Advanced Mental Health Practitioner Older Adult

Job overview

This is a very rewarding role within the Older Adults team at East Berkshire Psychological Medicine, based at Wexham Park Hospital. The role would suit an experienced practitioner from a mental health nursing background or similar profession with older adult mental health experience.

The post holder will be joining a well-established and supportive team working with older adults admitted to Wexham Park Hospital, Slough. The team supports patients on all medical wards across the hospital as well as A&E, and is patient centred. Patients present with mental health or cognitive difficulties in the context of declining physical health and/or neurological or neurodegenerative conditions.

The post is within a supportive multidisciplinary team of mental health practitioners, including mental health nurses, psychologists, and a full-time consultant psychiatrist. The older adult service (65+) is a small team and works alongside the adult team within the East Berkshire Psychological Medicine Service at WPH.

We are looking for someone who is passionate about providing mental health care for older people and has approach that displays compassion. A strong interest in mental health in the context of physical health in old age is essential for this role.

An informal visit to the service is encouraged. The working hours are Monday to Friday 9am until 5pm and are office based.

Main duties of the job

• The role will be to provide specialist mental health care to patients who are in Wexham Park Hospital.

• You will undertake initial assessments of older adults who have been referred by Wexham Park Hospital and will focus on their mental health needs but adopting a holistic approach.

• The cases will be complex at times, and you will participate in and lead professionals meetings.

• A collaborative approach will be used included the view of the patients, family, and carers.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The “must haves” for this role:

• RMN, Social work or equivalent Professional Qualification
• Broad experience gained over a minimum of two years , acquired by caring for older people with mental health needs in a range of community/inpatient settings
• Minimum 2 years as Band 6 grade in older peoples mental health services
• Evidence of on-going professional development

For further information about the role, please see attached job description and person specification.

We strongly encourage you to review how you meet the criteria in the person specification and write about this point-by-point in your supporting statement for the best chance of being shortlisted.

We’re committed to equal opportunities and welcome applications from all sections of the community. Our commitment to inclusion is reflected in our accreditations: Race Equality Matters Silver Trailblazer, Neurodiversity in Business Corporate Member, Disability Confident Leader, Carer Confident Level 2, and the Armed Forces Covenant Gold Award. Reasonable adjustments will be provided to candidates as needed.   We welcome a conversation about flexibility and any other questions you may have. Please don’t hesitate to call: Sue Barclay on 07890 606956, or email: [email protected] who’ll be delighted to help.

Please note, if we receive a high number of applications, we may close this role earlier than the advertised closing date, so please submit your application as soon as possible.