Community Mental Health Practitioner

Job overview

Band 6 Community Mental Health Practitioner

An opportunity has arisen for a Community Mental Health Nurse, Social Worker, or Occupational Therapist to join the Chichester Neighbourhood Mental Health Team. Working as part of a well-established multidisciplinary team, you will deliver high-quality, evidence-based assessment, treatment, and care to individuals experiencing a wide range of mental health difficulties within the local community.

The successful candidate will hold a caseload of service users with complex mental health needs and will be responsible for providing specialist assessment, collaborative care planning, therapeutic interventions, and risk management. You will work closely with service users, carers, primary care colleagues, and partner agencies to promote recovery, independence, and positive clinical outcomes.

We are seeking a motivated, adaptable, and compassionate practitioner who is committed to delivering person-centred care and can demonstrate excellent communication, clinical decision-making, and team-working skills. The ability to work effectively within a multidisciplinary environment and a strong commitment to recovery-focused practice are essential.

At Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, our vision is to provide outstanding care and treatment. If you have the passion, commitment, and expertise to make a meaningful difference to the lives of people experiencing mental health difficulties, we would welcome your application.

Main duties of the job

The Community Mental Health Practitioner will work in partnership with service users, carers, families and partner agencies to deliver high-quality, person-centred, recovery-focused care for individuals with complex mental health needs. The post holder will be responsible for undertaking comprehensive assessments, developing and implementing collaborative care and recovery plans, and supporting service users to achieve their identified goals and maximise their independence and quality of life.

Working within a multidisciplinary team, the post holder will utilise specialist knowledge and evidence-based interventions to assess, plan, implement and evaluate care, ensuring that treatment is tailored to individual needs and delivered in accordance with professional standards and best practice. This will include delivering psychoeducation, coordinating care, supporting discharge planning, and facilitating seamless transitions across services and care pathways.

They will demonstrate a strong commitment to safeguarding, risk management, and the promotion of safety and wellbeing for service users and their support networks at all times.

In addition, the post holder will provide specialist advice and interventions, contribute to service development and quality improvement initiatives, and support the learning and development of colleagues through the provision of clinical supervision, mentorship and practice education for staff and students.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The post holder will work as an autonomous practitioner, holding continuing responsibility for a defined caseload of service users with complex mental health needs. They will provide high-quality, person-centred, recovery-focused care through comprehensive assessment, care planning, intervention and evaluation, ensuring that service users receive safe, effective and evidence-based support tailored to their individual needs.

Key responsibilities include:

• Undertaking comprehensive assessments of service users and, where appropriate, their families and carers, including individuals presenting with complex mental health needs and increased levels of risk.
• Developing, implementing and reviewing collaborative care and recovery plans in partnership with service users, ensuring care is strengths-based, person-centred and outcome-focused.
• Providing specialist nursing assessments, interventions and clinical advice to service users, carers and multidisciplinary colleagues as required.
• Assessing, managing and regularly reviewing identified risks, working collaboratively with service users and carers to develop and maintain effective risk management plans that promote safety, recovery and independence.
• Delivering evidence-based clinical interventions that are consistent with current best practice, relevant NICE guidance, professional standards and Trust policies and procedures.
• Contributing to the development and implementation of the Trust’s nursing strategy and supporting service improvement initiatives that enhance the quality, effectiveness and safety of care.
• Providing clinical supervision, mentorship and support to junior staff, students and trainees, promoting professional development, reflective practice and the maintenance of high clinical standards.
• Practising in accordance with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) Code and maintaining professional accountability for all aspects of clinical practice.
• Maintaining accurate, timely and comprehensive clinical records, ensuring compliance with professional, legal and organisational requirements.
• Working collaboratively within a multidisciplinary framework to ensure coordinated, integrated and effective care for service users across the care pathway.

The post holder will demonstrate excellent clinical judgement, effective communication skills and a commitment to delivering compassionate, recovery-focused care. They will actively promote the wellbeing, dignity and rights of service users and their families/carers, contributing to the delivery of outstanding mental health services and positive outcomes for those who access them.

Effective communication and leadership skills, a sound clinical knowledge base, and a commitment to caring for patients in the community must be demonstrated. You must be enthusiastic, self-motivated, flexible and able to work as part of a multidisciplinary team.

This post offers the Trust's £2,000 Golden Hello or Relocation Incentive for Band 6 Nurses & Practitioners, (pro rata and subject to terms and conditions; please see attached Protocol Document for full details).