Job summary
Are you a compassionate Registered Mental health Nurse / Occupational Therapist / Social Worker seeking a new opportunity ? We have a Community Mental Health Practitioner position available within the team, based at Magnolia House, Yeovil. The team covers the east side of the county. Our service covers the urban and rural areas of East Somerset. The team works form 8 am to 8pm 7 days a week every day of the year. Staff can work either long days shifts or short 7.5 hours. You'll need to be a car driver with your own vehicle to visit patients. We offer a generous mileage allowance to cover the use of your car for NHS business, which includes both mileage and depreciation. If you're a qualified Practitioner looking for a rewarding challenge to advance your career, join our friendly and highly skilled team of registered and support staff. We also welcome applications from newly qualified professionals, where we can offer you preceptorship to support and guide you in your new role.
Main duties of the job
As a community Practitioner, you'll provide care to patients in their homes, care homes or community hospitals, managing a range of complex health issues related to dementia and behaviours that cause concern as a result and collaborating with various other disciplines. You will work as a member of the Intensive Dementia Service, providing an alternative to hospital admission for people with dementia. You will take charge of a shift to be personally responsible and professionally accountable for a caseload within the community working with people with severe organic mental illness who have multiple and complex needs. To provide a high standard of care and treatment for patients and work with other members of the team and other agencies to best meet the patients' health and social needs. To work with a team caseload with shared responsibilities for patients whilst under the care and treatment of IDS
About us
At Somerset NHS Foundation Trust, we're committed to supporting our employees with a range of benefits designed to enhance your professional and personal life. We offer:
- Flexible working options to help you balance work and life
- NHS pension scheme for long-term financial security
- Generous annual leave allowance to recharge and relax
- A strong focus on career development to help you grow and achieve your potential
Additionally, you'll gain access to our Blue Light Card, unlocking exclusive discounts on shopping, dining, and leisure activities, as well as NHS-specific perks to support you both inside and outside of work.
We are proud to foster a diverse, skilled, and inclusive workforce, and we encourage applications from all backgrounds.
Why Somerset? Somerset offers the perfect blend of idyllic countryside, outstanding areas of natural beauty, and breathtaking coastlines, with vibrant cities like Bristol, Bath, and Exeter just a short drive away - and only two hours to London.
The region is home to excellent educational facilities, and with affordable housing compared to other parts of the country, it's a great place to build both your career and your future.
Somerset truly has it all - the peaceful countryside and cosmopolitan city life, with something for everyone to enjoy.
Job description
Job responsibilities
To undertake the assessment of patients referred to the Intensive Dementia Service as directed by the Older Persons' Service Manager. Undertake the assessment of risk and occupational therapy needs and contribute to the multi-disciplinary team care plan. Undertake the development and implementation of individual care plans for the client. To provide high quality patient care, working in a flexible way across the community, day hospital and inpatient boundaries, as required, focussing on the need to support patients and their families/carers. To be responsible for assessing, developing, delivering and reviewing comprehensive and complex treatment plans in partnership/discussion with MDT, patient and carers, using evidence based practice. To ensure effective, planned handover of care back to the local CMHT. Participate and assist in research projects being undertaken within the services as required. To contribute to local service policy discussions and contribute to reviews of the IDS service lead by senior members of the service. To plan and allocate visits to patients taking into consideration the safety of staff and patients and also the skill level required to provide the intervention. To maintain personal clinical expertise as required by the needs of the service. To provide support and interventions to patients in their own homes (including care homes) to enable them to remain in the community during crisis periods. To act as the Duty Worker for the team, taking referral details and participating in triage discussions with other registered professionals around appropriateness for on-going support from IDS or signposting to other services if appropriate.
Job description
Job responsibilities
To undertake the assessment of patients referred to the Intensive Dementia Service as directed by the Older Persons' Service Manager. Undertake the assessment of risk and occupational therapy needs and contribute to the multi-disciplinary team care plan. Undertake the development and implementation of individual care plans for the client. To provide high quality patient care, working in a flexible way across the community, day hospital and inpatient boundaries, as required, focussing on the need to support patients and their families/carers. To be responsible for assessing, developing, delivering and reviewing comprehensive and complex treatment plans in partnership/discussion with MDT, patient and carers, using evidence based practice. To ensure effective, planned handover of care back to the local CMHT. Participate and assist in research projects being undertaken within the services as required. To contribute to local service policy discussions and contribute to reviews of the IDS service lead by senior members of the service. To plan and allocate visits to patients taking into consideration the safety of staff and patients and also the skill level required to provide the intervention. To maintain personal clinical expertise as required by the needs of the service. To provide support and interventions to patients in their own homes (including care homes) to enable them to remain in the community during crisis periods. To act as the Duty Worker for the team, taking referral details and participating in triage discussions with other registered professionals around appropriateness for on-going support from IDS or signposting to other services if appropriate.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Degree/Diploma Occupation Therapy, Mental Health Nursing or Social work
- State Registration of HCPC or NMC registration
- Membership of professional body plus short specialist course, experience to post-graduate equivalent diploma level.
Desirable
- Post Graduate qualification appropriate to speciality
Experience
Essential
- Development and proven experience in Mental Health, dementiaCompetent in drafting correspondence and reportsDocumented evidence of continuous professional developmentEffective team working skillsDocumented evidence of CPDPrevious experience of working in the communityAbility to manage demanding workload to agreed deadlines and timescalesExperience of management supervisions and appraisals
Desirable
- Leadership and management experienceExperience of working with patients with complex needsLeadership and management experienceExperience in teaching on in house training sessions to own profession and othersEvidence of how to motivate a team or evidence of self-motivation
Additional Criteria
Essential
- Demonstrate experience of effective team workingTo respect the individual, values, cultural and religious diversities of client and contribute to the provision of a service sensitive to these needsEmpathic and flexible approach to demanding, sometimes physical and/or verbal abuse from service user/patients
Desirable
- Supervisory skillsAbility to manage time and conflicting demands and prioritise workload accordinglyAbility to work autonomously
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Degree/Diploma Occupation Therapy, Mental Health Nursing or Social work
- State Registration of HCPC or NMC registration
- Membership of professional body plus short specialist course, experience to post-graduate equivalent diploma level.
Desirable
- Post Graduate qualification appropriate to speciality
Experience
Essential
- Development and proven experience in Mental Health, dementiaCompetent in drafting correspondence and reportsDocumented evidence of continuous professional developmentEffective team working skillsDocumented evidence of CPDPrevious experience of working in the communityAbility to manage demanding workload to agreed deadlines and timescalesExperience of management supervisions and appraisals
Desirable
- Leadership and management experienceExperience of working with patients with complex needsLeadership and management experienceExperience in teaching on in house training sessions to own profession and othersEvidence of how to motivate a team or evidence of self-motivation
Additional Criteria
Essential
- Demonstrate experience of effective team workingTo respect the individual, values, cultural and religious diversities of client and contribute to the provision of a service sensitive to these needsEmpathic and flexible approach to demanding, sometimes physical and/or verbal abuse from service user/patients
Desirable
- Supervisory skillsAbility to manage time and conflicting demands and prioritise workload accordinglyAbility to work autonomously
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).
Additional information
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).
