Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust

Sussex Mental Healthline Call Operator

This job is now closed

Job summary

We are the NHS 111 Mental Health Option service. The service is a 24/7 mental health crisis line for anyone who may be in crisis and in urgent need of help with their mental health.

We are an ageless service operating 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

We are currently recruiting for a Mental Healthline Operator to join our busy team. You will be joining a friendly, supportive and dedicated team of Clinicians and Call Operators responding to Sussex-wide callers who require support for their own or others Mental Health difficulties.

The team are fully office-based on site at Swandean Hospital, Worthing.

Main duties of the job

As a Call Operator you will be trained in a specific triage tool, to be utilised alongside your existing skills, to support callers and where necessary escalate to a clinician or signpost to services across Sussex.

We place a large focus on staff training, including a bespoke induction and plenty of on-going in-house training. You will benefit from a full and robust supervision package, with ample opportunities for group reflection, development and mentoring.

There is no appointment system so the work is fast-paced and varied.

About us

SPFT provides mental health and learning disability care for children, young people and adults across Sussex.

Working in Sussex:

Travel easily between coast and countryside, with a blend of picturesque villages and seaside towns
Embrace the city life with great access to visit Brighton and London
With easy access to Gatwick and Heathrow and excellent railway links across the UK there is plenty of opportunity for adventure

We'd love you to join our organisation that is rated 'good' overall and 'outstanding' for caring by the CQC. Our staff agree, in our recent staff survey 82% told us that they recognise that care for patients is our top priority.

Key staff survey results include:

70% highlighting flexible working opportunities as a key point for satisfaction at work
79% reporting feeling able to make suggestions to improve the work within their team
77% identifying the opportunities to show initiative in their roles

We encourage flexible working. We know that a positive work/ life balance brings about huge health-related benefits, which has a positive impact on the care we provide. Please speak to us about flexible working, for example, part time hours, if it works for you and works for the role, we'll do our best to make it happen.

Date posted

08 April 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 4

Salary

£26,530 to £29,114 a year pa / pro rata for part time

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time, Part-time, Flexible working

Reference number

354-AB-20899

Job locations

Swandean

Arundel Road

Worthing

BN13 3EP

Job description

Job responsibilities

To be successful in this role you will share our passion, desire and empathetic approach to supporting people of all ages with complex mental health needs, who are often experiencing crisis.

Requirements:

Excellent interpersonal and communication skills
Competent IT skills
Experience of working with people with Mental Health needs
Comfortable working in a fast-paced and varied and demanding role
Ability to work flexible hours; to include evenings, weekends and nights
Able to work autonomously
Ability to travel and work from an office base in Sussex

Flexibility with working patterns to include some weekend and evening work is essential. This does bring with it increased rates of pay for unsocial hours as set out under the Agenda for Change (AfC) guidelines.

See attached Job Description and Person Specification for full details.

Job description

Job responsibilities

To be successful in this role you will share our passion, desire and empathetic approach to supporting people of all ages with complex mental health needs, who are often experiencing crisis.

Requirements:

Excellent interpersonal and communication skills
Competent IT skills
Experience of working with people with Mental Health needs
Comfortable working in a fast-paced and varied and demanding role
Ability to work flexible hours; to include evenings, weekends and nights
Able to work autonomously
Ability to travel and work from an office base in Sussex

See attached Job Description and Person Specification for full details.

Person Specification

Knowledge/Experience

Essential

Demonstrate current experience of working with people with mental health problems
Experience of in working in urgent care/crisis settings
Understanding of MHA/Knowledge of Mental Capacity Act (2005)
Knowledge and experience in Child and Adult safe guarding procedures.
Evidence of skills in change management and at organising and prioritising their workload
Demonstrate ability to enhance care through evidence based knowledge
Demonstrate professional development relevant to the specific care group.
Computer literate. Sound working knowledge of various IT systems including Carenotes and Microsoft Office

Person Specification

Knowledge/Experience

Essential

Demonstrate current experience of working with people with mental health problems
Experience of in working in urgent care/crisis settings
Understanding of MHA/Knowledge of Mental Capacity Act (2005)
Knowledge and experience in Child and Adult safe guarding procedures.
Evidence of skills in change management and at organising and prioritising their workload
Demonstrate ability to enhance care through evidence based knowledge
Demonstrate professional development relevant to the specific care group.
Computer literate. Sound working knowledge of various IT systems including Carenotes and Microsoft Office

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.