Mental Health Practitioner - Initial Response Service

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

Benefits offered by this job

In-house & external training

Career progression

27–33 days annual leave

NHS discounts

Job summary

Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust is seeking skilled Mental Health Practitioners (Band 6) to join the new Initial Response Service in Norwich. This role provides rapid assessments, crisis support, and clinical decisions within a 24/7 multidisciplinary environment, delivering timely care and leadership.

You will conduct triage assessments, develop person-centred care plans, coordinate urgent interventions, and supervise colleagues while contributing to service improvement and staff

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

Responsibilities

• Undertake comprehensive telephone and digital triage assessments for individuals presenting with mental health needs.
• 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.

Skills

Assess service users' needs

Clear communication

Work under pressure

Education

Mental health professional qualification

Mentorship qualification

Management training

Job description

Band 6

Main area Nursing Grade Band 6 Contract Permanent Hours

• Full time
• Part time

37.5 hours per week Job ref 246-CEN8224227

Site County Hall Town Norwich Salary £39,959 - £48,117 gross per annum (pro rata) Salary period Yearly Closing 06/09/2026 23:59

Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust provides child and adult mental health services, learning disability, wellbeing, older people's and eating disorder services across Norfolk and Suffolk.

We are committed to equality, diversity and inclusion and want to reflect the diversity of our local communities within our teams. We welcome applications from all talented individuals with the relevant qualifications, skills, knowledge and experience.

Please note due to the nature of our roles and patient demographic, you will be required to undertake physical intervention training and remain trained, as required by your role.

Job overview

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.

Working for our organisation

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.

Detailed job description and main 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.

Please visit our Facebook and Twitter page @NSFTjobs

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 frameworkEvidence of assessment across a broad range of mental health problem

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post may be 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.

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.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES

Apart from its legal duties in relation to equality and diversity, the Trust recognises and actively promotes the benefits of a diverse workforce and is committed to treating all employees with dignity and respect regardless of race, gender, disability, age, sexual orientation, religion or belief.

Disability Confident Employer

As a part of the Disability Confident Employer Guaranteed Interview Scheme we interview all disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the job vacancy (outlined in the Person Specification).. We encourage you to indicate your eligibility through TRAC jobs when applying.