# Perinatal Mental Health Social Worker > NHS job listing from Job Clerk for East London NHS Foundation Trust. ## Canonical URLs - **HTML:** https://www.jobclerk.com/job/perinatal-mental-health-social-worker/36bce8f1-3c60-4c3d-bfa6-4651cb302694 - **Markdown:** https://www.jobclerk.com/job/perinatal-mental-health-social-worker/36bce8f1-3c60-4c3d-bfa6-4651cb302694.md ## Summary - **Status:** Live - **Employer:** East London NHS Foundation Trust - **Location:** Adult Mental Health Services - Tower Hamlets Directorate - **Workplace type:** onsite - **Profession:** Social worker - **Grade:** Band 6 - **Salary:** £39,959 - £48,117 per annum - **Contract type:** Permanent - **Employment type:** Full time - 37.5 hours per week (Mon-Fri) - **Closing date:** 2026-11-01T23:59:00.000Z - **Posted:** 2026-10-16T11:30:42.425Z - **Source information URL:** https://www.healthjobsuk.com/job/UK/London/Bedford/East_London_NHS_Foundation_Trust/Social_Work/Social_Work-v8269577 - **Application URL:** https://apps.trac.jobs/job-advert/8269577?ShowJobAdvert=&feedid=9002 - **Employer website:** https://www.elft.nhs.uk ## Job Content ### Job overview Bedfordshire Perinatal Mental Health Team is looking for passionate Registered Mental Health Social Workers who are looking to make a difference whilst working in an environment that promotes staff development and training opportunities. ELFT is passionate about developing its own staff, driving them to go on to become more established practitioners and this post is no different. You could be an existing Band 5 or Band 6 Social Worker looking to take your next steps or an experienced practitioner looking for a new venture; we have training and development opportunities tailored to suit your needs within the perinatal framework. Our team operates Monday to Friday from 9.00 am to 5.00 pm however there are opportunities for flexibility available in a team that is dynamic and transforming the way we offer support women and birthing people in Bedfordshire with perinatal mental health challenges. If this sounds like something that could inspire you then we want to hear from you! ### Main duties of the job We are looking for a clinician with a special interest in improving care for women, birthing people and their families. Experience of working in the perinatal mental health field is desirable; a keen interest in this specialist area is essential. The Perinatal Mental Health service provides specialist, multidisciplinary perinatal mental health care for women from preconception, during pregnancy and up to two years postnatal who live in Bedfordshire and Luton. To help support you with the above we offer a robust induction and tailored training is given and encouraged. ELFT perinatal teams do offer regular in-house training opportunities to learn from each other with the aim to continuously improve our practice. ### Detailed job description and main responsibilities - Clinical Responsibilities - To support the delivery of, highly specialist evidence based assessment, care planning, treatment and review for service users in the perinatal period. - To provide specialist consultation, advice and support to Trust inpatient and community services on best practice when working with women/birthing people in the perinatal period - To work intensively with a small complex and challenging group of pregnant women/birthing people or those with an infant up to two year old. - To work with colleagues to establish a clear process and criteria for receiving referrals to undertake direct work or information for advice and liaison work. - To assist in setting up structures that allows the dissemination of knowledge and skills regarding working with perinatal service users in inpatient and community services. - To liaise and work with Mother and Baby Units - To work as a member of the multi-disciplinary team exercising professional responsibility with team guidance and supervision, to provide risk assessment,monitoring and review of women with complex need in the perinatal period. - To be mindful of the needs of women, children, young people, families and individuals from a wide range of racial, cultural, sexual, religious and social backgrounds and to develop, with colleagues, sensitive and innovative ways of meeting these needs. - To participate in perinatal service users have a perinatal planning meetings, pre-birth and post-birth . - To participate in team multi-disciplinary meetings, CPA Meetings and other Child Protection meetings/case conferences. - To be responsible for monitoring and recording and reporting on clinical work and communicating highly complex clinical information to a variety of recipients e.g. patient’s, families and carers, other professionals orally and in writing. - To record relevant information at the time of referral, during ongoing work, and for evaluation purposes as consistent with the policies and protocols of ELFT record keeping policies. - To seek consultation with clinical supervisor and line manager on clinical work and participate in regular supervision. - To be aware of and comply with all Trust policies and procedures and in particular follow and promote the Safeguarding and Promoting the Welfare of Children Policy and the Perinatal Mental Health Policy. - To provide assessment, health education and guidance to partners of women in the perinatal period - To develop an assessment clinic for partners and co parents of women in the service - Policy and Service Development - To work with colleagues to promote and evolve a perinatal mental health service for the assigned locality. - To ensure appropriate links are maintained with colleagues in perinatal mental health services, safeguarding children and parental mental health services across the Trust and other related services within the Trust and other agencies. - To attend ELFT Trust wide meetings as appropriate. - Performance Management - To ensure documentation and care plans are developed, are comprehensive and consistent with the policies and protocols of the Trust. 3.2 To be responsible for monitoring, recording and reporting on clinical work and communicating complex clinical information to a variety of recipients e.g. patients, families and carers and other professionals, both verbally and in writing. - To provide clinical information as required for input into local and ELFT electronic data collection systems. - To adhere to all Trust policies. - With the line manager, to construct a job-plan, which contains workload targets in line with service needs and local agreements. - Clinical Governance - To be knowledgeable about, and advise on best practice on treatment of pregnant and postpartum women, with particular regard to relevant NICE guidelines and MBRRACE reports. - To be knowledgeable about, and advise on best practice on safeguarding children, incorporating latest guidelines, policy and statutory requirements. - Training and Development - Adhere to the NMC’s Standards of Conduct, performance and ethics for nurses and midwives. - To attend regular supervision and to discuss with supervisor new learning and innovation. - To participate in the Trust appraisal systems and be committed to ongoing continuing professional development including participation in further specialist or other such training as agreed with line and professional managers. - To be accountable for own professional action and to seek advice and supervision from line manager where needed over ethical issues and Trust policies. - With perinatal mental health and safeguarding children colleagues, to support and assist with developing and delivering professional development training programme regarding perinatal mental health for Trust and external staff and the impact that this has on parenting and children. - Personal Development The post holder will: - Ensure that he/she is aware of current developments and practice in relation to the interface between perinatal mental health services and child protection services; - Acknowledge his/her own strengths and limitations, and discuss/identify their training and development needs with his/her line manager; - Participate in projects within the Trust as negotiated with senior management; - Participate in regular supervision with his/her line manager; - Promote innovations or practice developments, both internal and external to the Trust; - Manage his/her own time efficiently; ### 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. ## Person Specification ### Experience **Essential** - Post qualification experience - Post qualification experience working with women with serious mental illness - Experience of managing a caseload of service users via CPA with evidence of completing high quality assessments - Experience of working in a complex multi-disciplinary/ multi-agency context - Experience of undertaking complex nursing and mental state, risk and needs assessments - Experience of working in a multiracial/cultural community and of working with interpreters **Desirable** - Experience of formal child protection processes and inter-agency work with families - Experience of multi-agency pre-birth planning (CPA) for women with serious mental illness - Experience of supervising mental health professionals and/or practice teaching ### Skills and Abilities **Essential** - Ability to contribute to and facilitate effective multi-disciplinary/multiagency working - Ability to implement evidence-based practice - Ability to identify, recognise and understand safeguarding children issues and refer appropriately **Desirable** - Ability to develop and deliver training on perinatal mental health and associated issues such as safeguarding children, domestic violence ### Knowledge and Understanding **Essential** - Up to date knowledge of evidence based practice and current developments in perinatal mental health - Knowledge and understanding of diversity and equality issues and their application in perinatal mental health services - Knowledge & understanding of contributions of other disciplines and professionals to a multi-agency service **Desirable** - Understanding of clinical governance and audit issues ### Education and qualifications **Essential** - Evidence of professional qualification in nursing - Evidence of registration on Part 3 of NMC register - Evidence of continuing professional development including recently in perinatal mental health practice and safeguarding children practice **Desirable** - Educated to degree level or equivalent - ENB 998 or equivalent - Clinical supervision training - Qualified non-medical prescriber - Qualifications/ training in specialist skills e.g. therapeutic/ psychological interventions ### Other requirements relevant to the post **Essential** - Understanding of and commitment to equality of opportunity and diversity practice and related policies and procedures - Understanding of and commitment to safeguarding children **Desirable** - Evidence of networking with the field of perinatal mental health ## Documents - [elft strategy 2026 (pdf, 421.7kb)](https://www.healthjobsuk.com/documents?edoc=3090) - [elft staff benefits (pdf, 653.7kb)](https://www.healthjobsuk.com/documents?edoc=3107) - [trust demographic information (pdf, 1.5mb)](https://www.healthjobsuk.com/documents?edoc=1844) - [elft staff benefits leaflet new (pdf, 465.2kb)](https://www.healthjobsuk.com/documents?edoc=3106) - [perinatal mental health practitioner b6 job description (pdf, 181.5kb)](https://www.healthjobsuk.com/documents?vdoc=10584473) ## Agent Notes - This Markdown page is generated from the same Job Clerk job record as the HTML job detail page. - Use the canonical HTML URL for user-facing references. - Use the application URL when the user wants to apply on the source NHS site.