Mental Health Practitioner

Job summary
An exciting opportunity has become available for an experienced community mental health practitioner. We have a 6-month secondment opportunity which will be a great opportunity to see if this role is for you. We are looking for a worker that is passionate about delivering joined up care in partnership with the General Practitioner's (GP) in the North Southall PCN. You will also be working with the Ealing Southall MINT team who are strong believers of population health approaches to tackling health inequalities. This will be a 6-month secondment with the likelihood of this being extended or becoming permanent.

The Mental Health ARRS role is instrumental in bridging the gaps between various sectors of healthcare and community support. This includes not only the traditional divisions between primary and secondary care but also the boundaries separating mental and physical health, social care, and voluntary and community social enterprise (VCSE) organisations. By fostering a more integrated, personalised, and well-coordinated system, this role plays a critical part in delivering place-based care for adults and older adults. Our aim is to transition towards a 'whole system' approach to mental health care, ensuring timely access to the full spectrum of support, care, and treatment options. This is all integral to delivering The Community Mental Health Framework for Adults and Older Adults.

Main duties of the job
As a Mental Health Practitioner in these roles, you will be embedded within the PCN, but employed by West London NHS Trust, and will be key in the development of shared pathways of care between the PCN in which they work and the local MINT team. You will be an integral part of a wider team of PCN care professionals working under the mentorship of a GP and receiving clinical support through the Trust's MINT Service. You will work alongside Paramedics, Clinical Pharmacists, Social Prescribers, Physician Associates as well as the wider Mental Health teams allowing you the flexibility to bring in colleagues as needed to support your caseload.

The remit of this role holder will be to:

• Work with patients within Primary Care whose needs cannot be met by the IAPT service;
• Help the patient identify their needs and make shared decisions about self-management;
• Offer brief evidence-based interventions where appropriate (where these needs cannot be facilitated by Ealing Talking Therapies);
• Liaise and work with other Primary Care colleagues within the PCN to address patients' needs;
• Make onward referrals to local MINT or other treatment teams where a multi-disciplinary mental health approach is indicated, e.g. patients with complex needs or who may require a period of specialist mental health care to help them to address more acute mental health needs;

About us
West London NHS Trust is one of the most diverse healthcare providers in the UK, delivering a range of mental health, physical healthcare and community services commissioned locally and nationally. The Trust runs Broadmoor Hospital, one of only three high secure hospitals in the country and one of the highest profile mental healthcare settings in the world.

Our medium-secure and forensic services care for patients from across the South of England. The Trust also provides mental and physical healthcare in three London boroughs - Ealing, Hammersmith & Fulham and Hounslow. The Trust employs 3,770 staff, of which 47% are from Black and Asian Minority Ethnic (BAME) background. Our turnover in 2019/20 was £314m.

In recent years there has been a trust-wide step change in culture, performance and ambition. The Trust is now rated as 'Good' overall by the CQC, and the rating for our Forensic services has improved from 'Requires improvement' to 'Outstanding'. Rigorous financial management has been central to our ability to deliver service improvements. The Trust has delivered consistent surpluses since 2009, totalling more than £77m. In parallel, we have also improved efficiencies by reducing length of stays and improving patient flow.

Job responsibilities
The Candidate Pack provides an overview of the key tasks and responsibilities of the role, and the person specification outlines the qualifications, skills, experience and knowledge required. Please view as attached

The person specification below is not the full person specification, but outlines the criteria against which your application form will be assessed.

Qualifications and Training
Essential

• Professional qualification in mental health - Mental Health Nursing (RMN) with current NMC registration
• Doctoral level training in clinical or counselling psychology as accredited by the BPS, and HPC registration as a Practitioner Psychologist under the relevant domain
• A recorded/registered qualification in one of the following - psychology, nursing, social work, occupational therapy, arts therapy and registration with the appropriate body for that profession

Desirable

• Educated to degree or Diploma level with other courses relevant to primary care mental health services e.g. CBT, Brief Solution Focussed Therapy etc.
• RGN/physical health qualification
• Evidence of recent and on-going relevant further professional development

Experience
Essential

• Demonstrable experience of post qualifying work in psychiatry.
• Experience of supervising junior staff within own and/or other disciplines
• Experience of work in the NHS, PCNs or outreach work, or local engagement work (e.g. youth worker, mentoring, peer support etc.), experience of working in voluntary sector, working in community groups.
• Experience of working with Complex Emotional Needs (previously termed Personality Disorders)

Desirable

• Evidence of experience in a Band 6 position or equivalent
• Other relevant post registration experience
• Audit and research experience
• Experience of working in a primary care setting/ social care/ voluntary sector

Knowledge
Essential

• Basic understanding of health care systems and structures: staffing, roles and responsibilities, the role of hospitals, primary care and community care
• Team/self-management and organisation skills that enable a number of complex activities and clinical work to be undertaken, revising and adjusting these according to the needs of individual patients and the service
• Knowledge of counselling skills/cognitive behavioural skills, psychosocial interventions
• Knowledge of recovery approaches as used with those with mental health conditions
• Manage effectively exposure to distressing/highly emotional circumstances

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. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).