Senior Mental Health Practitioner

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Thank you for your interest in the North London NHS Foundation Trust (NLFT). It is an exciting time to join us and be part of our journey to improve mental health care across North London and deliver excellent services to our local people. We will achieve this through the North London Way, as we:

• Collaborate at every level by living our Values to create the right conditions for us all to work together.
• Develop our new Trust culture, to help make our new Trust a great place to work and to receive great care.
• Empower our teams to lead the planned improvements in our services, by skilling them and giving them the tools to make the changes.
• Focus on delivering excellence at every level to improve our performance and ensure consistently high-quality care across all our services.
• Ensure that research, Quality Improvement, and technology lead the way and are embedded in our services.
• Take a trauma-informed approach to everything we do.

We proactively welcome diversity in our workforce and pride ourselves on being an inclusive employer. We aim to recruit from our local communities and provide opportunities to all, including apprenticeships, veterans, care leavers, and more.

The North London Way to deliver: Better Mental Health, Better Lives, Better Communities.

Job Overview

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a forward-thinking and motivated senior mental health practitioner to work within the Police and court services across north and central London sites, which is part of Barnet, Enfield and Haringey Mental Health Trust. The post holder will remain flexible, working across the north and central London sites, which include police custody suites, Crown and Magistrate's Courts, and British Transport Police stations over a total of nine sites. The post holder will provide an all-age autonomous screening and assessment service at the respective sites; respond professionally to requests for information and assistance; utilize their discretion as an independent professional and understand the importance of partnership working within the police and court services. An excellent awareness of the care pathway for vulnerable children and adults is essential when undertaking the mental health practitioner role within Liaison and Diversion services.

The service is currently under a tender procurement process and subject to operational re-design.

Main Duties of the Job

• Undertake comprehensive mental health and risk assessments; develop effective risk management plans, provide brief interventions, and confidently signpost individuals who come through the range of services and require follow-up outside of the scope of Liaison and Diversion services.
• Knowledge of broader mental health services is important in delivering this role effectively, with an emphasis on working with other professional disciplines, sharing knowledge and skills, whilst advocating for the service user.
• Maintain excellent awareness of confidentiality and information sharing guidelines at all times, as this information may be both complex and sensitive, requiring excellent communication and negotiation skills to provide the service as an autonomous and independent senior practitioner within these environments.
• Be responsible for the assessment of information in partnership with the criminal justice system and other agencies to determine the level of risk to people with mental health issues or other vulnerabilities.

Working for Our Organisation

The partnership between Barnet, Enfield and Haringey Mental Health NHS Trust (BEH) and Camden and Islington NHS Foundation Trust (C&I) is going from strength to strength since it was originally established in 2021, forming the North London Mental Health Partnership.

The postholder will need to be comfortable working in an environment of complex matrix management arrangements and will always behave and align with our Trust's values and cultural pillars:

• We are kind.
• We are respectful.
• We work together.
• We keep things simple.
• We empower.
• We are proudly diverse.

In order to meet the needs of the new Partnership services, you may be required from time to time to work at different locations to your normal place of work. This may mean that you are required to work at any location that falls under Barnet, Enfield, and Haringey Trust and Camden and Islington Trust. The Trust reserves the right to require staff to work at such other places or locations as it considers reasonable and necessary on a temporary or permanent basis.

Detailed Job Description and Main Responsibilities

• This service is a coordinated and integrated approach by secondary care mental health services to identify, triage, and engage those in police custody who present with either existing or acute health or social vulnerabilities, and to provide earlier intervention within the mentally disordered offender pathway. This service is for people of all ages.
• The enhancement and development of relationships within criminal justice services and building strong links between Healthcare, Social Services, and the Criminal Justice system itself is an essential part of the post holder's role.
• A team of autonomous mental health liaison workers are based within custody suites across Camden, Islington, and Haringey, feeding into Wood Green Crown Court and Highbury Corner Magistrates Court, with support and supervision provided by the Clinical and Operational Leads. Liaison and Diversion support is also provided to the British Transport Police based at three sites over central and north London.
• Their role is to screen individuals identified as having mental health problems and any other vulnerabilities, provide ongoing assessment (including awareness and understanding of other factors such as physical health, use of drugs and alcohol, learning difficulties, and speech, language, and communication issues), immediate case management, and to formalize timely and sensitive sharing of information between police, court, and mental health services.
• Additionally, we are seeking to develop innovative approaches to working with mental health services, both locally and across London, for example, through attendance at community teams, linking with YOTs and CAMHS services, participating in service reviews, and recording information that demonstrates and supports the benefits of liaison and diversion.

This is not an exhaustive list; please see the attached Job Description and Person Specification for more information on the role requirements and duties.

Person Specification

EDUCATION AND QUALIFICATIONS

Essential Criteria

• A professional qualification relevant to mental health practice.
• RMN/Degree/Diploma in Nursing.
• CQSW/Degree/Diploma in Social Work.
• Occupational Therapy registration.

Desirable Criteria

• Second Degree - Masters.

EXPERIENCE AND KNOWLEDGE

Essential Criteria

• Significant experience and knowledge of working with people with mental health problems.
• Experience in acute adult or CAMHS, multi-disciplinary community mental health services.
• A good understanding of recovery principles, the care programme approach, and the role of secondary mental health services in the delivery of care.

Desirable Criteria

• Experience of giving written and oral evidence in a court or tribunal setting.
• Experience of working within the criminal justice system.

SKILLS AND ABILITIES

Essential Criteria

• Compassionate - Exceptional interpersonal skills with the ability to communicate effectively with patients, carers, and relatives about complex and sensitive issues, remaining sensitive and empathetic.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, including presentation of cases.
• Ability to treat Service Users with respect and dignity, being culturally sensitive as appropriate, and consider the needs of the whole person.
• Ability to manage autonomously within the criminal justice system as a silo worker.

Desirable Criteria

• Ability to manage conflicts within the criminal justice system, achieving the best outcomes for those referred.

References will be required to cover your last 3 years of employment/training. One must be from your current or most recent employer and the others from your previous employer. The references should be from persons with management responsibility or HR.

If you have been unemployed for a period of four years or more, please give the details of your last employer and one character referee of your choice (not members of your family). If more applicable, references will be requested from your teacher or head of faculty. Please ensure you provide full contact details.

Vacancies that are advertised as Fixed Term Contracts will also be available as secondment opportunities for substantive internal staff.

Please be aware that your documents, e.g., Passport/NI Card, will be electronically scanned using Home Office accredited Verification System.

Due to the high number of applications that are received for some posts, we will close vacancies before the stated closing date once the first 50 applications are received. Therefore, please apply as soon as possible.

All non-medical posts with the Trust are subject to a probationary period of six months, during which time you will be required to demonstrate to the Trust's satisfaction your suitability for the position in which you will be employed.

Should you not hear from us within three working weeks of the closing date for this post, then regretfully, in this instance, you have not been shortlisted.

By applying for this role, you accept that in the event you are successful, your personal data may be transferred from the Trust to another NHS organisation where your employment transfers within the NHS. This is in accordance with the streamlining programme which is aimed at improving efficiencies within the NHS both to make cost savings for NHS organisations and to save you time when your employment transfers.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

Applicant Requirements

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020, and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Documents to Download

• Job Description and Person Specification (PDF, 600.5KB)
• Functional Requirements (PDF, 258.2KB)
• L&D Band 7 job advert (PDF, 224.6KB)