Community Mental Health Nurse - South

Job summary
We are excited to announce the launch of our new Assertive Outreach Team. This fantastic opportunity will enable you to take part in the roll out and development of our new county-wide service, with two bases one in Peterborough to cover the North of the county and one in Cambridge to cover the South of the county.

Our Assertive Outreach team will work in collaboration with our existing CPFT services to support the patients with the most complex and severe needs. In this role you will provide clinical nursing expertise within an MDT. The service will carry a small caseload to enable intensive community-based mental health care to patients with complex mental health needs who struggle to engage with traditional services.

We are looking for experienced clinicians with an interest in working in an innovative and developing service. This role will provide a fantastic development opportunity for a clinician looking to further develop their clinical management skills or someone with an interest in moving into a management role in the future.

Main duties of the job

• To provide clinical nursing expertise to the Assertive Outreach team.
• Working clinically with those patients under the care of the team and working together with wider Cambridge and Peterborough health and social care system partners to best meet the needs of all those in our population with potential AO needs.
• To provide intensive, community -based mental health care to patients with complex mental health needs who struggle to engage with traditional services.
• To deputise for the Team Leader across the full range of management responsibilities, including the performance review of junior staff.
• To take on the role of care co-ordinator for patients and provide leadership to support others, to ensure that full assessment of individual nursing care needs is undertaken, that care is planned, implemented and reviewed on a regular basis.
• To act as a role model and promote effective teamwork across the service to meet individual patient's needs.
• To ensure that the CPA / DIALOGUE +and Mental Health Act is adhered to at all times, and to work within the boundaries set out by the Trust' Policies and Procedures and NMC.

About us
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust is a health and social care organisation dedicated to providing high quality care with compassion to improve the health and wellbeing of the people we care for, as well as supporting and empowering them to lead fulfilling lives.

Our clinical teams deliver a wide range of NHS services across inpatient, primary care and community settings, including children's, adult and older people's mental health, forensic and specialist mental health, learning disabilities, primary care and liaison psychiatry, substance misuse, social care, and research and development.

To achieve our goals, we recruit high calibre candidates who share our vision and values. As an equal opportunities' employer, we welcome applications from all sections of the community, particularly under represented groups including people with long term conditions and members of our ethnic minority and LGBTQ+ communities.

All appointments are subject to the successful completion of a probationary period.

Please note we reserve the right to close adverts early should we receive sufficient applications.

Regrettably, we cannot offer sponsorship for all roles. If you apply for a post that does not attract sponsorship, your application will be withdrawn from the process.

For further information on CPFT, please visit our website at

Details
Date posted: 23 July 2026
Pay scheme: Agenda for change
Band: Band 6
Salary: £39,959 to £48,117 a year per annum
Contract: Permanent
Working pattern: Full-time
Reference number: 310-ASMH-7673620-E
Job locations: 1 The Drive, Fulbourn, Cambridge, CB21 5BQ, United Kingdom

Job responsibilities
Please note for this role you will be required to travel independently around the county meeting strict time deadlines. You will need to hold a full UK driving licence* and have use of a vehicle. You cannot use public transport for this role as this is not a reliable form of transport and will not allow you to meet service needs. Please confirm in your application that you meet the specified criteria.

• The post holder will provide a good role model, develop and maintain good systems of communication, be able to communicate with a wide range of people in a range of situations.
• The post holder will act as an independent practitioner within a defined community assertive outreach setting, whilst liaising with other professionals as necessary.
• Manage a defined assertive outreach caseload.
• Have sound knowledge of the Dartmouth Assertive Outreach Community Treatment Model (DACT).
• To support the Consultant Psychiatrist, keeping the consultant psychiatrist up to date with relevant information regarding the patient and their families.
• To support the consultant psychiatrist on home visits when needed.
• Be responsible for the assessment planning, implementation and evaluation of nursing care within the agreed parameters of assertive outreach, and have a working knowledge of local, national policies and legislation which govern current service provision.
• The post holder will be responsible for ensuring effective communication pathways exist.
• The post holder will be responsible for the appropriate clinical risk assessment of patients contacting the out of hours service, providing an effective advice, guidance and decision-making process culminating in the coordination of any reviewed plan of care.
• The post holder will be responsible for the safe storage and administration of medications.

Person Specification

Education/Qualifications
Essential

• Registered Nurse Mental Health (RNMH)
• Current NMC Registration
• Evidence of Continuing Professional Development (CPD)
• Mentor Qualification / ENB 998 or equivalent

Desirable

• Post graduate qualification related to specialism
• Additional qualification for specialism

Experience
Essential

• Experience of working as part of a multi-disciplinary team
• Basic training in the Mental Capacity Act
• Experience of dealing with service users with complex mental health needs
• Experience of working with service users who are under community mental health secondary care services
• Experience of working with service users with psychosis

Desirable

• Previous experience of undertaking continuing care assessments
• Experience of developing service user and carer involvement
• Experience relating to community specialism

Skills and Abilities
Essential

• Effective communication skills both verbal and written, including IT literacy
• Ability to work as part of a team, as a role model, empowering and motivating other team members

Desirable

• Ability to present complex information to various audiences

Knowledge & Understanding
Essential

• Knowledge of physical healthcare needs
• Commitment to and understanding of evidence based practice
• Awareness of safeguarding issues and responsibilities under relevant legislation
• Understanding of the legislation relating to care including Mental Health Act, Mental Capacity Act, Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards Act, Children's Act, Equality Act 2010, The Trust's 7C's and RESPECT enable Values (REV) initiative expectations, Health and Safety Act, Data Protection Act, Knowledge of NICE guidance

Physical Requirements
Essential

• Ability to travel independently around the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough area meeting required timescales
• Physically able to undertake a demanding role safely - as and when required

Other
Essential

• Willingness to follow instruction but also be able to question and challenge
• Continue professional development and participate

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).

UK Registration: Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).