Mental Health Nurse

Job responsibilities

NHS Practitioner Health (PH) is a specialist primary care level service for the treatment of NHS and care staff who have mental health or addiction issues who cant access local support due to the nature of their role.

The First Contact Team (FCT) is the front door to all the pathways at NHS Practitioner Health. This role is key in the delivery of a high quality, effective service to our patients, and ensuring they are seen rapidly and by the most appropriate person within the team.

As a key member of NHS PH, you will work as part of a multi-disciplinary team which includes doctors, specialist nurses, psychiatrists and therapists, with access to a network of specialist advisors as part of the PH central team.

The post holder will be required to:

• Review new registrations, identifying eligibility and an appropriate pathway.
• Assess patients identified as suitable for an early contact assessment and carry out risk assessments on patients where a high level of risk is identified at registration.
• Offer triage appointments to assess suitability for those presenting as high risk.
• Provide evidence based mental health and addiction interventions for sick health and care professionals
• Case manages a group of patients who may or may not be in active treatment elsewhere.
• Effectively manage risk and share concerns with the wider team, and report back to the First Contact Lead or Lead clinician as necessary.
• Work with patients in active addiction and support them towards abstinence.
• Have the skills to support people with mental health issues and those with addictions.
• Work with the medical and clinical directors in developing and delivering health promotion and teaching projects, including psychoeducation.
• Contribute towards wider Practitioner Health and Hurley Group activities and projects.

You will need to be a confident decision maker and be skilled in undertaking risk assessments of health and care staff that have mental health and addiction issues, taking into account the complexity their role brings to their health issue.

You will need to be able to confidently discuss medication initiation, dose changes, and make suitable recommendations to practitioner patients.

This role is unique as the patients you assess and treat, will also be your peers, so you need to be assertive, confident and highly skilled and be able to justify your decision making, and plans.

Qualifications

Essential

• Registered with the NMC with at least 5 years post qualification experience in the field.
• Evidence of continuing professional development.

Desirable

• Evidence of postgraduate study in substance misuse Part 2 RCGP Certificate in Substance Misuse or equivalent such as other specialist psychiatric experience in a related field e.g. eating disorders.
• Qualified non-medical prescriber

Skills, Abilities and Knowledge:

Essential

• Able to utilise different and innovative modalities to consult with patients including text and email via a secure platform.
• Confident in discussing pharmacological options.
• Knowledge of the needs of health professionals, including knowledge of relevant epidemiology, natural history, assessment, treatment and prognosis
• Understanding of help seeking behavior and access to health care by health professionals
• Be aware of the full range of treatment models for the management of different mental health problems
• Have a knowledge of behavioral, medical, social and psychological factors that are particularly prevalent in health professionals
• Have an awareness of boundary issues when dealing with practitioner-patients
• Understanding of the roles of other health professionals
• Understanding of the professional regulation and standards environment for healthcare professionals
• Be able to raise the issue of mental health problems sensitively either in response to a particular presentation or opportunistically
• Able to refer practitioner-patients to appropriate treatment services
• Able to minimise risk of mental health problems/addiction in self and support personal wellbeing
• An understanding of the education and training environment for doctors and dentists and other HCPs
• An ability to work in an integrated multi-professional team

Desirable

• Be able to provide support and advice to other practitioners on the management of practitioner-patients

Specific Aptitudes and Abilities:

Essential

• To be able to maintain confidentiality at all levels
• Be highly organised and IT literate
• Have a non-judgmental attitude
• Support and encourage normalisation of mental health discussions by health professionals
• Have an awareness of how cultural, gender, sexual or spiritual differences may impact on assessment and engagement
• To be solution focused and consider innovative approaches to problem solving
• Have an ability to work as part of a team and to communicate effectively and shared ownership of care with team members
• Have a flexible approach to delivery of care including use of technology
• Have a high degree of confidence in your own clinical skills, that will allow you to successfully manage fellow health professional with ease.

Experience

Essential

• Experience of working in mental health and/or addiction at a senior level.
• Experience of working with, or commitment to sick health professionals.
• Experience of producing reports, assessments and presentations involving highly complex information.
• Experience of providing, receiving and processing sensitive or contentious information and communicating this effectively.
• Experience of building and developing effective working relationships and networking with senior professionals.
• Personal clinical supervision.

Desirable

• Experience of working in primary care.

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.

UK Registration

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