Senior Frequent Attenders and Alcohol Liaison Practitioner

Pennine Care; Oldham; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 48,000; Full time

Job summary

Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust is seeking a Senior Frequent Attenders and Alcohol Liaison Practitioner for the Oldham area. The role is permanent, full time (37.5 hours) at Forest House, with a focus on reducing unnecessary hospital attendances through MDT collaboration and robust discharge planning.

The post requires extensive mental health experience, advanced assessment skills, and ability to work across agencies to support service users and carers in Oldham and the surrounding area.

Qualifications

• Registered Mental Health Practitioner with appropriate post‑graduate training.
• Educated to degree level with relevant training in alcohol or addiction.
• Non‑medical prescriber or willingness to undertake.

Responsibilities

• Provide comprehensive assessments and develop holistic care plans.
• Coordinate multi‑agency care to reduce hospital attendances.
• Signpost to community services and support discharge planning.

Skills

Assessment / Care Management

Risk assessment

Discharge planning

Communication skills

Autonomy

Teamwork

IT literacy

Education

Registered Mental Health Practitioner

Postgraduate diploma level

Non-medical prescriber

Job description

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Senior Frequent Attenders and Alcohol Liaison Practitioner

NHS AfC: Band 6

Main area Mental Health Grade NHS AfC: Band 6 Contract Permanent Hours Full time - 37.5 hours per week (Over 5 days 9-5 or 4 days 8-6) Job ref 311-O760-26

Site Forest House Town Oldham Royal Hospital Salary £39,959 - £48,117 per annum Salary period Yearly Closing 11/10/2026 23:59

If you are Kind, Fair, Ingenious and Determined then we want you to come and join our#PennineCarePeople

Are you a Qualified Mental Health Professional looking for an exciting opportunity to work in a team that will help you to develop and achieve your goals? Oldham Liaison mental health is recruiting for a Senior Frequent Attenders and Alcohol Liaison Practitioner.

The mental health liaison service offers a comprehensive range of mental health specialities within one multi-disciplinary team so that all patients with a suspected or actual mental health problem within the general hospital can be assessed, treated, signposted, or referred appropriately regardless of age, presenting complaint, time of presentation or severity of condition.

The service puts an emphasis on diversion and discharge from A and E and the facilitation of early but effective discharge from the acute hospital site.

Main duties of the job

As a Senior Practitioner within the Frequent Attenders and Alcohol Liaison aspect of the team, you will work closely with the clinical lead and acute care trust to identify frequent attenders and offer case management to support them in reducing hospital attendances through an MDT approach, collaborative care planning and identification of appropriate alternative resources.

You will provide a comprehensive assessment and develop wholistic and collaborative care plans with Service users and other agencies and, where necessary signpost to other services within the community.

Referrals will come via the Frequent Attenders database for the locality and the A&E Mental Health Liaison Team. For those Service Users that are already known to Mental health services you will work collaboratively with the Care Coordinator to develop a robust plan of care that Multi agencies are involved with to support the person and prevent crisis. If they are unknown you will case manage for a short period of time to enable referrals to the relevant organisation/ agency.

Mental Health Liaison is delivered from a Specialist Mental Health Trust with teams located within the Acute Hospital setting.

Working for our organisation

Oldham Liaison Mental Health is leading the way in delivering high quality, safe, effective and evidence based best practice assessments and support for patients in A&E and on medical wards. The team is currently working towards getting accredited by The Psychiatric Liaison Accreditation Network.

You will be joining a team of experience practitioners willing to support your learning and development needs, offering flexibility for work life balance and with a strong desire to maintain staff wellbeing.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• You will be a member of a team who provides comprehensive screening, assessment, co-ordination and the delivery of a high-quality mental health and dual diagnosis service for service users identified as a high user of services across the liaison pathways.
• You will help to co-ordinate the care of the service users, and assist in promoting the use of evidence-based practice through the provision of clinical advice and support; acting as a role model; and providing education and training where appropriate.
• You will aim improve engagement with a complex group of clients.
• You will need to be fully conversant with statutory and non-statutory services in Oldham
• You will promote effective liaison, working relationships and operational links as appropriate.
• You will ensure your own safe and effective delivery of care to service users.
• You will provide support, information and education to family members, carers and other professionals.
• You will provide support to facilitate multi agency case meetings to develop robust plans for the cohort of service users.
• You will try to support service users to return to their own homes wherever possible and try to avoid unnecessary admissions, presentations to emergency departments and Section 136.
• You will have a comprehensive knowledge of the Statutory and Voluntary Organisations/facilities within Oldham to be able to signpost patients to appropriate discharge support. You will link with Local Area Coordinators to maintain up to date knowledge.
• You will have an understanding of the impact of social care issues on mental health and dual diagnosis and address these issues thorough support and signposting e.g. addiction services, housing; debt counselling; supported employment; self-help groups and advocacy.
• You will contribute to the provision and facilitation of a range of interventions focusing on managing individual’s recovery and increasing their chances of achieving and sustaining abstinence from alcohol. This will include a range of evidence-based interventions, support to mutual aid and peer support networks, support to develop positive community relationships and support to access other community services including the alcohol teams, housing, employment, education, and training.
• You will be expected to work flexibly to support the needs of the service.
• You will provide day to day co-ordination for frequent attenders / alcohol liaison service.

Education / Qualifications

• Registered Mental Health Practitioner
• Short course(s) and experience to post graduate diploma level.
• Relevant training in specialist area of alcohol or addiction.
• Educated to degree level
• Accredited skills based training
• Training related to management skills, teaching, staff development and supervision
• Non-medical prescriber or be willing to undertake.

Experience

• Proven experience across a range of acute mental health services in any specialism CYP Adults Older adults
• Demonstrate a working experience of a range of assessment tools for a range of mental health conditions
• Previous experience of working effectively with other disciplines
• Experience of working within liaison services
• Experience of working across multiple age ranges CYP Adults Older adults
• Experience in identifying and management of delirium
• Experience of supporting individuals who misuse alcohol or drugs
• Experience of delivering training / teaching to other professionals
• Experience of service development / managing change
• Significant experience of delivering evidence based interventions for alcohol and drug issues
• Significant experience of identifying clients health and social care needs in the context of an alcohol and drug issues
• Significant experience of care planning and identification of any risk issues in relation to alcohol and drug concerns.
• Significant experience of providing support to vulnerable socially excluded individuals
• Significant experience of working as part of a team in order to achieve a shared vision or goal.

Knowledge

• Sound knowledge of evidence based contemporary mental health practice
• Sound knowledge base of holistic risk assessment and management.
• Good understanding of the impact of physical and mental health comorbidities.
• Sound working knowledge of Mental Heath Act and Mental Capacity Act Legislation and DOLS.
• Have knowledge of the range of services available for individuals locally.
• Awareness of a range evidence based interventions
• Awareness of the value of research / audit and quality improvement
• Knowledge of physical, psychological and health effects of alcohol use and drug use and appropriate interventions
• Knowledge of therapeutic techniques eg motivational interviewing
• Knowledge of brief interventions and extended interventions
• Understanding of the recovery and abstinence agenda and apply this to practice
• Knowledge of treatment options and resources available to support problem alcohol and drug users
• Knowledge of issues relating to alcohol and understanding the principles of harm minimisation
• Knowledge of the importance mutual aid and peer support networks
• Understanding of local communities and their diverse health and wellbeing needs

Skills and Abilities

• Skills in Assessment / Care Management and planning
• Ability and skills to undertake comprehensive risk assessment and formulation of risk management plans including supporting patients who self harm or are in a neglectful state.
• Ability to undertake Bio / Psychosocial assessments across a range of patient groups and age profiles
• Ability to formulate clear discharge plans across a range of patent groups and age profiles
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills with a wide range of people including patients carers and other professionals
• Ability to work autonomously, prioritise and manage own workload
• Good organisational, problem solving and time management skills and an ability to work under pressure
• Ability to supervise staff, set standards, monitor performance and promote staff development
• Have IT literacy skills
• Possess a positive attitude to change and commitment to service development
• Be able to work as an effective member of the multidisciplinary team
• Experience of user involvement
• Leadership skills / abilities
• Ability to use IT systems across PCFT

Work Related Circymstances

• Use of a car or access to a means of mobility to travel across the Trust footprint in line with service needs
• Willing to carry out all duties and responsibilities of the post in accordance with the Trust’s Equal Opportunities and Equality and Diversity policies
• Appointments to regulated and controlled activities require an enhanced DBS disclosure
• Be able to work a range of shifts over a 24 hour, 7 day period on a rotational basis

Sponsorship Information - We are an approved sponsoring organisation. Applications will be considered from applicants requiring sponsorship alongside all other applications. Please be aware, not all roles are eligible for sponsorship. You can review the list of eligible role and requirements on the government website.

Pre-Employment Checks - To confirm your suitability for the role, we will carry out pre‑employment checks in line with NHS Employment Check Standards . These include:

• Identity verification
• Right to work check
• Disclosure and barring service (DBS)/Criminal record check (dependent on role)
• Professional registration and/or qualification check
• Occupational health assessment
• Employment history and reference validation

All applicants external to Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust will be required to provide their HMRC employment history to cover the most recent three years employment. This information will used to validate employment history andreferences.

If you require sponsorship, we will assess your eligibility based on current government guidance. If the role is not eligible and you cannot demonstrate your right to work, your conditional offer may be withdrawn.

Once Checks Are Complete -

The Recruitment Team will coordinate with you and the hiring manager to confirm a start date. You’ll be booked onto a Trust Welcome Session and receive your Pennine Care NHS Terms and Conditions.

Pennine Care are committed to the ‘Pledge to Flex’ initiative as flexible working is a day one right for all colleagues. “We can work flexibly, doing whatever work pattern fits our needs, regardless of the type of role we’re in. As a modern and model employer, flexible and less than full-time working isn’t a barrier to progress in the NHS – it is commonplace”. This policy brings this part of the People Promise to life. It will provide you with the information you need, support you to have conversations and take steps towards working in a way that suits you best.

We are committed to equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI), and we strive to ensure our workforce reflects the communities we serve. We actively encourage applications from individuals of diverse backgrounds to help us grow, innovate, and improve.

If you wish to be considered under the Disability Confident Scheme, you will be guaranteed an interview if you meet the essential criteria for the role.

If you need reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process, please contact us on 0161 716 3181 as early as possible so we can support you.

Please note:

• We do not accept unsolicited contact from recruitment agencies. Hiring managers should not be contacted directly.

We may close this vacancy early if we receive a high volume of applications. If you have a disability or long‑term health condition and need extra time or adjustments to complete your application, please contact us as soon as possible. We will ensure you are not disadvantaged where a reasonable adjustment is appropriate.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.