Senior Mental Health Practitioner

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust (CPFT); Doddington; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 48,000; Part time

Job summary

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust (CPFT) seeks a Senior Mental Health Practitioner (Band 6) to join the Older People’s Community Mental Health Service on a 12-month fixed-term contract or secondment, 30 hours per week. The role coordinates Section 117 reviews for older adults living in the community, working with clinicians, admin and MDTs to ensure high-quality, person-centred care.

The post requires autonomous, highly organised work with excellent communication and liaison

Qualifications

• Relevant professional qualification (Registered mental health nurse, social worker or occupational therapist).
• Registration with UK professional body (NMC/HCPC).
• Post-qualifying training and ongoing professional development.

Responsibilities

• Assess and coordinate Section 117 reviews for older adults in the community.
• Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams to plan care and document in clinical systems.
• Coordinate reviews with Responsible Clinicians and clinical leads; support MDT meetings.
• Promote person-centred care and ensure timely completion of reviews within service pathways.

Skills

Autonomy

Organisation

Communication

Driving licence

Teamwork

Education

NMC/HCPC registration

Professional qualification - RMN/OT/SW

Job description

Main area Senior Mental Health Practitioner Grade Band 6 Contract Fixed term: 12 months (Secondment would be considered) Hours Part time - 30 hours per week Job ref 310-OPAC-8178707

Site Alan Conway Court Town Doddington Salary £39,959 - £48,117 per annum pro rata Salary period Yearly Closing 31/08/2026 23:59

Job overview

12-Month Fixed Term Contract / Secondment Opportunity (30 hours per week)

An exciting opportunity has arisen for an experienced Mental Health Practitioner to join the Older People’s Community Mental Health Service on a 12-month fixed-term contract or secondment basis.

This new and innovative role will work across all localities within the service, supporting the coordination and delivery of Mental Health Act Section 117 reviews for older adults living in the community. Working alongside administrative colleagues and multidisciplinary teams, the post holder will play a key role in ensuring that statutory reviews are completed effectively, promoting high-quality, person-centred care.

The successful candidate will work closely with Responsible Clinicians, Clinical Leads and wider multidisciplinary teams to coordinate reviews, contribute to care planning, and ensure accurate recording of key information within clinical systems. This initiative represents a new way of working and will be evaluated to assess its impact on service capacity, quality, and outcomes for service users and carers.

We are looking for a motivated practitioner who is able to work autonomously, is highly organised, and has excellent communication and liaison skills. The ability to prioritise workload, coordinate multiple stakeholders, and work in a self-directed manner is essential.

The successful applicant can choose their preferred base from one of our OPMH sites across CPFT.

Main duties of the job

Please note for this role you will be required to 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. You cannot use public transport for this role as this is not a reliable form of transport and will not allow you to meet service needs. Please confirm in your application that you meet the specified criteria.

Job Purpose:

• Senior Mental Health practitioners operate in an embedded Community Mental Health Team to provide assessment and interventions for people with significant mental health conditions
• To identify and focus on cases that are subject to Section 117 of MHA and the required annual reviews.
• Participate in MDT meetings and liaison with social care to ensure key information is recorded in S1 records.
• Work closely with the mental health integrated care team in order to provide an excellent mental health service.

We seek to empower service users to actively engage in their recovery journey, working toward an effective discharge and utilising third sector support where needed.

The ideal candidate will have a strong team work ethic, sense of accountability, accompanied by an ability to work under pressure at times, and with a desire for innovation.

*DVLA have a number ofreciprocalarrangements with overseas countries, for further information please visit the DVLA website

Working for our organisation

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

Our clinical teams deliver a wide range of NHS services across inpatient, primary care and community settings, including children’s, adult and older people’s mental health, forensic and specialist mental health, learning disabilities, primary care and liaison psychiatry, substance misuse, social care, and research and development.

To achieve our goals, we recruit high calibre candidates who share our vision and values. As an equal opportunities’ employer, we welcome applications from all sections of the community, particularly under represented groups including people with long term conditions and members of our ethnic minority and LGBTQ+ communities.

All appointments are subject to the successful completion of a probationary period.

Please note we reserve the right to close adverts early should we receive sufficient applications.

Regrettably, we cannot offer sponsorship for all roles. If you apply for a post that does not attract sponsorship, your application will be withdrawn from the process.

For further information on CPFT, please visit our website at https://www.cpft.nhs.uk

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

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

• Review and Assessment of mental health needs.
• Engagement with both service users and their carers in accordance with mental health act Section 117 requirements and policy from the care pathways for dementia and functional illness.
• To assess the use of prescribed medications according to professional guidelines and policies. To be familiar with therapeutic and side effects of prescribed medication and observe statutory and local policies in the prescribing, storage and administration of medications.
• To develop the professional role within the team and to offer guidance and support to colleagues as necessary.
• To evaluate the effectiveness and efficiencies of a discreet Section 117 review role and how it compliments/ impacts on the care delivery of the wider service.
• To contribute to local multi-disciplinary team reviews and care planning for identified service users.
• To Work in conjunction with admin staff and social care colleagues in relation to efficient scheduling of patient reviews i.e. clustering those in one care home.
• To work as necessary with colleagues in the Stepped care therapy, Older People’s Mental Health teams and the Crisis Resolution and Home Treatment to ensure smooth transitions of responsibilities and joint work where indicated.
• Ability to work flexibly including working outside core hours if clinically required.

Education/Qualifications

• Relevant professional qualification (Registered mental health nurse, Social Worker or Occupational therapist)
• Training in supervision and appraisal
• Registration in the UK pertaining to professional group (i.e. NMC/ HCPC)
• Post qualifying training

Experience

• Significant relevant experience in working within a mental health service
• Experience of working with older people with mental health needs
• Experience of working with an older people’s community mental health service.
• Have a lived experience of mental health challenges
• Experience of clinical and managerial supervision of junior staff

Personal Qualities

• Ability to travel independently around Cambridgeshire and Peterborough area meeting required timescales. A Full driving licence and access to a vehicle is essential.
• Ability to sit for sustained periods of time

Knowledge and Skills

• Able to demonstrate commitment to high quality care and service provision
• Excellent clinical skill in assessment and interventions for secondary care level Mental health services.
• Excellent communication skills and ability to summarise information and communicate with colleagues
• Excellent understanding of statutory framework and care commissioning including: safeguarding, mental health act and mental capacity act
• Experience of working with nursing home and care providers
• Experience in safeguarding enquiries

Here at Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust (CPFT) we are dedicated to providing high quality care with compassion. We deliver many of the NHS services that are provided outside of hospital and in the community such as physical, mental health and specialist services.

We are a health and social care organisation, offering a wide range of services, including:

• Integrated physical and mental health services for adults and older people;
• Specialist mental health and learning disability services;
• Children’s community services in Peterborough;
• Ground-breaking research

We strongly encourage applications from all sections of the community, particularly from under-represented groups including disabled people and members of our ethnic minorities and LGBTQ+ communities. For further information about our positive equality, diversity and Inclusion work, please visit https://www.cpft.nhs.uk/equalityanddiversity .

CPFT is looking to build upon its pool of temporary workers with Temporary Staffing Services (TSS). You will be asked at interview if you would be willing to register with TSS. This is an excellent opportunity for those looking to take on additional hours that are flexible around your personal circumstances.

Please be advised that in line with the WHO Health Workforce Support and Safeguards List, 2020 Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust currently are unable to accept applications from overseas candidates whose country of residence is classed as a ‘Red List’ country.

Applicants who require entry into the UK will be required to provide a valid police certificate from the relevant authority from each country (except the UK) where the applicant has been present for 12 months or more, 10 years before the date of visa application, while aged 18 or over.

If you are successful at interview you will be subject to pre-employment checks, including a DBS (if appropriate), references and Occupational Health. To ensure a smooth process please bring all identity documents to your interview. A list of required identity documents will be attached to your interview invitation.

All communications will be sent to you via TRAC Systems. By applying for this post you are agreeing to CPFT transferring the information contained in this application to TRAC. If you are made an offer, information will also be transferred into the national NHS Electronic Staff Records system.

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.