Go back
Berkshire Healthcare Foundation Trust

Advanced Mental Health Practitioner - Telephone Duty Service

The closing date is 18 June 2025

Apply for this job

Job summary

You will work as part of the Crisis Resolution Home Treatment Team supporting patients in the community to avoid hospital admission. The post holder will be involved in the effective delivery of care and partly for the smooth running of our triage service.

You will be responsible for providing the continued clinical advice, training and supervision of junior staff operating within a multidisciplinary team providing care for those patients who are in a mental health crisis and require intensive home treatment and support without which they would likely require admission to Hospital.

With experience working within Mental Health as senior clinician, you will enjoy working as part of a large team and thrive in a busy fast paced environment.

The post holder will be part of a shift pattern, ensuring that the telephone duty service has a 24 hours staffing coverage.

Main duties of the job

  • To be responsible for the effective delivery and quality of care standards for a sub-division of service or for the delivery of specialist services across an organizational and geographical area
  • To safely triage referrals coming into the service and attending to walk-ins, where applicable
  • Maintain and develop relationships with professionals external to the area of service, service users and their significant others within area of service/specialism
  • Ensure services are delivered in a manner that is appropriate, relevant and respectful to all community members, recognising the diversity of ethnicity, culture, belief, privilege and capacity of service users and carers
  • Effectively manage highly complex and sensitive situations and condition related information regarding diagnosis and prognosis to service users, other professionals and external agencies, where there may be barriers to understanding or a hostile and antagonistic working environment
  • To manage a team of staff and students from both Health and Social Care, undertaking annual appraisals, PDP's and proactively supporting the development review cycle, the progression of personal performance and achievement of objectives, including career aspirations within the Trust and Partner Organisations processes
  • To consistently plan and manage resource requirements within own area of specialism, ensuring the needs of the service users are met and levels of clinical and quality standards are achieved

About us

Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust is a specialist mental health and community health services trust. Rated 'outstanding' by the CQC, we're committed to providing the best possible care to people across Berkshire. As an employer, we're committed to offering an inclusive and compassionate environment where our people share in a sense of belonging and are supported to flourish.

Our values at Berkshire Healthcare are:

  • Caring for and about you is our top priority
  • Committed to providing good quality, safe services
  • Working Together with you to develop innovative solutions

Your wellbeing is important to us. Some of the benefits of working for us include:

  • Flexible working options to support work-life balance
  • 27 days' annual leave rising with service + opportunity to buy and sell
  • Generous NHS pension scheme
  • Excellent learning and career development opportunities
  • 'Cycle to Work' and car leasing scheme including electric vehicles
  • Access to a range of wellbeing tools and services
  • Discounts at hundreds of popular retailers and restaurants
  • Staff networks for race, diversity, disabilities, the environment and armed forces community to support equality
  • Generous maternity, paternity, adoption and special leave
  • Free parking across Trust sites

Details

Date posted

11 June 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 7

Salary

£46,148 to £52,809 a year per annum

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time

Reference number

371-MHS767-A

Job locations

Prospect Park Hospital

Honey End Lane

Reading

RG30 4EJ


Job description

Job responsibilities

The "must haves" for this role:

1. Degree in health/social care or equivalent qualification/experience with professional registration.

2. Experience of clinically supervising junior and unqualified staff and mentoring students.

3. Experience of working effectively in and leading a multi-disciplinary team and multi-agency environment.

4. Experience working in a very busy and fast paced mental health setting, preferably also with a risk triage experience.

5. Effective and competent interpersonal, influencing, communication, observation and reporting skills.

For further information about the role, please see attached job description and person specification.

We strongly encourage you to review how you meet the criteria in the person specification and write about this point-by-point in your supporting statement for the best chance of being shortlisted.

We are committed to equal opportunities and welcome applications from all sections of the community. Our commitment to inclusion is reflected in our accreditations: Race Equality Matters Silver Trailblazer, Neurodiversity in Business Corporate Member, Disability Confident Leader, Carer Confident Level 2, and the Armed Forces Covenant Gold Award. Reasonable adjustments will be provided to candidates as needed.

We welcome a conversation about flexibility and any other questions you may have. Please don't hesitate to call: Anita Onovo on 0118 960 5995 or email: anita.onovo@berkshire.nhs.uk who will be delighted to help.

Please note, if we receive a high number of applications, we may close this role earlier than the advertised closing date, so please submit your application as soon as possible.

Job description

Job responsibilities

The "must haves" for this role:

1. Degree in health/social care or equivalent qualification/experience with professional registration.

2. Experience of clinically supervising junior and unqualified staff and mentoring students.

3. Experience of working effectively in and leading a multi-disciplinary team and multi-agency environment.

4. Experience working in a very busy and fast paced mental health setting, preferably also with a risk triage experience.

5. Effective and competent interpersonal, influencing, communication, observation and reporting skills.

For further information about the role, please see attached job description and person specification.

We strongly encourage you to review how you meet the criteria in the person specification and write about this point-by-point in your supporting statement for the best chance of being shortlisted.

We are committed to equal opportunities and welcome applications from all sections of the community. Our commitment to inclusion is reflected in our accreditations: Race Equality Matters Silver Trailblazer, Neurodiversity in Business Corporate Member, Disability Confident Leader, Carer Confident Level 2, and the Armed Forces Covenant Gold Award. Reasonable adjustments will be provided to candidates as needed.

We welcome a conversation about flexibility and any other questions you may have. Please don't hesitate to call: Anita Onovo on 0118 960 5995 or email: anita.onovo@berkshire.nhs.uk who will be delighted to help.

Please note, if we receive a high number of applications, we may close this role earlier than the advertised closing date, so please submit your application as soon as possible.

Person Specification

Education/Qualifications/Training

Essential

  • Degree in health/social care or equivalent qualification/experience

Continuous Professional Development

Essential

  • Registered Mental Nurse, Occupational Therapist, Allied Health Professional or Social Worker whereby the person is licensed to assess, plan, implement and evaluate care for patients with mental health problems.

Previous Experience

Essential

  • Experience of working effectively in a multi-disciplinary team and multi-agency environment
  • Experience of working in a busy mental health crisis triage setting or similar

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

Essential

  • Excellent knowledge and understanding of the health and social care systems and operating frameworks, clinical observations and the Mental Health Act
  • Previous knowledge and experience of working in a care environment and with service users who have complex mental health needs
  • Effective and competent interpersonal, influencing, communication, observation and reporting skills
  • Strong organisational skills and the ability to analyse situations and be able to make the right decisions
  • Able to empathise, be supportive and sensitive to the needs of others as well as being able to cope with distressing circumstances
  • Ability to cope in a pressurised environment and apply practical problem solving skills in everyday situations
  • Competent IT skills and the ability to navigate around various systems and software packages (such as outlook, databases, MS office and the internet)
  • Able to work flexibly on a shift pattern as required and the ability to travel independently between locations to fulfil the requirements of the position
  • Ability to work effectively in a team, work on own initiative, work unsupervised and manage own workload.

Desirable

  • Specialist knowledge acquired through training in a specialised discipline

Additional Requirements

Essential

  • Ability to travel to multiple sites
  • Manage difficult situations with service users that have complex mental health conditions and challenging behaviours
Person Specification

Education/Qualifications/Training

Essential

  • Degree in health/social care or equivalent qualification/experience

Continuous Professional Development

Essential

  • Registered Mental Nurse, Occupational Therapist, Allied Health Professional or Social Worker whereby the person is licensed to assess, plan, implement and evaluate care for patients with mental health problems.

Previous Experience

Essential

  • Experience of working effectively in a multi-disciplinary team and multi-agency environment
  • Experience of working in a busy mental health crisis triage setting or similar

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

Essential

  • Excellent knowledge and understanding of the health and social care systems and operating frameworks, clinical observations and the Mental Health Act
  • Previous knowledge and experience of working in a care environment and with service users who have complex mental health needs
  • Effective and competent interpersonal, influencing, communication, observation and reporting skills
  • Strong organisational skills and the ability to analyse situations and be able to make the right decisions
  • Able to empathise, be supportive and sensitive to the needs of others as well as being able to cope with distressing circumstances
  • Ability to cope in a pressurised environment and apply practical problem solving skills in everyday situations
  • Competent IT skills and the ability to navigate around various systems and software packages (such as outlook, databases, MS office and the internet)
  • Able to work flexibly on a shift pattern as required and the ability to travel independently between locations to fulfil the requirements of the position
  • Ability to work effectively in a team, work on own initiative, work unsupervised and manage own workload.

Desirable

  • Specialist knowledge acquired through training in a specialised discipline

Additional Requirements

Essential

  • Ability to travel to multiple sites
  • Manage difficult situations with service users that have complex mental health conditions and challenging behaviours

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).

Employer details

Employer name

Berkshire Healthcare Foundation Trust

Address

Prospect Park Hospital

Honey End Lane

Reading

RG30 4EJ


Employer's website

https://www.berkshirehealthcare.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)

Employer details

Employer name

Berkshire Healthcare Foundation Trust

Address

Prospect Park Hospital

Honey End Lane

Reading

RG30 4EJ


Employer's website

https://www.berkshirehealthcare.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)

Employer contact details

For questions about the job, contact:

Clinical Nurse Specialist

Anita Onovo

anita.onovo@berkshire.nhs.uk

01189605995

Details

Date posted

11 June 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 7

Salary

£46,148 to £52,809 a year per annum

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time

Reference number

371-MHS767-A

Job locations

Prospect Park Hospital

Honey End Lane

Reading

RG30 4EJ


Supporting documents

Privacy notice

Berkshire Healthcare Foundation Trust's privacy notice (opens in a new tab)