Community Mental Health Nurse

Job overview

An exciting opportunity has risen for the post of a band 5-6 development Community Mental Health Nurse in Borehamwood ACMHS Team  Adult Community Divison  Services.

We have a number of vacancies within the Adult Community Mental Health Service giving you the opportunity to quickly progress to the next position that you aspire.

We are looking for a highly motivated and enthusistic person who will be able to support the lead in all aspects and clinically support the nursing team. You must have excellent communication skills and the ability to work independently and with strategic intent within the supportive environment of the ACMHS.

As the Community Mental Health Nurse you will be responsible for the assessment of care needs and the development, implementation and evaluation of programmes of care for a defined caseload of people with complex mental health and or social care needs; and maintaining associated records. You will also act as mentor for student nurses as required.

Main duties of the job

• The post holder will be responsible for the development, implementation and evaluation of programmes of care, with direct supervision initially, and then taking responsibility for the assessment of care needs and risk assessment of serviceusers presenting with a wide variety of clinical conditions.
• To be named care coordinator, and act accordingly when applying care.
• To respond to any crisis that a service user may advise of, with the aim of promoting independent living in the community.
• Work with the philosophy to support service users to remain in their own home.
• Provide education, advice and guidance to service users and their carers and families.
• Provide a range of clinical interventions and treatments appropriate to the individual needs of service users.
• Be required to challenge practice that compromises or challenges high quality care to service users.
• Remain updated with local and national guidelines and policies.
• Partake in home visits with other professionals such as Consultant Psychiatrist, Specialty Doctors, Occupational Therapist and Psychologist, Physiotherapist,
• Partake in clinical and management supervision and attend all Fast Track training sessions including the mid-year and final review.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Clinical Responsibility

• To manage a patient caseload after an initial period of initiation, ensuring care plans are agreed that promote independent living in the community.
• To carry out specialist mental health and learning disability care assessments, initially under close supervision. Develop, implement, evaluate and document specialist care. This will include frequent requirement for intense concentration.
• Complete risk assessments that are clear, concise and detail plans to safely manage any risks that are identified.
• To use a variety of clinical skills appropriate to the needs of the individual and the clinical setting in which they are seen.
• To be responsible for the administration, carriage and storage of medication in accordance with relevant Trust policies. To ensure safe disposal of equipment used in the Community e.g. syringes, needles, in accordance with Trust policies.
• To actively plan and participate in safe discharge from the service following agreed care pathway (CPA) as agreed with the MDT
• To deliver care that is person centred and recovery focused, reflecting current best practice and challenge practice that may be detrimental to service users receiving high quality care.
• To be aware of the physical needs of people with mental health problems and refer physical conditions on as appropriate.
• To participate in the Trust’s adverse incidents reporting systems and comply with the Trust’s procedure and techniques for managing risks.
• Demonstrate a high standard of record keeping and documentation with adherence to Trust policies.
• Deliver care that is person centred reflecting current best practice, and challenge practice that may be detrimental to older people receiving high quality care.
• Demonstrate a working understanding of the legal and ethical issues in providing mental health care. In particular having a good knowledge of Learning Disabilities, LeDeR, Mental Health Act, Mental Capacity Act and Care Act including their uses in non-mental health areas.