Mental Health Support Worker

Dorset Healthcare University Nhs Foundation Trust; Merley; On-site; GBP 23,000 - 27,000; Full time

Job summary

Dorset HealthCare is recruiting for Haven Male PICU, a brand-new 8-bed Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit at St Ann's Hospital, to provide intensive support for men with acute mental illness. Join a multidisciplinary team in a fast-paced, recovery-focused environment and help embed a compassionate, least-restrictive model of care.

The role involves ensuring patients and families are at the centre of recovery, co-producing care plans, and promoting wellbeing and activity on and off the ward.

Qualifications

• NVQ level 2 or 3 or equivalent level of experience.
• Literate / Numerate.
• Basic IT keyboard skills.
• Demonstrable written and spoken English to a standard enabling full duties.
• Ability to work in a team.
• Good communication skills.
• Ability to remain calm in stressful situations.
• Desirable: experience in a care setting.
• Additional requirements: PMVA, Breakaway training and Manual Handling.

Responsibilities

• For the main duties and responsibilities, read the attached job description and person specification.
• Reflect your experience and skills in your supporting statement.
• Work within Haven Male PICU delivering intensive care in a new inpatient environment.

Skills

Teamwork

Communication

Calm under pressure

English (Written & Spoken)

Basic IT skills

Education

NVQ level 2 or 3 or equivalent

Job description

Job summary

Are you ready to make a real difference at the most critical point in someone's mental health journey? We are looking for passionate, motivated and compassionate individuals to join our established and highly supportive team within Haven Male PICU, a brand-new purpose built 8-bedded Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit based at St Ann's Hospital. This is an exciting opportunity to work in a fast-paced, specialist environment providing intensive care and treatment to men experiencing the most acute phase of serious mental illness. If you are looking for a role that is challenging, rewarding and genuinely life-changing - this could be for you. Haven Male PICU provides high-quality, compassionate and recovery-focused care for men who require a period of intensive support in a safe and therapeutic environment. Many of our patients are detained under the Mental Health Act and present with increased levels of risk that require specialist assessment and treatment within a PICU setting. Our multidisciplinary team is friendly, experienced and committed to delivering care that is calm, trauma-informed and least restrictive wherever possible. Applications from candidates that require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are unfortunately ineligible to apply for this position. No two days are ever the same, but every day is an opportunity to make a lasting difference. By joining us now, you will play a key role in shaping and embedding our team culture as we transition into this new chapter following our move to the new build. This is a unique opportunity to be part of an established team while also contributing to the development of a newly built, forward-thinking inpatient environment.

Main duties of the job

• Treat patients using positive engagement, psychological approaches (including CBT and DBT-informed practice) and medicines
• Place patients and their families/carers at the centre of recovery
• Co-produce individualised care plans
• Prioritise both mental and physical wellbeing
• Encourage meaningful activity both on and off the ward
• Promote independence, healthy lifestyles and self-care.

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 be aware that applications from candidates that require sponsorship to work in the UK are unfortunately ineligible to apply for this position.

Person Specification

Knowledge, skills and training

Essential

• NVQ level 2 or 3 or equivalent level of experience
• Literate / Numerate

Job Specific Experience

Essential

• Ability to work in a team
• Good communication skills
• Ability to remain calm in stressful situations

Desirable

• Experience of working within a care setting for a substantial period

Information Technology

Essential

• Basic IT keyboard skills, normally obtained through practice or practical training

Additional requirements

Essential

• A level of fitness and ability to participate and complete PMVA, Breakaway training and Manual Handling (practice and theory).
• 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.
• Ability to meet contractual requirements and participate in 24 hour care

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.