Crisis Team Mental Health Practitioner (OT)

Job summary

We are looking to welcome an experienced Occupational Therapist with a strong understanding of supporting individuals during a mental health crisis, and a commitment to making a meaningful difference in people's lives.

This is a newly established role and will see you working with service users at a vulnerable time, supporting individuals and their families or carers to prevent deterioration, reduce distress, and promote recovery. The role includes delivering intensive home-based treatment as an alternative to hospital admission, contributing to a 24-hour service and promoting independence, social inclusion, and recovery.

You will be an integral member of our multidisciplinary team, with the opportunity to further develop the Occupational Therapy role at a senior level. You will also connect with peers through AHP forums, OT networks, and regular training and events.

The role offers a wide range of learning and research opportunities to help you grow your skills and experience. Ongoing development is supported through appraisal, alongside a well-established supervision structure.

You will have the opportunity to develop and deliver group interventions, working closely with Occupational Therapy colleagues across inpatient units and the wider acute and crisis pathway, supporting shared learning and collaboration. You will also have access to the CRHTT National OT Community of Practice, led by the organisation's Allied Health Professional Lead for acute and crisis care.

Main duties of the job

To ensure the provision of intensive home-based treatment, as an alternative to hospital admission.

To develop the Occupational Therapy service within the Crisis Resolution Home Treatment Team.

To undertake ongoing assessment, implementation and evaluation of care needs of a changing caseload of service users within their home environment.

To work closely with the inpatient units ensuring effective transition of care across the acute care pathway.

To work in a 24-hour service, on a shift basis including weekends.

To lead the clinical management and to provide a client-centred occupational therapy service to a defined caseload of service users with complex needs, within the local services working with multi-disciplinary team members and the occupational therapy team.

To critically evaluate referrals to the occupational therapy service for occupational therapy intervention, particularly identifying priorities for treatment intervention.

To work as a lead practitioner in managing a flexible, team-based caseload.

To mentor, supervise and teach qualified and unqualified staff including students.

To lead the care for a specified group of service users.

To undertake generic duties as a member of the crisis resolution home treatment team, e.g. duty and mental health assessments.

To be a resource for the team, providing, occupational therapy professional guidance, and to lead on the evaluation and continued development of the occupational therapy service.

Job responsibilities

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust provides joined-up mental and physical healthcare for around two million people across our communities. With over 13,000 staff working in the community and local hospitals, we deliver care at every stage of life, helping people live their best and healthiest lives.

Our mental health services include community-based support and early intervention in psychosis (EIP) for both adults and young people, alongside a network of specialist inpatient wards covering forensic, learning disability, eating disorder and older person's care.

We deliver extensive physical health services too, from urgent community response teams helping frail and older patients remain safely at home, to hospitals at home teams providing acute-level care in familiar surroundings. Our neurological services offer rehabilitation and treatment for conditions including Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson's Disease, Motor Neurone Disease, Head Injury, Cerebral Palsy and Stroke. Across Hampshire, our community hospitals provide inpatient rehabilitation as a step down from acute care, and our dedicated teams also staff Treetops Sexual Assault Referral Centre in Portsmouth, offering expert, compassionate support.

Everything we do is underpinned by our CARE values of compassion, accountability, respect and excellence