Lancashire & South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust

Mental Health Practitioner

The closing date is 27 November 2025

Job summary

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a band 6 Mental Health Practitioner to work in the Home Treatment Team in Lancaster.

The Home Treatment Team cares for people who are experiencing acute episodes of mental illness or emotional distress. The service is an alternative to admission and offers intensive support to service users and their families in the community.

The post is a full-time, permanent post covering the service over 7 days per week working long days and nights. The team covers Lancaster, Morecambe and surrounding areas.

Main duties of the job

The service works closely with the in-patient wards to support early discharges and with other parts of the mental health services as well as third sector providers, so great communication skills are essential.

You will provide a comprehensive assessment and triage service and, where necessary signposting or clear onward facilitation to a mental health pathway. Your referrers will mostly include IRS (initial response service), Police and Acute Hospital colleagues, trust employed mental health practitioners working in GP service. Service users will be triaged collaboratively and a decision will be made in consultation with the referrer and with the use of a clinical tool, within the response time required.

About us

Lancashire & South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust provides a range of services including secondary mental health care across this area. Specialist provision comprises inpatient child and adolescent mental health services, perinatal mental health and forensic services including low and medium secure care.

The Trust also provides a range of physical health and well-being services in the community alongside a range of partners in the Lancashire, Cumbria and Sefton area.

Lancashire & South Cumbria Foundation Trust encourages flexible working, we believe that a positive work/life balance benefits NHS employees through improved health and wellbeing. We would consider working patterns such as; term time, part time, compressed hours, flexi-time and career breaks. We encourage applicants to state clearly on their application forms this request and discuss these options at interview.

For more information please visit our website via Lancashire & South Cumbria NHS FT.

Date posted

13 November 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 6

Salary

£38,682 to £46,580 a year per annum

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time

Reference number

351-BAY865-SRP

Job locations

Albert View

Lancaster

LA1 4JJ

Job description

Job responsibilities

For more details on this vacancy please review the attached job description and person specification.

Job description

Job responsibilities

For more details on this vacancy please review the attached job description and person specification.

Person Specification

Education / Qualifications

Essential

Registered Mental Health Nurse or Social worker.

Knowledge

Essential

Able to understand the difference between crisis planning and contingency planning and able to formulate explicit planning in these areas.
Knowledge, understanding and experience of the care pathways for psychosis and non psychosis and relevant interventions.
Effective communication with service users, carers and members of the multidisciplinary teams. Strong customer service and negotiation skills.
Knowledge of Safeguarding procedures, Criminal Justice procedures, Mental Health legislation, guidance and processes.
Knowledge of recovery models and promoting independence.

Skills & Abilities

Essential

Demonstrate the ability to work sensitively in a non judgemental way with service users who are in crisis.
Complete risk assessments which reflect the risk a service user may pose. Transfer the risk assessment into robust risk management planning.

Person Specification

Education / Qualifications

Essential

Registered Mental Health Nurse or Social worker.

Knowledge

Essential

Able to understand the difference between crisis planning and contingency planning and able to formulate explicit planning in these areas.
Knowledge, understanding and experience of the care pathways for psychosis and non psychosis and relevant interventions.
Effective communication with service users, carers and members of the multidisciplinary teams. Strong customer service and negotiation skills.
Knowledge of Safeguarding procedures, Criminal Justice procedures, Mental Health legislation, guidance and processes.
Knowledge of recovery models and promoting independence.

Skills & Abilities

Essential

Demonstrate the ability to work sensitively in a non judgemental way with service users who are in crisis.
Complete risk assessments which reflect the risk a service user may pose. Transfer the risk assessment into robust risk management planning.

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

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

Lancashire & South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Albert View

Lancaster

LA1 4JJ

Employer's website

https://www.lscft.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)

Employer details

Employer name

Lancashire & South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Albert View

Lancaster

LA1 4JJ

Employer's website

https://www.lscft.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)