Advanced Practitioner Acute Referral Centre in London

The Acute Referral Centre (ARC) operates 24hrs a day, 7 days a week. It is the Trust's central point of contact for crisis referrals. All referrals are triaged in ARC to ensure robust gatekeeping. Key functions include the overall booking process of acute beds, the Central Health Based Place of Safety (HBPoS), The Mental Health Urgent Treatment Center (MHUTC), and the NHS 111 Option 2 hub. ARC works closely with borough-based Home Treatment Teams, Assessment and Liaison services, community treatment teams, acute trusts, and the Police. The centre provides telephone advice and support for people in crisis whilst coordinating both admissions to and discharges from hospital.

Advanced Practitioners working within the Acute Referral Centre undertake triage assessments and, when required, face-to-face rapid assessments alongside London Ambulance and the Metropolitan Police. They balance clinical demands and supervisory responsibilities within the Acute Referral Centre, managing beds and following through referrals to a safe conclusion by liaising with wards, community services, and Home Treatment. They are active members of the bed management coordination function for the Trust and involved with the entire booking process for in-patient admissions.

Main duties of the job:

• The service acts as a key hub in the Urgent and Emergency Care pathway.
• Consult and take a lead in the decision-making of complex and/or high-risk cases demonstrating safe clinical decision-making and expert care, including assessment diagnostic skills and effective interventions.
• Demonstrate critical thinking in the clinical decision-making process.
• Work with the multi-professional team to meet the needs of service users and provide clinical professional supervision and leadership to the clinical team.
• Provide management support as delegated by the Clinical Services lead, including supervision, team training, and service development initiatives.
• Organise the roster ensuring safe staffing.
• Deputise for the Clinical Service Lead in their absence.
• Conduct comprehensive biopsychosocial assessments of adults as part of day-to-day clinical duties.
• Work within professional scope and agreed protocols, supporting complex clinical decisions, risk assessment, care planning, and onward referrals or admissions.
• This is a shift-based role of long days and nights to maintain safe 24/7 coverage.
• Demonstrate strong interpersonal, communication, and de-escalation skills, working effectively in a high-pressure environment.
• Provide specialist screening and triage at the point of referral, ensuring timely assessment of individuals presenting with moderate to severe mental health needs and crisis presentations.
• Undertake comprehensive biopsychosocial and risk assessments, interpreting information holistically to formulate clinical recommendations and determine the most appropriate intervention, referral pathway, or discharge plan.
• Develop and review crisis and contingency plans in partnership with service users and carers, incorporating risk assessment, positive risk-taking, and recovery-focused approaches.
• Exercise autonomous clinical decision-making regarding discharge, onward referral, signposting, and escalation to appropriate primary, secondary, and specialist services.
• Act as a senior clinician within the team, providing expert advice, clinical leadership, senior review, and support for complex, high-risk, or challenging cases.
• Ensure all assessments and interventions are delivered in accordance with Trust policies, professional standards, safeguarding requirements, and relevant legislation, including the Mental Health Act.
• Support effective patient flow across the acute care pathway by making timely decisions regarding treatment, Home Treatment Team referrals, admission avoidance, and onward care.
• Assist the team in prioritising workload and resources on a shift-by-shift basis, responding flexibly to urgent and emergency presentations.
• Assess and elevate physical health concerns and long-term conditions, facilitating referral to appropriate health services in line with local and national guidance.
• Maintain up-to-date clinical, pharmacological, and professional knowledge, applying evidence-based practice and critical appraisal skills to clinical decision-making.
• Liaise effectively with internal and external stakeholders to ensure coordinated care and effective risk management.
• Coordinate patient pathways and flow through emergency and urgent care settings, promoting timely access to appropriate services.
• Demonstrate advanced decision-making, problem-solving, communication, conflict resolution, and leadership skills within a fast-paced and high-pressure environment.
• Participate in the supervision, teaching, training, and development of staff within the Acute Referral Centre (ARC).
• Maintain confidentiality and information governance standards, ensuring information is shared appropriately on a need-to-know basis.
• Demonstrate high levels of professionalism, emotional intelligence, leadership, self-awareness, empathy, and compassionate communication in all interactions.

Skills Essential:

• Demonstrate skills in autonomous, senior decision-making regarding discharge, signposting, and admission of service users following a comprehensive assessment and evaluation of risk.
• Experience of assessing and risk managing violent self-harm.
• Experience at working at band 6 level or above within psychiatric liaison services.
• Excellent communication skills.
• Ability to gain easily the trust and respect of service users, their relatives, and staff across disciplines and services.
• Recognition of own limitations, strengths, and weaknesses and an ability to seek advice when necessary.
• Ability to manage and prioritise clinical demands, supervision and support, and Emergency Department pathways.
• Ability to work across a 24-hour service.

South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust (SLaM) provide the widest range of NHS mental health services in the UK as well as substance misuse services for people who are addicted to drugs and alcohol. We work closely with the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience (IoPPN), King's College London and are part of King's Health Partners Academic Health Sciences Centre. There are very few organisations in the world that have such wide-ranging capabilities working with mental illness. Our scope is unique because it is built on three major foundations: care and treatment, science and research, and training. SLaM employ around 5000 staff and serve a local population of 1.1 million people. We have more than 230 services including inpatient wards, outpatient and community services. Currently, we provide inpatient care for approximately 5,300 people each year and treat more than 45,000 patients in the community in Croydon, Lambeth, Lewisham, and Southwark; as well as substance misuse services for residents of Bexley, Bromley, and Greenwich. We are committed to ensuring our staff get the most out of their benefits package and understand the importance of a healthy work-life balance. There is an extensive range of excellent benefits for you and your family. We want you to feel like you are part of a close-knit team at SLaM. It is important to us that you are valued and appreciated and that is why we have a comprehensive benefits package on offer.