Senior Mental Health Practitioner

NHS; Exeter; On-site; GBP 80,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

An established industry player is seeking a Senior Mental Health Practitioner to join their innovative First Response Service in Exeter. This role offers an exciting opportunity to work with individuals experiencing mental health crises, providing evidence-based interventions and assessments. You will collaborate with various agencies to ensure the right care is delivered at the right time. The position promotes a dynamic approach to mental health care, focusing on empowering patients and their families. Join a passionate team dedicated to improving mental health outcomes in a beautiful part of the UK, where you can make a real difference in people's lives.

Qualifications

• Experience managing a busy caseload of mental health issues.
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively in a team.

Responsibilities

• Provide urgent access to mental health services for all ages.
• Conduct clinical risk assessments and implement care plans.
• Empower individuals and families in decision-making.

Skills

Autonomous practitioner

Bio psychosocial assessment

Excellent communication skills

Clinical assessment skills

Risk management

Report writing

Team collaboration

Time management

Education

Professional mental health qualification (e.g., RMN)

Current registration with a professional body (e.g., NMC)

Post graduate qualification relevant to specialism

Tools

IT Skills

Job description

• Are you someone looking to start a career in one of the UKs most respected mental health trusts?
• Are you an experienced senior mental health clinician looking for a new challenge and opportunity to join an exciting newly commissioned service?
• Can you work with people experiencing a mental health crisis, their families and carers, providing evidence-based interventions?
• Would you like to experience life in one of the UKs most beautiful areas, with exciting cities, charming countryside and magnificent coastlines?

We are looking for a Senior Mental Health Practitioner to join the First Response Service team based in Exeter. We are seeking to recruit a number of experienced, visionary and motivated individuals to join our mental health First Response Team, an exciting newly commissioned service based in Exeter. The team promotes a dynamic and innovative way of working, triaging and responding to crisis referrals. The role encompasses the NHS principle; right care, right time and right place.

Main Duties of the Job

The First Response Service provides 24 hour urgent access to mental health services for people of all ages (Children and Young People, Adults or Older People).

First Responders provide a brief clinical risk and mental health assessment, formulation and short-term contingency planning for people presenting in mental health crisis. Working within the community, First Responders provide face-to-face assessments working closely with other mental health services and agencies; such as the police, ambulance, local authority and third sector. Using a range of brief solution-focused interventions, First Responders empower people, carers and their families in decision making; diverting to a range of health and social care resources for support.

The key responsibilities of this role are as follows:

• Arrive at a formulation which will identify the correct care pathway and ensure this is implemented.
• Improve the quality of mental health care for people.
• Improve quality of life for individuals and carers.
• Identify and manage risk.
• Prevent hospital admissions.
• Reduce the number of incidents and complaints.
• Measure improvements of health outcomes.
• Determine service needs.
• Provide evidence-based clinical interventions, making autonomous clinical decisions.
• Provide assessment, planning and implementation of brief individual packages of care and treatment.

About Us

We provide mental health & learning disability services, as well as a range of specialist & secure services for the wider south west region & nationally. We are passionate about promoting good mental health & wellbeing. We strive to use the expertise & resources within our organisation, and through our partnerships, to deliver high quality services that are safe & focused on people's recovery.

Our Values

We not only recruit employees based on their qualifications & experience - we recruit individuals who possess and demonstrate the behaviours which underpin the core values of our organisation. These values include such attributes as showing a commitment to quality of care, improving lives of others, giving respect, dignity & compassion. We can bring those values to life in our everyday tasks by giving a smile; making time for people; challenging ourselves & others, & being open to new ideas.

We are committed to being an inclusive employer & applications are encouraged & welcomed from all sections of the community, regardless of any protected characteristics as governed by the Equality Act 2010. Part time & flexible working applications will be considered & supported, where possible. We particularly encourage applicants with lived experience of mental health & learning disabilities. We are a Disability Confident Employer.

Job Responsibilities

Please refer to the full Job Description and Person specification attached to this advert which will provide further information on this role.

Job Purpose

The First Response Service provides 24 hour urgent access to mental health services for people of all ages (Children and Young People, Adults or Older People).

First Responders provide a brief clinical risk and mental health assessment, formulation and short-term contingency planning for people presenting in mental health crisis. Working within the community, First Responders provide face-to-face assessments working closely with other mental health services and agencies; such as the police, ambulance, local authority and third sector. Using a range of brief solution-focused interventions, First Responders empower people, carers and their families in decision making; diverting to a range of health and social care resources for support.

The key responsibilities of this role are as follows:

• Arrive at a formulation which will identify the correct care pathway and ensure this is implemented.
• Improve the quality of mental health care for people.
• Improve quality of life for individuals and carers.
• Identify and manage risk.
• Prevent hospital admissions.
• Reduce the number of incidents and complaints.
• Measure improvements of health outcomes.
• Determine service needs.
• Provide evidence-based clinical interventions, making autonomous clinical decisions.
• Provide assessment, planning and implementation of brief individual packages of care and treatment.
• Promote a recovery model that empowers people, carers and relatives to be at the forefront of decision making and ownership of their packages of care and treatment.
• Undertake clinical risk assessments, based on latest empirical evidence.
• Champion people's rights, including: dignity, equality, diversity, choice and respect.

When undertaking all of the above ensure good documentation is provided and entered within the appropriate systems of record sharing.

A key aim of the service is to contribute to the acute care pathway, ensuring that persons receive a timely specialist mental health assessment by a professional mental health worker.

Person Specification

Skills

• Evidence of working as an autonomous practitioner without direct supervision.
• Able to own problems and get involved in the solutions.
• Bio psychosocial assessment, leading to formulation and planning.
• Ability to manage risk.
• Excellent communication skills including the ability to engage with users of services experiencing a wide range of mental health problems.
• Able to produce accurate, concise and well written reports.
• Ability to communicate with a wide range of professions from various settings.
• Able to prioritise work to reflect change in needs.
• Able to work collaboratively with users of services, carers, relatives and referrers to ensure safe and effective outcomes.
• Able to work independently and as part of a team.
• Ability to manage own time and that of the teams.
• Ability to work flexibly.
• Ability to be mobile across the Trust’s geographical footprint.
• Excellent clinical assessment skills.
• Ability to manage change in a positive manner.

Experience

• Substantial experience of managing a busy caseload of people experiencing a range of mental health problems.
• Experience of working in a multi-disciplinary and multi-agency environment.
• Providing clinical supervision.
• Assessment experience (particularly mental health & risk).
• Working within a community mental health setting in either the statutory or voluntary sector.
• Participation in user involvement in services.

Qualifications

• A professional mental health qualification e.g.: RMN, CQSW / ASW, BSc/Diploma in OT.
• A current registration with a professional body i.e. NMC.
• Post graduate qualification relevant to specialism.
• IT Skills.

Knowledge

• Specialist knowledge and experience of acute mental health issues within people of all ages (Children and Young People, Adults or Older People).
• An understanding of the Care Programme Approach / Local Mental Health Care Pathways / Mental Health Act / Mental Health Capacity Act & DOLS requirements.
• Awareness of community structures and social care options and processes.
• Understanding of recovery principles in Mental Health.

Full-time, Part-time, Job share, Flexible working.