Service Manager CNWL MHCAS | Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust

Are you looking for an exciting new challenge? Are you a compassionate, visible, dynamic and highly motivated healthcare leader? Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust (CNWL) is seeking an experienced, innovative, and enthusiastic nursing leader to provide operational leadership and strategic direction for the Mental Health Crisis Assessment Service (MHCAS).

To undertake this challenging role, you will need to have extensive experience in leading and managing nursing teams within acute/community settings. You will have excellent communication and interpersonal skills and demonstrate an ability to work collaboratively with multidisciplinary teams.

The postholder is required to lead in the management of the Mental Health Crisis Assessment Service (MHCAS) which is presently based at St. Charles Hospital. MHCAS provides a vital alternative to Emergency Departments by offering direct walk-in access and a dedicated assessment pathway, ensuring individuals experiencing a mental health crisis can be assessed in a safe, therapeutic, and secure environment 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. MHCAS also seeks to divert patients from Emergency Departments.

The postholder will lead with the continuous improvement and development of the service, ensuring effective and efficient use of allocated resources to provide a service organised around the urgent and acute needs of patients across a 24/7 operating model. The post is currently under review with a potential plan to expand the role to include oversight of additional urgent care services across the Trust.

If you are an ambitious and forward-thinking leader with a commitment to delivering high-quality mental health services, we would love to hear from you.

As the service manager for the MHCAS you will be responsible for:

• Management and supervision of staff, including 24/7 rota and workforce planning.
• Management of the MHCAS budget and recruitment and retention of staff.
• Managing and actively working to resolve Emergency Department patient waits.
• Leading by example to ensure patients receive good quality care.
• Ensuring that staffing levels are appropriate to patient needs.
• Empowering nurses to take on wider ranges of clinical tasks.
• Improving hospital cleanliness and preventing hospital-acquired infections.
• Ensuring that patients’ physical health needs are met.
• Making sure patients are treated in line with Trust Values.
• Resolving problems for patients and their relatives by building closer relationships with them.
• Prioritising safety and wellbeing of patients and staff.
• Ensuring that staff are provided with continuous training and development.
• Ensuring that all services within their area are fully CQC compliant.
• Acting as the principal host for visits, site tours and shadowing arrangements for delegates and colleagues from other NHS Trusts, external agencies and partner organisations.
• Representing and promoting the MHCAS at a national and international level, including through conference presentations, publications, professional networks and engagement with visiting national and international delegations.

CNWL has an established reputation for providing the highest standards of care together with an extensive range of clinical services. We are extremely proud of our employees across our services, with high quality patient care at the heart of everything we do. We're passionate about delivering first-class patient-centred, safe and effective care, whether it is in a hospital setting, in a community clinic or in the patient's own home.

Providing top quality care depends on our ability to employ the best people. You will become part of a talented, compassionate and enthusiastic workforce committed to a vision of 'making a positive difference in people's lives'. We're always looking to recruit people who will go the extra mile to support our patients, colleagues, teams and the Trust.

The Trust provides excellent benefits for its staff, including commitments to professional development and policies to support employees in balancing their personal and professional lives.

Please note: This vacancy does not meet the criteria for Skilled Worker sponsorship, unless you meet the criteria by temporary exemption from current changes to immigration rules put in force on 22/07/2025.

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

Summary of main responsibilities:

• Clinical Practice Management: To act as a leader with continuing clinical responsibility within the designated areas, ensuring that services provide high quality evidence-based nursing assessment, care planning, interventions and evaluations for patients.
• Teaching, Education & Health Promotion: To use the Practitioner’s specialist skills, knowledge and resources to provide learning opportunities for staff within designated areas.
• Continuing Professional Development: To maintain and develop professional knowledge, skills and expertise to ensure that practice reflects best practice, remains evidence-based, is current and responsive to meet changing patient and NHS service needs.
• Finance and Workforce: To manage all budgets within the post holder’s span of control and make best use of available workforce resources based on agreed staffing models.
• Record Keeping and Administration: To maintain standards of record keeping and associated administration in accordance with CNWL Trust Policy as well as local joint arrangements and professional guidelines.
• Evidence-Based Nursing, Practice Development & Clinical Audit: To contribute to practice development activity and evidence-based mental health nursing.
• Service Overview and Planning: To contribute to the development and planning of services specific to the post’s designated areas.
• Professional Nursing Advice: To provide professional nursing advice within the post-holder’s area of responsibility.