are also recognised as a Veteran Aware Trust and holder of gold accreditation from the Ministry of Defence Employment Recognition Scheme. Our services are highlighted as an exemplar of good practice, producing the best care for more than 3.500 armed forces veterans in the past seven years.

We have been shortlisted and won national awards. We are an inclusive organisation and Level 3 Disability Confident Leader Trust.

We are constantly innovating and looking for new ways to deliver care, such as using technology to enhance patient care and working with partners to launch new services such as the Basildon Mental Health Urgent Care Department, virtual hospitals and falls response cars.

Join us and you’ll do the best work of your life – and make a difference to other people’s lives. What we do together, matters.

Job overview

Clinical Lead – Urgent Care Department (Mental Health)

Base – Basildon Hospital

Hours – Full Time (This is a 24 hours a day, 7 days a week service delivery based on a rostered shift pattern)

The Mental Health Urgent Care Department, is a facility where adults, aged 18 years and above, who are experiencing a mental health crisis can receive an urgent biopsychosocial assessment with immediate care planning. It is a purpose built department based at the Basildon Mental Health Unit on the Basildon university Hospital site.

The Clinical Lead role is responsible for providing senior clinical leadership and advice within the Mental Health Urgent Care Department that provides full emergency mental health assessments and onward care planning with a diverse and highly skilled mental health workforce incorporating support workers, peer coaches, social worker, nurses and doctors. The service can support every aspect of emergency mental health care planning from GP referrals, ambulance conveyance to Mental Health Act Assessments, whilst providing 24/7 access for ‘walk in’s.’

Main duties of the job

The role will require the post holder to provide managerial input, clinical leadership and day to day coordination of clinical practice to support the effective delivery of care across the service.

The post holder will lead and inspire the delivery of high quality and effective urgent care service for patients, carers and professionals.

• Continuing responsibility for proactive assessment, monitoring and management of patients and ensuring care is current, evidence based and in line with practice standards.
• Provide clinical leadership to the team in evaluation and monitoring of the service, provide specialist assessment as per the service users, and carer’s requirement.
• Lead with other senior colleagues the continuing development of a high quality service that is underpinned by evidence based practice and care pathways / packages and NICE guidance and DH guidance; leading on service development and policy in conjunction with the other Advanced Practitioners, senior clinicians, Clinical Manager and Operational Services Manager
• Ensure compliance with statutory duties; Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) and performance targets (including meeting the recommended response times following evidence based practice) and quality improvement measurements assigned to the service
• The role will require the post holder to provide managerial input, clinical leadership and day to day coordination of clinical practice to support the effective delivery of care across the service.

Working for our organisation

Valuing you. Recognising your dedication. At EPUT, we look after you.

• Receive supervision and support to help you fulfil your potential.
• Join an inclusive EPUT community and connect with others through engagement events and equality or champion networks.
• If you need help, we provide mental health and wellbeing services, occupational health advice and counselling.
• 27 days holiday, plus bank holidays, rising to 33 days after 10 years’ service.
• Excellent pension of up to 14.5% of your pensionable pay.
• Staff discounts include Blue Light Card, NHS discount offers, and staff benefits.
• £8K relocation package if you move to Essex to join us (subject to terms and conditions)
• Season ticket loans are interest-free to cover the cost of travelling to and from work via tram, rail, or bus.

Work that wraps around your needs

• Job share: Applications for job shares are welcomed.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Operational Leadership

• To take a lead clinical role within the Mental Health Urgent Care Department.
• Work in partnership with the Consultant for the urgent care Department to ensure strong, visible leadership presence
• To ensure that there are effective arrangements in place to ensure appropriate co-ordination and allocation of resources to respond to referrals and attendances.
• To effectively and efficiently manage resources within the team with support from the Matron / Clinical Manager.
• To ensure the team work to national legislation, local policies and procedures and eligibility criteria.
• To ensure the service works to agreed objectives.
• Ensure that there are effective risk management approaches in place and resources are effectively utilised.
• To build and maintain strong links and working relationships with all local agencies working with adults with mental health problems, including ward teams, crisis teams, emergency response services, Emergency Department teams, local authorities voluntary sectors and wider system partners.
• To effectively communicate service related information to EPUT staff, and other agencies as required.
• To monitor referrals, waiting times, workload and capacity within the department and report any performance issues.
• To provide and ensure the availability of specialist advice, support and consultation to staff within the team and acute hospital colleagues.
• Participate in the Trust’s patient safety incident response plan, ensuring that we learn from patient safety incidents to reduce risk and promote, embed and sustain high quality, safe care
• Carry out investigations into complaints and liaise with complainants.
• To manage human resource related issues such as sickness absence and conduct and capabilities for area of responsibility in accordance with relevant agencies policies and procedures.
• To ensure implementation and compliance with EPUT policies and procedures.

Performance Management

• To ensure that all agreed patient quality, safety and operational performance outcomes are delivered within the area of responsibility.

Human Resources

• To manage staff and team performance in line with EPUT policies and procedures.
• To effectively manage sickness absence in line with Trust policies and procedures.
• To be responsible for recruitment and selection processes in their areas of responsibility together with the Matron / Clinical Service Manager.
• To ensure the optimum deployment of staff in their areas to meet operational requirements and safe staffing principles.
• To demonstrate and promote effective communication, disseminating information and encouraging staff participation in developments within the service.
• To ensure that individual and team training and development needs are identified and that plans to meet these training needs are agreed, recorded and implemented.

Finance

• Budget holder – to manage a confirmed budget

Clinical Governance

• To ensure that systems are in place to support the delivery of services to agreed standards
• To work with the senior clinical staff (clinical leaders) and others in their area to develop and implement local clinical governance action plans as agreed by the Care unit senior leadership team.
• To identify priorities for clinical audit in their area of responsibility.
• To ensure the implementation of clinical protocols and guidelines.
• To actively engage with service users, monitor their views on services and promote their involvement in service planning.
• To ensure adherence to Trust policies and procedures relating to health and safety at work

Clinical/Practice

• To participate in the assessment, review and management of complex referrals that carries a high degree of risk.
• Co-lead with the department senior medic all department patient review procedures to ensure timely clinical decisions and departmental flow are maintained
• To attend as required specialist meeting with other agencies for the review of complex cases including Protection of Vulnerable Adults Meetings, Child Protection Meeting, etc.
• Ensure effective and confidential communication between all care agencies on significant data governing patient care and treatment.
• To devise, in collaboration with multi-disciplinary team members, appropriate referral on and/or signposting to appropriate services.
• To ensure referral to other specialists and services as appropriate.
• To give consultation, training and advice to professionals and agencies relating to client care and the management of complex cases

Any other duties as delegated by the Care unit leadership team commensurate with the responsibilities of this post.

Person specification

Knowledge & Qualifications

• Registered Mental Health Nurse (RMN) with current registration
• Qualification at degree level or equivalent

Experience

• Substantial experience as a mental health practitioner at Band 6 or above
• Experience of MDT working in Mental Health in complex cases
• Experience of working in a community setting

Please be aware that, due to current allocation constraints, Certificates of Sponsorship (CoS) are being prioritised for registered roles at this time.

Important note: please ensure that as part of your application, you include professional references with business contact information covering your last three years of employment history. We are unable to accept personal or character references.

As a newly appointed employee, you are responsible for incurring the cost of your initial DBS check relevant to your post; the amount will be deducted from your first salary with the Trust.

Our Trust is an Equal Opportunities Employer. We particularly welcome applications from people with experience of using mental health services. We also hold the Disability two tick symbol and have made the pledge to commit to employing more people with learning disabilities, we encourage people with a disability to apply. If you require this application form in another format i.e. Braille or audio tape etc, please contact the Recruitment Department on 01375 364513 or email [e-mail] and we can arrange for this to be dispatched to you.

The Trust has the right to expire vacancies prior to the closing date if they so wish. The Trust makes every attempt to contact all applicants and we strongly advise that you check the email account which is registered with NHS Jobs regularly, we would advise however due to the high number of applications we receive that if you have not heard from us within three weeks of the closing date your application has been unsuccessful on this occasion.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults, and expect all staff to undertake this commitment. Applicants will be subject to robust safer recruitment processes.

Important Notice: Recently the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) (Amendment) (Coronavirus) Regulations 2021 (the Regulations) which amended on 22 July 2021 and come into force on 11 November 2021 that anyone directly employed to work in a Care Home or who are required as part of their role to be deployed to a CQC registered care home are required to have had both their COVID vaccinations, unless they are exempt. This is therefore a requirement of this role and will form part of our pre-employment checks.

Please note -staff who are formally at risk within the organisation will be given priority in securing alternative employment. Should it come to light that a post being advertised by the Trust is considered ‘suitable alternative employment’ to an individual who is at risk, the recruiting manager will be advised and the post will be withdrawn from NHS Jobs.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Applications for this role should be written by the applicant. If artificial intelligence (AI) programmes are used then the application may be rejected due to this document being an important part of the assessment process. This does not prevent applicants seeking appropriate support with applications should they need to for the purposes of any declared disability.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.