Senior Mental Health Practitioner (Nurse/OT/SW/Psychologist/Therapist) in Hastings

Come and join us. We’re 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. We’ll do everything possible to help you feel respected, valued and included. You’ll have opportunities to learn, grow and gain new experiences to support your career, with access to lifelong learning and professional development.

We actively promote flexible working and understand how important work life balance is, especially in healthcare. Whether it’s part time hours, hybrid working or flexible start and finish times, we’ll explore what works for you and the role.

We’re shaping a workplace where ideas are encouraged, technology supports you and everyone has a voice in how we improve. If that sounds like the kind of organisation you want to be part of, we’d love to hear from you.

Job overview: Are you excited by the challenge of launching a new service? Following on from successful launches in Brighton and Crawley, the Reflect Primary Care Mental Health Treatment Requirement Service is ready to expand to Hastings/East Sussex. Reflect is commissioned by NHS England to provide Community Sentence Treatment Requirements in collaboration with the Probation Service and substance use services. The new team will provide Primary Care Mental Health Treatment Requirements for eligible people whose sentences are managed within East Sussex.

You will be based in Hastings (St Leonards) Probation office and work closely with our partner agencies, the Probation Service and Change, Grow, Live (CGL), to deliver high quality, evidence based psychologically informed interventions to an often high need and marginalised population.

As Senior Mental Health Practitioner you will be central to the pathway, completing assessments and delivering psychologically informed interventions to the client group. You will have extensive experience in delivering evidence based brief psychological interventions including work with complex presentations. You will support the team through formulation, training and supervision. Experience of working in the Criminal Justice System and primary care settings is advantageous but not essential.

Main duties of the job: As Senior Mental Health Practitioner/Therapist you will be central to the MHTR pathway, typically:

• Completing the initial screening/assessment and agreeing suitability for an MHTR with the Clinical Lead.
• Delivering, and supporting others to deliver outstanding brief psychologically informed interventions, in individual formats for the client group.
• Communicating with the Probation Practitioner and relevant partner services throughout the order.
• Attending the MHTR steering group and other locally appropriate governance structures.

You will have expertise in delivering evidence based brief psychological therapies, including working with complex presentations, and be able to support the team and others via formulation and training and by participating in systematic clinical governance.

Working for our organisation: At Sussex Partnership we are committed to providing opportunities for flexible working. If you would like to work differently or different hours to as advertised, please get in touch to discuss this in more detail.

If you haven't thought about living in Sussex before then you should consider the following:

• Journey from the coast to the countryside in minutes.
• Enjoy a lifestyle where there are renowned cycle routes and picturesque walks, including the famous South Downs Way in the South Downs National Park.
• Embrace taking time to discover all the miles of scenic coastline, including Hastings, Bexhill on Sea and Eastbourne.
• Easy access to airports - Gatwick and Heathrow are both within 90 minutes of the county, providing links to Europe and beyond.
• Brighton and Hove or London are within easy reach via local and national bus routes and national mainline stations.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities: The post holder will be an autonomous practitioner who will carry continuing responsibility for a defined caseload of service users by undertaking the following duties:

• Operate as a specialist mental health practitioner, providing a specialised range of clinical interventions and able to demonstrate knowledge of models of practice and how to apply these.
• Provide specialist clinical assessment, formulation, intervention, review and be proficient in monitoring, evaluating and modifying treatment to measure progress and ensure effectiveness of interventions.
• To work closely with Probation and the Court Service and colleagues in the MHTR Service and other services within the Trust in a collaborative way, ensuring that decisions are made that ensure the best care for service users and that there is a seamless pathway.
• To contribute psychological knowledge and expertise to policy and service development through participation, where practical, in regional multidisciplinary meetings and special interest groups, working parties etc that may impact on the functioning of the service.

For further details about this role or to arrange an informal visit, please contact: 07464 925097.

Person specification:

• Degree/Diploma in occupational therapy or Nursing/Social Work/Or Doctorate in Clinical Psychology/Clinical training in a relevant Psychological Therapy.
• Evidence of post qualification study.
• Registration with the HPC as an occupational therapist/Clinical Psychologist/social worker/Nurse-NMC/Therapist UKCP or BACP.
• Broad experience of working with clients with a range of mental health problems.
• Experience of supervising staff and students.
• Experience of Multi-agency work.
• Experience in applying a range of assessment tools and a comprehensive knowledge of clinical approaches.

SPFT is committed to building a workforce that reflects the communities we serve. We particularly welcome applications from people from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic backgrounds and from disabled candidates, as these groups are currently underrepresented.

Successful candidates are normally appointed to the bottom of the pay scale unless previous NHS experience in a similar role can be evidenced.

SPFT takes its responsibilities for safeguarding children, young people and adults at risk very seriously. We expect all staff and bank workers to share this commitment and complete the relevant safeguarding training for their role.

If you have not heard from us within three weeks of the closing date, please assume your application has been unsuccessful. However, we’ll always do our best to keep you informed as we know how much time and care goes into applying for a role.

In the event of a high number of applications, we may close this vacancy early.

You must have appropriate UK professional registration. This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.