Community Mental Health Practitioner

LSCft; Chorley; On-site; GBP 33,000 - 42,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible working options

Supportive team environment

Job summary

Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust is seeking a Band 6 Community Mental Health Practitioner for the Chorley Adult Community Mental Health Team based at Chorley Health Centre. The role emphasizes comprehensive assessment and coordinated care within a multidisciplinary team.

You will supervise and support colleagues, contribute to service development, and participate in duty rotas as required, while applying expertise in psychotropic medications and risk management to complex cases.

Qualifications

• Professionally registered mental health nurse.
• Equivalent professional registered social worker.
• UK professional registration is required.

Responsibilities

• Provide comprehensive assessment, advice and treatment to people with highly complex needs referred to Community Services in accordance with care pathways for given specialism.
• Deliver specialist interventions in accordance with care pathways for given specialism.
• Work closely with other professionals within and outside the Community Team.
• Actively supports the Team Leader/Advanced Practitioner in the achievement of KPI / CQUIN and related County Council targets, and maintenance of registration with regulating bodies.
• Take the lead on specific objectives as directed by the Team Lead and Clinical Team Lead.
• Provide supervision and direction to practitioners and support staff within community services, undertaking appraisals and supporting the personal development of colleagues.
• The post holder will have a positive attitude to the care of the service users, be adaptable and resourceful and will be required to work regularly without direct supervision.

Skills

Disciplinary teamwork

Risk assessment

Medication knowledge

Clinical assessment

Education

Professionally Registered Mental Health Nurse

Equivalent professional registered social worker

Job description

Our Vision is to provide the best mental health, learning disability, autism, community, and physical health services for the populations we serve.

As an integrated Trust, Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust (LSCFT) delivers a comprehensive range of services, including:

• Primary and secondary mental health care for children and adults, including specialist inpatient child and adolescent mental health provision, perinatal mental health, and forensic services with low and medium secure care.
• Specialist mental health inpatient care for individuals with learning disabilities, alongside specialist community support for children and adults with learning disabilities and autism, including intensive support.
• Extensive community physical health and well-being services for children and adults, covering prevention, treatment, rehabilitation, and long‑term condition management.

The Trust was first established in 2002 and employs approximately 7,500 staff who provide care from more than 400 sites. The organisation offers opportunities for medics, mental health, general nurses, children’s nurses, allied health professionals, psychology, administration and clerical staff, apprentices and volunteers, as well as those specialising in learning disabilities and community physical health services.

We have an exciting opportunity for a Band 6 Community Mental Health Practitioner to join our Adult Community Mental Health Team service, based at Chorley Health Centre, Chorley.

You will join a friendly team who are committed to their own development and who are, outgoing and sociable. The team is also flexible and family friendly where everyone's individualised cases are considered to help manage work‑life balance where possible.

We are looking for a Core registered mental health practitioner, with post qualification experience in working clinically with service users experiencing a range of mental health problems, who are able to work as part of a multidisciplinary team, and has experience in assessing, planning, implementing and reviewing care needs and pathways with complex mental health issues.

We require someone who has great knowledge of medications and how to monitor them. Particular psychotropic medications including Clozaril and Lithium.

You will also be required to have experience and knowledge of risk assessment and care and safety management, the ability to explore issues relating to the impact of health and social needs in mental health and well‑being. We take a multi‑disciplinary approach, in a holistic way.

You will also be expected to take part in our Duty system on a rotational basis as a back up duty officer.

The Chorley Team thrive on being innovative and working collaboratively with service users and their wider families and carers.

Main duties of the job

About Chorley CMHT:

Chorley CMHT is an ambitious and collaborative team that takes pride in supporting both the people who use our services and one another. We are continually developing our pathways and partnerships to provide timely, coordinated care and help people remain well within their communities wherever possible.

You will be joining a team that reflects the Trust values: we are always learning, we are respectful, we are kind and we are a team.

Provide comprehensive assessment, advice and treatment to people with highly complex needs referred to Community Services in accordance with care pathways for given specialism

Deliver specialist interventions in accordance with care pathways for given specialism

Work closely with other professionals within and outside the Community Team

Actively supports the Team Leader/Advanced Practitioner in the achievement of KPI / CQUIN and related County Council targets, and maintenance of registration with regulating bodies

Take the lead on specific objectives as directed by the Team Lead and Clinical Team Lead

Provide supervision and direction to practitioners and support staff within community services, undertaking appraisals and supporting the personal development of colleagues

The post holder will have a positive attitude to the care of the service users, be adaptable and resourceful and will be required to work regularly without direct supervision.

Working for our organisation

LSCFT values diversity and inclusion, recognising that talent from varied backgrounds creates a flexible, creative, and effective workforce. We actively challenge discrimination and welcome applications from all, regardless of age, disability (including those with experience of accessing or caring for someone who has accessed mental health or learning disability services), ethnicity, gender, religion, belief, or sexual orientation.

Our aim is to reflect the communities we serve, so we particularly encourage applications from under‑represented groups. If you’d like to discuss your application, please ask.

We also welcome individuals with lived experience relevant to the role or service area, as your insight brings authenticity to our services.

LSCFT support flexible working, we believe that a positive work/life balance benefits NHS employees through improved health and wellbeing. We would consider working patterns such as term time, part time, compressed hours and flexi‑time.

The wellbeing of our people is at the heart of everything we do. We offer a wide range of resources, tools and support to help you thrive both in and out of work.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Please see attached the job description and person specification for more information about this role.

Person specification

Qualifications

• Professionally Registered Mental Health Nurse
• Equivalent professional registered social worker

Knowledge

• Knowledge of mental illness and impact upon quality of life
• Pharmaceutical knowledge of medications: particularly psychotropics, Clozapine and Lithium
• Demonstrable interest in continuing developing knowledge

Experience

• Post qualification experience within mental health services. With some of these to have been within acute mental health services
• Experience of working with a full range of mental illness
• Experience of providing supervision

Please note that further communication from LSCFT will normally be to the email address given on the application form. You should also ensure that email addresses and telephone numbers are provided for your referees, to enable LSCFT to contact them.

Please ensure that you read the person specification as your application will be measured against this document.

If you use AI to assist with your application, you must declare this. Undeclared use may result in withdrawal. Please ensure your application reflects your own skills and experiences. While AI tools can assist, they may produce generic or inaccurate content. We encourage you to provide personal examples that demonstrate how you meet the essential criteria.

For all posts which require a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check please be aware of the Disclosure and Barring Service Code of Practice, a copy of which is available by logging on to the DBS website. If the post is subject to DBS disclosure, a charge will be made to the successful candidate(s).

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.