Band 6 Drug and Alcohol Practitioner - South West in Weston-super-Mare

Southwest Op Courage Integrated Veterans Mental Health and Wellbeing Service covers Cornwall, Devon, Somerset, Bristol, Gloucestershire, Wiltshire and Dorset; our operational base is in Weston-super-Mare. The service is one of six national NHS England-commissioned Op Courage services. Op Courage provides a complete pathway and is delivered by a multi-disciplinary team which includes nurses, psychologists, pharmacists, psychiatrists, occupational therapists, support workers, and operational and administrative staff. This starts with a comprehensive needs-led conversation in line with Your Team, Your Care and Your Plan; it is followed by evidence-based interventions and treatment for a wide range of need and complexity, from the early signs of mental health problems through to complex mental health difficulties and psychological trauma.

The service is delivered via a hybrid working model which entails a mix of homeworking and utilising clinical spaces or hot-desks. Clinical care and interventions are delivered face to face or virtually, in line with patient choice and clinical and/or operational need. The post-holder will need to live within the Southwest and cover an agreed area, and will be assigned to their nearest AWP base. The post-holder will also be expected to travel to attend face-to-face Trust training and meetings, which will be within the Op Courage footprint but may be outside their general working area.

Main duties of the job

• The post-holder will need strong clinical skills in assessment, safety assessment, and safety planning, and the ability to provide therapeutic interventions.
• They will be expected to operate within legislative frameworks - the Mental Health Act 2007, the Mental Capacity Act 2005, the Care Act 2014, and other relevant health and social care legislation.
• The post-holder will help deliver a defined drug and alcohol service to an allocated caseload of service users, having responsibility for the assessment of needs, and the planning and implementation of treatment and care to meet those needs as agreed with the multidisciplinary team and/or supervisor.
• They will coordinate care (with supervision) for particular clients and contribute to the evaluation of care across a variety of settings where specialist treatment is available.

Working for our organisation

We are the lead provider of healthcare for people with serious mental illness, learning disabilities and autism across Bath and North East Somerset (BaNES), Swindon and Wiltshire, and Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire. We aim to provide High Quality, Compassionate Care everywhere, every day. This means our services will be safe, clinically effective and provide a positive all round experience for our patients, families and carers. And we believe passionately in treating everyone with kindness, respect and empathy.

Key to this is providing a supportive and safe environment for our 4,000 staff where we all feel welcome and able to do the best we can for those we support. Our staff and teams work incredibly hard delivering services across more than 90 locations, covering 2,200 miles, to more than 1.8 million people. At AWP we actively encourage applicants from all backgrounds; we are particularly keen to encourage applications from people from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds, those with disabilities and from the LGBTQ+ community. We want people to bring their unique blend of experiences, backgrounds, perspectives and knowledge to AWP, as diversity makes us stronger.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• Working autonomously within the parameters of the role, provide a defined drug and alcohol service to an allocated caseload of service users, leading on implementing the delivery of quality care, contributing to the physical, psychological, social, recreational and spiritual care in a recovery-focused way through therapeutic engagement and activities, and taking steps to address any issues that arise.
• Having responsibility for the assessment of needs and the planning and implementation of treatment and care to meet those needs, based on best practice and as agreed with the multidisciplinary team and/or supervisor, and contributing to the evaluation of care.
• Highly developed and skilled in assessing and interpreting the complex needs of patients/clients, e.g., clinical assessment of complex health needs and social needs, interpretation of vital signs, and related physical health assessments.
• Deliver person-centric nursing care via face-to-face, online, or telephone contact in line with the person’s choice, risk, and/or clinical need.
• Facilitate access to services such as housing, employment, education, and substance misuse support, advocating for patients’ needs and preferences.
• Provide education and support to families and carers to enhance understanding and involvement in the patient’s recovery journey.
• Co-ordinating and evaluating collaborative patient-centred care; obtaining feedback and improving Personal Wellbeing Plans with the multidisciplinary team (MDT) and system partners.
• Liaising and working positively with members of the multidisciplinary team and partner organisations.

Person specification

• Appropriate health / social care professional qualification and registration.
• Evidence of continuing professional development relevant to the post.
• Post registration experience working with service users and carers in the delivery of services to address complex alcohol/drug problems, preferably in a specialist substance misuse service.
• The ability to demonstrate high level skills and sound professional judgment in assessment, risk assessment and risk management, care planning, care co-ordination and evaluation of care for this client group.
• The ability to deliver a range of psychosocial interventions appropriate to the needs of this client group.
• Up to date working knowledge of current developments in the drug/alcohol field and related aspects of general / mental health, including research and audit.
• Ability to work autonomously and as part of a multidisciplinary team.
• Cope with behaviour which may be challenging at times.
• Able to travel easily and frequently around the region which will include attending face-to-face appointments, Trust training and team meetings as required.
• Effective communication, presentation, interpersonal and liaison skills, both verbal and written.
• Is a veteran, has lived experience of the veteran community or has experience of caring for veterans.

We are proud to be fostering a diverse workforce that reflects our communities. A key commitment to this is improving staff representation from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities, those from the LGBTQ+ communities, people with 'lived-experience' of mental health conditions and people living with disabilities. We are a 'Disability Confident Employer' offering a guaranteed interview to Disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria. This includes people with a variety of disabilities and neurodivergent conditions (for example autism, ADHD, sensory, physical and learning disabilities). We encourage applications from people who wish to work on a flexible basis, recognising that flexibility may mean a range of different working patterns and hours, we do our utmost to work with our staff to meet their needs and the needs of our service users.