Band 4 Associate Practitioner - Bristol

Job overview

We are looking for empathetic and motivated Associate Practitioner to join the multi award-winning Integrated Access Partnership (IAP).

As part of our multidisciplinary team, you will assist with providing mental health triage, assessment and support to individuals experiencing mental health crisis. Using your communication and engagement skills, you will help us deliver the right care at the right time, improving outcomes for service users.

This rotational role involves:

• Telephone triage, assessment and support.
• Emotional support and short-term interventions.
• Supporting service users to access appropriate services.
• Liaising with professionals across health, emergency services and the third sector.

We are looking for someone with:

• Significant experience of working in a mental health setting.
• Knowledge of mental health frameworks and recovery principles.
• Strong interpersonal and communication abilities within a mental health setting.
• A compassionate, person-centred approach.
• Flexible and adaptable to change.

Right to Work in the UK This position is not eligible for Skilled Worker visa sponsorship. Applicants must already hold the legal right to work in the UK at the time of application, as the organisation is unable to support sponsorship for this post.

Main duties of the job

This is a rotational post within the IAP, with opportunities to work across all bases, including; the Ambulance Service clinical hub (SWAST, Bradley Stoke, Bristol), NHS 111 Mental Health Clinical Assessment Service (Brisdoc, Whitchurch, Bristol).

Working as part of a multi-disciplinary team, helping to assess and support individuals experiencing mental health crisis is incredibly rewarding. You will be working alongside emergency and urgent care services and will be assessing people of all ages, whatever their mental health difficulty at the first point of contact. The majority of this work is telephone based.

Our aim is to provide direct access to mental health services, providing a timely response, which improves the outcome and experience for service users.

The IAP are an innovative team who strive to provide compassionate and person centred care to those accessing our service.

If you are eager and have the skills and experience to work with people experiencing mental health crisis and emotional distress, we would love to hear from you.

We offer strong supervision and support, training and development, induction and appraisal and the chance to be part of a fantastic multi award winning service.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

To provide focused, person-centred assessment and support to people experiencing an acute mental health crisis. You will identify and assess a person’s needs, enabling appropriate support, signposting and onward referral to services where required, under indirect supervision of a registered colleague. This will be remote assessments across the model. You will work alongside registered healthcare professionals to provide recovery and solution-focused care which:

Prioritises service-users’ and carers’ needs and preferences, and their respect, privacy and dignity.

Prioritises patient safety, and functions in accordance with local and national safeguarding, risk management and suicide prevention processes.

Promotes and develops personal strengths, enabling and empowering people and their families to manage their mental health issues in as non-restrictive a way as possible.

Recognises mental health recovery as a holistic process, encompassing individuals’ physical, psychological, emotional, financial and social wellbeing.

You will:

Promote and champion the rights, values, responsibilities and diversity of people.

Promote and maintain effective communication with people in order to build and sustain positive working relationships with individuals, families and carers, team members and other agencies. This may include accessing translation and interpreting services.

Contribute to the planning, implementation and review of care packages, where applicable, including implementing specific parts of an individual care plan.

Working autonomously within relevant practice boundaries, under indirect supervision of registered clinicians.

Conduct comprehensive assessments of mental health needs and clinical risks.

Maintain accurate, confidential records of patient activity, contributing to a range of written documents as appropriate, including reports, referrals and letters.

Enable people to understand and manage their mental health needs in line with their care plan and relapse prevention strategies. This may include enabling people to manage their own domestic and personal resources, housing needs, and enabling people to access learning / training, or work opportunities.

Support individuals in developing and maintaining their identity and personal relationships, including potentially difficult relationships.

Support people with mental health needs to engage with their own health care, in accordance with their care plan.

Act to protect individuals from abuse and harm in line with local and National policies and procedures (e.g. Safeguarding, Risk Management, Suicide Prevention).

Work proactively with carers and families, identifying carers’ needs and signposting to appropriate services or agencies.

Proactively develop your knowledge and practice, making use of both clinical and management supervision and available learning opportunities.

Promote, monitor and maintain health, safety and security in the workplace.

Our comprehensive onboarding package, ongoing training and supervision supports your development in this highly rewarding frontline role.