Come and join us as we design and deliver our new model of care for service users accessing mental health at the point of referral!

ARRS (Additional Reimbursable Roles Scheme) for Bristol

Currently, our primary, secondary and voluntary sector services can often be difficult for service users to navigate, resulting in potential delays and barriers to accessing services in a holistic and timely manner. These roles will play a vital part in providing preventative, integrated care - right from the point of access.

Practitioners will rapidly identify health and social needs and then work proactively with all relevant organisations to ensure a 'one team' approach, with the aim to prevent inequalities and improve access to services and to enhance engagement and confidence for service users. The further aim is to work alongside and integrate service users into the local community, collaborating with service users, families and carers to ensure issues such as debt, carer fatigue, drug and alcohol issues are identified and addressed in a holistic manner, using a biopsychosocial model of care, alongside mental health assessment and treatment.

Main duties of the job

We have opportunities across the following GP sites (for RMNs, Social Workers, OTs):

• Bristol

This new role of Specialist Mental Health Practitioner for Primary Care is fundamental to the development and leadership of innovative new teams and integrated mental health services based within Primary Care Networks (PCNs - which are networks of GP Practices) under the 'Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme' (ARRS).

The role promotes and provides early assessment, treatment and improved access to evidence-based interventions supporting people contacting primary care for help with their mental health needs.

About us

We are AWP (Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust): a diverse organisation with over 5,000 dedicated staff providing inpatient and community-based mental health care.

We provide services from a range of locations to approximately 1.8 million people living in Bath and North East Somerset (B&NES), Bristol, North Somerset, South Gloucestershire, Swindon, across the county of Wiltshire and in parts of Dorset.

Our outstanding people promote mental health and wellbeing. The expertise and resources within AWP are dedicated to a person-centred approach for those who use our services and for all employees. We recognise that happy and fulfilled employees give better care.

At AWP we actively encourage applicants from all backgrounds; we are particularly keen to encourage applications from people from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds, those with disabilities and from the LGBTQ+ community. We want people to bring their unique blend of experiences, backgrounds, perspectives and knowledge to AWP, as diversity makes us stronger.

Job description Job responsibilities

Primary Care focus

Contribute to delivering and co-developing the primary care mental health service model. This includes care pathways for the provision of integrated physical and mental health care in a designated Primary Care Network within the Division.

Be the point of contact for patients that are directed from primary care via an agreed route, promote early assessment / treatment, and ensure robust relationships and links with other community-based services.

Work closely with and become a part of the primary care team, including social prescribers and recovery navigators, to support adults (18+) with mental health needs, whose mental health needs can be best met within primary care and whose difficulties are best understood within a biopsychosocial model.

Work closely with colleagues in specialist community mental health services to ensure smooth transitions between teams and services and facilitate an easy in, easy out approach to improve access to evidence-based interventions.

Connect people to appropriate community and voluntary sector support working alongside Social Prescribers.

Facilitate mental health and strengths-based assessments in Primary Care and support the Primary Care Team in accessing appropriate level of services.

Build and facilitate closer links between Primary Care Networks (PCNs) and Community Mental Health Teams (CMHTs), Social Care teams, community services and a wide range of voluntary sector organisations, to achieve seamless transitions and support for people with mental health challenges.

Promote understanding and confidence in the delivery of mental health care and collaboration with all agencies involved in the care of service users

Provide targeted formal and informal learning opportunities for all staff within the primary care teams to develop their knowledge and capabilities within the mental health component of holistic care

Provide information, sign posting and support for service users and their relatives/carers with mental health needs

Foster strong collaborative and trusting working relationships with the referring agent/Primary Care Health Professionals underpinned by an educative and solutions focused philosophy whilst providing credible clinical expertise

Facilitate the development of safe and effective mental health care practice within the primary care setting.

Where required, train and supervise AWP junior staff in line with own role

Clinical practice

Promote the importance of working with strengths and aspirations of the person referred.

Provide succinct formulations and recommendations (inclusive of risk management advice) to support patient safety planning.

Assess and advise on the impact of culture and diversity alongside colleagues from Primary Care.

Give best practice advice and support in a broad range of conditions for people with both functional and organic mental health needs.

Promote the needs of family and carer/s, including various support networks and third sector agencies.

Advise and support on evaluating risk from a positive risk-taking perspective.

Support and advise within safeguarding and public protection procedures where the issues are complicated by mental health problems, alongside Primary Care colleagues.

Provide a prompt response to all contacts following jointly agreed procedures and within agreed time frames.

Ensure, where needed, that people experience a seamless transfer into AWP provider/treatment services via trusted assessment processes.

Following assessment, provide short- term follow up of patients where appropriate.

Contribute evidence-based expertise to multi-disciplinary team processes.

Promote positive attitudes, mutual understanding and collaboration between non-mental health staff and mental health services, users, carers, voluntary agencies, primary care and social services

Demonstrate responsibility for developing own practice in line with professional qualifications and for contributing to the development of others, by making use of and providing, effective feedback, supervision, coaching and appraisal.

Adhere to the relevant professional code of conduct ensuring required skills and competencies required are maintained.

Monitor and maintain health, safety and security of self and others, undertaking assessments and taking appropriate action where required.

Develop own knowledge and practice, and contribute to the development of others, making use of available feedback, supervision and appraisal to identify appropriate areas of development for this work role, taking responsibility for accessing identified learning and training opportunities.

Maintain appropriate health record, in accordance with professional and organisational standards

Please see attached job description and person specification for full details.

Person Specification Qualifications Essential

• Professional qualification in mental health equivalent to Registered RMN, Registered Social worker or Registered Therapist
• Current registration with a professional body and commitment to CPD
• Detailed working knowledge secondary specialist mental health services and the wider health and social care community and the third sector.
• Significant skills and experience in educating and training the mainstream workforce, particularly non-specialist mental health workers
• Demonstrates substantial experience of assessing risk and developing risk management strategies

Desirable

• Relevant post-registration qualifications, such as Thorn, Non-Medical Prescribing, CBT, AMHP, Brief Interventions etc

Experience & Knowledge Essential

• Front line experience of using advanced assessment skills especially in determining the nature and severity of mental illness/health (functional and organic) and differentiation between physical and mental health symptoms and conditions
• Extensive working knowledge of the structure of the wider health and social care community including statutory and non-statutory services and direct experience of multi professional and inter-agency working and collaboration
• Specialist knowledge of the needs, treatment approaches and rights of people with mental health problems and the needs of their carers and family.
• Significant and demonstrable levels of initiative utilised within practice and work delivery.

Desirable

• Experience gained in a wide variety of settings, including Primary Care

Skills & Abilities Essential

• Strong track record and ability to act with high levels of diplomacy whilst maintaining the strength of relationship to challenge inaccurate assumptions and perceptions
• Highly developed verbal communication skills, able to engage effectively with people at all levels, even when a more assertive approach is needed.
• Conversant with policies and national drivers influencing the service development in question, plus a broader and detailed understanding of the respective legislation affecting the people using the service
• Able to articulate a detailed understanding of the relevant legal frameworks/legislation including CPA process, Mental Health Act, Mental Capacity Act, and Safeguarding

Other Requirements Essential

• Mobile with the facility to move quickly across a geographically dispersed area with limited access to public transport
• Empathy for individuals who have experienced mental health problems and ability to cope with behaviour which may be challenging at times.

Any attachments will be accessible after you click to apply.

342-BR016-0123