Liaison & Diversion Practitioner

Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust; City of Westminster; On-site; GBP 30,000 - 40,000; Full time

Job summary

A healthcare organization in Westminster is seeking a Liaison & Diversion Practitioner. The role involves assessing individuals' mental health in police custody and court settings, requiring excellent communication skills and the ability to work autonomously. Candidates must be flexible to work evenings and weekends. The position is vital for providing appropriate care to individuals in the criminal justice system. Vetting clearance through the Metropolitan Police is required prior to hiring.

Qualifications

• Candidates must submit an application for Metropolitan Police vetting clearance.
• Experience working with vulnerable individuals is preferred.
• Flexibility to work unsocial hours is required.

Responsibilities

• Assess individuals' mental state and implement care pathways.
• Maintain a presence at court and police custody sites.
• Conduct mental state assessments and prepare written reports.

Skills

Excellent communication skills

Ability to work autonomously

Teamwork

Job description

Overview

The service is funded through the NHS England Liaison and Diversion Programme. Liaison and Diversion (L&D) services aim to identify people who may have mental health issues, a learning disability, substance misuse issues or other vulnerabilities when they first come into contact with the criminal justice system.

Our direct contact with service users may take place at police stations or in the courts. Our work can be very challenging but we continue to aim to ensure that individuals receive the best and most appropriate care for their needs. Through screening, assessment and appropriate referral, we are able to promote better health outcomes, reduce re‑offending and reduce pressure on the police and court services.

Responsibilities

The role of Liaison & Diversion Practitioner involves working with a wide range of services such as the police, probation, the court and legal services as well as both inpatient and community health and social care services. Our work includes unsocial hours on weekday evenings, weekends and Bank Holidays. Successful candidates will need to have excellent communication skills as well as the flexibility to work alongside these different groups. Candidates will need to be able to work effectively as part of a team as well as having the skills and confidence to work autonomously in a range of environments. Supervision and consultation are available to the team to support practice.

This post will cover both Willesden Magistrates Court and Wembley Police Custody Suite.

Key responsibilities include:

• Act as an autonomous practitioner in court and police detention cells, assess an individual's mental state and risk and implement a care pathway for each individual.
• Maintain a presence on the site they are working for the duration of their shift, respond to referrals in a timely manner, check regularly if there is anyone to be seen in custody, leave a contact number with the custody staff and respond to calls.
• Screen any youths in police custody during shift in police stations, engage with the young person and at times their guardians and make onward referrals including safeguarding, youth offending teams and CAMHS.
• Undertake a full mental state assessment, risk assessment, and gather a background history for individuals with a variety of needs such as serious mental illness, personality disorder and associated learning, social, personal, dependency and substance misuse issues.
• Prepare accurate written reports following assessment in line with quality standards.
• Make clinical judgements in custody on situations as they arise, or change.

Working for our organisation

Please note: Candidates will need to submit an application for Metropolitan Police vetting clearance and have it approved before a contract can be agreed. The following is guidance we have from the Metropolitan Police regarding vetting which you should take into consideration before you complete an application for this post:

Common failures

• Non‑declaration of criminal convictions or Police involvement; I.E investigations even if no further action, warnings, cautions (No matter how old)
• County court judgements
• Less than 3‑year Residency
• Defaults – No debt management plans in place.
• Convictions which resulted in imprisonment or suspended sentence.
• Vet‑ting applications will be returned if any of the details are omitted.
• All family members, partners, co‑residents and parents' partners must be provided.
• Address history must run 5 years straight.