Community Practitioner

South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust; Croydon; On-site; GBP 28,000 - 34,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading NHS organization is seeking a dynamic Nurse, Occupational Therapist, or Social Worker to join their community mental health team in Croydon. The post holder will provide assessments and develop care plans for individuals with moderate to severe mental health difficulties, engaging with a skilled multi-disciplinary team. Ideal candidates should possess strong assessment skills and a commitment to delivering high-quality care to diverse clients.

Benefits

Ongoing training opportunities

Supportive work environment

Collaboration with health professionals

Qualifications

• Motivated and dynamic professional willing to work in a community setting.
• Strong interest in working with mood, anxiety, and personality disorders.

Responsibilities

• Oversee assessment and care planning for service users.
• Maintain records associated with care processes.
• Work within a multi-disciplinary team to provide holistic care.

Skills

Assessment skills

Crisis management

Collaboration

Education

Registered Nurse, Occupational Therapist, or Social Worker

Job description

Overview

This post is open to current band 5s who wish to broaden their experience and further develop their assessment and care planning skills in a community setting. The post holder should have completed, be in the process of completing, or be willing to attend the Trust Preceptorship.

The Assessment & Liaison Team provides a service for people aged 18-65 who live in the Borough of Croydon. We are a short-term service offering mental health assessment to service users experiencing moderate to severe mental health difficulties within the community. We also provide advice on the best treatment and care options for mental health illnesses such as anxiety, depression, psychosis, or personality disorder. We work with a team of health and social care professionals including nurses, doctors, social workers and psychologists, and we closely collaborate with service users, their carers, local organisations and GPs. The Croydon Assessment and Liaison team is made up of three teams (North, South, and Central) and is situated at Jeanette Wallace House, Croydon. The team generally works with individuals for up to 12 weeks providing a holistic package of care in collaboration with local care networks.

Responsibilities

• Oversee and provide assessment and planning of care to a group of service users within the Croydon Assessment and Liaison team.
• Ensure records associated with this process are maintained.
• Work effectively within a multi-disciplinary team and across other agencies.
• Provide a high quality of care to individuals with complex bio-psychosocial needs.
• Carry out procedures to a standard that ensures safe and effective care, in line with the relevant professional code of conduct.
• Facilitate user involvement in all aspects of service delivery.

Qualifications and Experience

• We are looking for a motivated and dynamic Nurse, Occupational Therapist, or Social Worker to be part of our front-line team.
• You will work with senior nurse practitioners within a GP-clustered team delivering an enhanced liaison approach using an engagement and stabilisation model.
• Responsibilities include liaising with primary care, completing baseline mental health assessments, crisis management, and supporting individuals to identify and understand their mental health difficulties and to work out a joint treatment plan that will support them through the 12-week process.
• Excellent assessment skills are essential, with an interest in working with mood, anxiety, and personality service users within a highly skilled team.
• Supervision and ongoing training opportunities are provided within the PDP structure.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

The Trust is committed to providing services which embrace diversity and promote equality of opportunity. We are a Disability Confident Employer and welcome applicants from all sections of the community and people with protected characteristics. We provide reasonable adjustments for candidates with a disability and are committed to treating people with compassion, respect and dignity, promoting equality and human rights. Our commitments include embedding our work to tackle inequality, eliminating discrimination and harassment, promoting equality of opportunity, and ensuring all staff understand and support this commitment.

Application Notes

Please note:

• All applications for this post must be made online.
• Read and understand the Job Description and Person Specification attached to the role. Your Statement in Support should reflect the requirements specified as your application will be judged against these criteria.
• The closing date is a guide; the vacancy may close earlier if sufficient applications are received. Submit your application as early as possible.
• By submitting your application you agree to your data being transferred to a 3rd party e-recruitment system (apps.trac.jobs). Further information regarding your application will be generated from that system.
• If you have not heard from us within three weeks from the closing date, your application has not been successful.
• Priority consideration may be given to at-risk NHS employees.
• If successful and appointed, you authorize South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust to confirm your previous NHS service via an Inter-Authority Transfer (IAT) process.
• We are a smoke-free Trust.

Helpful Resource: How to Use TRAC for Job Applications. If you're preparing to apply for a role, this guide provides step-by-step instructions on using TRAC effectively throughout the application process.

About SLaM

South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust has a rich history, strong community links and an international reputation. We deliver specialist services in the London boroughs of Croydon, Lambeth, Lewisham, Southwark, Bexley, Bromley, Greenwich, Wandsworth and Richmond. We are committed to providing high-quality and specialist care to our service users; the Care Quality Commission rates our services as good. Our five-year strategy, Aiming High; Changing Lives, launched in 2021, supports learning and development as part of a quality improvement journey. We welcome applications from people with lived experience of mental illness. Our values emphasize care, kindness, respect, and integrity, and we support flexible working arrangements.