Perinatal Mental Health Practitioner | Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust; Cambridge; On-site; GBP 30,000 - 40,000; Full time

Job summary

A health and social care organization in Cambridge is seeking a Specialist Perinatal Mental Health Nurse. The role involves providing support and care coordination for women experiencing severe mental health conditions. Candidates require a full UK driving license and should have strong communication and collaborative skills. This position provides an opportunity to make a significant difference in women's mental health care.

Qualifications

• Full UK driving licence and access to a vehicle.
• Willingness to travel independently in the county.
• Ability to work both autonomously and as part of a team.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate care for women experiencing mental health conditions.
• Conduct initial assessments and develop care plans.
• Deliver training and supervision to student nurses.
• Collaborate with other health professionals.

Skills

Care coordination

Psychoeducation

Mentorship

Team collaboration

Communication skills

Job description

Overview

I’m Gaby, one of the Specialist Perinatal Mental Health Nurses within the South Perinatal team. We support women with severe or complex mental health conditions who are planning pregnancy, are pregnant, or have a child under one. We provide high quality, evidence-based specialist advice, assessment, and interventions. Our team includes Psychiatrists, Nurses, OT’s, Social Workers, Nursery Nurses, Psychologists and Peer Support workers who work alongside each other to provide holistic and quality care for our patients.

When I joined the team, I did not have much prior experience of working with perinatal mental illness, but became interested when working with patients during this period in my previous role. I found the team supportive and welcoming and this has allowed me to progress in my career within perinatal mental health. You will have the opportunity to further your knowledge and be provided with specialised training to support you within this role. This is a great opportunity to join a developing service and make a real difference in women’s care.

If you are successful, you will work with mothers, their infants and families who are at risk of or experiencing severe and complex perinatal mental health conditions. You will have a caseload of ladies that you work with as care coordinator, linking in with the wider treatment options available within the team via our Nursery Nurses, Occupational Therapists, and Psychologists. We prefer to see mums in their home environment as this is often easier for them with small children. As a care coordinator you would be involved in developing care plans and liaising with family members, carers and significant others to support the development and management of individuals care plans. You will also be working with women, to support them to understand the nature of their mental health challenges (psycho education), helping women develop coping strategies and relapse prevention plans, linking in with wider third sector agencies.

You will travel independently around the county meeting strict time deadlines. You will need to hold a full UK driving licence and have use of a vehicle. Public transport cannot be relied upon for this role. Please confirm in your application that you meet the specified criteria.

Responsibilities

• Provide care coordination to women experiencing severe or complex mental health conditions.
• Provide specialist perinatal initial assessments.
• Develop care plans and liaise with family members, carers and significant others to support management of individuals’ care plans.
• Deliver psychoeducation to women about the nature of their mental health challenges and help develop coping strategies and relapse prevention plans.
• Link with wider third sector agencies and the wider treatment options available within the team via Nursery Nurses, Occupational Therapists and Psychologists.
• Mentor and co-mentor student nurses; provide supervision to junior staff.
• Work jointly with staff from other services and provide specialist advice and consultation to other staff regarding management of perinatal mental health conditions.
• Attend professional meetings and other meetings to offer advice where appropriate; develop liaison with maternity services and health visiting; work with Named Professionals for Safeguarding Children and Psychiatric Liaison Team.
• Contribute to development and delivery of Perinatal Mental Health Training and Education to other staffing groups.
• Participate in safeguarding adult enquiries and complete safeguarding lead training.
• Provide medication advice within competency and work autonomously as required.

Requirements

• Full UK driving licence and access to a vehicle; ability to travel independently around the county to meet deadlines.
• Willingness to travel and meet service needs; note that public transport is not considered reliable for this role.
• Ability to work as part of a team and autonomously as required.
• Commitment to safeguarding and working with women, infants and families affected by severe or complex perinatal mental health conditions.

Cambridgeshire & Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust is a health & social care organisation dedicated to providing high quality care with compassion to improve the health & wellbeing of the people we care for, as well as supporting & empowering them to lead a fulfilling life.

Our clinical teams deliver NHS services in inpatient, primary care and community settings, including services across Children, Adult & Older Peoples mental & physical health, Forensic & Specialist mental health, Learning Disabilities, Primary Care & Liaison psychiatry, Substance misuse, Social care, and Research & Development. As an equal opportunities employer, we encourage applications from all sectors of the community, particularly from under-represented groups including disabled people & members of ethnic minorities & LGBTQ+ communities.

Please note we reserve the right to close adverts earlier than the closing date should we receive sufficient applications. We cannot offer sponsorship for all roles; if sponsorship cannot be offered for a role, applications may be rejected.

Please refer to the attached job description and person specification for full details of responsibilities.

To be part of the development of the Countywide Specialist Perinatal Mental Health Service; to work directly with women, their infants and families at risk of or experiencing severe and complex perinatal mental health conditions; to contribute to the development and delivery of Perinatal Mental Health Training and Education; to participate in safeguarding adult enquiries; to mentor and co-mentor student nurses; to provide medication advice within competency; to provide supervision to junior staff; to work jointly with staff from other services; to provide specialist advice and consultation to other staff; to attend professionals’ meetings and other meetings to offer advice; to develop close working relationships with maternity services and health visiting; to link with safeguarding provisions; to work as part of a team and autonomously as required; to provide care coordination and initial assessments.

This advert closes on Monday 22 Sep 2025