Mental Health Liason

NHS; Otterbourne; On-site; GBP 35,000 - 50,000; Full time

Job summary

A public healthcare organization is seeking a Mental Health Liaison to provide leadership and expertise in mental health services. The role involves managing the Complex Care Team and enhancing mental health delivery through collaboration. Ideal candidates will have a strong background in healthcare management and be registered with the Nursing and Midwifery Council. This position is based in Otterbourne, UK and offers comprehensive benefits including NHS pension and professional development opportunities.

Benefits

27 days of holiday, increasing with service

Automatic enrolment into NHS Pension Scheme

Access to Employee Assistance Programme

Qualifications

• Experience in a managerial role within healthcare settings.
• Proven leadership in managing change programs.
• Knowledge of operational/general management in emergency environments.

Responsibilities

• Work alongside Clinical Lead for Mental Health to form a leadership team.
• Address operational pressures in mental health response and demand.
• Provide direct line management to the Complex Care Team Leader.

Skills

Healthcare management

Strategic planning

Change management

Public speaking

Data analysis

Education

Degree in Mental Health Care or equivalent experience

Professional Registration with Nursing and Midwifery Council

Teaching Qualification

Tools

MS Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint)

MS Project

Visio

Job description

Go back South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust

Mental Health Liason

The closing date is 20 November 2025

The Mental Health Liaison post is based within SCAS, working alongside the Clinical Lead for Mental Health and Learning Disability, relevant Mental Health Trusts, NHS 111 and the Hampshire Mental Health Triage Service operationally.

The postholder will support the embedding mental health delivery in SCAS as well as driving clinical leadership, education, engagement and alignment with mental health transformation in urgent and emergency care.

A key aspect of this work will focus on driving transformation and mental health delivery within SCAS service overall, but with a particular focus on maintaining and developing wider networks of support across Hampshire in order that patients receive excellent mental health care. This role will involve the post holder being a subject matter expert within SCAS on all aspects of Mental Health and also support person centred care, clinical and professional leadership and supports a culture of teamwork, communication, collaboration, quality improvement, producing clear reports. The aim of the role is to reduce the number conveyances and calls to NHS 111/999 systems by developing care closer to home. the role represents the key link between parent organisations including:, The Police, Mental Health providers and Integrated Care Boards.

Main duties of the job

• To work alongside the Trust Clinical Lead for Mental Health and Learning Disability to form a team with capacity to cover Trust requirements for Mental health Leadership.
• This role supports the delivery of inclusive, person-centred care by identifying and addressing barriers to access, tailoring services to meet diverse needs, and working proactively to reduce health inequalities across underserved communities.
• To embed the Quality Principles and Clinical Standards within SCAS for Mental Health and response KPIs.
• To address operational pressures within 999/111 around mental health response and demand.
• To be a link to influence Suicide Prevention across Hampshire.
• To provide direct line management to the Complex Care Team Leader, working on agreed objectives to reduce the number of call to 111 and 999 services.
• To work in partnership with NHS 111 to develop NHS Pathways (Digital) MH Configuration.
• To identify opportunities to further support people with co-occurring mental health and substance problems with local authorities and mental health partners.
• To be instrumental and lead on Directory of Service development and visibility including promotion of MiDoS access for paramedics.
• To ensure all are profiled onto NHS 111 DoS as a minimum in short term.
• To work bi-laterally with MH NHS111, clinical assessment services (CAS) and 999 ambulance.

About us

Benefits we offer:

• Full training and a range of courses which you can book locally.
• Holiday entitlement of 27 days, rising to 29 days after 5 years' service and 33 days after 10 years' service, plus an additional 8 days bank holiday (pro rata for part time).
• Automatic enrolment into the NHS Pension Scheme.
• Access to continual professional development within SCAS and the wider NHS.
• Occupational Health support and direct access to our Employee Assistance Programme as well as our own Health and Wellbeing Team.
• NHS Discounts in over 200 + stores saving money on holidays, days out, car insurance, restaurants, clothing and much more.
• Ability to join our staff networking groups (as a member, ally or just for interest).

Corporate Induction

It's really important for us to ensure you have the best onboarding experience which allows you to feel a sense of belonging from the start. To help with this, we will book your Corporate Induction as soon as we possibly can (depending on availability).

All new starters need to attend our *Corporate Induction in person, this is held over one and half days from our educational centres based in: Newbury (Berkshire), Bicester (Oxfordshire) or Whiteley (Hampshire). More specific details will be sent to you once your start date has been confirmed.

*Please note - depending on your role additional training may be required following on from your corporate induction.

Job responsibilities

• To work alongside the Trust Clinical Lead for Mental Health and Learning Disability to form a team with capacity to cover Trust requirements for Mental health Leadership.
• This role supports the delivery of inclusive, person-centred care by identifying and addressing barriers to access, tailoring services to meet diverse needs, and working proactively to reduce health inequalities across underserved communities.
• To ensure effective alignment and implementation of mental health services across NHS Hampshire and Isle of Wight Integrated Care Board and the emerging Neighbourhood Hubs.
• To embed the Quality Principles and Clinical Standards within SCAS for Mental Health and response KPIs.
• To address operational pressures within 999/111 around mental health response and demand, including direct line management of the complex care team to address both mental health and physical health needs.
• To be a link to influence Suicide Prevention across Hampshire.
• To provide direct line management to the Complex Care Team Leader, working on agreed objectives to reduce the number of call to 111 and 999 services.
• To work in partnership with NHS 111 to develop NHS Pathways (Digital) MH Configuration.
• To identify opportunities to further support people with co-occurring mental health and substance problems with local authorities and mental health partners.
• To be instrumental and lead on Directory of Service development and visibility including promotion of MiDoS access for paramedics.
• To ensure all are profiled onto NHS 111 DoS as a minimum in short term (ahead of formal access to urgent MH care via 111 as per LTP).
• To work bi-laterally with MH NHS111, clinical assessment services (CAS) and 999 ambulance to agree streamlined and well governed referral pathways for MH for clinicians (non-clinician referrals can be agreed locally). This will include enhancing and increasing the validated cat3/4 999 calls.
• To agree and develop new pathways for lower acuity patients as an alternative to ED, including access to Crisis Alternatives or digital alternatives for crisis support.
• To ensure Rapid Demand and Capacity Reviews match MH demand in both 111 and 999.
• To provide direct leadership and advice across the Trust to PE teams, Clinical Governance leads and Patient Safety Teams as required.
• To assist with PSIRF investigations as required.
• To promote 24/7 urgent MH helplines locally within SCAS.

Please see the attached Job Description and Person Specification for more information about the role.

Person Specification

Knowledge and Experience

• Experience as a manager in a healthcare setting
• Experience in strategic planning and business planning
• Proven ability and experience of leading and managing change programmes
• Experience of facilitating and delivering learning sessions, public speaking, conference presentations, e.g. in Trust wide meetings.
• Experience of collation, analysis and dissemination of information or data
• Experience managing people and budgets
• Experience using software packages to support change (such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, MS Project, and Visio)
• Operational / general management experience
• Working in an emergency environment

Qualifications and Training

• Professional Registration with Nursing and Midwifery Council
• Degree qualification or significant equivalent and relevant experience in mental health care
• Full UK driving licence
• Other project, change or improvement qualifications
• Teaching Qualification

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.

South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust