Mental Health Act Legislation Officer

Job overview

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Mental Health Act Legislation Officer to join our forward thinking Trust.

The successful candidate will be part of a small team responsible for the provision of Mental Health Act administration across the Trust, based at Derwent Unit, Chesterfield.

You will need to be a self-motivated individual with  good knowledge of the Mental Health Act.  Responsibilities include:  receiving and scrutinising MHA statutory documents, arranging for amendments to be made within the legal timescale: requesting reports and organising Mental Health Tribunals, sending out section expiry reminders to clinical teams.

The candidate will need to be able to prioritise their workload, liaise with consultants, clinical teams, social services, solicitors, Care Quality commission, service users and their relatives.

The candidate will need to have excellent administrative and organisational skills, together with the ability to communicate at all levels.

Main duties of the job

To work closely with colleagues in the Mental Health Act legislation team to ensure high quality systems and procedures are in place in order to comply with the administration requirements of the MHA.

A  sound knowledge and good understanding of the complexities of the MHA and ability to disseminate information appropriately within your area of responsibility.

To develop and maintain good working relationships both internally and externally.

To support and advise colleagues, patients and their nearest relatives on the MHA and associated procedures.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• Understand the Trust's obligations under the MHA
• Scrutinise section papers and ensure any rectifiable errors are completed within the specified timescale
• Ensure efficient and accurate systems are in place to manage the MHA
• Be able to provide an accessible point of contact to advise patients and colleagues on the MHA and associated legislation
• Maintain appropriate contact with internal and external agencies to ensure MHA requirements are met
• Arrange hearings for patients detained under the MHA, requesting reports, liaising with appropriate agencies and booking venues to ensure they run smoothly
• to prepare statistics in relation to MHA reporting
• to assist with the auditing of the MHA
• Use your own initiative to manage and prioritise workload within the limitation of your own knowledge
• To escalate any areas of concern in a timely manner