Mental Health Practitioner

at  Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

We have an exciting opportunity for Band 6 mental health professionals to work as an integrated part of the Crisis Pathway, in the Acute Liaison services at Northampton & Kettering General Hospital, providing frontline assessment and support to service users in ED and the wider hospital wards.
Services aim to reduce mental health attendance at ED across the county, offer genuine opportunities for service users to self-refer at the point of crisis and provide partner organisations with proactive support and alternate pathways for service users who they come into contact with. The pathway has a strong emphasis in service user collaboration, co-production and a trauma informed approach.
NHFT is an integrated primary care and mental health Trust, providing physical, mental health and specialty services in both hospital settings and out in the community. Because we put the person at the centre of all we do, we focus on delivering care that is as easy to access as possible. This means many of our services can be provided at home, work or in schools. We also provide health services to various prisons and detention centres in Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire.
1.Provide specialist assessment and brief interventions to patients across the Crisis Care Pathway, which prevents admission to ED, or contributes to a smooth and early discharge and/or prevents an admission to a mental health units.
2. Improve the experience of patients with mental health illnesses who receive care in the acute hospital and Crisis Pathway.
3. Provide specialist mental health perspective to the multi-disciplinary team members regarding assessment, intervention, management and discharge planning.
4. Provide a service to the Crisis Pathway countywide.
5. Contribute to support, training and skill development of acute hospital staff in mental health awareness.
6. To engage in developing a range of therapeutic activities within the Northamptonshire Hospitals as part of the Acute Liaison Mental Health Service.
7. To assist the Operational Manager with the day-to-day management of junior colleagues regarding clinical supervision, and support.
8. To promote and develop effective working relationships with key groups with the general acute hospitals and associated community based teams, EMAS, Police and 3rd sector colleagues.
9. To work as a key member of a comprehensive Acute Liaison Mental Health Service within the two general hospitals. Offering a range of interventions throughout the hospitals for patients with a wide range of mental health difficulties, in line with the service operational policy.
10. To offer education, opportunistically and on a planned basis, to staff within the general hospitals in order to improve their knowledge and skills of mental health, and reduce the stigma of mental health.
11. There will be an expectation that out of hours support will be provided within this role, and that the post holder will be able to provide cross cover over the two sites as service needs dictates, working on a shift pattern basis across a 24/7 basis.To work within the referral and assessment protocols within the ALMHS service and wider pathway, to address the mental health needs highlighted by the relevant agencies.
12. To initiate a comprehensive risk assessment process, highlighting risks to self and others, with consideration given to continuity of care following discharge from hospital.
13. To formulate detailed care plans/packages of care for individuals whilst in hospital, remaining mindful of their discharge, to ensure that mental health care provision is seamless and inclusive of mental health needs across the spectrum of primary and secondary care.
14. To assist in the appropriate use of the Mental Health Act with individuals requiring transfer to a psychiatric hospital setting.
15. To involve patients throughout the assessment and treatment processes, ensuring that care packages are tailored to meet individual needs.
16. To work within protocols for joint working with our primary and secondary care colleagues, to ensure optimum care pathways for our patients.
17. To work within information sharing protocol guidance.
18. To ensure risk assessment are routinely conducted and reviewed, with regards to high-risk suicide and self-harm individuals, in line with the trust risk assessment process.
19. To work with the appropriate local Mental Health Services to ensure external services remain involved in the assessment and care planning of patients’ needs, both in hospital an post discharge.
20. To maintain an effective referral database of individuals with mental health needs within the hospitals, highlighting location, current and future professionals involved, and ongoing needs to be addressed whilst in hospital and post discharge.
21. To act as the clinical mentor for students working on placements with the ALMHS service and wider pathway.
22. Maintenance of up to date clinical records in line with Trust Policy and professional clinical standards

Please refer the Job description for details