Senior Clinical Practitioner- COMHAD | South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust in Springfield

We are seeking an experienced and motivated Senior Clinical Practitioner to join our Co-Occurring Mental Health, Alcohol and Drugs (COMHAD) Provision. This is a 1-year secondment opportunity, offering a unique chance to work with individuals who may face barriers to accessing traditional services, including those affected by mental health difficulties, substance use, social exclusion and other complex needs. You will play a key role in improving access, engagement and outcomes for people who are often underserved, working across mental health, substance misuse and partner organisations.

The role focuses on delivering high-quality, person-centred care using trauma-informed, recovery-oriented and harm minimisation approaches. This is an excellent opportunity for a clinician looking to broaden their experience, develop leadership skills, and contribute to improving how services respond to co-occurring needs across a range of settings.

• Provide specialist clinical input to individuals with co-occurring mental health and substance use needs, particularly those who may be less likely to engage with traditional services.
• Undertake comprehensive assessments and deliver time-limited, evidence-based interventions, supporting individuals to access and remain engaged in treatment and recovery pathways.
• Contribute to care planning, risk management and coordination of care for people with complex and often high-risk presentations.
• Work collaboratively across mental health teams, substance misuse services and partner agencies, including those working with socially excluded groups, to improve access and continuity of care.
• Support colleagues through consultation, shared working and informal teaching, helping to strengthen capability in working with co-occurring needs.
• Contribute to service development, supporting improvements in pathways, reducing unplanned disengagement from services, and promoting effective, recovery-focused interventions across systems.
• Provide specialist clinical advice and support to colleagues within the health care setting and to agencies concerned with substance misuse.
• Undertake time-limited treatment-specific work, including prescribing, with clients whose care is coordinated by other members of clinical teams, in respect of substance misuse, relapse prevention, detoxification and rehabilitation referrals for rough sleepers with co-occurring substance dependence and mental health need; devise systematic plans for care; implement this plan; coordinate the input of others and evaluate its effectiveness.
• This includes commencement of medication; monitoring effect and side effects, interactions and developing medication adherence strategies for nursing staff.
• Work as an autonomous practitioner providing expert assessments and developing, implementing and evaluating care/treatment interventions for service users with complex needs associated with a co-occurring substance dependence and mental health issues.
• Lead the promotion of evidence-based practice for people with co-occurring substance dependence and mental health needs with their linked services.
• Provide expert advice to clinical staff of all disciplines and grades (including consultant psychiatrists) on the assessment, planning, implementation and evaluation of care/treatment packages for people with a co-occurring mental health, alcohol & drugs.
• Provide clinical supervision formally and informally to staff of all disciplines (e.g. nurses, doctors, social workers) and grades (up to and including consultant level).
• Provide harm reduction information, support and referral with an emphasis on safer drug and alcohol use, safer sex, tobacco harm reduction / smoking cessation, HIV, Hepatitis A, B and C and other blood borne infections.
• Work closely with Wandsworth & Richmond drug and alcohol Service to support referral and engagement to Hep C treatment.
• Provide overdose prevention interventions in line with Wandsworth & Richmond drug and alcohol Service guidelines.
• Manage a caseload of service users affected by rough sleeping, drug and alcohol use and severe and enduring mental health needs – this will include service users with complex needs.
• In consultation with service users, enable substance misuse and homelessness providers, to develop flexible and realistic strengths-based / recovery plans.
• Support RSDATG Team with the assessment of service users for residential detoxification and rehabilitation treatment, where appropriate.
• Employ a range of interventions with service users including motivational interviewing and be familiar with treatment tools.
• Empower services to work with people with co-occurring substance misuse and staff and service users to identify quality improvements in practice and service delivery and become involved in service user co-production.

Benefits: We offer flexible working, career development and a variety of benefits to enable a positive, welcoming environment in which our people and their careers can thrive. We are inclusive and diverse and strive to be actively anti-racist. We want to attract people from all backgrounds and experiences to enrich the work we do together. We are proud to co-produce and involve our local communities in all that we do.

Unless expressly stated in the job advert the role is not subject to sponsorship, please be advised that all offers of employment are subject to evidence of right to work in the UK.

This advert closes on Tuesday 12 May 2026.