Senior Mental Health Practitioner - Locality Access Point (LAP)

Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust; Bracknell; Hybrid; GBP 42,000 - 54,000; Full time

Job summary

Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust in Bracknell is seeking a Registered Mental Health Nurse to join our community and inpatient teams. You will provide high-quality care for older people with mental health needs and support recovery in home and clinic settings.

The role requires a minimum of five years post-registration experience, current registration, and a valid driving licence to travel between destinations. You will work autonomously within MDTs and contribute to service development.

Qualifications

• Degree in Mental Health Nursing or equivalent professional qualification.
• Current professional registration.
• Minimum five years post-registration experience in mental health, including older people.

Responsibilities

• Provide care for older people with mental health needs in community and clinical settings.
• Attend and participate in MDTs and service development.
• Champion safeguarding and risk management and contribute to audits and data reporting.

Skills

Mental health nursing

Autonomous working

Communication skills

Risk assessment

Education

Degree in Mental Health Nursing

Job description

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The \"must haves\" for this role:

• Registered Mental Health Nurse /Equivalent Professional Qualification.
• Minimum of five years post registration experience which includes working with older people with mental health needs.
• Car driver with use of a vehicle for work purposes.

For further information about the role, please see attached job description and person specification.

Your application is your opportunity to demonstrate to us how you meet the requirements of the role. We recognise that AI tools can support accessibility, equity and confidence for applicants. However, it's important that examples and responses given in your supporting statement genuinely reflect your own experience and abilities, as these will be explored further during the selection process. AI must not be used to provide misleading or false information during any stage of the application journey.

In addition to explaining how you meet the person specification, you must complete your employment history for at least the last five years. Any experience, skills or responsibilities referenced in your supporting statement should be evidenced within your employment history. Applications that do not include sufficient employment history to support the experience claimed may not be shortlisted.

We're committed to equal opportunities and welcome applications from all sections of the community. Our commitment to inclusion is reflected in our accreditations: Stonewall Proud Employer, Race Equality Matters Silver Trailblazer, Neurodiversity in Business Corporate Member, Disability Confident Leader, Carer Confident Level 2, and the Armed Forces Covenant Gold Award. Reasonable adjustments will be provided to candidates as needed.

We welcome a conversation about flexibility and any other questions you may have. Please don't hesitate to call: Gbolahan Lamuye on 01189046900 or email: [e-mail] who'll be delighted to help.

Please note, if we receive a high number of applications, we may close this role earlier than the advertised closing date, so please submit your application as soon as possible.

Person specification

Education, qualifications or training

Essential criteria

• Degree in Mental Health Nursing or equivalent professional qualification
• Dual Qualification e.g. RGN or Psychological Therapy training
• Current professional registration

Desirable criteria

• Additional qualification in older people's mental health, dementia care or advanced clinical practice.

Continuous Professional Development

Essential criteria

• Evidence of continuous professional development.

Previous Experience

Essential criteria

• Minimum of 5 years post registration experience of working within a mental health setting.
• Significant experience working within Older People's Mental Health.
• Experience of working in community settings
• Clinical supervision/mentoring of staff or students.
• Substantial experience of managing complex caseloads

Desirable criteria

• Experience of undertaking dementia assessments.
• Experience in service development

Knowledge, skills and abilities

Essential criteria

• Specialist clinical reasoning skills in mental health
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
• Experience of engaging in audits, data collection and data reporting
• Excellent knowledge and understanding of the health and social care systems and operating frameworks, clinical observations and the Mental Health Act
• Knowledge and experiencing of managing situations concerning safeguarding, risk management, complaints and investigations
• Knowledge of national dementia strategies and guidance.
• Advanced knowledge of dementia and cognitive disorders
• Sound knowledge of pharmacological interventions for dementia.
• Advanced communication skills for delivering diagnoses and supporting carers.
• Ability to work autonomously, in MDTs and with wider stakeholders and hold a complex caseload
• Knowledge of relevant mental health policy and national drivers/guidelines
• Ability to support with research activity
• Advanced IT skills and the ability to navigate around various systems and software packages (such as Rio, outlook, databases, and MS office)
• Ability to work autonomously and effectively in a team, reprioritising work and that of others work to reflect changing needs.
• Ability to contribute to service development and evaluation.

Desirable criteria

• Excellent presentation, facilitation and teaching skills
• Experience of training and education for colleagues/professional students

Additional Requirements

Essential criteria

• The role will involve home visits and lone working
• Enhanced DBS clearance
• Ability to travel within the community, across multiple destinations
• Car driver with access to a vehicle
• Commitment to ongoing professional development

Our Trust's vision is 'To be a great place to get care, a great place to give care.'

This vision guides everything we do - for our patients, their carers, their families, our staff, and our partners. To achieve it, we are committed to a strong set of values that underpin the way we work:

• Caring for and about you is our top priority - we put people at the centre of everything we do.
• Committed to providing good quality, safe services - we strive for excellence in care and in our ways of working.
• Working together with you to develop innovative solutions - we collaborate with patients, carers, colleagues, and communities to deliver care that makes a difference.
• Compassionate - Motivated to positively impact the wellbeing of self and others.
• Curious - Listening, learning and exploring new ideas and ways of working to continually improve what we do.
• Inclusive - Valuing diversity and championing equity by ensuring everyone feels recognised. able to contribute and committed to actively addressing unfairness.
• Perseverance - Demonstrates resilience and flexibility even during periods of uncertainty, to achieve goals that contribute to high-quality care and services.

At Berkshire Healthcare, we foster an inclusive workplace where everyone belongs.