Go back

Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust

Mental Health Nurse - In-Patients

The closing date is 19 October 2025

Apply for this job

Job summary

To work under the direction of senior staff to deliver and constantly strive to improve the offender healthcare services.
To provide mental health care based on the principles of timely, comprehensive assessment and evidence based practice.
To reduce or mitigate the effects of unhealthy or high risk behaviours (ACCT)
To promote effective links with health and related services in the community to ensure continuity of care as appropriate (Care program Approach, CPA)

Main duties of the job

To be part of skilled multidisciplinary teams comprising all healthcare staff, including strategic partners, and prison managing a single referral pathway.
To be required to undertake training to maximise uptake of screening, health promotion and prevention activity, including vaccinations.
To ensure a named care co-ordinator is allocated for every patient with complex needs who will ensure a proactive, evidence-based approach to clinical interventions, health promotion/prevention activity, and management of acute and long-term conditions using our stepped care approach.
To ensure that a single, integrated, care plans developed, and the individualised care is regularly reviewed.
To ensure that a comprehensive risk assessments and care plans are regularly reviewed in a needs-led review cycle.
To ensure a care coordination criteria and MDT meetings for patients with complex needs will be tailored to the needs of the establishment.
To ensure that they undertake all training in evidence-based CBT approaches, to enhance consistency and quality of care delivery.
To support patients to manage their health at every stage, from oral health to long term conditions.
To ensure that health promotion embedded into every aspect of the service.

About us

Oxleas offers a wide range of NHS healthcare services to people in community and secure environment settings. Our services include community health care such as district nursing and speech and language therapy, care for people with learning disabilities and mental health care such as psychiatry, nursing and therapies. Our multidisciplinary teams look after people of all ages and we work in close partnership with other parts of the NHS, local councils and the voluntary sector and through our new provider collaboratives. Our 4,300 members of staff work in many different settings including hospitals, clinics, prisons, secure hospitals, children's centres, schools and people's homes.We have over 125 sites in a variety of locations in the South of England. In London we operate within the Boroughs of Bexley, Bromley Greenwich and into Kent. We manage hospital sites including Queen Mary's Hospital, Sidcup and Memorial Hospital, Woolwich, as well as the Bracton Centre, our medium secure unit for people with mental health needs. We are the largest NHS provider of prison health services providing healthcare to prisons within Devon, Dorset, Bristol, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire, Kent and South London. We are proud of the care we provide and our people.

Our purpose is to improve lives by providing the best possible care to our patients and their families. This is strengthened by our new values:

We're Kind
We're Fair
We Listen
We Care

Date posted

06 October 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 5

Salary

£37,259 to £45,356 a year pa inc

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time

Reference number

277-7511046-WANDS

Job locations

HMP Wandsworth

Heathfield Road

London

SW18 3HU

Job description

Job responsibilities

Acts as an advocate and champion for offenders.
Act as a role model to team members and students so that offenders always receive best practice care.
To support senior staff in the development of high-quality mental health care through the effective assessment, development and implementation programs. To assess care needs and provide high quality nursing care as a member of a multi-disciplinary team for offenders who have mental health care needs utilising the CPA processes and risk assessment & care planning.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION, PLEASE READ:

All applicants must be willing to undertake National Security Vetting in order to work in a Prison Setting. This will be completed as part of the pre-employment checks through Oxleas and the prison vetting team.

You will need to provide:

Proof of right to work documentation
Proof of ID, needs to include 1 photographic ID
Proof of address documentation
Non-UK passport holders will need to have correct documentation (right to work in the UK) and a Home office Share code.

Address History:

5 years address history will be needed.

Applicants that are not UK Passport holders who provide less than 5 years UK address history will need to provide a Police Certificate which must be in English from where they resided previously.

Applicants who are UK Passport holders who have lived abroad for a period of more than six months during the last three years will need to provide a certificate of good conduct or an overseas police check in English from the countries resided in or visited.

In order to assist you in obtaining a Police Certificate, guidance can be soughtfrom:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/criminal-records-checks-for-overseas-applicants

If the country you have resided in is not listed here, you can obtain the necessary information by contacting the relevant Embassy or High Commission for that Country. Their contact details can be found on the Foreign & Commonwealth Office website (http://www.fco.gov.uk/en).

Job description

Job responsibilities

Acts as an advocate and champion for offenders.
Act as a role model to team members and students so that offenders always receive best practice care.
To support senior staff in the development of high-quality mental health care through the effective assessment, development and implementation programs. To assess care needs and provide high quality nursing care as a member of a multi-disciplinary team for offenders who have mental health care needs utilising the CPA processes and risk assessment & care planning.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION, PLEASE READ:

You will need to provide:

Proof of right to work documentation
Proof of ID, needs to include 1 photographic ID
Proof of address documentation
Non-UK passport holders will need to have correct documentation (right to work in the UK) and a Home office Share code.

Address History:

5 years address history will be needed.

Applicants that are not UK Passport holders who provide less than 5 years UK address history will need to provide a Police Certificate which must be in English from where they resided previously.

In order to assist you in obtaining a Police Certificate, guidance can be soughtfrom:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/criminal-records-checks-for-overseas-applicants

Person Specification

NMC Registration

Essential

RMN
1 years post registration experience
Worked in a forensic setting

Desirable

Worked in a prison setting
Experience of Systm One and IT applications

Documentation

Essential

An ability to assess risk and care-plan effectively
An understanding of the 1983 Mental Health Act and subsequent mental health legislation

Desirable

Strong Computer and IT skills.

ability to work with complex needs

Essential

Ability to work in a challenging secure environment, and adhere to all security requirements of the prison.
Knowledge of relevant legislation, national initiatives and guidance, and of own professional code of, role and responsibilities

Desirable

Demonstrate a knowledge of Prison Service objectives and principles
Ability to manage complex & challenging behaviour

Person Specification

NMC Registration

Essential

RMN
1 years post registration experience
Worked in a forensic setting

Desirable

Worked in a prison setting
Experience of Systm One and IT applications

Documentation

Essential

An ability to assess risk and care-plan effectively
An understanding of the 1983 Mental Health Act and subsequent mental health legislation

Desirable

Strong Computer and IT skills.

ability to work with complex needs

Essential

Ability to work in a challenging secure environment, and adhere to all security requirements of the prison.
Knowledge of relevant legislation, national initiatives and guidance, and of own professional code of, role and responsibilities

Desirable

Demonstrate a knowledge of Prison Service objectives and principles
Ability to manage complex & challenging behaviour

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).

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 (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).

Additional information

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

Certificate of Sponsorship

UK Registration

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

Employer details

Employer name

Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust

Address

HMP Wandsworth

Heathfield Road

London

SW18 3HU

Employer's website

http://oxleas.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)

Employer details

Employer name

Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust

Address

HMP Wandsworth

Heathfield Road

London

SW18 3HU

Employer's website

http://oxleas.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)