Job summary
Role: Mental Health ARRS, Practitioner
Salary: Band 7
Team: Ealing North MINT
Working Hours: Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm, closed Bank Holidays.
Flexible working is available.
An exciting opportunity has become available for an experienced community mental health practitioner. We are looking for a worker that is passionate about delivering joined up care in partnership with the General Practitioner's. You will also be working with the Ealing North MINT team and will have support from their multidisciplinary team.
You will be joining at an exciting time as we continue our journey in delivering the Community Mental Health Framework for Adults and Older Adults. This framework represents a new approach to situating and providing place-based integrated support, care and treatment in the community for people with mental health problems whatever their level of need.
Main duties of the job
As a Mental Health Practitioner in these roles, you will be embedded within the PCN, but employed by West London NHS Trust, and will be key in the development of shared pathways of care between the PCN in which they work and the local MINT team. You will be an integral part of a wider team of PCN care professionals working under the mentorship of a GP and receiving clinical support through the Trust's MINT Service. You will work alongside Paramedics, Clinical Pharmacists, Social Prescribers, Physician Associates as well as the wider Mental Health teams allowing you the flexibility to bring in colleagues as needed to support your caseload.
About us
West London NHS Trust is one of the most diverse providers of mental health, community and social care in the UK.
Our 3,982 staff care for people in hospital and in the community, helping them to recover and go on to lead full and productive lives. We aim to be the best organisation of our kind in the country.
We provide care and treatment for more than 800,000 people living in the London boroughs of Ealing, Hammersmith & Fulham and Hounslow, delivering services in the community (at home, in GP surgeries and care homes), hospital, specialist clinics and forensic (secure) units.
We'rerated good overall by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
Together, we're committed to promoting hope and wellbeing, working with patients, service users, carers, families and partners across the communities we serve.
We are keen to ensure that our workforce reflects the community it serves, particularly in terms of ethnicity, gender, disability, LGBTQ+ and experience of mental illness.
Job description
Job responsibilities
The remit of this role holder will be to:
- Work with patients within Primary Care whose needs cannot be met by the IAPT service;
- Help the patient identify their needs and make shared decisions about self-management;
- Offer brief evidence-based interventions where appropriate (where these needs cannot be facilitated by IAPT);
- Liaise and work with other Primary Care colleagues within the PCN to address patients needs;
- Make onward referrals to local MINT or other treatment teams where a multi-disciplinary mental health approach is indicated, e.g. patients with complex needs or who may require a period of specialist mental health care to help them to address more acute mental health needs;
- Provide consultation, triage, and advice to GPs and other PCN colleagues about options for mental health treatment (supported by the local MINT team, who will also provide specialist supervision);
- Support the development of confidence within the PCN around addressing mental health needs through attendance of key meetings and delivery of identified training and support to other PCN practitioners;
- Act as a bridging role between the PCN and the local MINT team;
Job description
Job responsibilities
The remit of this role holder will be to:
- Work with patients within Primary Care whose needs cannot be met by the IAPT service;
- Help the patient identify their needs and make shared decisions about self-management;
- Offer brief evidence-based interventions where appropriate (where these needs cannot be facilitated by IAPT);
- Liaise and work with other Primary Care colleagues within the PCN to address patients needs;
- Make onward referrals to local MINT or other treatment teams where a multi-disciplinary mental health approach is indicated, e.g. patients with complex needs or who may require a period of specialist mental health care to help them to address more acute mental health needs;
- Provide consultation, triage, and advice to GPs and other PCN colleagues about options for mental health treatment (supported by the local MINT team, who will also provide specialist supervision);
- Support the development of confidence within the PCN around addressing mental health needs through attendance of key meetings and delivery of identified training and support to other PCN practitioners;
- Act as a bridging role between the PCN and the local MINT team;
Person Specification
Qualifications and Training
Essential
- Professional qualification in mental health e.g. Occupational Therapy, Social Work or Mental Health Nursing (RMN) with current NMC/HCPC registration or Psychology as accredited by the BPS. Professional registration with the Health and Care Professions Council
- Doctoral level training in clinical or counselling psychology as accredited by the BPS, and HPC registration as a Practitioner Psychologist under the relevant domain
- A recorded/registered qualification in one of the following - psychology, nursing, social work, occupational therapy, arts therapy and registration with the appropriate body for that profession
Desirable
- Educated to degree or Diploma level with other courses relevant to primary care mental health services e.g. CBT, Brief Solution Focussed Therapy etc.
- RGN/physical health qualification
- Evidence of recent and on-going relevant further professional development
- Attendance at specialist short courses relevant to the post (e.g. MBT or DBT, Trauma Informed Care, Group Approaches)
Experience
Essential
- Experience of work in the NHS, PCNs or outreach work, or local engagement work (e.g. youth worker, mentoring, peer support etc.), experience of working in voluntary sector, working in community groups.
- Experience of working in General Practice
- Experience of working with Complex Emotional Needs (previously termed Personality Disorders)
- Work with client groups with serious mental health problems
- Work in multi-cultural settings and work with interpreters
- Mental health issues as a service user or carer
Desirable
- Evidence of experience in a Band 6 position or equivalent
- Experience of case finding
- Experience of working in GP
- Experience of working within a multi-disciplinary team
- Experience of conducting audit, evaluation or research
- Other relevant post registration experience
- Work with behaviours that challenge services
- Experience of teaching/training in a formal or informal setting
- Experience of working in a primary care setting/ social care/ voluntary sector
- Experience of supervising junior staff within own and/or other disciplines
Knowledge
Essential
- Basic understanding of health care systems and structures: staffing, roles and responsibilities, the role of hospitals, primary care and community care
- Team/self-management and organisation skills that enable a number of complex activities and clinical work to be undertaken, revising and adjusting these according to the needs of individual patients and the service
- Knowledge of counselling skills/cognitive behavioural skills, psychosocial interventions
- Knowledge of recovery approaches as used with those with mental health conditions
- Work with people from a wide range of backgrounds
- Contain and work with organisational stress and able to hold the stress of others
- Manage effectively exposure to distressing/highly emotional circumstances
- Manage effectively verbal aggression from service users, families, etc. and the risk of physical aggression
- Respectful and collaborative approach to service users, families, carers, colleagues and other professionals
- Able to negotiate and ability to handle confrontation effectively and professionally
- Ability to engage challenging and/or acutely distressed patients in potentially hostile and/or antagonistic situations and use de-escalation techniques effectively
- Assessment and treatment of Deliberate Self Harm
- Sufficient clinical knowledge to be able to make autonomous decisions, based on an analysis of complex presenting problems and judgement about available options, with senior clinical support/supervision
Desirable
- Ability to interpret research and apply to practice
- Specialist knowledge of mental health conditions as well as their relationship to physical disorders
- Understanding of NHS England's plans with regard to Primary Care Networks
Operational
Essential
- Computer literate
- Being able to work flexibly across local environments
- Awareness of diversity of cultural norms and being able to respond to this appropriately
- Concentrate intensely for a substantial proportion of working time, during client contact, teaching/supervision sessions, team meetings, preparing written work etc.
- Use IT packages - word processing, e-mail and internet, Excel and Access
- Ability to use or learn NHS clinical systems
- Work cross-culturally and/or in different languages
- Work to professional guidelines
Desirable
Personal Qualities
Essential
- Ability to influence without authority
- Work as part of a team spread across multiple locations operating with a matrix structure
- Ability to work effectively, timely and independently
- Ability to frequently work under pressure and maintain intense concentration, particularly in unpredictable situations where there will be exposure to highly distressed and/or disturbed patients, often exhibiting challenging behaviours and the risk of physical violence
- Ability to meet deadlines
- Self-motivated, able to work autonomously and independently with confidence when required.
- Willing to use peer and group supervision creatively
Desirable
- Personal experience of a mental health condition
Person Specification
Qualifications and Training
Essential
- Professional qualification in mental health e.g. Occupational Therapy, Social Work or Mental Health Nursing (RMN) with current NMC/HCPC registration or Psychology as accredited by the BPS. Professional registration with the Health and Care Professions Council
- Doctoral level training in clinical or counselling psychology as accredited by the BPS, and HPC registration as a Practitioner Psychologist under the relevant domain
- A recorded/registered qualification in one of the following - psychology, nursing, social work, occupational therapy, arts therapy and registration with the appropriate body for that profession
Desirable
- Educated to degree or Diploma level with other courses relevant to primary care mental health services e.g. CBT, Brief Solution Focussed Therapy etc.
- RGN/physical health qualification
- Evidence of recent and on-going relevant further professional development
- Attendance at specialist short courses relevant to the post (e.g. MBT or DBT, Trauma Informed Care, Group Approaches)
Experience
Essential
- Experience of work in the NHS, PCNs or outreach work, or local engagement work (e.g. youth worker, mentoring, peer support etc.), experience of working in voluntary sector, working in community groups.
- Experience of working in General Practice
- Experience of working with Complex Emotional Needs (previously termed Personality Disorders)
- Work with client groups with serious mental health problems
- Work in multi-cultural settings and work with interpreters
- Mental health issues as a service user or carer
Desirable
- Evidence of experience in a Band 6 position or equivalent
- Experience of case finding
- Experience of working in GP
- Experience of working within a multi-disciplinary team
- Experience of conducting audit, evaluation or research
- Other relevant post registration experience
- Work with behaviours that challenge services
- Experience of teaching/training in a formal or informal setting
- Experience of working in a primary care setting/ social care/ voluntary sector
- Experience of supervising junior staff within own and/or other disciplines
Knowledge
Essential
- Basic understanding of health care systems and structures: staffing, roles and responsibilities, the role of hospitals, primary care and community care
- Team/self-management and organisation skills that enable a number of complex activities and clinical work to be undertaken, revising and adjusting these according to the needs of individual patients and the service
- Knowledge of counselling skills/cognitive behavioural skills, psychosocial interventions
- Knowledge of recovery approaches as used with those with mental health conditions
- Work with people from a wide range of backgrounds
- Contain and work with organisational stress and able to hold the stress of others
- Manage effectively exposure to distressing/highly emotional circumstances
- Manage effectively verbal aggression from service users, families, etc. and the risk of physical aggression
- Respectful and collaborative approach to service users, families, carers, colleagues and other professionals
- Able to negotiate and ability to handle confrontation effectively and professionally
- Ability to engage challenging and/or acutely distressed patients in potentially hostile and/or antagonistic situations and use de-escalation techniques effectively
- Assessment and treatment of Deliberate Self Harm
- Sufficient clinical knowledge to be able to make autonomous decisions, based on an analysis of complex presenting problems and judgement about available options, with senior clinical support/supervision
Desirable
- Ability to interpret research and apply to practice
- Specialist knowledge of mental health conditions as well as their relationship to physical disorders
- Understanding of NHS England's plans with regard to Primary Care Networks
Operational
Essential
- Computer literate
- Being able to work flexibly across local environments
- Awareness of diversity of cultural norms and being able to respond to this appropriately
- Concentrate intensely for a substantial proportion of working time, during client contact, teaching/supervision sessions, team meetings, preparing written work etc.
- Use IT packages - word processing, e-mail and internet, Excel and Access
- Ability to use or learn NHS clinical systems
- Work cross-culturally and/or in different languages
- Work to professional guidelines
Desirable
Personal Qualities
Essential
- Ability to influence without authority
- Work as part of a team spread across multiple locations operating with a matrix structure
- Ability to work effectively, timely and independently
- Ability to frequently work under pressure and maintain intense concentration, particularly in unpredictable situations where there will be exposure to highly distressed and/or disturbed patients, often exhibiting challenging behaviours and the risk of physical violence
- Ability to meet deadlines
- Self-motivated, able to work autonomously and independently with confidence when required.
- Willing to use peer and group supervision creatively
Desirable
- Personal experience of a mental health condition
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
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).
