IRS Mental Health Practitioner

NHS; Lancaster; On-site; GBP 30,000 - 42,000; Full time

Job summary

A healthcare organization in the UK is seeking an IRS Mental Health Practitioner in Lancaster to assess and manage mental health needs. You will triage individuals and collaborate with community services, acting as a shift lead to prioritize referrals based on risk. Successful candidates will have a Core Mental Health Professional qualification and strong experience in mental health assessment and crisis intervention. This role is integral to improving mental health service delivery in the community.

Benefits

Flexible working patterns

Diversity and inclusion initiatives

Qualifications

• In-depth knowledge of mental health problems.
• Experience of delivering evidence-based interventions.
• Evidence of assessment across a broad range of mental health problems.

Responsibilities

• Triage and assess individuals with varying degrees of mental health difficulties.
• Identify appropriate community services for presenting needs.
• Act as shift lead, screening referrals based on clinical judgment.

Skills

Mental health assessment

Crisis intervention

Risk assessment

Communication skills

Education

Recognised Core Mental Health Professional Qualification (e.g. RMN/Dip SW/OT)

Job description

IRS Mental Health Practitioner

The closing date is 21 December 2025

The Initial Response Service (IRS) launched in the Bay in 2023 and since then it has consistently demonstrated itself to be an integral part of secondary mental health services; we've improved access to mental health services for individuals who need it, whilst reducing demands on care and treatment delivery services. In the most recent CQC report, the IRS was identified as a source of positive change in how mental health services are delivered in Lancashire and South Cumbria.

Forget caseloads and case management. In the IRS your skills and expertise will be in assessing patients at the point of referral and identifying what service will best meet their needs moving forwards. The spectrum of mental health needs vary significantly; you will have the ability to offer advice and guidance for mild to moderate mental health issues and ways this can be managed and improved. Equally, you'll have the ability respond to urgent referrals with more acute needs and higher risks in the community.

If you require more details about the role or an informal chat please contact us on the details provided.

Main duties of the job

• Ability to use your skills to triage and assess individuals with varying degrees of mental health difficulties over the phone and/or face to face in the community.
• Identify community services that are most appropriate for presenting need (third sector, CMHT, HBTT, and Talking Therapies).
• Act as shift lead, screening referrals and prioritising them based on your clinical judgment of risk and need.
• Working alongside the police to support patients and implement care when they are at risk of being held under s.136 of the MHA.
• Fast paced environment and supportive developing team.

We want to hear from practitioners who are experienced in the field of mental health, and its care and treatment pathways (including third sector service). We need confident practitioners with an ability to assess risk and respond to it appropriately in a fast paced environment.

Fancy the challenge? IRS for the Bay have multiple roles available in the team so come along and join the team.

About us

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 supports 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.

Job responsibilities

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

Person Specification

Qualifications

• Recognised Core Mental Health Professional Qualification (e.g. RMN/Dip SW/OT)

Knowledge

• In‑depth knowledge of mental health problems
• In‑depth knowledge of issues that impact upon people with mental health problems
• Detailed knowledge of the impact of risk and protective factors that affect people with mental health problems

Experience

• Experience of post‑qualification clinical work with service users experiencing a range of mental health problems
• Experience of delivering evidence‑based interventions in a time‑limited framework
• Evidence of assessment across a broad range of mental health problems

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.

Lancashire & South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust