Liaison Psychiatry for Older Persons Mental Health Nurse

We have an exciting opportunity for Band 6 mental health professionals to work within the Liaison psychiatry team for older people's as an integrated part of the crisis care pathway. This full-time post will be based at Northampton and/or Kettering General Hospital within the Liaison Psychiatry for Older People (LPOP) Team. The ability to travel to both hospitals is essential.

The post holder will provide a lead specialist role of Mental Health practitioner for people (over 65 years) with mental health problems who are receiving care and treatment in Kettering/Northampton General Hospital. This will include:

• Undertaking mental health assessments of older people with complex needs
• Advising on differential diagnosis and treatment plans
• Liaising with general hospital ward staff/MDT
• Providing mental health interventions to individuals as appropriate
• Providing an expert advisory role to colleagues in the General Hospital settings
• Supporting the ongoing development of liaison service for older people in the acute general hospital, including providing training to general hospital colleagues

The successful applicant will work within the LPOP service but may also support the wider functions of the Crisis Pathway that include:

• Countywide Acute Liaison Mental Health Service (ALMHS)
• Crisis cafes in partnerships with local third sector providers
• Police Street triage options
• The Crisis House
• Police Custody Healthcare
• The Crisis Response Unit (CRU)

Our services aim to reduce mental health attendance at Emergency Departments across the county, offer genuine opportunities for service users to self-refer at the point of crisis, and provide partner organisations with proactive support and alternate pathways for service users they come into contact with. The pathway has a strong emphasis on service user collaboration and co-production at every level.

NHFT is an integrated primary care and mental health Trust, providing physical, mental health and specialty services in both hospital settings and out in the community. Because we put the person at the centre of all we do, we focus on delivering care that is as easy to access as possible. This means many of our services can be provided at home, work or in schools. We also provide health services to various prisons and detention centres in Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire.

For further details / informal visits contact: Name: Catherine Matheson Job title: LPOP Operational Manager Email address: catherine.matheson@nhft.nhs.uk