Band 6 Specialist Practitioner - HMP Eastwood Park, Falfield

Job overview

We have an opportunity for an enthusiastic, motivated Mental Health Professional to join the Wellbeing Team (Mental Health and Psycho-Social Substance Misuse) at HMP Eastwood Park.

If you are a friendly, compassionate and empathetic individual, who would like to work with vulnerable and chaotic individuals in a recovery focused model, then you may well be extremely suited to working in our Team.

You will be based with our multi-disciplinary team within the prison and will work closely with a variety of other professionals, including Psychiatrists, Psychologists, Non-Medical Prescribers, Social Prescriber, Social Workers, Neurodevelopmental Practitioners and Recovery Co-ordinators.

NOTE: This post is open to newly qualified social workers. In line with AWP trust policy all newly qualified social workers (NQSW) will be recruited initially at Band 5 level, regardless of advertised role banding. All NQSW’s are expected to successfully complete their ASYE within 2 years of employment, unless there are exceptional circumstances in which case it may be extended for a further 2 years.

If you have been appointed to an advertised Band 6 role this will be an automatic progression, following confirmation of your successful ASYE completion. If you have been appointed to a Band 5 post you will then be eligible to apply for a subsequent Band 6 vacancy upon successful ASYE completion.

Main duties of the job

This role is focused on providing appropriate, effective interventions and treatments to women with a range of mental health needs, and their carers (including friends and relatives) and their supporters in the community, enabling and assisting them to meet daily health, social care and wellbeing needs, in line with personal recovery goals, and facilitating engagement with mainstream services.

The post holder will work autonomously to undertake emergency assessment in a wide range of locations, planning and delivering defined, intensive, specialist interventions in line with the CPA framework to people with severe and enduring mental health needs, who maybe distressed and in crisis. Where appropriate the post holder will work alongside other services to plan, deliver and review effective “wrap around” intensive interventions to manage risk and prevent hospital admission for those with the most complex needs. This role necessitates working a shift pattern.

The prison houses up to 442 women. In addition to the specialist unit for substance misuse, the prison offers a Drug Recovery Community, Mother and Baby unit and health care clinic. The role offers a wonderful opportunity to learn about a variety of psychological strategies and the post holder with be involved in liaison with a wide range of external and internal agencies.

Please refer to the full Job Description and Person Specification attached to this advert which will provide further information on this role.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• In a wide range of situations and locations to undertake the full range of activities required to deliver comprehensive mental health assessment, in an emergency for service users, who may be distressed and in crisis. This will include:

a. The use of standardised assessment tools i.e. Cluster Allocation Support Tool (CAST), KGV

b. Recovery Star

c. History, strengths and aspirations

d. Mental state

e. Impact of culture and diversity

f. Functional needs

g. The needs of family and carer

h. Evaluation of risk

i. Physical health

j. Complicating factors

k. Identifying and ensuring specialist involvement where required.

l. The interventions and treatments required to enable positive change.

m. Social Care

n. Safeguarding and public protection

• . Capacity under the Mental Capacity Act
• To be responsible for developing delivering and reviewing comprehensive and complex treatment programmes using appropriate frameworks in line with evidence– based practice, including strategies to manage risk for service users with complex needs and carers, bringing in other resources as required.
• To act as care coordinator for service users as appropriate, also providing defined interventions to individuals on other workers caseloads.
• To plan, deliver and evaluate defined, specialist therapeutic interventions as indicated in the assessment process ,in line with personal recovery plans, including to service users who maybe on other caseloads. This might include: a. Individual or group therapeutic intervention b. Psychological treatments such as CBT, DBT approaches, family interventions c. psychosocial interventions d. Motivational and coping enhancement strategies. e. Medication management f. Interventions under the Mental Health Act.
• To deliver a range of defined activities/interventions to improve the carer’s ability to support the service user and to enable them in their relationship with the service user.
• To develop and maintain good partnership working with other services throughout all treatment episodes, including regular liaison within Primary Health Care Team, inpatient and intensive services, day services, voluntary sector and with nominated carers/advocates.
• In collaboration with service users and carers, to be responsible for facilitating the development of comprehensive crisis plans, rapid access plans, advance statements etc., involving other agencies such as primary care etc. where appropriate.
• To personally build and lead others to build, hope inspiring relationships with service users, which acknowledge the personal journey of each person, and focus on strengths and aspirations to allow the creation of meaningful personal recovery plans.

Applicant requirements

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.