Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust

Dual Diagnosis Practitioner

The closing date is 13 July 2025

Job summary

As a Dual Diagnosis Practitioner, you will improve the care provided to people with co-occurring substance use & mental health conditions within adult mental health services impacting on patient experience & outcomes.

You will need to support the implementation of the co-occurring conditions strategy & NICE best practice guidance, ensuring that all staff have the knowledge & confidence needed to provide safe & effective care. You will need to be able to challenge stigma & build strong relationships with Neighbourhood MH Teams, urgent care services & wards as well as drug & alcohol & other services.

The role will be largely clinical and involve joint assessment, review, consultation and advice. You will support on the development of robust care plans in collaboration with patients, carers and drug and alcohol services.

A proportion of your time will also be devoted to service improvement through delivery of a programme of training and audit. You will need to work within leadership teams to understand and meet the challenges of busy services.

You will be embedded within mental health services and receive clinical supervision from the Dual Diagnosis Nurse Consultant and be a key member of the co-occurring conditions service development and reflective practice group.

This post is particularly suitable for those seeking career development with opportunities for additional training and education.

Main duties of the job

Clinical practice

To improve the quality of assessments and treatments for people with both mental health and substance misuse issues

To have experience in and specialist knowledge of evidence-based practice and lead on dissemination across clinical areas.

To establish professional relationships with other system partners and professionals to shape better care.

Practice Development

To provide specialist training and advice to other professionals and agencies.

To clinically supervise other members of the team.

To facilitate area communities of practice to promote skills sharing, reciprocity and clinical network development.

Research and Development

To develop teaching and training sessions for staff and professionals on specialist subject area.

To develop joint working protocols and pathways and contribute to continuous service improvement.

To undertake research, service evaluation and clinical audit and participate in clinical quality and governance forums as required.

Leadership and management

To provide effective leadership and supportive management which promotes high performance standards both individually and as a team. The Trust's success is dependant on the contributions of all and leaders will need to understand the Trust's priorities and those of our external partners and translate these into opportunities to improve outcomes for the populations we serve.

About us

As we work towards our goal of providing an integrated service across primary and secondary care, our community mental health services are being transformed to recognise the changes in how people want to access them. We are working in close partnership with a range of partners and our 'experts by experience' to develop and improve our service offer.

What does this mean for you?

Because we need to recruit a diverse range of people and skillsets to join us, the job (and training & development) opportunities we have on offer are as broad as they are interesting.

To protect the health and safety of our staff/workers, patients, and those attending our sites, we encourage our workforce to get fully vaccinated against COVID.

For an informal chat and to find out more about our range of vacancies, send us your contact details toCommunityTransformation@sussexpartnership.nhs.uk

Date posted

13 June 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 7

Salary

£46,148 to £52,809 a year Per annum pro rata

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time

Reference number

354-AC-21136

Job locations

Arun/Chichester

PO19 1BX

Job description

Job responsibilities

Please refer to the attached Job Description and Person Specification for further details and contact Becky Marshall about this year's and next year's plans.

Job description

Job responsibilities

Please refer to the attached Job Description and Person Specification for further details and contact Becky Marshall about this year's and next year's plans.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

Core Training (OT, Nursing, Social Work) with current registration appropriate to the job role.
Degree/diploma level supplemented by specialist qualification, training, experience, courses to master's level equivalent relevant to the care group
Evidence of post registration training in relevant service area
Completion of Mentorship Course/ENB equivalent if relevant

Knowledge

Essential

Extensive post qualifying experience in relevant service area
Experience of supervising staff and students
Able to manage a caseload of patients with complex mental health needs
Comprehensive knowledge of interventions specific to service area
Awareness of Trust policies and service specification

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

Core Training (OT, Nursing, Social Work) with current registration appropriate to the job role.
Degree/diploma level supplemented by specialist qualification, training, experience, courses to master's level equivalent relevant to the care group
Evidence of post registration training in relevant service area
Completion of Mentorship Course/ENB equivalent if relevant

Knowledge

Essential

Extensive post qualifying experience in relevant service area
Experience of supervising staff and students
Able to manage a caseload of patients with complex mental health needs
Comprehensive knowledge of interventions specific to service area
Awareness of Trust policies and service specification

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.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).