Primary Care Mental Health Liaison Practitioner

Overview

Primary Care Mental Health Liaison Practitioner. NHS AfC: Band 6. Contract: Permanent. Hours: Full time – 37.5 hours per week. Site: Bedale Centre, Town: Bognor Regis.

Closing: 19/02/2026 08:00.

We are looking for people who share our values of compassion, accountability and optimism to help us provide high quality care for the patients, carers, families and communities we serve. We specialise in NHS mental health and learning disability services and we\\\’re proud to make a difference every day. At SPFT we put people first, offer opportunities to learn and grow, and support flexible working to aid work-life balance.

Job Overview

The Bognor Assessment & Treatment Service is a community mental health team supporting people with severe and enduring mental illness. The MHLP team liaises between the ATS and GP Surgeries, working within GP surgeries as the link between primary and secondary care services.

We are looking for an experienced Band 6 Mental Health Practitioner (Mental Health Nurse, Occupational Therapist and Social Worker) to work within GP Surgeries to provide up to 10 sessions of psychologically informed or psycho-educational interventions to people with moderate mental health problems. The successful applicant will also complete initial assessments and liaise with GP\\\’s, IAPT services, local agencies and signpost to third sector services.

This post offers the Trust\\\’s £2,000 Golden Hello or Relocation Incentive for Band 6 Nurses & Practitioners (pro rata and subject to terms and conditions; see Protocol Document for full details).

Main duties

Working as an MHLP includes:

• Autonomously manage a defined caseload of clients with mild to moderate mental health problems; provide psycho-education, CBT-informed sessions and short-term recovery-focused interventions.
• Complete initial assessments and work closely with referrals coordinators, GP\\\’s and other agencies.
• Deliver a pre-defined offer of 6-8 sessions.
• Co-facilitate groups if interested.

Working for our organisation

What you will receive from us:

• Friendly and supportive team; regular meetings to ensure you feel safe and supported.
• MDT meetings for complex case discussions.
• Regular managerial supervision and opportunity to supervise junior staff; access to clinical supervision and support from Community Leads.
• Encouragement to develop and pursue further training.

Detailed Job Description and Main Responsibilities

To work as part of the secondary care mental health service, acting as a link clinician to primary care teams; clinical work in primary care settings. Work with GPs and primary care teams, especially IAPT, to provide support, advice, consultation and shared care for adults with functional mental illness to enable safe management within primary care. Develop care plans with GPs and other primary care colleagues; assess individuals with complex presentations prior to referral to secondary care and direct to appropriate services as needed. Maintain close working relationships with local secondary care teams and develop care pathways within localities. Keep up-to-date knowledge of local resources and how to access them, and provide information to practices and specialist teams. Provide information on the role of the PC Mental Health Liaison Practitioner to GPs, primary and secondary care teams, service users and third sector agencies. Apply early intervention principles and provide assessments for service users with more complex presentations in consultation with GPs. Organise and coordinate training for GPs and primary care teams on mental health topics as agreed with GPs and PBCs.

Person specification

Essential criteria:

• Registered Mental Health qualification or equivalent
• Up-to-date Registration
• Post Basic Courses / relevant Study Days
• Evidence of CPD

Experience:

• Post-qualifying clinical experience with a range of mental health problems
• Experience of partnership working across statutory and non-statutory teams and agencies
• Experience managing a caseload and prioritising clinical work
• Experience providing a range of clinical interventions for mental health problems
• Experience working consultatively with professionals
• Experience conducting clinical assessments, including risk assessments

SPFT is committed to building a workforce that reflects the communities we serve. We welcome applications from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic backgrounds and from disabled candidates.

Notes: Successful candidates are normally appointed to the bottom of the pay scale unless NHS experience is evidenced. We require safeguarding training for all staff. If you have not heard from us within three weeks of the closing date, please assume your application was unsuccessful. In the event of high applications, we may close early.

Employer information and documents

Documents to download: Mental Health Liaison Practitioner JD (PDF), Protocol (PDF), Privacy Notice (PDF), DBS Policy Statement (PDF).

Apply and contact

Apply online. For further details or informal visits, contact Hannah Ryan (Service Manager) on 0300 304 0400 or by email.