Clinical Practice Lead

NHS; Torquay; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 50,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading health organization in Torquay is seeking a Clinical Practice Lead to oversee high-quality mental health services and crisis intervention, ensuring compliance with safety standards. The successful candidate will coordinate comprehensive treatment plans, lead a multi-disciplinary team, and conduct clinical assessments. This is a pivotal role, essential for providing community-based alternatives to inpatient care, requiring strong leadership and expertise in mental health assessment and crisis management.

Benefits

Flexible working options

Professional development opportunities

Qualifications

• Experience working with people in mental health crisis in inpatient and community settings.
• Proven expertise in crisis intervention and mental health assessment.
• Excellent leadership and interpersonal skills.

Responsibilities

• Ensure compliance with quality and safety standards.
• Coordinate and deliver high-quality mental health services.
• Develop and oversee comprehensive treatment plans for clients.

Skills

Crisis intervention

Mental health assessment

Risk management

Communication skills

Leadership

Time management

Organisational skills

Counselling skills

Education

Professional registration (e.g. RMN, Social Worker, Occupational Therapist)

Post Graduate qualification relevant to specialism

Job description

The Crisis Resolution HomeTreatment Team is a pivotal, county-wide service whose main focus is to offer an alternative to inpatient admission and provide intensive treatment as required within the community. The service operates within locality-based leadership teams to ensure effective gatekeeping for all service users referred for hospital admission. Outreach is at the heart of the service, with most assessments taking place in non-hospital environments.

We are recruiting a Clinical Practice Lead for the Torbay CRHTT.

As an active member of the integrated multi-disciplinary team, the post holder will contribute to a 24-hour community-based Crisis Resolution and Home Treatment Service, available across the county as an alternative to hospital admission. The role involves delivering rapid assessments and planning effective, evidence-based home treatment in collaboration with service users, carers, and professionals from both established services and locality teams.

Main duties of the job

The post holder will be responsible for ensuring compliance with quality and safety standards and will ensure that all individuals receiving care and treatment from the service do so in line with Trust strategic objectives. They will also be responsible for ensuring the clinical practice aligns with CQC key Lines of enquiry and national standards for CRHT. They will form part of the Teams leadership structure and provide evidenced based professional support and advice to the multi-disciplinary team.

• Coordinate and deliver high-quality mental health services
• Ensure robust shift planning and effective leadership, maintaining consistent service provision and team coverage.
• Develop, implement, and oversee comprehensive treatment plans for clients.
• Provide mentorship, guidance, and support to colleagues across the multi-disciplinary team.
• Utilise an approved UK triage tool to rigorously assess the urgency and complexity of each referral, ensuring accurate prioritisation and allocation of resources.
• Conduct timely clinical assessments within 4 hours for urgent referrals and 24 hours for routine cases to provide prompt access to care and interventions.
• Assess, manage, and formulate clinical risk with each client on the caseload.
• Offer crisis resolution as an alternative to hospital admission, available 24/7.
• Act as the gatekeeper for inpatient hospital beds.
• Conduct in-person follow-up after hospital discharge to ensure ongoing support and continuity of care.

About us

We provide mental health, learning disability and neurodiversity services, as well as a range of specialist & secure services for the wider south west region & nationally. We are passionate about promoting good mental health & wellbeing. We strive to use the expertise & resources within our organisation, and through our partnerships, to deliver high quality services that are safe & focused on people's recovery.

We are committed to developing a culture of coproduction, involving patients, families & carers in everything we do.

Our values

We not only recruit based on qualifications & experience - we recruit individuals who possess & demonstrate the behaviours which underpin our Trusts core values. These include such attributes as showing a commitment to quality of care, improving lives of others, giving respect, dignity & compassion. We can bring those values to life in our everyday tasks by giving a smile; making time for people; challenging ourselves & others, & being open to new ideas.

We are committed to being an inclusive employer & applications are encouraged & welcomed from all sections of the community, regardless of any protected characteristics as governed by the Equality Act 2010. Part time & flexible working applications will be considered & supported, where possible. We particularly encourage applicants with lived experience of mental health conditions, neurodiversity or learning disabilities. We are a Disability Confident Leader.

Job responsibilities

Please see the attached Job Description and Person Specification which will provide further information on this role

Person Specification

Experience

• Experience of working with people presenting in mental health crisis in both inpatient and community settings
• Proven expertise in crisis intervention, mental health assessment, and risk management.
• Experience of leading clinical decision-making and supervising staff.
• Excellent communication, leadership, and interpersonal skills.
• Ability to work flexibly and manage competing demands in high-pressure environments.
• Commitment to continuous professional development and service improvement.
• Management and organisational skills that enable a number of complex activities and clinical work to be undertaken, revising and adjusting these according to the needs of individual patients and the service.
• Ability to be mobile across a geographical area
• Specialist knowledge of mental health disorders
• Excellent clinical knowledge to be able to make autonomous decisions, based on an analysis of complex presenting problems and signpost accordingly
• Experience of working in a senior or advanced clinical role
• Experience in service development or leading change initiatives.
• Familiarity with local crisis pathways, community resources, and integrated care systems.
• Experience in managing complex cases involving co-occurring needs (e.g. substance misuse, neurodiversity, trauma).

Knowledge and Skills

• Strong understanding of safeguarding, legal frameworks (e.g. MHA, MCA), and ethical practice.
• Commitment to continuous professional development and service improvement.
• Ability to interpret research and apply to practice
• Management and organisational skills that enable a number of complex activities and clinical work to be undertaken, revising and adjusting these according to the needs of individual patients and the service.
• Ability to be mobile across a geographical area
• Knowledge and utilization of counselling skills / cognitive behavioural skills, psychosocial intervention
• Teaching, training and/or supervision of clinical staff
• Strong understanding of regulatory body requirements and national standards of CRHTT services
• Understanding of research principles and how to apply this in practice

Qualifications

• Professional registration (e.g. RMN, Social Worker, Occupational Therapist) with substantial post-qualification experience.
• Training in advanced psychosocial interventions (e.g. CBT, DBT, systemic approaches).
• Post Graduate qualification relevant to specialism eg CBT, NMP, DBT, etc.

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.