Mental Health Support Worker

Dorset HealthCare University NHS Foundation Trust; Dorchester; On-site; GBP 21,000 - 26,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Recruitment Premium

Retention Premium (pro-rata)

Job summary

Dorset HealthCare University NHS Foundation Trust in Dorchester seeks a Mental Health Support Worker to support people with dementia at Forston Clinic, with home visits or care-home support as needed.

The role is full-time (flexible for part-time) across 7 days with early and late shifts. A valid UK driving licence and car are essential; benefits include recruitment and retention premiums and supervision. A compassionate team environment awaits.

Qualifications

• NVQ 3 in a care related subject or equivalent.
• Experience in dementia care preferred.
• Calm, compassionate and team-oriented.

Responsibilities

• Visit patients per care plan and assist with tasks to support the patient and/or carer.
• Support patients in the community, assist with personal care and non-pharmacological interventions.
• Visit and support patients in their own home or a care home.
• Liaise with hospitals and report to the Nurse in charge for effective team communication.
• Undergo supervision, daily handovers, and in-house training.

Skills

Full UK driving licence

Education

NVQ 3 in care

Job description

Dorset HealthCare University NHS Foundation Trust

Mental Health Support Worker

The closing date is 29 November 2026

Are you passionate about helping people with dementia? Intensive Community Support Dementia have a unique opportunity for a Mental Health Support Worker to join our dynamic and supportive team based at Forston Clinic.

ICSD are a well-resourced Specialist Community Team that offers specialist interventions at times of urgent and complex needs to help people with dementia and their carers in their place of residence safely. We offer as much care as possible within the person's living environment, with care, compassion and expertise and to strive to be better every day at what we do. You will need to have relevant skills, experience and knowledge in dementia health. As a Mental Health Support Worker passion and compassion are essential personal qualities for this role, along with excellent team-working, initiative, communication and assessment skills.

This post is full time hours however could be flexible and part time hours would be considered. ICSD is a 7 day a week service, operating early and late shifts 0730-1530 & 1200-2000

Car owner and driver with clean and full UK driving licence is essential for this role.

As a new employee this role includes a £2,000 Recruitment Premium lump sum on commencement of your employment and thereafter a further £1,000 Retention Premium (pro-rata) per annum, paid in equal monthly instalments provided you remain in post and subject to review by the Trust.

Main duties of the job

To undertake visits as per a patients care plan, completing the tasks within the care plan to assist a patient and/or carer.

We offer a wide range of support from taking patients out into the community to assisting with personal care and looking at non pharmacological interventions to reduce distressed behaviours.

To visit and support patients intheir own home or a Care Home

We offer assistance to physical health hospitals for patients that they are struggling to manage due to patients' behaviours associated with their Dementia.

To report back to Nurse in charge to enable effective communication within the team.

You will have management supervision from a designated supervisor and be supported in your role with daily handovers, in house training and reflective practice sessions.

About us

At Dorset HealthCare we're on a mission to empower people to make the most of their lives through our outstanding, joined-up healthcare services. We're a dynamic, forward-looking Trust, running 12 community hospitals, specialist inpatient facilities and a wide range of integrated community and mental health services for a population of almost 800,000 people.

We do things differently here - it's one of the reasons the CQC rated us 'outstanding' in 2019. It's also why 95% of patients across our services say they have a good or very good experience of our services and 89% of staff feel they can really make a difference. Whether you're looking to work with us in one of our bustling market towns, vibrant urban locations, thriving seaside spots, or among the rolling hills of Dorset, there are lots of ways you can make a difference in our communities.

Our 7,000-strong workforce is at the heart of what we do and our success is a testament to our brilliant people. We're all about building a workplace for the future, we believe in equal opportunities and we celebrate diversity. We're an inclusive workplace, where everyone is welcome, everyone can be authentic, and we are all encouraged to be the best version of ourselves.

Working with us you'll be part of a strong team, challenge yourself, build a career, and teach us what we don't know. And you'll be working towards our vision to be better every day through excellence, compassion and expertise in all we do.

Job responsibilities

For the main duties and responsibilities for this role please read the attached job description and person specification. When completing your application please ensure your supporting statement reflects the criteria set out in these documents by showing how your experience and skills apply to this post.

We understand that using AI can be a useful and supportive tool when completing your application. However, we have also seen an increase in the over-reliance of AI tools which is negatively impacting applications as they remove candidates individuality, and it becomes much harder to get a sense of who you are and your authentic experience. If you do use AI, it should be used to enhance your application and not to create your supporting statement in its entirety. If we suspect you have used AI to create your supporting statement and this does not match your experience, we may withdraw your application.

As part of our vision to have a skilled, diverse and caring workforce, Dorset HealthCare offers support for people getting into work. We offer an employability service to support individuals with application writing, interview skills and other employment support. If you would like or know of anyone who would value this support, please do contact [e-mail]

Please note visa sponsorship for this role is unfortunately not available. Ensure you hold valid right to work in the UK and will not require sponsorship if successful.

PMVA

You will be required to undertake a Prevention and Management of Violence and Aggression course and it is a condition of your employment that you successfully complete all aspects of this course; if this is not achieved you will not be able to commence working in the post.

Person Specification

Knowledge, Skills and Training

• NVQ 3 in a care related subject or equivalent level of training and/or experience, or willing to undertake training to achieve this standard

Personal Qualities/Attributes

• Calm under pressure, and to be able to cope with difficult and personally challenging situations such as receiving personally directed abuse and aggression
• Able to work effectively as part of a team

Personal Qualities/Attributes

• Be able to work on your own in a patient's home and escalated concerns as appropriate

Additional Requirements

• Demonstrable skills in written and spoken English to a standard which enables the post holder to carry out the full range of duties and responsibilities of the role effectively.

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.

Employer name

Dorset HealthCare University NHS Foundation Trust