Senior Mental Health Practitioner

Job summary

Senior Mental Health Practitioner All Age First Response Service - Fixed Term / Secondment until 7th June 2027.

• Are you someone looking to start a career in one of the UKs most respected mental health trusts?
• Are you an experienced senior mental health clinician looking for a new challenge and opportunity to join an exciting newly commissioned service?
• Can you work with people experiencing a mental health crisis, their families and carers, providing evidence-based interventions?
• Would you like to experience life in one of the UKs most beautiful areas, with exciting cities, charming countryside and magnificent coastlines?

We are looking for Senior Mental Health Practitioner to join the First Response Service team based in Exeter. We are seeking to recruit an experienced, visionary and motivated individual to join our mental health First Response Team, an exciting newly commissioned service based in Exeter. The team promotes a dynamic and innovative way of working, triaging and responding to crisis referrals. The role encompasses the NHS principle; right care, right time and right place.

Main duties of the job

The First Response Service provides 24 hour urgent access to mental health services for people of all age (Children and Young People, Adults or Older People)

First Responders provide a brief clinical risk and mental health assessment, formulation and short-term contingency planning for people presenting in mental health crisis. Working within the community, First Responders provide face-to-face assessments working closely with other mental health services and agencies; such as the police, ambulance, local authority and third sector. Using a range of brief solution-focused interventions, First Responders empower people, carers and their families in decision making; diverting to a range of health and social care resources for support.

The key responsibilities of this role are as follows:

• Arrive at a formulation which will identify the correct care pathway and ensure this is implemented.
• Improve the quality of mental health care for people
• Improve quality of life for individuals and carers
• Identify and manage risk
• Prevent hospital admissions
• Reduce the number of incidents and complaints
• Measure improvements of health outcomes
• Determine service needs
• Provide evidence based clinical interventions, making autonomous clinical decisions
• Provide assessment, planning and implementation of brief individual packages of care and treatment.

About us

About Devon Partnership Trust

We provide mental health & learning disability services, as well as a range of specialist & secure services for the wider south west region & nationally. We are passionate about promoting good mental health & wellbeing. We strive to use the expertise & resources within our organisation, and through our partnerships, to deliver high quality services that are safe & focused on people's recovery.

Our values

We not only recruit employees based on their qualifications & experience - we recruit individuals who possess and demonstrate the behaviours which underpin the core values of our organisation. These values include such attributes as showing a commitment to quality of care, improving lives of others, giving respect, dignity & compassion. We can bring those values to life in our everyday tasks by giving a smile; making time for people; challenging ourselves & others, & being open to new ideas.

We are committed to being an inclusive employer & applications are encouraged & welcomed from all sections of the community, regardless of any protected characteristics as governed by the Equality Act 2010. Part time & flexible working applications will be considered & supported, where possible. We particularly encourage applicants with lived experience of mental health & learning disabilities. We are a Disability Confident Employer.

Details

• Date posted: 29 May 2026
• Pay scheme: Agenda for change
• Band: Band 6
• Salary: £39,959 to £48,117 a year
• Contract: Fixed term
• Duration: 12 months
• Working pattern: Full-time, Flexible working
• Reference number: C9369-26-0410
• Job locations: Wonford House Hospital, Dryden Road, Exeter, EX25AF, United Kingdom

Job responsibilities

Please refer to the full Job Description and Person specification attached to this advert which will provide further information on this role.

Job Purpose

The First Response Service provides 24 hour urgent access to mental health services for people of all age (Children and Young People, Adults or Older People)

First Responders provide a brief clinical risk and mental health assessment, formulation and short-term contingency planning for people presenting in mental health crisis. Working within the community, First Responders provide face-to-face assessments working closely with other mental health services and agencies; such as the police, ambulance, local authority and third sector. Using a range of brief solution-focused interventions, First Responders empower people, carers and their families in decision making; diverting to a range of health and social care resources for support.

The key responsibilities of this role are as follows:

• Arrive at a formulation which will identify the correct care pathway and ensure this is implemented.
• Improve the quality of mental health care for people
• Improve quality of life for individuals and carers
• Identify and manage risk
• Prevent hospital admissions
• Reduce the number of incidents and complaints
• Measure improvements of health outcomes
• Determine service needs
• Provide evidence based clinical interventions, making autonomous clinical decisions
• Provide assessment, planning and implementation of brief individual packages of care and treatment.
• Promote a recovery model that empowers people, carers and relatives to be at the forefront of decision making and ownership of their packages of care and treatment.
• Undertake clinical risk assessments, based on latest empirical evidence
• Champion peoples rights, including: dignity, equality, diversity, choice and respect.

When undertaking all of the above ensure good documentation is provided and entered within the appropriate systems of record sharing.

A key aim of the service is to contribute to the acute care pathway, ensuring that persons receive a timely specialist mental health assessment by a professional mental health worker. A significant proportion of these