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Job summary

Main area
CMHT Reading
Grade
Band 6
Contract
Permanent
Hours
Full time - 37.5 hours per week
Job ref
371-MHS470
Employer
Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
Employer type
NHS
Site
Prospect Park Hospital
Town
Reading
Salary
£35,392 - £42,618 per annum
Salary period
Yearly
Closing
31/07/2024 23:59
Interview date
13/08/2024

Employer heading

Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust logo

Senior Mental Health Practitioner

Band 6

Job overview

Interviews will be held on 13 August 2024.

 

Here in Reading CMHT, we invest heavily into the development, training, and support of our entire workforce, which means that we welcome applications of an experienced Band 6 Mental Health Professional looking for a career within a busy Community Mental Health Team.

We understand that supporting, developing, and nurturing our staff leads to outstanding patient care. We have a variety of opportunities to help you develop both your skills and your career, introduce, and implement innovations within your service and make a true difference to the lives of our service users.

Our service operates five days a week, not including bank holidays and is offering full, part time and hybrid flexible working opportunities

Main duties of the job

Are you passionate about making a difference and enjoy working as part of a larger team? Are you eager to use your clinical skills to provide excellent care and progress your career?

Applicants will need to be enthusiastic and able to work flexibly and reliably to contribute to the delivery of outstanding care to our patients.

As a Senior Mental Health Practitioner, you will have responsibility for the line management of students and junior staff, undertaking their annual appraisals, PDP’s and proactively supporting their development review cycle.

You should have the ability to think calmly and logically under pressure and have a positive attitude to maintaining high standards of work at all times and be able to demonstrate excellent communication skills.  You will be quick to learn, be able to work as part of a team but also possess the ability to work unsupervised, using your own initiative.

Accuracy and attention to details is essential for this post with a good level of competency in using Microsoft applications.  Strong organizational skills are essential.

Working for our organisation

Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust is a specialist mental health and community health services trust. Rated ‘outstanding’ by the CQC, we’re committed to providing the best possible care to people across Berkshire. 

We value diversity and are proud to be a Stonewall Top 100 Employer. We work hard to create an inclusive environment where you’ll be supported by friendly and professional colleagues to flourish.

Our values at Berkshire Healthcare:

  • Caring for and about you is our top priority
  • Committed to providing good quality, safe services
  • Working Together with you to develop innovative solutions

We welcome people who share these values to come and work for us.

Benefits of working for us include:

  • Flexible working options to support work-life balance
  • 27 days’ annual leave rising with service + opportunity to buy and sell
  • Generous NHS pension scheme
  • Excellent learning and career development opportunities
  • ‘Cycle to Work’ and car leasing scheme including electric vehicles
  • Access to a range of wellbeing tools and services
  • Discounts at hundreds of popular retailers and restaurants
  • Staff networks for race, diversity, disabilities, the environment and armed forces community to support equality
  • Generous maternity, paternity, adoption and special leave
  • Free parking across Trust sites

If you share our values and would like to come and work for us, please submit your application as soon as possible as we'll occasionally close roles early that have a high number of applications.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The “must haves” for this role:

1.            Qualified Psychiatric Nurse, Social Worker, Occupational Therapist with +2 years post registration experience preferred.

2.            Promote, monitor, and maintain best practice in health, safety and security.

3.            Ability to form positive therapeutic relationships with service users, carers, and other professional bodies.

4.            Ability to use technology to underpin professional practice.

For further information about the role, please see attached job description and person specification. We strongly encourage you to review how you meet the criteria in the person specification and write about this point-by-point in your supporting statement for the best chance of being shortlisted. For further application tips – see the help with your application document attached once you click apply.

If you’re someone who shares our passion for excellence and care, you belong at Berkshire Healthcare!

We welcome a conversation about flexibility and any other questions you may have. Please don’t hesitate to call: Marnie Robinson on 0118 9605612 or email: [email protected] who’ll be delighted to help.

We are committed to equal opportunities and welcome applications from all sections of the community, regardless of any protected characteristics. Reasonable adjustments will be made for disabled applicants where required.

Person specification

Education/Qualifications/Training

Essential criteria
  • Registered Mental Health Practitioner whereby the person is licensed to assess, plan, implement and evaluate care for patients with mental health problems.
  • Degree in health/social care or equivalent qualification/experience.

Continuous Professional Development

Essential criteria
  • Willingness to develop practice, knowledge and skills to meet the needs of our service.

Previous Experience

Essential criteria
  • Previous knowledge and experience of working in the community and with service users who have complex mental health needs.
  • Knowledge and experience of applying evidence-based strategies and psycho-social interventions to effectively engage with service users and their carers.
  • Experience of formulating risk assessments.
  • Experience of working with mental health services (or able to demonstrate transferable skills).
  • Experience of working effectively in a multi-disciplinary team and multi-agency environment.
Desirable criteria
  • Experience of clinically supervising junior and unqualified staff and mentoring students.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

Essential criteria
  • Excellent knowledge and understanding of the health & social care systems and operating frameworks, clinical observations and the Mental Health Act.
  • Willingness to work in a multi-agency environment.
  • Effective and competent interpersonal, influencing, communication, observation and reporting skills.
  • Organisational skills and ability to analyse situations and be able to make the right decisions
  • Able to empathise, be supportive and sensitive to the needs of others as well as being able to cope with distressing circumstances.
  • Ability to cope in a pressurised environment and apply practical problem-solving skills in everyday situations.
  • Competent IT skills and the ability to navigate around various systems and software packages (such as MS Office).
  • Ability to work flexibly on a shift pattern as required and the ability to travel independently between locations to fulfil the requirements of the position.
  • Ability to work effectively in a team, work on own initiative, work unsupervised and manage own workload.

Additional Requirements

Essential criteria
  • Manage difficult situations with service users that have complex mental health conditions and challenging behaviours.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

Apprenticeships logoDisability confident employerCarer confident logo, the employers for carers confident schemeCare quality commission - OutstandingStonewall equality policy. Equality and justice for lesbians, gay men, bisexual and trans people.Armed Forces Covenant

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.

Documents to download

Apply online now

Further details / informal visits contact

Name
Marnie Robinson
Job title
Team Lead
Email address
[email protected]
Telephone number
01189605612
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