Mental Health Practitioner

Job description

Job responsibilities

MAIN DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

The duties and responsibilities of the post holder are detailed below, although the precise accountabilities of any job may be expected to change over time. Job holders would be contacted over any proposed changes before implementation.

• Provide a high level of clinical expertise in the assessment and continuing care of patients presenting with mental health problems.
• Ensure that care is based on the assessment of care needs and develops in line with ongoing patient needs.
• Provide support and expert advice to colleagues involved in the care of patients with mental health problems and develop systems to ensure that this support is available in a range of ways.
• To contribute to the review process for mental health patients and provide ongoing support to staff in order to improve practice.
• To take part in the audit of practice and ensure effective and productive practice is in place by means of developing appropriate strategy to address any practice gaps.
• Work autonomously, competently and safely but utilising supervision and acknowledging others expertise if required.
• To act as a resource for referrals to other agencies such as WAWY, district nurses, social care, voluntary services, third sector counselling services, CFT.
• Work to ensure that the clinical environment is therapeutic and conducive to the receipt of the best clinical care and experience.
• Support the training and education of other clinicians within the surgery to ensure they can undertake basic psychological assessments and provide a high standard of care for patients with mental health problems.
• Monitor and evaluate the standard of care and take actions to ensure that a high standard of care is maintained.
• Utilise recent research findings in the advancement of best practice and in the delivery of an evidenced based service.
• Disseminate relevant research via training and publication and advise others on the implications for practice of research findings.
• Identify and be responsive to the diverse cultural, social and spiritual needs of all patients.
• Actively contribute to the organisation to ensure a proactive approach to mental health.
• Promote general health education and specifically mental health education to the client group.
• Share in accurate record keeping and assist with providing statistical data relating to mental health patients.
• Utilise information systems to aid regular audit, involving other colleagues and ensuring a full cycle process with actions plans and evaluation.
• Identify and intervene proactively in situations that contribute to an unsafe environment for patients, visitors, and staff.
• Develop and maintain effective working links with other psychiatric services and other relevant agencies.
• Work within the framework of the NMC Code of Professional Conduct or relevant professional body.
• Provide clinical supervision to a specific group of staff.
• Provide clinical leadership, promoting and supporting professional development and participating as an appraiser for a group of trained nurses.
• Maintain an ongoing personal development plan in order to continually inform, update, expand and develop specialist practice.
• Develop and maintain close links with the Social Prescribing team

Leadership

• Operate as a full member of the primary care team, including contributing to leadership, service evaluation/improvement and research activity
• Manage and co-ordinate the care that individual patients receive, including through liaising with other members of the MDT and with patients' carers
• Contribute to the use of healthcare technologies to optimise the integration of service delivery (across teams, sectors, and settings) and patients access and continuity of care
• Contribute to the development of primary care teams, including through contributing to others' learning

Clinical Governance

• Contribute to the development and maintenance of sound clinical governance and risk management.
• Support the development/implementation on any new ways of working/policies that need to be introduced across the SAH.
• Support SAHC in operating a quality assurance but no blame culture that adheres to best practice around incident reporting and whistle blowing.
• Engagement with Patients, Internal and External Stakeholders
• Initiate, develop and maintain excellent third-party relationships e.g. with CCGs, NHSE Area Teams, sub-contractor providers, patient groups, local community health teams and other stakeholders to grow, maintain and support service and performance delivery.
• To ensure patient surveys are undertaken, analysed and action plans are developed and acted upon

Confidentiality

• While seeking treatment, patients entrust us with, or allow us to gather, sensitive information in relation to their health and other matters. They do so in confidence and have the right to expect that staff will respect their privacy and act appropriately.
• In the performance of the duties outlined in this job description, the post-holder may have access to confidential information relating to patients and their carers, practice staff and other healthcare workers. They may also have access to information relating to the practice as a business organisation. All such information from any source is to be regarded as strictly confidential.
• Information relating to patients, carers, colleagues, other healthcare workers or the business of the practice may only be divulged to authorised persons in accordance with the practice policies and procedures relating to confidentiality and the protection of personal and sensitive data.
• All such information from any source is to be regarded as strictly confidential.

Equality and Diversity

The postholder will support the equality, diversity and rights of patients, carers and colleagues to include:

• Acting in a way that recognises the importance of peoples rights, interpreting them in a way that is consistent with practice procedures and policies and current legislation.
• Respecting the privacy, dignity, needs and beliefs of patients, carers and colleagues.
• Behaving in a manner which is welcoming to and of the individual, is non-judgemental and respects their circumstances, feelings priorities and rights.

Personal/Professional Development

The postholder will participate in any training programme implemented by the practice as part of this employment, such training to include:

• Participation in an annual individual performance review, including taking responsibility for maintaining a record of own personal and/or professional development.
• Taking responsibility for own development, learning and performance and demonstrating skills and activities to others who are undertaking similar work.

Health and Safety

The postholder will assist in promoting and maintaining their own and others health, safety and security as defined in the practice health & safety policy, the practice health & safety manual and the practice infection control policy and published procedures.

Appraisal/ Objective setting

The post holder will participate in an annual review of their performance during the previous year and agree objectives to be met in the next year. These will be reviewed at agreed points during the year. The annual appraisal will be undertaken by our lead mental health practitioner.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• Registered with professional body
• Evidence of continuous professional development

Desirable

• Non-medical Prescriber
• Completion of Mentorship Course/ENB equivalent

Experience

Essential

• Significant post qualifying experience in the relevant care group
• Experience of working alongside people with complex health problems in the designated care group
• Experience of providing a range of clinical interventions to people in the designated care group with a variety of health problems
• Experience of working consultatively with professionals
• Experience of conducting clinical assessments including risk assessments
• Experience of partnership working within and across various statutory and non-statutory teams and agencies
• Understanding of clinical governance
• Previous experience of working in the community

Skills/Abilities

Essential

• Excellent communication skills, ability to relate and communicate with patients and staff at all levels and from different professions. Ability to adapt communication style appropriately and dependant on situation.
• Establish and maintain communication with individuals, families, carers and groups about difficult or complex matters overcoming any differences in communication
• Excellent negotiation and conflict resolution skills
• Understands and demonstrates the characteristics of a role model to members in the team and/or service
• Develop own skills and knowledge and provide information to others to help their development
• Participate in Partnership working with individuals, groups, communities, and agencies
• Demonstrates self-development through continuous professional development activity
• Participates in the delivery of education programmes
• Demonstrates an understanding of current educational policies relevant to working areas of practice and keeps up to date with relevant clinical practice

Desirable

• Experience of child, young person and adult safeguarding.
• Provision of medication using a non-medical prescribing qualification
• Demonstrates a commitment to quality improvement
• Demonstrates a commitment to supporting and valuing equality and diversity

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).

Employer details

Employer name

St Austell Healthcare

Address

1 Wheal Northey

St Austell

Cornwall

PL25 3EF

Employer's website

https://www.staustellhealthcare.co.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)