SPA Mental Health Triage Clinician

NHS North East London; Maidstone; On-site; GBP 30,000 - 45,000; Full time

Job summary

A health service provider is seeking experienced clinicians for a telephone triage service focused on young mental health. The role requires extensive experience with children, knowledge of mental illness, and relevant professional qualifications. Responsibilities include screening referrals, conducting tele-triage assessments, and providing support to families. The position is based in Maidstone, offering competitive packages including a High Cost Area Supplement.

Benefits

High Cost Area Supplement

Comprehensive induction

Professional development opportunities

Qualifications

• Registered with the appropriate professional or regulatory body.
• Extensive clinical experience working with children and young people.
• Ability to provide psychoeducation and information to families.

Responsibilities

• Screen new referrals and determine processing suitability.
• Conduct tele-triage and risk assessments for crisis calls.
• Develop knowledge in mental health, neurodevelopment, and crisis response.

Skills

Experience with children and young people

Knowledge of mental illness

Understanding of child development

Communication skills

Crisis intervention skills

Education

Registered Mental Health Nurse

Social Worker

Allied Health Professional

Job description

We are a telephone triage service who identifies a young person's emotional wellbeing and mental health needs to direct them to the most appropriate support service. We advise families and other professionals with evidence-based advice and information.

We are looking for experienced clinicians who are passionate about young people's mental health. You will have experience and knowledge in working with children and young people, an understanding of mental illness, child development and treatment pathways.

You will have a core profession; Registered Mental Health Nurse, Social Worker or other Allied Health Professional skilled in Mental Health.

Screening new email referrals, ensuring they are complete with enough information to determine if the referral will be processed onto the caseload or if the referral is more suited to targeted Emotional Well‑being or intervention services.

As a clinician you will tele‑triage accepted referrals. The triage will highlight the primary needs and then signpost the referral to either NELFT Specialist Mental Health Services, appropriate local stakeholders offering targeted support or to other agencies, when appropriate.

We operate the NHS 111 Mental Health Line for Children & Young People in Kent & Medway, as a clinician you will take crisis calls when escalated by our call handlers. You will offer a tele‑triage and risk assess the current needs and make onward referrals.

Our Values 2025 - 2030

Working with our colleagues, patients and carers we have co‑produced three new values that we aim to embed within our culture here at NELFT.

They Are

• We are kind.
• We are respectful.
• We work together with our communities.

These three values help us to strive to provide the best care by the best people.

Probationary Period

This post will be subject to a probationary period.

Starting with Us

NELFT places great importance on new starters being properly welcomed into the Trust. All new starters will join the Trust on the first Monday of each month and undertake a comprehensive induction of up to two weeks, including mandatory training, systems training and the allocation of equipment.

As part of the process, new starters will also have the opportunity to meet the executive team, senior managers, and attend several drop‑in sessions focusing on engagement, health and wellbeing, and key processes.

The induction will be held at our head office in Rainham, Essex.

High Cost Area Supplement – Outer London

This post also attracts payment for a High Cost Area Supplement of 15% of the basic salary (with a minimum of £4,313 to a maximum of £5,436 p.a. pro rata for part‑time).

High Cost Area Supplement – Fringe

This post also attracts payment for a High Cost Area Supplement of 5% of the basic salary (with a minimum of £1,192 to a maximum of £2,011 p.a. pro rata for part‑time).

The Single Point of Access operates between 08:00 and 18:00 Monday‑Friday.

The Single Point of Access is based in Maidstone, easily accessible by car and offers a range of facilities including a restaurant and ample safe parking.

We value team involvement in service improvement and your professional development.

The post-holder will be a graduate‑qualified health care professional (e.g. nurse, social worker, occupational therapist), or will have substantial CAMHS clinical experience and be fully registered with the appropriate professional or regulatory body (e.g. HCPC, NMC). They will have extensive clinical experience working with children and young people with emotional wellbeing and mental health difficulties. In addition, they will need to evidence that they are able to provide children, young people and their families with information and psychoeducation thereby ensuring they have meaningful choices regarding interventions. They will need to demonstrate that they have a wide range of knowledge in approaches to communicating and managing care.

The SPA receives, screens and directs referrals from across Kent and Medway and then provides advice, information, consultation and support to all referrers and a range of other local services.

The SPA works closely with the CYPMHS locality teams and aims to respond earlier to children and young peoples’ needs in order to help prevent, reduce or delay the need for more specialist interventions.

The service is driven by the principles underpinning the national CYP‑IAPT programme (Children and Young Peoples Improving Access to Psychological Therapies); evidence‑based interventions, routine measurement of outcomes, access to high quality training and supervision for professionals and true co‑production with children and young people.

Care pathway leads and practitioners ensure that a high quality, timely, accessible and evidence‑based service is available to all children and young people who need it. This means establishing and maintaining excellent working relationships with the SPA, wider social, health and voluntary services.

The Single Point of Access receives referrals for children and young people, with emotional wellbeing and mental health difficulties, but has since expanded to include referrals for ADHD, ASC and Learning Disability. The referrals we receive are for a broad range of challenges, and the post-holder will be able to develop knowledge and skills in the areas of mental health, neurodevelopment and crisis response.