Job summary
As a Registered Mental Health Nurse within a busy Emergency Department, you will play a vital role in supporting individuals presenting in acute psychological distress, crisis, or with complex mental health needs alongside physical illness or injury. Working in a fast-paced, high pressure environment, you will deliver compassionate, timely, and effective mental health care, contributing to rapid assessment, risk management, and collaborative decision-making to ensure safe, patient-centred outcomes and appropriate onward care.
Main duties of the job
To provide high-quality patient-centred mental health care to individuals presenting to the Emergency Department with acute mental health needs, including those in crisis, distress, or with co-existing physical and mental health conditions. The post holder will work collaboratively with ED staff, liaison psychiatry, and multidisciplinary teams to ensure safe assessment, interventions, and onward care.
About us
We are one of the largest hospital trusts in England, with five hospitals and community clinics serving a local population of around 800,000 people. Our vision is 'great healthcare from great people'. Everything we do is guided by our values: 'People feel cared for, safe, respected and confident that we are making a difference'. We have a new way of working at East Kent Hospitals, called 'We care'. It's about empowering frontline staff to lead improvements day-to-day. We're looking for compassionate people to be part of our improvement journey for the patients, families and carers we care for every day.
Please note that if you require a Certificate of Sponsorship to work in the UK you must declare this on your application form, even if you currently have a certificate of sponsorship or a work permit for another role and are already working in the country. Please note we are only able to sponsor candidates on a Skilled Worker Visa applying for roles Band 5 and above.
Job description
Job responsibilities
Please scroll down to access the full Job Description and Person Specification located in 'supporting documents'.
Job description
Job responsibilities
Please scroll down to access the full Job Description and Person Specification located in 'supporting documents'.
Person Specification
Qualifications and Training
Essential
- Registered Mental Health Nurse with NMC Registration
Clinical Skills and experience
Essential
- Experience in mental health assessment and risk management.
- Knowledge of Mental Health Act, and safeguarding procedures.
- Competent in basic physical health monitoring and escalation
- Strong assessment and clinical decision- making skills
- Ability to manage challenging behaviours using de-escalation techniques.
- Good written and verbal communication skills
- Ability to work under pressure in a fast paced environment
Desirable
- Experience of working in acute mental health or crisis settings (including placements)
Governance
Essential
- Understanding of Clinical governance principles, including patient safety, quality improvements and accountability.
- Ability to maintain accurate, timely, and legally sound clinical documentation.
- Knowledge of compliance with NMC code of professional conduct and professional standards.
- Awareness of safeguarding procedures for adults and children, including escalation pathways
Desirable
- Experience participating in clinical audit or quality improvement projects,
- Understanding of duty of candour and open disclosure processes.
- Experience contributing to policy or pathway development within clinical services.
- Awareness of CQC standards and regulatory inspection processes.
- Involvement in Serious incident reviews, reflective learning, or root cause analysis.
Personal/ Professional attributes
Essential
- Compassionate resilient and adaptable.
- Able to work independently and as part of a multidisciplinary team
- Professional, reflective and committed to a high standard of care.
Person Specification
Qualifications and Training
Essential
- Registered Mental Health Nurse with NMC Registration
Clinical Skills and experience
Essential
- Experience in mental health assessment and risk management.
- Knowledge of Mental Health Act, and safeguarding procedures.
- Competent in basic physical health monitoring and escalation
- Strong assessment and clinical decision- making skills
- Ability to manage challenging behaviours using de-escalation techniques.
- Good written and verbal communication skills
- Ability to work under pressure in a fast paced environment
Desirable
- Experience of working in acute mental health or crisis settings (including placements)
Governance
Essential
- Understanding of Clinical governance principles, including patient safety, quality improvements and accountability.
- Ability to maintain accurate, timely, and legally sound clinical documentation.
- Knowledge of compliance with NMC code of professional conduct and professional standards.
- Awareness of safeguarding procedures for adults and children, including escalation pathways
Desirable
- Experience participating in clinical audit or quality improvement projects,
- Understanding of duty of candour and open disclosure processes.
- Experience contributing to policy or pathway development within clinical services.
- Awareness of CQC standards and regulatory inspection processes.
- Involvement in Serious incident reviews, reflective learning, or root cause analysis.
Personal/ Professional attributes
Essential
- Compassionate resilient and adaptable.
- Able to work independently and as part of a multidisciplinary team
- Professional, reflective and committed to a high standard of 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.
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
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.
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).
