Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust

Bank Senior Mental Health Practitioner

The closing date is 23 January 2026

Job summary

The Criminal Justice Team are looking for Bank Senior Mental Health Practitioners (Band 7) to join their team based at Wotton Lawn Hospital, Gloucester.

The CJLS (Criminal Justice Liaison Service) provides an all-age, all vulnerabilities service. The successful applicant will be working with people within the criminal justice system, where a potential mental health need or other vulnerability is suspected and further assessment isindicated, to inform disposal of the case and to identify robust care pathways.

The successful applicant will work in the police custody suites, and courts, as well as with those attending voluntary interviews or leaving prison; working with people within the criminal justice system where potential mental health, learning disability or other vulnerability need is suspected and further assessment is indicated to inform disposal of the case and to identify care pathways for appropriate onward referral/support.

Main duties of the job

Working in the police custody suites, and courts, as well as with those attending voluntary interviews or leaving prison; working with people within the criminal justice system where potential mental health, learning disability or other vulnerability need is suspected.

The qualification, training & experience requirements for the role are underlined in the Job Description/Person Specification.

About us

We have a skilled and dedicated workforce of over 5000 colleagues working in a diverse range of services over 55 sites and within people's homes. We strive to enable a welcoming workplace culture that builds and celebrates civility, inclusivity and diversity, while providing a sense of belonging and trust.

Annual staff surveys, regular Pulse surveys and other engagement opportunities provide our people with lots of opportunity to tell us about their experiences of working with us. In the latest staff survey, 61% of colleagues gave us their views. It was great to hear that:

72% of colleagues would recommend the Trust as a place to work, ranking us 1st for Provider Trusts in the South West region on this question.
76% would recommend the standard of care provided in our services if a friend or relative needed treatment, also ranking us 1st in the South West region.
81% said that care of patients and service users is the Trust's priority, compared with an average in comparable NHS Trusts in England of 64%.

This high-level overview shows we are in a healthy position, with higher scores than average for comparable organisations, alongside a great response rate, indicating good staff engagement. However, we also know we have plenty of room for improvement in many areas. To that end, we continue to prioritise and invest in our commitment to genuinely becoming a Great Place to Work with consistent top-quartile performance in the annual staff survey and Pulse surveys.

Date posted

16 January 2026

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 7

Salary

£24.45 to £27.98 an hour per hour

Contract

Bank

Working pattern

Flexible working

Reference number

327-26-035

Job locations

Wotton Lawn Hospital

Horton Road

Gloucester

GL1 3WL

Job description

Job responsibilities

Clinical

To provide a specialised range of clinical assessments/advice relevant to the service user and have knowledge of evidence-based models of practice and current developments within criminal justice.

Refer appropriate cases to the mental health services ensuring timely access

Refer appropriate cases to primary and third sector providers ensuring timely access to services

To work in partnership with criminal justice staff in the assessment of individuals and make recommendations for custody or non-custodial options.

Develop contingency plans with partner agencies for the most prolific offenders.

To monitor, evaluate recommendations for disposal in order to measure progress and ensure effectiveness of interventions.

To discuss with the individual, and when appropriate, with their carers, their health problems and how they see and understand them, facilitating a process of developing their understanding and maintaining their hope for the future.

To develop professional networks and keep abreast of local resources; third sector partners, primary care, housing, education, social care and other statutory organisations in order to ensure that the service user is able to navigate the full health, criminal justice and social care system.

To establish robust communication networks with criminal justice partners other health workers and agencies.

To promote awareness of the professional role within the team and across the criminal justice service.

To demonstrate effective communication skills with people in an age appropriate way and those whose understanding may be impaired. Making adaptions/appropriate reasonable adjustments to cater for the individuals needs.

Specialist skills/knowledge/experience relating to all-ages/all health vulnerabilities.

Be able to employ higher level written and oral communication skills. Demonstrate the ability to communicate, negotiate and problem solve clearly and sensitively in situations that are contentious and/or hostile/emotive and or communicate clear decisions and rationale when agreement cannot be reached.

To apply specialist skills and knowledge in order to establish professional competence and fitness to practice.

To demonstrate ongoing personal development through participation in internal and external development opportunities, recording learning outcomes in a portfolio.

As part of our Voluntary Interview pathway, screening referrals and where appropriate offering an assessment of an individuals health vulnerabilities for those attending a Police Voluntary Interview, aiming to replicate the level of service and support offered to those who have been arrested and are seen in Police custody.