Primary Care Mental Health Practitioner in Nuneaton

Primary Care Mental Health Practitioner
The closing date is 02 April 2026
We are building an ambitious Primary Care-based Mental Health & Well-being Team
This opportunity is for a Band 6 Primary Care Mental Health Practitioner (ARRS) who is a Registered Professional to work within Nuneaton and Bedworth Primary Care Network.
This is an exciting opportunity for dynamic people to join us and build on the existing multi‑disciplinary PCN teams to support the mental health and well‑being needs of local communities.
You will be employed by Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership Trust but embedded within a group of GP practices with a focus on supporting local patients living across North Warwickshire.
These roles are directly patient‑facing, so you will have a meaningful impact on improving the access, experience and outcomes for service users on a daily basis.
The teams will work in partnership with higher‑acuity mental health services (delivered by the Trust) to offer care at the point of need that suits individual patient needs. Each team will work together with support from their practices to ensure they are delivering the best care possible.
If you are passionate about making a difference and can use your expertise to improve mental health and wellbeing, we want to hear from you!
Main duties of the job
To act as a liaison worker between secondary care mental health providers and primary care.
To support clinical decisions and discussions for patients not known to SCMH services or who are open to community mental health services, and to support GPs who need advice.
To review patients in primary care and assess where needs can be best met, including those discharged or not engaged with SCMH services.
The role will enhance patient journeys, create better joint working across primary and secondary care, and make it easier for patients to obtain the help they need.
To offer brief interventions to people with mental health needs that do not require a referral into SCMH services, facilitating short‑term case management and joint support.
To work closely with social prescribers and other professionals within the PCN multidisciplinary team, supporting patients to access the right services at the right time.
To develop and maintain collaborative links with the third sector, providing clinical advice and support to mental health social prescribers or equivalent within primary care.
To provide one day per week with each GP surgery in the PCN (locally agreed) and attend and participate in the PCN multidisciplinary team meetings.
About us
We exist to make a positive difference to the health and wellbeing of people and communities who need our services. This is our core purpose and the reason we come to work every day. We provide a full range of physical, mental health and learning disability services to children, young adults, adults and older adults across many sites in Coventry, Warwickshire and Solihull. The Trust currently holds a ‘Good’ CQC rating.
We care for you as much as you care for others and offer a wide range of support services and benefits to promote staff wellbeing and a good work‑life balance, including flexible working.
Our dedicated People Hub brings together all our support services, including COPE, our in‑house counselling service, emotional support through Staff in Mind, and more. Our Employee Assistance Programme offers a 24/7 helpline for advice and guidance, a salary sacrifice scheme and additional benefits.
We are happy to answer any questions that you may have – please get in touch!
Job responsibilities
Ensure service users are quickly supported to the right service utilising PCN social prescribers or equivalent.
Provide dedicated support and presence within primary care settings; build long‑term relationships and improve communication with primary care colleagues and other stakeholders.
Enhance the skills and capacity in primary care and VCS through training and facilitation of joint working with the social prescribers.
Offer advice or obtain advice for primary care colleagues to plan appropriate and timely intervention.
Participate in pro‑active mental health promotion and wellbeing initiatives (World Suicide Prevention Day / World Mental Health Day).
Support smooth transition between primary and secondary care services if required.
Improve access to mental health services for service users and carers at the first point of contact as required.
Participate in receiving and screening referrals that the Primary Care Mental Health Practitioner can then complete a mental health assessment and make comprehensive risk‑based decisions.
Recognise and describe effectively symptoms of mental illness and distress and escalated concerns in a timely manner, working with SCMH colleagues, GPs and social prescribers.
Record assessments, risk and plans for each person seen on CWPT–specified systems.
Link in with locality community mental health duty teams to discuss any open referrals or for advice.
For patients presenting in crisis, support or work in conjunction with the GP referral process to the Mental Health Access Hub.
Communicate and provide case studies and other required information to internal (CWPT/GP) and external stakeholders.
Make telephone contact with patients within five working days as appropriate.
Agree with patients on brief interventions (maximum 4 weeks) or other support such as referral to social prescribers, IAPT or SCMH as appropriate.
Participate as an effective member of the PCN MDT and be responsible for the development and implementation of a person‑centred approach to care: screening, decision making for referrals, identifying the needs of service users and their carers.
Facilitate onward referral to the voluntary sector via social prescribers.
Facilitate short‑term case management within primary care offering professional advice, joint support and information.
Use specialist assessment skills to undertake high‑quality brief solution‑focused work when appropriate and facilitate referral to suitable treatment within SCMH.
Determine priority, need and plan service user intervention, including risk assessment and support onward referral to the appropriate service.
Meet the physical, psychological, social and cultural needs of the individual and their family, using research‑based knowledge and skills to maintain the individual\'s identity.
Recognise the needs of the family/carers, ensuring their involvement in support where appropriate while offering advice and education.
Apply specialist clinical knowledge and experience to provide education for service users to develop a greater understanding of their mental health condition and work in a person‑centred way with service users to develop awareness of their condition, life skills and coping strategies.
Discuss present performance and future needs with the PCN project development team.
Attend meetings with the PCN project development team as delegated and requested and provide feedback as appropriate.
Provide clinical supervision of social prescribers based with the PCN.
Prepare data for activity reports as required.
Participate in the implementation of policy to develop the role with the PCN project group, contributing to the development of the role and service through awareness and engagement with the PCN project team.
Facilitate improved patient and family/carer experience, improved liaison and co‑working with partners, and timely interventions.
Support the reduction in carer crisis, hospital admissions and inequality.
Support prevention of de/escalation to specialist/acute services and reduce inappropriate referrals to community mental health teams.
Person Specification
Knowledge and Skills
Knowledge and experience in mental health community services, including needs and interventions required for routine referrals and theoretical knowledge of this.
Highly developed clinical skills with an in‑depth knowledge of mental health assessment and current practice.
Ability to work across services and organisations.
Ability to lone work and manage clinical caseload and prioritise as required.
Demonstrate a clear understanding of patients\' rights within the Care Act / Mental Health Act and confidentiality legislation, and compliance with relevant legislation, local information governance policies and the Section 75 agreement.
Experience
Relevant experience working with individuals or professional groups.
Knowledge and experience in mental health community services, including needs and interventions required for routine referrals and theoretical knowledge of this.
Qualifications
Registered professional qualification (RMN / Social worker / Occupational Therapist).
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership Trust
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