Senior Mental Health Liaison Worker Older Adult Mental Health

Job summary
Mental Health Nurse with experience in working with older adults. The post holder will manage a caseload and provide structured guidance, supervision, and support to the broader neighbourhood team, including other mental health professionals, GPs, and staff from the voluntary sector.

This role involves promoting awareness and best practices for older adults facing mild to moderate mental health challenges, as well as those with more severe conditions.

The post holder will actively encourage positive attitudes and a consistent approach to the assessment and treatment of this patient group.

Main duties of the job
The post-holder will be responsible for overseeing a segment of Neighborhood Services and Primary Care Networks, ensuring high-quality support for older individuals facing mental health challenges. This role will require close collaboration with current services as well as the development of connections with other pertinent community resources. Experience in an Older Adults Community Mental Health setting is essential, as the position includes guiding and supporting colleagues who work with this population.

Responsibilities will include contributing to neighborhood referral meetings and serving as a liaison between the neighborhood team and various older adult mental health teams, including CMHT, Integrated Care, and the Diagnostic Memory Clinic. The post-holder will conduct assessments and interventions, providing structured guidance and advice to other mental health professionals, GPs, and staff from the voluntary sector regarding their practices with this specific demographic.

The role also involves raising awareness and promoting best practices related to older adults experiencing mild to moderate mental health difficulties, as well as those with more severe conditions. The post-holder will actively encourage positive attitudes and a consistent approach towards the assessment and treatment of this patient group.

About us
Our mission is to make a positive difference to people's lives by improving the quality of life for all we serve. Our values are: We Care, We Respect, We are Inclusive - so we are looking for people who live and breathe these qualities when supporting service users and carers, and in their relationships with colleagues in the Trust and our partner organisations.

Job responsibilities

• Screen referrals from GPs and other professionals for individual assessments, and participate in daily referral meetings.
• Conduct mental health assessments for older adults with mental health conditions who do not qualify for the Community Mental Health Team (CMHT).
• Serve as a liaison with Primary Care Services, Adult Social Care (ASC), and Neighborhood teams.
• Escalate cases to the specialized older adult CMHT, integrated care team, or diagnostic memory clinic when the patient's needs align better with these services.
• Ensure that any adult safeguarding concerns are raised and handled according to ELFTS and ASC policies, following Section 42 of the Care Act.
• Operate independently to make clinical judgments, assess alternative actions, and provide advice on clinical cases concerning older adult patients and those with comorbidities.
• Offer guidance to neighborhood teams on effectively addressing the needs of older adults.
• Advocate for the use of the Mental Capacity Act, including assessments and documentation in care home settings, by offering advice and direct support with case examples.
• Take the lead in the assessment, planning, implementation, and evaluation of interventions and treatments for individuals aged 18 and over who present with mental health issues within a designated geographical area or as required by the Service, ensuring that evidence-based practices are consistently applied.
• Conduct assessments for individuals with complex needs and comorbidities associated with older age, collaborating with relevant professionals to identify their needs and establish comprehensive treatment plans.

Person Specification
Education/Qualification/Training
Essential

• Registered Nurse/Allied Health Professional
• Substantial post-registration experience in older adults mental health in community settings

Desirable

• Post-graduate diploma level equivalent training in a relevant area o
• Short specialist courses relating to dementia and/or older adult mental health
• Student Educator Training
• non-medical prescribing or working towards

Experience
Essential

• oExperience of autonomous caseload management, including assessment, intervention planning and evaluation
• oExperience of assessment and intervention planning for older adults with dementia and/or mental health conditions
• oUnderstanding of comorbidities that may affect older age and mental health
• oExperience of being involved in a service or quality improvement proje
• oExperience of providing training/education and presentations
• oDocumented evidence of CPD
• o Demonstrable experience of having received and engaged with clinical supervision

Desirable

• o Experience of supervising staff and/or students

Knowledge and Skills
Essential

• oAbility work autonomously, and manage a complex caseload with minimal supervision
• oAbility to communicate with a wide range of professionals
• oAbility to effectively prioritize workload
• oAbility to collect biopsychosocial information from a variety of sources and independently make clinical judgments and create care plans based on the analysis of the information
• oUnderstanding of biopsychosocial issues that can impact the health and wellbeing of older people
• oKnowledge of specific legislation and policies pertinent to older adult mental health and dementia
• oEffective written, oral and communication skills
• oUnderstanding of team dynamics and ability to work effectively as part of a team
• oKnowledge of word-processing, powerpoint and spreadsheet applications, and electronic record

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.

Certificate of Sponsorship
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

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.
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).