Mental Health Practitioner - Initial Response Service

NSFT Jobs; Norwich; On-site; GBP 32,000 - 42,000; Full time

Job summary

Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust is seeking Mental Health Practitioners (Band 6) for its Initial Response Service (IRS). The role focuses on rapid assessments and decisive clinical decisions to improve access to mental health support across the county.

As a senior clinician, you will provide leadership and supervision while delivering high-quality, person-centred care within a 24/7 multidisciplinary team. The post emphasizes collaboration, development, and compassionate service delivery.

Responsibilities

• 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.

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.

• 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.

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.

For further details / informal visits contact: Name: Susie Moore Job title: Clinical Team Leader Email address: [e-mail]