Community Mental Health Practitioner

LSCft; Preston; On-site; GBP 28,000 - 36,000; Full time

Job summary

Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust (LSCFT) seeks a Band 5 Mental Health Practitioner to join the Community Mental Health Team based at West Strand House in Preston. You will manage a defined caseload, deliver holistic, recovery-focused care, and work within a multidisciplinary team to support adults with complex mental health needs.

The role requires a solid understanding of psychotropic medications and active involvement in assessments, care planning, and risk management to

Qualifications

• Registered Mental Health Nurse or Registered Social Worker with commitment to continuing professional development.
• Commitment to ongoing professional development and safeguarding of patients.
• Experience within community-based mental health services is desirable.

Responsibilities

• Act as a key member of the Multi-Disciplinary Team (MDT) to plan, monitor and evaluate care for adults with complex mental health needs.
• Liaise with a wide range of multi-agency professionals to ensure integrated care.
• Support safe medication management and monitoring within community settings, including Clozapine and Lithium where applicable.

Skills

Multidisciplinary teamwork

Care planning

Risk management

Medication management

Education

Registered Mental Health Nurse

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 are seeking a dedicated and compassionate Mental Health Practitioner to join our Community Mental Health Team based at West Strand House in Preston.

We are a dynamic and innovative team who are committed to upholding the highest standards of care. Our service is built on strong values of collaboration, respect, and recovery, and we believe in working in true partnership with patients, carers, and families to form the Triangle of Care — ensuring everyone involved in a person’s care is listened to, supported, and included.

As a Band 5 Keyworker, you will hold a defined caseload and deliver holistic, recovery-focused care to adults with complex and enduring mental health needs. You will play an active role within a multidisciplinary team (MDT), contributing to assessments, care planning, risk management, and evidence-based interventions.

A thorough understanding of psychotropic medications, including Clozapine and Lithium, is essential, as you will be responsible for supporting safe medication management and monitoring within community settings.

Main duties of the job

To act as a key member of the Multi-Disciplinary Team ensuring the effective planning monitoring and evaluation of care given to service users with mild/moderate and severe and enduring mental illness under the Care Programme Approach process, whilst liaising with a wide range of multi-agency professionals.

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

Person specification

Education/ Qualifications

• Registered Mental Health Nurse
• Registered Social Worker
• Evidence of commitment to continuing professional development

Skills and Knowledge

• Understanding of Health and Safety policies and procedures
• Knowledge and practice of Mental Health Act 1983
• Demonstrate understanding of how research has influenced practice
• Can provide evidence of recent professional/personal development
• Can demonstrate the ability to manage change

Work Experience/History

• Able to work as part of a multidisciplinary team
• 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.