Community Mental Health Practitioner

LSCft; Oxenholme; On-site; GBP 32,000 - 42,000; Full time

Job summary

The Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust is seeking an experienced Community Mental Health Practitioner to join the Older Adults CMHT in South Lakes. You will assess and plan care for adults with complex mental health needs and work within integrated memory assessment and care home liaison functions.

The role requires active participation in duty duties, team mentoring, risk assessment, and collaboration with physical health provisions while supporting independence and

Qualifications

• Registered Mental Health Nurse with UK registration.
• Specialist qualification or equivalent in skills and development.
• Experience mentoring or assessing student staff.

Responsibilities

• Provide comprehensive assessment, advice and treatment for complex mental health needs.
• Triage and respond to incoming queries as Duty practitioner.
• Support and oversight for physical health provision within the team.

Skills

Assessment

Risk assessment

Teamwork

Mentorship

Education

Registered Mental Health Nurse

Specialist qualification in skills and development

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.

A new and exciting opportunity has arisen for an experienced, enthusiastic and skilled Community Mental Health Practitioner to join our busy Community Mental Health Team for Older Adults in South Lakes.

We are looking for a Assessment and Duty Pactitioner, someone who enjoys and works well in a team setting and is also able to work independently; is committed to working with older people with mental health needs and is able to work effectively in this role.

Main duties of the job

As a Assessment and Duty Practitioner, you will provide comprehensive assessment, advice and treatment to people with highly complex needs referred to Community Services in accordance with care pathways for given specialism including risk assessment and management to a broad range of people with functional and organic mental health needs.
As a Duty practitioner you will also undertake Duty for the team, the triaging and response to incoming queries and concerns.
The role also includes support and oversight for the Physical health provision within the team.

The integrated team incorporates a Memory Assessment Service, CMHT function for patients with more complex needs associated with both functional and organic illness, and Care Home Liaison function. The unique set-up of these integrated teams allows a seamless delivery of care for patients throughout all stages of their illness, and a collaborative approach within the team.

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

For more details on this vacancy please review the attached job description and person specification.

Person specification

Education / Qualifications

• Registered Mental Health Nurse.
• Specialist qualification or equivalent level in skills and development.

Knowledge

• Understanding of Health and Safety policies and procedures.
• Knowledge and practice of Mental Health Act 1983.
• Knowledge and practice of the Mental Capacity Act 2005.
• Demonstrate understanding of how research has influenced practice.

Experience

• Experience of assessing, planning and implementing and reviewing care needs.
• Experienced in acting as a mentor/assessor of student staff.

You are advised to consider applying for LSCFT vacancies as soon as possible as in some instances vacancies are closed as soon as a sufficient number of applications have been received. If you are not invited to interview within four weeks of the closing date then please assume that on this occasion you have been unsuccessful, as it is not possible to contact all unsuccessful candidates.

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.

Application numbers

This vacancy may close early if it receives a high number of applications. You are therefore advised to consider applying for this vacancy as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

Name Gail Porter Job title Service Manager Email address [e-mail] Additional information

For enquiries please contact the following staff: -

Gail Porter: Service Manager for OA Community services Bay locality: 07432 535393 [e-mail]

Jade jones-Clinical Lead for OA CMHT South Lakes: 01530 462597
[e-mail]