Mental Health Practitioner, Primary Care

Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
Mental Health Practitioner, Primary Care
The closing date is 22 November 2026
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Job summary
This post offers a Golden Hello of up to £2000.

As we work towards our goal of providing an integrated service across primary and secondary care, our community mental health services are being transformed to recognise the changes in how people want to access them. We need to support those who have experienced barriers to accessing services which support their mental health, due to, the complexity of their needs, or the configuration of our services.

We are seeking practitioners with experience of providing rapid and responsive assessment, signposting and brief treatments to join us at this exciting time as a Band 6 Mental Health Practitioner (MHP). You will be a qualified Nurse or Allied Health Professional, with the relevant professional registration (NMC, HCPC).

Employed by SPFT, this Mental Health Practitioner post works within the Primary Care Mental Health Practitioner Team within the Neighbourhood Mental Health Team (NMHT). The role will support the embedding of specialist mental health expertise at a neighbourhood level within the Emotional Wellbeing Services.

Main duties of the job
You will work as a Primary Care MHP ensuring:

• Patients with mild to moderate mental health need access the most appropriate treatment for their mental health difficulty through delivery of rapid and responsive triage, assessment, signposting and brief treatment (1:1, group based and digital platforms).
• The embedding of mental health expertise in a primary care setting. Working alongside VCS and NMHT colleagues to ensure a holistic, joined up approach for patients with mild-moderate and stable, severe mental health needs, ensuring the most appropriate pathway according to presenting need. You will provide advice and consultation to VCS colleagues in managing issues of complexity and risk, as well as clinical assessment, signposting and brief treatment (1:1 and / or group based) to individuals referred to the clinical element of the service by VCS colleagues within the MDT.

Covid-19 full vaccination may be a condition of employment for this role, unless an exemption applies. The successful applicant may have contact with vulnerable service users and we will therefore seek proof of being fully vaccinated during the recruitment process.

About us
Sussex Partnership provides mental health and learning disability care for all age groups across Sussex and for children and young people in Hampshire.

We encourage flexible working. We know that a positive work/ life balance brings about huge health-related benefits, which has a positive impact on the care we provide. Please speak to us about flexible working, for example, home-working, part time hours, flexible start/ finish times or anything else. If it works for you and works for the role, we'll do our best to make it happen.

We'd love you to join our Trust, rated 'good' overall and 'outstanding' for caring by the CQC. Our staff agree, in our recent staff survey 82% told us that they recognise that care for patients is our top priority.

Other key survey results:

• 70% highlighting flexible working as a key point for satisfaction at work
• 79% reporting feeling able to make suggestions to improve the work in their team
• 77% identifying opportunities to show initiative in their roles

Details
Date posted: 12 November 2026
Pay scheme: Agenda for change
Band: Band 6
Salary: £39,959 to £48,117 a year pa
Contract: Permanent
Working pattern: Full-time
Reference number: 354-PC-20741-2
Job locations: Community Mental Health Centre, Brighton General Hospital, Elm Grove, Brighton, BN2 3EW, United Kingdom

Job description
Job responsibilities
In order to be a successful Mental Health Practitioner in our team you will be:

• A qualified Nurse or Allied Health Professional, with the relevant professional registration (NMC or HCPC)
• Motivated by developing a newly created role, within a new service provision
• Experienced working within a mental health setting

It would also be advantageous if you are:

• Experienced working in a Primary Care setting

This is a hybrid role, working from home and from bases. Although your employer will be SPFT you may be based within GP practice.

Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
Registered Mental Health qualification or equivalent. Include relevant professional registration

Knowledge/Experience
Essential

• Extensive post-qualifying experience of clinical work with people with a range of mental health problems
• Experience of partnership working within and across various different statutory and non-statutory teams and agencies
• Experience in working consultatively with professionals
• Experience of providing low intensity psychological interventions including, provision of self help, behavioural activation, solution focused, guided self help, and a CBT informed approach using a range of delivery models, telephone, face to face, individual and workshops
• Experienced in conducting clinical assessments, including risk assessments

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. 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.

UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website.

Employer details
Employer name: Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
Employer's website:

Employer contact details
For questions about the job, contact: Mental Health Practitioner Lead, Rebecca Shiel, View email address on meeveem.com

Supporting documents
Privacy notice: Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust's privacy notice