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Mental Health Practitioner

The closing date is 06 August 2025

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a band 6 Mental Health Practitioner to work in the Home Treatment Team in South Lakes.The Home Treatment Team cares for people who are experiencing acute episodes of mental illness or emotional distress. The service is an alternative to admission and offers intensive support to service users and their families in the community.

The service works closely with the in-patient wards to support early discharges and with other parts of the mental health services as well as third sector providers, so great communication skills are essential.The post is a 28.5 hours, secondment post covering the service over 7 days per week. The team covers the South Lakes area so car use is essential.

As a member of the team you would be working with a multi-disciplinary team consisting of Mental Health Nurses; Support Workers; Occupational Therapist; Psychologist and Consultant Psychiatrist.

Main duties of the job

o You will provide a comprehensive assessment and triage service and, where necessary signposting or clear onward facilitation to a mental health pathway. Your referrers will mostly include IRS (initial response service), Police and Acute Hospital colleagues, trust employed mental health practitioners working in GP service. Assessments take place at the team base, patient homes, police custody or other community settings.

o The Home Based Treatment Team practitioners also support the Initial Response Service with completing telephone triages and urgent face to face triages. o The role of Shift Lead is also undertaken by band 6 practitioners and allocated in advance.

o The post holder will provide evidence based mental health assessments and/or signposting to alternative service provision for people who present requiring a specialist urgent mental health assessment. The post holder may offer follow-up appointments within the agreed timescale for intervention as part of the on-going assessment process. Joint appointments with Drug and Alcohol Services, as well as other services.

About us

Lancashire & South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust provides a range of services including secondary mental health care across this area. Specialist provision comprises inpatient child and adolescent mental health services, perinatal mental health and forensic services including low and medium secure care.

The Trust also provides a range of physical health and well-being services in the community alongside a range of partners in the Lancashire, Cumbria and Sefton area.

Lancashire & South Cumbria Foundation Trust encourages flexible working, we believe that a positive work/life balance benefits NHS employees through improved health and wellbeing. We would consider working patterns such as; term time, part time, compressed hours, flexi-time and career breaks. We encourage applicants to state clearly on their application forms this request and discuss these options at interview.

Job responsibilities

Please see the attached job description and person specification for more information about this role

Person Specification

Education/ Qualifications

• Registered Mental Health Nurse/ Social worker

Knowledge

• Able to understand the difference between crisis planning and contingency planning and able to formulate explicit planning in these areas
• Knowledge, understanding and experience of the care pathways for psychosis and non psychosis and relevant interventions
• Effective communication with service users, carers and members of the multidisciplinary teams. Strong customer service and negotiation skills
• Understanding of how physical illness and substance misuse can affect the mental health of individuals

Skills and Abilities

• Motivational skills
• Assertiveness skills in relation to bed management
• Demonstrate the ability to work sensitively in a non judgemental way with service users who are in crisis
• Able to work autonomously within the community
• Shows ability to manage own stress levels effectively

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.

Lancashire & South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust

Address

South Lakes Home Based Treatment Team

Garburn House, Westmorland General Hospital

Garburn House, Westmorland General Hospital