Mental Health Practitioner

Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust; Shaftesbury; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 48,000; Full time

Job summary

Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust is recruiting a Mental Health Practitioner at HMP Guys Marsh on a 12-month fixed-term contract. The role involves providing specialist mental health care to offenders within the In-Reach Team and collaborating across primary and secondary care services.

You will work in a forward-thinking NHS environment that values development and patient outcomes, with potential for professional growth.

Qualifications

• Registered Mental Health Professional with NHS experience.
• Experience assessing adults with complex mental health needs.
• Knowledge of current National Prison Health Quality & Performance Indicators.
• Professional registration is required to practice.

Responsibilities

• Provide specialist mental healthcare to offenders as part of the Mental Health In-Reach Team.
• Deliver interventions at primary and secondary care levels including care planning and risk assessment.
• Maintain comprehensive electronic records with strict confidentiality.
• Collaborate with community mental health teams and other services.
• Support continuity of care and contribute to discharge planning.

Skills

Registered Mental Health Professional

Clinical assessment

Multi-professional collaboration

Risk assessment

Education

Professional Registration - RMN, HCPC, Social Worker

Job description

Main area Offender Healthcare Grade Band 6 Contract Fixed term: 12 months (12 Month FTC) Hours Full time - 37.5 hours per week (Occasional weekend work may be required) Job ref 277-8220229-GUYS-A

Site HMP Guys Marsh Town Shaftesbury Salary £39,959 - £48,117 pa inc Salary period Yearly Closing 28/09/2026 23:59

Job overview

Are you ready to unlock your potential within a challenging, creative and fast paced work environment? Do you want to work with people to build positive and productive lives, whatever their past?

Due to our ongoing success as the healthcare provider at HMP Guys Marsh, we are currently expanding opportunities due to additional commissioned services. We are currently looking for a compassionate, knowledgeable and motivatedMental Health Practitioner to join our friendly team at HMP Guys Marsh on a 12 month FTC covering maternity leave.

Our healthcare team have a real impact on promoting health and well-being to those in prison and we pride ourselves on using skills and strategies that instil hope for patients future resettlement back into the community. We directly deliver Mental Health, Physical Health, Pharmacy and Clinical Substance Misuse in an integrated healthcare delivery model to provide effective and responsive care to improve wellbeing and support better outcomes in the future.

As part of our mental health team, you will enjoy all the benefits of NHS AfC employment (inc pension) with the opportunity to work within a forward-thinking service, who encourage career and personal development to all staff to increase their clinical and interpersonal skills.

Important Sponsorship Information for this post: We are currently unable to offer a certificate of sponsorship for this post

Main duties of the job

As a Mental Health Practitioner you will be providing specialist mental healthcare to offenders and working as part of the Mental Health In-Reach Team, plus wider mental health services. You will be required to work in a psychologically minded way with offenders in achieving their agreed goals and quality health outcomes.

Our Mental Health Team provide specialist interventions at primary and secondary care level including; referral management, screening assessment, triage, evidence-based interventions, care planning and risk assessing, plus one-to-one and group-work facilitation.

Our Mental Health Practitioners manage a mixed and challenging caseload and are required to perform robust assessment, screening and interventions to offenders with learning disabilities and mental health conditions. You will contribute to alternatives to inpatient admission and assisting with early discharge through the implementation of high intensity interventions and complex case management arrangements.

One of our key aims is to ensure continuity of care for an offender on ordinary location and reduce the length of stay, both in relation to prison inpatient services and external NHS/independent in-patient services. You will work closely with community mental health teams to ensure appropriate sharing of information, continuity of care and the Care Programme Approach for all offenders as necessary.

Working for our organisation

Oxleas offers a wide range of NHS healthcare services to people in community and secure environment settings. We are the largest NHS provider of prison health services providing healthcare to prisons within Devon, Dorset, Bristol, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire, Kent and South London.

Our healthcare departments operate across three prisons in the Dorset cluster each of which require a bespoke service responding to the prisoner and prison needs:

• HMP Guys Marsh – Cat C – Population = 550
• HMP Portland – Cat C – Population = 530
• HMP The Verne – Cat C – Population = 600

Oxleas are the lead provider across 10 South West prisons and operate in Bristol, South Gloucestershire, Wiltshire and Devon in addition to the above.

Our wider services include community health care such as district nursing and speech and language therapy, care for people with learning disabilities and mental health care such as psychiatry, nursing and therapies. Our 4,300 members of staff work in many different settings including hospitals, clinics, prisons, secure hospitals, children’s centres, schools and people’s homes.
We have over 125 sites in a variety of locations in the South of England.

Our purpose is to improve lives by providing the best possible care to our patients and their families. This is strengthened by our new values:

• We Listen
• We Care

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• To communicate effectively on a range of issues that are often complex in their nature and in complex situations.
• Participate in the annual appraisal reviews and demonstrate reflective practice through the Knowledge and Skills Framework
• To maintain comprehensive and timely electronic clinical records ensuring confidentiality is maintained at all times.
• Provide supervision, mentorship & leadership for junior staff.
• Take all necessary care in the working environment, adhering to relevant health and safety policies.
• Participate and positively contribute to the services integrated clinical governance arrangements
• Carry out administrative tasks as directed including research, audit, data, and activity statistics.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION, PLEASE READ:

All applicants must be willing to undertake National Security Vetting in order to work in a Prison Setting. This will be completed as part of the pre-employment checks through Oxleas and the prison vetting team.

You will need to provide:

Proof of right to work documentation

Proof of ID, needs to include 1 photographicID

Proof of address documentation

Non-UK passport holders will need to have correct documentation (right to work in the UK) and a Home office Share code.

Address History:

5 years address history will be needed.

Applicants that are not UK Passport holders who provide less than 5 years UK address history will need to provide a Police Certificate which must be in English from where they resided previously.

Applicants who are UK Passport holders who have lived abroad for a period of more than six months during the last three years will need to provide a certificate of good conduct or an overseas police check in English from the countries resided in or visited.

If the country you have resided in is not listed here, you can obtain the necessary information by contacting the relevant Embassy or High Commission for that Country. Their contact details can be found on the Foreign & Commonwealth Office website (http://www.fco.gov.uk/en).

Person specification

Experience

• Previous experience working as a registered Mental Health Professional
• Evidence of well developed clinical skills in assessing and treating adults with complex mental health needs
• Experience of multi-professional collaboration including working in partnership with other statutory and voluntary organisations. Experience of setting, monitoring and evaluating standards of care.
• Knowledge of current National Prison Health Quality & Performance Indicators
• Working knowledge of current issues/agendas facing prison/offender healthcare Experience Working within prison or secure settings

Qualifications

• Professional Registration - RMN, HCPC, Social Worker, Etc

Skills

We are committed to creating an inclusive workplace that welcomes and supports individuals of all abilities. Remember, if you meet the minimum criteria for this role and you have a disability, you can be guaranteed an interview under the Disability Confident Scheme - Please ensure you select this on your application form. We would encourage you to be open about your needs so we can work with you to design a comfortable and accessible interview experience. Any information you provide regarding a disability or a need for adjustments will be treated in confidence and will only be shared with colleagues who are supporting this request.

If you require any adjustments to participate fully in the interview process, please let us know by adding the relevant details when scheduling your preferred interview date and time. Please feel free to contact the appointing manager to discuss your needs.

We encourage applicants to contact the hiring manager before their interview, if they have any questions about the role or the process. This is a great way to get clarity and prepare effectively for the interview.

If you have declared you are part of the armed forces community, you may be asked to provide evidence during the recruitment process. If you misrepresent this information, your offer may be withdrawn. For Armed Forces specific support, see our webpage: https://oxleas.nhs.uk/armed-forces-community/

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

If you choose to use AI or other tools to assist in writing your application, it's essential to personalise this information, particularly your supporting information section. While AI can help streamline the writing process, these tools cannot fully grasp the context or requirements of the job you’re applying for. There is also a risk that it can generate false or misleading information. AI-generated job applications can often be generic, impersonal and may not accurately reflect your qualifications, knowledge, skills, and experiences. It is crucial that you personalise your supporting statement by articulating these in your unique voice. Relying solely on AI to write your application or supporting information section is not advocated by Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust and could negatively impact your chances of success in the application process.

We monitor applications for any behaviour that could create an unfair advantage, and we check all references carefully. You are likely to be tested on your experience at interview, so be honest and make sure all the information in your application is correct.

Please note that the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is prohibited during the interview process.

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.