Senior Mental Health Practitioner – Locality Access Point (Lap)

Berkshire Healthcare Nhs Foundation Trust; Bracknell; On-site; GBP 42,000 - 54,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible working

27 days annual leave

Free parking

Job summary

Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust is seeking an experienced Registered Mental Health Nurse to join the Older People’s Mental Health Services as a Senior Practitioner. You will manage a small caseload, demonstrate strong clinical leadership, and support colleagues in delivering high-quality care.

You will engage with Locality LAP/Cluster meetings, contribute to integrated assessment, care planning and decision making for frail patients, and promote collaboration across Frimley ICS to

Qualifications

• Degree in Mental Health Nursing and current UK registration.
• Experience of working with older people with mental health needs.
• Evidence of continuous professional development and dementia knowledge.

Responsibilities

• Undertake comprehensive initial assessments across settings.
• Develop and implement care plans with service users and carers.
• Coordinate with health, social, and voluntary agencies.

Skills

Clinical leadership

Advanced assessment

Care planning

Interpersonal skills

MDT collaboration

Education

Degree in Mental Health Nursing

Current professional registration

Older people's mental health qualification

Tools

Rio

Outlook

MS Office

Databases

Job description

Job summary
Are you an experienced registered Mental Health Nurse looking to secure the next step in your career or to take on a new challenge within Older People's Mental Health Services? If so, we are currently looking for an enthusiastic Senior Practitioner to join our fantastic team.
You will have specialist knowledge of the care of older people with mental health conditions and an understanding of the challenges that older adults face and how these impacts on their well-being. You will hold a small caseload of complex cases and lead by example demonstrating exemplary clinical and management standards.
As a member of the wider OPMH Service, you will be the main point of contact with local multidisciplinary and multi-agency Locality Access Point (LAP)/Cluster meetings and support formulation within the meetings. The purpose of these meetings is to deliver an integrated approach to assessment, care planning and decision making for frail patients with long term conditions, in line with the Integrated Care Decision Making (ICDM) initiative of the Frimley Integrated Care System. You will help to identify the appropriate level of psychosocial support for individual patients. To achieve this, you will need to be aware and understand the full range of support available locally, from third sector through to secondary MH provision. You will also be required to develop close relationships with other Integration Leads across the Frimley system and promote integrated working.

Main duties of the job

• To undertake comprehensive initial assessments in a range of settings following acceptance of referral, considering the persons physical, psychological, social and spiritual needs.
• To develop and implement an agreed plan of care with the service user and where appropriate, include the views of families and carers.
• To identify and select from a range of health, social and voluntary agencies which could assist and improve the care of individuals and their families.
• To represent BHFT mental health services at locality LAP/Cluster meetings.
• To provide clinical leadership and offer mental health expertise & guidance to professional colleagues and assist in formulation to support integrated decision making and care provision.
• To utilise advanced clinical skills and expert knowledge to deliver evidenced based person-centred interventions to a small caseload of people with complex mental health needs and offer practical advice and emotional support to their family carers.
• To contribute to and influence the development and improvement of anticipatory care planning.
• To have knowledge of a variety of therapeutic interventions including short term problem solving, crisis intervention and basic CBT techniques.
• To manage complex caseloads and maintain responsibility for clinical decision-making within professional accountability frameworks for patients requiring secondary care mental health support

About us
Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust is a specialist mental health and community health services trust. Rated 'outstanding' by the CQC, we're committed to providing the best possible care to people across Berkshire. As an employer, we're committed to offering an inclusive and compassionate environment where our people share in a sense of belonging and are supported to flourish.
Our values at Berkshire Healthcare are:

• Caring for and about you is our top priority
• Committed to providing good quality, safe services
• Working Together with you to develop innovative solutions

Your wellbeing is important to us. Some of the benefits of working for us include:

• Flexible working options to support work-life balance
• 27 days' annual leave rising with service + opportunity to buy and sell
• Excellent learning and career development opportunities
• 'Cycle to Work' and car leasing scheme including electric vehicles
• Access to a range of wellbeing tools and services
• Discounts at hundreds of popular retailers and restaurants
• Staff networks for race, diversity, disabilities, the environment and armed forces community to support equality
• Generous maternity, paternity, adoption and special leave
• Free parking across Trust sites

Job 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, its 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.
Were 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 dont hesitate to call: Gbolahan Lamuye on 01189046900 or email: [e-mail] wholl 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

• Degree in Mental Health Nursing or equivalent professional qualification
• Dual Qualification e.g. RGN or Psychological Therapy training
• Current professional registration
• Additional qualification in older people's mental health, dementia care or advanced clinical practice.

Continuous Professional Development
Essential

• Evidence of continuous professional development.
• 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
• Experience of undertaking dementia assessments.

Knowledge, skills and abilities
Essential

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

Additional Requirements
Essential

• 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

Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Applicants must have current UK professional registration.