Single Point of Entry Practitioner

Pennine Care; Wardle; Remote; GBP 40,000 - 48,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Generous NHS benefits

Job summary

Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust in Rochdale is seeking a Band 6 Community Mental Health Practitioner to work with Older Adult Services. The role involves screening referrals, making autonomous decisions about care, and coordinating onward referrals in the community.

You will conduct holistic home assessments, manage short-term crises, and work with families and carers. The post offers permanent full-time 37.5 hours, with NHS terms and conditions and opportunities for development.

Qualifications

• RMN qualification and current UK registration.
• Post-qualification experience in community mental health.
• Strong communication skills.
• Knowledge of safeguarding processes.
• Experience triaging referrals in mental health settings.
• Experience using outcome measures.
• Knowledge of psychosocial interventions.
• Understanding psychological models of care.

Responsibilities

• Triage all referrals as the single entry point to mental health services.
• Make onward referrals to the most appropriate service.
• Carry out thorough assessments, including risk assessment, in the service user's home.
• Provide short-term crisis management when appropriate.
• Identify safeguarding needs and comply with statutory obligations.
• Liaise with other professionals and agencies to ensure the best service.
• Systematically evaluate and record outcomes of assessments.
• Involve family and carers in the assessment process with consent.

Skills

RMN

Post-qualification experience

Communication skills

Safeguarding knowledge

Triaging experience

Experience with outcome measures

Brief psychosocial interventions

Psychological model of care

Education

UK professional registration (NMC)

Job description

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Main area Community Mental Health Grade NHS AfC: Band 6 Contract Permanent Hours Full time - 37.5 hours per week (Monday to Friday) Job ref 311-R429-26

Site Birch Hill Hospital Town Rochdale Salary £39,959 - £48,117 per annum Salary period Yearly Closing 21/10/2026 23:59

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

This is an exciting opportunity for a Band 6 Community Mental Health Practitioner working within Older Adult Services in Rochdale.

The role involves screening referrals which are received from primary and secondary care services and making decisions on the most appropriate service to meet the needs of the person. You will be required to complete holistic assessments with the person in their own home, making autonomous decisions in relation to their care requirements and make onward referrals or signpost to other services in the community setting.

Main duties of the job

• To triage all referrals that are made to the service as the single point of entry and first level gatekeeper to mental health services
• To make onward referral to the most appropriate service to meet the individual needs of the service user following triage
• To carry out a thorough assessment of the service users’ current mental health problems and individual needs, including a risk assessment
• To provide short term crisis management as appropriate
• To identify the need for protection in line with safeguarding children and the Protection of Vulnerable Adult Policy and to comply with statutory obligations
• To liaise and negotiate with other professions, statutory and independent agencies to ensure the best possible service is provided to service users and carers
• To evaluate systematically and record, outcomes of mental health assessments
• To involve family and carers in the assessment process with service users consent

Working for our organisation

We are proud to provide high quality mental health and learning disability services, both inpatient and in the community across five boroughs of Greater Manchester - Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport and Tameside and Glossop.

Our vision is for a happier and more hopeful life for everyone in our communities and our staff work hard to deliver the very best care for the people who use our services. We’re really proud of our #PennineCarePeopleand do everything we can to make sure we’re a great place to work.

All individuals regardless of race, age, disability, ethnicity, nationality, sex, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, religion or belief, marriage and civil partnership are encouraged to apply for this post. We would also encourage applications from individuals with a lived experience of mental illness, either individually or as a carer.

If you come and work for us we will offer a range of benefits and opportunities, including:

• Generous annual leave entitlement for Agenda for Change and Medical and Dental staff.
• Flexible working opportunities to support your work/life balance
• Access to Continued Professional Development
• Involvement in improvement and research activities
• Health and Wellbeing activities and access to an excellent staff wellbeing service
• Access to staff discounts across retail, leisure and travel

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Please see attached job description

• To triage all referrals that are made to the service as the single point of entry and first level gatekeeper to mental health services
• To make onward referral to the most appropriate service to meet the individual needs of the service user following triage
• To carry out a thorough assessment of the service users’ current mental health problems and individual needs, including a risk assessment
• To provide short term crisis management as appropriate
• To identify the need for protection in line with safeguarding children and the Protection of Vulnerable Adult Policy and to comply with statutory obligations
• To liaise and negotiate with other professions, statutory and independent agencies to ensure the best possible service is provided to service users and carers
• To evaluate systematically and record, outcomes of mental health assessments
• To involve family and carers in the assessment process with service users consen

Person specification

• RMN
• Post Qualification Experience
• Communication Skills
• Safeguarding Knowledge
• Triaging Experience
• Experience of using outcome measures
• Brief psychosocial interventions
• psychological model of care

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.

After You Apply - Once your application is submitted, you’ll receive updates via email. Shortlisting is based on how well you meet the criteria outlined in the person specification. Only shortlisted candidates will be invited to interview, and invitations will be sent by email.

If You're Offered the Role - If successful, the hiring manager will contact you directly with a verbal offer. They will then notify the Recruitment Team and submit the necessary paperwork. You’ll receive a formal conditional offer via email

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 ‘Get ahead on Flex’ pledge initiative to support the right to request flexible working for all colleagues. “We can work flexibly,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”. To support a positive experience for all colleagues we are committed to considering all requests for flexible working, in line with service needs.

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.