Community Mental Health Practitioner | Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust in Liverpool

At the heart of all we do is our commitment to ‘perfect care’ - care that is safe, effective, positively experienced, timely, equitable and efficient. We support our staff to do the best job they can and work alongside service users, their families, and carers to design and develop future services together. We’re currently delivering a programme of organisational and service transformation to significantly improve the quality of the services we provide and safely reduce cost as we do so. Flexible working requests will be considered for all roles.

We are looking for a committed and caring individual to join our fast paced, dynamic Moss House Community Mental Health Team. We are working towards delivering a thoroughly modern mental health service that offers excellent standards of care and meaningful person centred interventions. This is a wonderful opportunity for someone who is interested in developing as a practitioner and person. Development opportunities will be available and regular clinical supervision and support will be provided.

You will be expected to deliver high quality, recovery-focused mental health interventions to the population of South Liverpool. This may range from a brief therapeutic intervention with some key worker responsibilities, to a complex package of care to meet the needs of a vulnerable service user. This is an excellent opportunity to develop skills learned in training and to move forward with an exciting career with lots of opportunities for the future. Change is constant in NHS services, so we are looking for people who are adaptable to enable us to deliver high quality, sustainable services.

• To coordinate the care of service users carrying out assessment planning, implementation and evaluation of their care under the guidelines of the Community Mental Health Framework and under the supervision of the line manager.
• To ensure that the service users care plan is developed to meet the assessed need of the individual and that we are delivering care as identified in the care plan.
• To liaise with family members, carers and significant others when completing the assessment and developing a care plan.
• To develop a risk management plan for service users, taking note of the contributions from other members of the team.
• Ensure that all significant people are aware of the risk management plan and are actioning it appropriately.
• To direct unqualified staff in order to ensure delivery of a high standard of care to service users.
• To participate in setting standards for care based on sound evidence based and research findings.
• To participate in the systematic monitoring and evaluation of service users that you have responsibility for with guidance from a supervisor.
• To communicate with other members of the multi-disciplinary team to ensure the communication of any relevant information which has an impact on the service user’s care.
• To use verbal and non-verbal communication skills gained through training or experience to impart sensitive information.
• To check understanding of information where there are often barriers to effective communications due to distress, psychiatric symptoms or where English is not the first language.
• To use skills gained through training and experience to give and receive information to other individuals with regards to a service users care in the reviews and multi-disciplinary meetings.
• To have knowledge of the Mental Health Act / Mental Capacity Act and other relevant legislation.
• To support services users and their carers when the Mental Health Act is being used to admit the service user to hospital.
• To ensure that service user rights under the Mental Health Act are effectively communicated to them and outcomes documented.
• To provide and co‑ordinate the provision of a range of therapeutic activities for service users and monitor their effectiveness.
• To take responsibility for the safe administration of medication, including depot medication, to service users ensuring that the Trust policies and procedures and the Nursing & Midwifery Councils regulations are adhered to.
• To ensure that all relevant information with regards to a service users care and treatment is documented accurately and legibly into the health record.
• To supervise and monitor the entries made by unqualified staff.
• To under the guidance of a supervisor provide reports both in written and verbal formats as requested e.g. for a service user Mental Health Act Tribunal or Managers Hearing.
• To contribute to teaching sessions in order to pass on knowledge and skills.
• To use skills gained through training and experience to de‑escalate situations where service users become physically or verbally aggressive.
• To ensure that unqualified staff members get appropriate support following violent or other untoward incidents.
• To ensure that all incidents or near misses are documented as per Trust policy and that any follow up action is taken.
• To actively participate in service user reviews ensuring that service user needs are met and that the team has all the relevant information on which to base their clinical decisions.
• To develop care plans that enable service users to reach and maintain their optimum level of health and independence to help them to remain in the community in their chosen setting.
• To react pro-actively in cases of service user crisis and put in place immediate plans to resolve the situation with supervision and guidance as appropriate.
• To assist in the assessment and supervision of nursing and other students.
• To assess and monitor the physical and mental health of service users, seeking advice and support from medical staff as appropriate.
• To actively participate in team meetings in order to positively influence team working and the development of research based practice.

• To be responsible for maintaining own professional registration requirements.
• To provide an effective link between mental health services and primary care, acting in an advisory capacity to professionals in other fields.
• To develop effective working relationships with other professional outside of the Trust in order to enhance the delivery of care to service users.
• To participate as a supervisor and supervisee in the Divisional performance management / supervision framework.
• Work towards and help others work towards goals and objectives as agreed in personal development plans.
• To take responsibility for maintaining and developing own knowledge and skills within own area of work.
• To attend, as appropriate, courses and conferences, and to feedback and share knowledge, gained from attendance.
• To be professionally accountable for own actions as a registered practitioner.
• To act, at all times, in accordance with Trust policies and procedures, ensuring that unqualified staff are adhering to policy and procedure.
• To undertake mandatory training as identified by the Trust and ensure that all actions are in line with training.
• To keep up to date with developments in professional practice and make recommendations for change to senior staff, as appropriate.
• To take an active role in the reporting of adverse incidents as per Trust policy.
• Ensure that junior staff follow the policy and appropriately report all incidents.
• To seek advice and further training, if appropriate, before carrying out any duty.
• To actively participate in the preceptorship process, working towards fulfilling any action plans, as agreed with the supervisor, and seeking advice and support to enhance skills and develop expertise.

• To adhere to the Trusts right based approach taking into account service user choice.
• To take reasonable care for the health and safety of yourself and any others that may be affected by your acts and omissions at work.
• To ensure that you are familiar with the terms and conditions of your post.
• To take responsibility for identifying, reporting and managing environmental risk as necessary e.g. liaison with facilities.
• To participate in service development as required.