Community Mental Health Nurse

West London NHS Trust provides a full range of mental health, community, and physical healthcare services for children, adults, and older people living in the London boroughs of Ealing, Hammersmith & Fulham, and Hounslow.

Job Overview

This role will involve supporting people with mental health conditions in the integrated mental health teams. These roles will be key in providing professional nursing support to the new primary care network-based teams, offering mental and physical health support to help individuals engage with their local communities and access available resources.

The objectives of the services are:

• To consider an individual’s needs holistically – mental and physical health as well as social needs.
• To reduce the need for repeated long assessments and storytelling.
• To provide early advice and guidance with signposting to the relevant services where appropriate.
• To bridge the gaps between community mental health care and primary care, acute care, and social services.
• To ensure easier access to the right level of care such as group programmes and therapy.
• For care plans to be person-centred – developed with the individual and others involved in their care.

Main Duties of the Job

The Integrated Mental Health Team mental health nurse will undertake the following duties:

Clinical

• Provide holistic and specialist bio-psycho-social assessment for anyone experiencing mental health difficulties.
• Provide advice to primary care to help them meet patients' mental health needs.
• Carry out robust risk assessments, collaborating with the patient and their carer.
• Provide access to specialist psychosocial interventions for individual patients.
• Provide expert advice regarding pharmacological treatment options to patients and non-mental health professionals.

Person Specification

Qualifications and Training

• Professional qualification in mental health - Mental Health Nursing (RMN) with current NMC registration.
• Educated to degree or diploma level with courses relevant to primary care mental health services.
• Evidence of recent and ongoing relevant further professional development.

Experience

• Demonstrable experience of post-qualifying work in psychiatry.
• Experience of supervising junior staff.
• Evidence of experience in a Band 6 position or equivalent.
• Other relevant post-registration experience.
• Audit and research experience.
• Experience of teaching/training in a formal or informal setting.
• Experience of working in a primary care setting/social care/voluntary sector.

Knowledge

• Knowledge of counselling skills/cognitive behavioural skills, psychosocial interventions.
• Knowledge of recovery approaches for those with mental health conditions.
• Ability to interpret research and apply it to practice.
• Specialist knowledge of mental health conditions and their relationship to physical disorders.
• Assessment and treatment of Deliberate Self Harm.
• Risk assessment/management and crisis intervention skills.
• Use of psychosocial assessment methods.
• Higher level communication skills, both written and oral.
• Ability to engage challenging and/or acutely distressed patients.
• Sufficient clinical knowledge to make autonomous decisions with senior clinical support.
• Team/self-management and organisation skills.

Personal Qualities

• Ability to frequently work under pressure and maintain concentration.
• Ability to meet deadlines.
• Commitment to equal opportunities.
• Self-motivated, able to work autonomously.
• Willingness to use peer and group supervision creatively.

As an employee of West London NHS Trust, you have a responsibility to maintain a sound understanding of, and a commitment to uphold the National Health Service values and principles set out in the NHS Constitution. West London NHS Trust is committed to safeguarding all children and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.