Band 6 Senior Practitioner - Veterans Service Team

Job overview

Are you passionate about ensuring our ex-British Armed Forces – Navy, Army and RAF service personnel have access to excellent mental health care? The Armed Forces Covenant is a promise from the Nation that those who serve or have served in the armed forces, and their families, are treated fairly ensuring they are not at a disadvantage due to their Veteran status. A Veteran is an individual who has served one or more days in the military, and it is this group of people that Op COURAGE  works with on a holistic level.

Op COURAGE offers support to Veterans within the geographical patch (Birmingham, Black Country, Staffordshire, Shropshire and Telford and Wrekin) experiencing mental health crisis who require support in engaging with their local primary and secondary services. We do not aim to replace already existing services (e.g crisis teams, CMHT, GP management) but works to build links with these services and advocate for Veterans who may have faced difficulty in engaging or accessing the appropriate support.

Are you skilled in engaging, assessing, helping to support clients who may struggle to engage, present with complex difficulties, and manage dynamic risks? This is an exciting opportunity for a Mental health nurse to join the “bigger-picture” development of NHS Veteran mental healthcare through the Op COURAGE urgent care pathway.

Main duties of the job

• Be responsible for Veterans on the caseload with identified, complex needs.
• Liaise with local services, including secondary mental health and primary care services and support engagement with these services to ensure care is being provided.
• This is a community-based service, providing a high intensity support package of care to Veterans in times of crisis, across a large geographical area (West Midlands, including Birmingham, Black Country, Staffordshire, Shropshire and Telford and Wrekin.
• The post holder will work within the wider veterans service caseload providing co-ordination of assessment, planning, and implementation of care to veterans  and carers within the defined West Midlands Region.
• Provide professional advice and support to the veteran and their families, as well as other agencies including crisis teams and the police.
• working within the Veteran’s care pathway,  alongside non urgent pathway (previously known TILS and CTS).
• Appointments are made using a combination of communications; in person, digital and telephone.
• This role works to enhance already existing services such as CMHTs, crisis services and charitable organisations rather than replace them – the aim is to improve veteran-service engagement and ensure that Veterans are able to fairly access the appropriate support they require, and are not at a disadvantage due to their Veteran status.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

For further information about the main responsibilities please view the attached job description and person specification.