Social Worker- 111 Mental Health Option

Main area: Crisis Care Pathway

Grade: Band 6

Contract: Permanent

Hours: Full time/Part time/Flexible working (37.5 hours per week)

Job ref: 246-WSU6976105-B-SW

Site: Wedgwood House

Town: Bury St Edmunds

Salary: £37,338 - £44,962 gross per annum (pro rata)

Salary period: Yearly

Closing: 25/06/2025 23:59

Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust provides child and adult mental health services, learning disability, wellbeing, older people's and eating disorder services across Norfolk and Suffolk. We are committed to equality, diversity and inclusion and want to reflect the diversity of our local communities within our teams. We welcome applications from all talented individuals with the relevant qualifications, skills, knowledge and experience.

YOUR APPLICATION: We can provide all our job application materials in alternative formats so that these are accessible to everyone. Should you require any documents within this job pack in an alternative format, please do not hesitate to contact us at recruitment@nsft.nhs.uk.

PLEASE NOTE: If you use a hotmail, msn or yahoo e-mail account, you will need to check your "junk" mail regularly as these email providers will divert any communication from this Trust/NHS JOBS straight into your "junk" inbox. Please note, NSFT uses tools to screen any applications generated by Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Job overview: Are you an experienced mental health professional looking to utilise your clinical skills in a different setting? Our Suffolk First Response Service is seeking Senior Crisis Care Practitioners to join the existing team. The First Response Service provides a 24/7 crisis telephone line, providing support, advice and assessment in a compassionate, patient and recovery focused way. You’ll be joining a team with experience gained from a range of different settings, working in a supportive and encouraging environment. We have substantive opportunities available for both full and part time hours. We work long days (7.30am – 8pm), nights (7:45pm- 7:45am) and twilights. We are committed to developing people professionally and are keen to support individuals who are looking to take their first step into a more senior role. This is an opportunity to grow your management skills, take on responsibilities and help us shape and grow our service. No two days will be the same, but they will include elements of working in an MDT team, providing telephone triage assessments and supporting and guiding service users through crisis in our contact centre based at Wedgwood House, Bury St Edmunds.

Main duties of the job: As a Senior Crisis Care Practitioner you can expect to be:

• Answering calls from Service Users and professionals
• Triaging and assessing over the phone
• Safety Planning
• Documentation of the above including referrals, notes and referrals to other teams
• Liaison with other professionals and teams
• On occasion, creating formulations and plans for our regular callers
• Taking lead/champion subjects such as: Learning Disability, Youth, Drug & Alcohol, Perinatal, etc. (Within that is opportunity for training, sharing knowledge with the team, attending conferences or meetings)
• Shadowing other teams where appropriate/possible
• Brief intervention over the phone where appropriate
• Quality Improvement

You will also have the opportunity to co-coordinate shifts, provide clinical oversight and support to practitioners, supporting with teaching and training opportunities, leading on staff development and being a visible role model that echoes the values of the trust and the vision of the service. When you join us, you can expect a robust training and induction package with ongoing support. You will have a supernumerary period and an allocated mentor to train and support you.

Working for our organisation: Here at NSFT we pride ourselves on being a welcoming, talented, friendly and supportive team who like nothing better than sharing experiences and learning from each other. In addition to ongoing training and development opportunities, we are committed to providing an environment in which you can thrive.

Why work for us? We have challenges as a Trust, but we have ambitious aspirations, are pushing ahead with exciting transformation work and we need dedicated individuals to support us on our journey. We have strong, established professional networks coupled with an exceptional leadership team who will ensure you are truly cared for and cared about.

Why Norfolk and Suffolk? The people here are warm and welcoming, you’ll never be far from the beautiful coastline or Broads National Park. We’re an hour and a half away from London and have an international airport in Norwich too. Our villages, towns and cities are packed full of history, independent cafes, shops and theatres. We have excellent shopping, eating out, top ranking schooling and affordable house prices too.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities: We are looking for people who see challenges as opportunities and will have the ability to influence, inspire and energise others, as well as work with people’s strengths to make an all-round better working environment. We would welcome informal visits or phone calls, please do not hesitate to contact to arrange! For full details of your responsibilities, please see attached job description.

Person specification: Qualifications: Registered Mental Health or Learning Disability Nurse, Occupational Therapist OR Social Worker with the relevant professional registration. Ongoing professional development working towards degree level.

Experience: Able to demonstrate an appropriate level of knowledge of mental health practice from previous experience. Demonstrate effective risk assessment and risk management experience. Experience in supporting service development.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES: Apart from its legal duties in relation to equality and diversity, the Trust recognises and actively promotes the benefits of a diverse workforce and is committed to treating all employees with dignity and respect regardless of race, gender, disability, age, sexual orientation, religion or belief. As a part of the Disability Confident Employer Guaranteed Interview Scheme we interview all disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the job vacancy (outlined in the Person Specification). We encourage you to indicate your eligibility through TRAC jobs when applying.

DISCLOSURE AND BARRING SERVICE CHECK (formerly CRB): FOR POSTS WITH DIRECT SERVICE USER CONTACT - Please be advised that due to recent changes in the DBS Service, organisations no longer receive copies of DBS Disclosures – these are sent directly to candidates only. Therefore, it will be your responsibility, if successful, to ensure that this is taken to the appointing officer as soon as you receive it. Alternatively, if you have subscribed to the update service, we will be able to check your status once we have your authority to do so. The Trust has now introduced a DBS Update Service which is a contractual requirement. You need to subscribe when you have applied for your DBS clearance and there is a time limit to subscribe of 19 days after receipt of your DBS disclosure. Please ensure that this is completed within the set time scale. This update service is an annual subscription at a cost of £16 to you. This will enable the Trust to have instant online access to your DBS record, with your consent, and so will remove the need for you to have to apply for this repeat check again.

Employer certification / accreditation badges: 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.

Contact: Julie Robinson, Suffolk Hub Manager, Email: julie.robinson@nsft.nhs.uk, Telephone: 01284 719841

Additional information: Ellie Werrell - Business Support Manager, Email: Ellie.Werrell@nsft.nsh.uk, Telephone: 07827 841102 or 01284 719841