Mental Health Practitioner | Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust

Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust; Borough of Swale; On-site; GBP 35,000 - 45,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading healthcare provider is seeking a Mental Health Practitioner to provide specialist care to offenders as part of the Mental Health In-Reach Team. The role includes delivering psychological interventions, conducting assessments, and working closely with prison staff and multi-agency teams. Candidates should possess a relevant mental health qualification and be prepared for National Security Vetting. This position offers a dynamic work environment within the prison system in England.

Qualifications

• Applicants must be willing to undertake National Security Vetting.
• Right-to-work documentation and ID required.
• Experience in mental health care, preferably in a prison setting.

Responsibilities

• Provide specialist mental healthcare to offenders.
• Deliver psychological interventions and risk assessments.
• Work collaboratively with multi-agency teams.
• Manage a mixed and challenging caseload.

Skills

Mental health assessment

Psychological interventions

Team collaboration

Risk assessment

Education

Relevant mental health qualification

Job description

Overview

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.

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 Kent, South London, Devon, Dorset, Bristol, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire. Our healthcare departments operate across six prisons in the Kent cluster, each requiring a bespoke service responsive to prisoner and prison needs.

Responsibilities

• To provide specialist mental healthcare to service users and to work as part of the Mental Health In-Reach Team and wider MDT.
• To deliver a range of specialist interventions at primary and secondary care level, including:
• Referral management, screening assessment, triage, and evidence-based interventions
• Care planning and risk assessing
• One-to-one and group-work facilitation
• Managing a mixed and challenging caseload

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

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.

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.

Roles and expectations

• To perform robust assessment, screening and interventions to offenders with learning disabilities and mental health conditions.
• To contribute to alternatives to inpatient admission and assisting with early discharge through the implementation of high-intensity interventions and complex case management arrangements.
• To provide comprehensive and timely reports and mental health expertise to multi-agency public protection panels (MAPPA), police, probation services, solicitors and court liaison teams as directed.
• Deliver active clinical leadership and supervision within the team, covering for the manager and colleagues as required. To receive supervision as directed (line management and clinical).
• To participate in resource centre services as directed, delivering psychological therapy and specialist activities under the direction of the clinical lead.
• To work in a psychologically minded way with service users in achieving their agreed goals and quality health outcomes.
• Close working relationships with all prison staff, to include participation in sentence planning, resettlement, safer custody, and the ACCT processes.
• To develop and take on a specialist lead role as appropriate and provide peer support and training in this area.
• To contribute towards support, advice, consultation, and training for prison staff.
• The post holder will be part of a skilled multidisciplinary team (MDT) comprising all healthcare staff, including strategic partners, and prison managing a single referral pathway.
• The post holder will be required to undertake training to maximise uptake of screening, health promotion and prevention activity, including vaccinations.
• The post holder will be required to hold a caseload and coordinate services with secondary mental health and complex needs, ensuring a proactive, evidence-based approach.
• The post holder will ensure that a single, integrated care plan is devolved in collaboration with service users and responsible for facilitating the development of comprehensive risk assessment, crisis plans, rapid access plans, advance statements, involving other agencies as appropriate. Ensure the individualised care is regularly reviewed and updated where necessary.
• The post holder as a care coordinator will attend/contribute in a weekly MDT meeting for service users on secondary caseload and complex care needs.
• The post holder will ensure that training in evidence-based CBT approaches is undertaken to enhance consistency and quality of care delivery.
• The post holder will support patients to manage all areas of their health at every stage, from oral health to long-term conditions, and ensure health promotion is embedded into every aspect of the service.

Requirements and Conditions

• All applicants must be willing to undertake National Security Vetting to work in a Prison Setting. This will be completed as part of pre-employment checks.
• Provision of right-to-work documentation, ID (1 photographic), address documentation, and other related checks as required.
• Non-UK passport holders: correct right-to-work documentation and a Home Office Share Code; address history for 5 years; police certificates in English if required; overseas police checks if applicable.
• Guidance for obtaining Police Certificates can be found via government sources provided in the application notice.

This advert closes on Friday 19 Sep 2025