Primary Care Mental Health Practitioner

Job overview

The delivery of an enhanced Primary Care Team as part of a new approach to the delivery of Mental Health Primary Care services in Thurrock. This unique team will be based in Thurrock Locality. The post will be based in General Practice, working with existing Primary Care teams to triage, manage and follow up patients registered with GPs in the area.

The post will assist with undertaking physical health checks for patients on the SMI register and support patients who are discharged from secondary care.

This is an exciting role for a Primary Care Mental Health Practitioner to support a new way forward in the delivery of Community Mental Health Services. The post will be hosted by Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (EPUT) with day to day management within Primary Care.

Main duties of the job

As a Primary Care Mental Health Practitioner you will be highly skilled and motivated individual, be part of the Enhanced Primary Care team, at the forefront of establishing this innovative development in Primary Care Mental Health Services. As a highly competent and proficient practitioner, you will be able to work autonomously and be confident in your ability to provide evidence based Psychological and non-Psychological treatments for common mental health disorders.

Proactive in your approach to collaborative working, you will be based in the Locality. The team will offer a range of interventions from active mental health monitoring, guided self-help, physical health checks and the administration of depot injections for those patients discharged from Community Mental Health Teams.  The Primary Care Mental Health Practitioner will work with the wider local network (e.g. IAPT and Adult Social Care) to ensure early “help” interventions and proactive care and treatment is delivered at the Primary Care level.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• Provide a seamless service in order to aid the Patient’s recovery and Well-being plans in the community.
• Work in conjunction with the GP, Primary Care team and Consultant Psychiatrists to

ensure that patients are supported in the most appropriate clinical practice environment from a Multi-disciplinary perspective.

• Ensure safe Clinical Practice takes place, maintaining Care Quality Commission

standards at all times and in line with the NHS Constitution.

• Triage patients and facilitate them receiving the most appropriate support for their needs ensuring people are not passed around the system.
• Deliver effective and safe services which support the key elements of

Clinical/Practice governance.

• As the Primary Care model develops, the post holder will focus on supporting the team’s continuous improvement in the quality of their service, whilst safeguarding and maintaining a high standard of care by creating an environment in which excellence will flourish.
• Provide and undertake detailed Physical Health investigations such BMI, Blood

Pressure and request Blood Test as appropriate.

• Be responsible for the completion of full and comprehensive Assessments (Physical and Mental Health) where possible and provide complete person centred care planning for services users requiring Physical Health related aspects of care with the support of the Multi-Disciplinary Team.
• Provide advice on smoking cessation and support.
• Ensure appropriate reporting within clinical records by following good practice guidelines and professional codes of conduct for example, NMC (UKCC) guidelines for records and record keeping.