Mental Health Practitioner - Initial Response Service

Norfolk & Suffolk Foundation NHS Trust; England; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 48,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

In-house and external training

Career progression

27 to 33 days annual leave

Job summary

Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust is recruiting Mental Health Practitioners (Band 6) to join our new Initial Response Service (IRS). You will perform rapid mental health and risk assessments, support people in crisis, and make critical clinical decisions that impact patient outcomes.

Working in a 24/7 multidisciplinary team, you will provide clinical leadership, supervision and contribute to service improvement as we shape access to urgent and routine mental health care across the county.

Qualifications

• Must hold recognised Mental Health Professional qualification (e.g., RMN/DipSW/OT).
• Mentorship qualification or ENB998 equivalent; willing to become sign-off mentor.
• Management course or equivalent.

Responsibilities

• Undertake telephone and digital triage assessments for individuals with mental health needs.
• Complete holistic mental health and risk assessments and create safe, person-centred care plans.
• Determine appropriate care pathways and coordinate urgent interventions and referrals.
• Collaborate with service users, carers, GPs, emergency services and other teams for timely access to care.
• Provide clinical advice, supervision and support to call handlers and junior clinicians.
• Contribute to service leadership, quality improvement and Development of IRS.

Skills

Assessment under pressure

Decision making

Clear written communication

Education

Core Mental Health Qualification

Mentorship/ENB998

Management course

Job description

Be the difference at the moment it matters most.

We are looking for skilled, compassionate and motivated Mental Health Practitioners (Band 6) to join our new Initial Response Service (IRS), a key development within Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust designed to transform access to mental health services across the county.

The IRS will provide a single point of access for urgent, crisis and routine referrals, ensuring people receive the right support, from the right service, at the right time.

This is an exciting opportunity to be part of a new service from the outset and help shape the future of mental health access and crisis response.

Working within a 24/7 multidisciplinary environment, you will undertake rapid mental health and risk assessments, support people experiencing mental health crises, and make critical clinical decisions that directly impact patient outcomes.

Every day will bring variety, challenge and the opportunity to make a meaningful difference to people's lives.

As a senior clinician within the service, you will work autonomously whilst being part of a supportive team that values collaboration, innovation and professional development. You will provide clinical leadership, supervision and support to colleagues, contribute to service improvement, and help develop a high-performing, compassionate culture that places service users at the heart of everything we do.

Main duties of the job

• Undertake comprehensive telephone and digital triage assessments for individuals presenting with mental health needs, including those experiencing acute distress, self-harm or suicidal ideation.
• Complete holistic mental health and risk assessments and formulate safe, person-centred care plans.
• Determine the most appropriate pathway of care and coordinate urgent interventions, referrals and onward support.
• Work collaboratively with service users, carers, GPs, emergency services, acute hospitals and community mental health teams to ensure timely access to care.
• Provide clinical advice, supervision and support to call handlers, senior call handlers and less experienced clinicians.
• Contribute to service leadership, quality improvement, audit and the ongoing development of the Initial Response Service.

About us

At Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust, inclusion is at the heart of how we work. We are committed to creating a fair, transparent and accessible recruitment process where every candidate has the opportunity to succeed.

We actively encourage applications from people from all backgrounds, particularly those currently underrepresented in our workforce, including those from the global majority. We recognise that not everyone has equal access to opportunities and are working to address this.

We are committed to providing reasonable adjustments throughout the recruitment process and ensuring all candidates receive a positive and equitable experience.

Here at NSFT we pride ourselves on being a welcoming, talented, friendly and supportive team who like nothing better than sharing experiences and learning from each other. In addition to ongoing training and development opportunities, we are committed to providing an environment in which you can thrive.

Why work for us? We have challenges as a Trust, but we have ambitious aspirations, are pushing ahead with exciting transformation work and we need dedicated individuals to support us on our journey. We have strong, established professional networks coupled with an exceptional leadership team who will ensure you are truly cared for and cared about.

Job responsibilities

We recognise that this opportunity may be particularly attractive to colleagues affected by organisational change. The IRS offers a chance to bring your expertise, knowledge and experience into a pioneering service that will become the front door to mental health services across Norfolk and Suffolk.

Some of the benefits you can expect:

• a comprehensive in house & external training programmes
• career progression
• starting annual leave of 27 days per annum increasing to 33 days pa based on length of service (plus paid bank holidays)
• NHS discounts and many more.

Interviews are yet to be confirmed, and candidates may only be given a minimum of 3 days notice. You will be contacted via email and invited to book a time. These emails may go to your SPAM, so please keep checking all your emails if applying.

Person Specification

Skills

• Ability to assess service users' presenting problems and needs, quickly and accurately, under pressure
• Ability to determine the most appropriate course of action from a range of available options
• Ability to communicate clearly the outcomes of assessment, verbally and in writing

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
• Knowledge of medication prescribed for management of mental health issues

Qualifications

• Recognised core Mental Health Professional Qualification (e.g., RMN/DipSW/OT
• Mentorship qualification or ENB998 equivalent. Willingness to become sign-off mentor
• Management course or equivalent

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 problem

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.

£39,959 to £48,117 a yeargross per annum (pro rata)