Senior Community Mental Health Practitioner

Job responsibilities

Liaise with a wide range of other professionals and agencies.

Contribute to the safe and effective day to day operations of the service including the handling of clinical enquires.

Provide and receive information some of which may be contentious, sensitive and highly complex to and from individuals and their families/carers, where there may be barriers to understanding.

Provide a high standards of written and verbal communication that is clear and in line with professional documentation standards

Participate in and chair clinical meetings, this will include CPA and non-CPA reviews, professional meetings, and clinical risk meetings.

Demonstrate the ability to communicate in a way that is empathic and reassuring whilst employing negotiating techniques to gain co-operation from highly complex individuals.

Communicate information in a way that makes it relevant and understandable for service users and carers, working in line with practice standards and operational policies.

Facilitate fair access to social care services and promote social inclusion regardless of age, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation or disability

To maintain effective verbal and written communication with the clinical team and to keep staff informed of changes to prescribing intervention or treatment provided to service-users.

To work in partnership with medical staff and service-users in the development and implementation of clinical management plans related to an individuals treatment and prescribing needs.

To establish and maintain good liaison with GP practices and other services in the area, including sharing prescribing information and rationale.

Undertake complex risk assessments and develop a formulation of risk which will lead to the development of risk management plans which have taken into consideration a range of possible options

Undertake and continuously re-evaluate complex bio-psycho-social assessments and develop a working formulation and diagnosis which will lead to the development of personalised care packages in line with evidence based and payment by results.

Ensure the continuous re-evaluation of individuals needs and clinical risk situations and use clinical judgement to formulate the most appropriate clinical plan.

Ensure that caseload is well managed and that care and treatment is provided in line with practice standards and recovery co-ordination (CPA and non-CPA ).

Understand social factors that impact upon mental health

Develop and deliver care packages including assessing, planning, intervention and evaluation.

Ensure that all interventions have clear outcomes and that these are taken into consideration when sourcing the resources to best meet the individuals needs. This will include enabling individuals to take up Direct Payments and offering the person as much choice and control of resources as appropriate.

Ensure that all social care packages are reviewed within the relevant timescales and focus on integration within existing community resources where possible

Deliver services using a recovery and strengths approach where the needs of the individual and their carers are held as central and their involvement is proactively encouraged.

Deliver care in line with evidence based practice and employ engagement and therapeutic skills that are appropriate to the clinical situation presented.

Responsibility for triaging individuals and signposting to the most appropriate services.

Provide specialist advice to referrers/other multi-disciplinary staff in relation to the care of individuals.

Enable communication and engagement of individuals and their carers to ensure that they have a voice about the services they receive and how these are developed. This may include engagement of advocacy services.

Ensure that appropriate action is taken to safeguarding adults and children. This will include providing and receiving highly complex and sensitive information in relation to safeguarding adult and children work, co-ordinating and chairing safeguarding meetings and implementing relevant care plans.

Ensure that assessment and treatment plans are holistic, outcome focused and take into account the physical health and social needs of the individual, including input of significant others

Ensure the monitoring and review of mental health medication taking into consideration interactions with physical health needs.

Assess the eligibility of the person for services including financial maximisation, debt advice, budgetary management, FAB/FACS assessment

Ensuring timely and accurate documentation of all clinical activity in line with professional guidance and best practice.

Practice in a way that actively minimises dependency and promotes recovery.

Assess suitability of service-users for prescribing interventions and to initiate these as an independent or supplementary non-medical prescriber (as appropriate to ensure adherence with current legislation)

Comply with the Nursing and Midwifery Council Professional Code of Conduct/ Royal Pharmaceutical Society Code of Ethics, relevant legislation, procedures and policies. To attend and contribute effectively to relevant professional forums.

To review and make changes to prescribed medication, in collaboration with the service-user wherever possible (and adhering with agreed Clinical management Plan where applicable).

To prescribe and change medications as clinically appropriate, within the scope of the independent practitioners clinical expertise and/ or CMP.

Participate in programmes of audit and research within the team as agreed by the Directorate and implement the findings.

Contribute to clinical governance arrangements in order to ensure the quality of the service provided, this will include ensuring performance targets are met to provide high quality care.

Involvement in the development of local systems and process that ensure the implementation of Trust policies.

Experience

Essential

• Extensive post registration experience working at band 5 in mental health care working in at least two inpatient and one community settings or substantial experience in both inpatient and community settings within a mental health and/or learning disabilities setting?;
• Evidence of acting as nurse in charge on a regular basis;
• Substantial experience of managing/leading a busy caseload of clients with a range of mental health conditions within a community setting and without supervision;.
• Working within a community mental health setting in either the statutory or voluntary sector.
• Experience of clinically supervising junior and unqualified staff and mentoring students
• Experience of working in a multi-disciplinary and multi-agency environment.

Desirable

• Participation in user involvement in services.
• Experience in deputising for more senior staff
• Evidence of following through specific pieces of work or projects as delegated by ward managers or others
• Non medical prescriber

Qualifications

Essential

• A professional mental health qualification eg RMN, Social Work Degree or equivalent, BSc/Diploma in OT, SROT, Chartered Clinical Psychologist, on the appropriate professional body register and hold current registration with no restrictions.
• Post graduate qualification relevant to specialism

Desirable

• Clinical Supervision qualification
• Training to level 3 in Safeguarding children and young people: roles and competencies for Health Care staff
• Evidence of leadership/management training within a core service

Knowledge and Skills

Essential

• An understanding of the NSF and Mental Health Act/ Mental Health Capacity Act requirements.
• CPA Process
• Awareness of community structures and social care management responsibilities
• Understanding of recovery principles in Mental Health
• Excellent communication skills including the ability to engage with clients experiencing a wide range of mental health problems.
• Able to produce well written reports.
• Ability to communicate with a wide range of professionals from various settings.
• Ability to think and work independently/autonomously and with complex case load
• Ability to be mobile across a geographical area to meet the requirements of the role
• Computer literacy.

Desirable

• Participation in user involvement in services.
• Experience in deputising for more senior staff
• Evidence of following through specific pieces of work or projects as delegated by ward managers or others
• Able to plan creatively to maximise effectiveness of care plans.
• Able to work independently and as part of a team.
• Ability to manage own time and that of the teams.
• Ability to work flexibly.

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).