Community Psychiatric Nurse

Job overview

Richmond Home Treatment Team are looking for an experienced and enthusiastic Community Psychiatric Nurse to join the team.

The Crisis & Home Treatment Team (CHTT) is a multidisciplinary, community based mental health team that aims to provide a safe and effective home based assessment and treatment service as an alternative to in-patient admission, and for early discharge from the ward in the least disruptive and restrictive environment. It works in conjunction with, and is integrated with, other local service elements. The workload is team-based and team members do not carry a specific caseload. Care by the team is for days or a maximum of 6 weeks but not longer.

Richmond Home Treatment Team are Currently based in Livingston House in Teddington, with the aim to move to Barnes Hospital in 2027.

The successful candidate will provide crisis assessments, be responsible for documenting risk, crisis plans and care planning. They will be supporting individuals with a variety of mental health conditions and be part of an experienced and effective Multi-disciplinary team

Main duties of the job

As a Band 6 Crisis Assessment Practitioner, you will:

• Undertake comprehensive mental health assessments, including risk assessment and formulation, for people presenting in crisis overnight.
• Provide short-term therapeutic and crisis interventions in line with HTT and Trust models of care.
• Develop and review collaborative care and safety plans with service users and carers.
• Make clinically informed decisions regarding admission, home treatment, onward referral or discharge, in line with agreed pathways.
• Work autonomously within professional scope of practice, with access to senior clinical advice and on-call medical support.
• Liaise closely with Liaison Psychiatry, ED teams, wards, police, LAS, MHCL and community services to ensure safe handover and continuity of care.
• Contribute to MDT discussions, escalation processes and overnight operational problem-solving.
• Ensure accurate, timely and high-quality clinical documentation.
• Contribute to service development, audit, and quality improvement activity within the Enhanced Night HTT.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• Undertake comprehensive mental health, psychosocial and risk assessments for individuals experiencing an acute mental health crisis.
• Formulate and implement collaborative, recovery-focused care plans in partnership with service users, carers and the multidisciplinary team.
• Provide intensive home treatment as an alternative to hospital admission and support early discharge from inpatient services where appropriate.
• Deliver evidence-based interventions, crisis management and therapeutic support to service users in their own homes and community settings.
• Assess, monitor and manage risk, ensuring risk assessments and safety plans are regularly reviewed and updated.
• Administer, monitor and support the safe management of medication, including assessing effectiveness, side effects and adherence
• Work collaboratively with carers, community mental health teams, inpatient wards, GPs, emergency services and other partner agencies to facilitate seamless care.
• Participate in the triage and gatekeeping of referrals, contributing to decisions regarding admission avoidance and suitability for home treatment.
• Maintain accurate, timely and legally compliant clinical documentation in line with Trust policies and professional standards.
• Provide clinical leadership, supervision and support to junior staff, students and support workers.
• Contribute to safeguarding processes and ensure statutory responsibilities are fulfilled.
• Participate in rota duties, including shift work, weekends, bank holidays as required by the service.
• Escalate concerns relating to patient safety, capacity and demand, staffing or service pressures appropriately.

Contribute to service development, audits, quality improvement initiatives and the achievement of team KPIs and performance standards

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in job applications

If you have used AI to support the preparation of your application, please briefly indicate how it was used within your supporting statement or application form.

Please remember, your application is your opportunity to tell us about your skills, experience and motivation for the role. We encourage applicants to complete their application and supporting statement in their own words wherever possible. We recognise that AI tools can be helpful in supporting accessibility, and for improving spelling, grammar and structure.

Applications that rely heavily on AI-generated content can become generic and fail to accurately reflect an applicant's individual experience. Applications that clearly demonstrate your own voice, reflections and experiences are often the most effective and help us better understand your suitability for the role.

Please be aware that information provided in your application and supporting statement may be explored further during the selection process. It is important that all applications accurately represent your own knowledge, skills and experience.

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.