Perinatal Community Mental Health Practitioner

We are excited to announce an opportunity for a Perinatal Practitioner to work with the Dorset Perinatal Community Mental Health service. We would welcome Professional Registration from a range of disciplines including Mental Health Nurse, Occupational Therapist or Social Worker.

The service offers specialist mental health treatment to women experiencing mental health difficulties in the perinatal period. This is an opportunity for professionals with a passion for Perinatal Mental Health to immerse themselves within our Perinatal Services.

We are a kind friendly motivated team who will be happy to welcome you to our service. The service will help you to further develop your skills, accessing fully funded specialist training and provide support and supervision to be part of a high performing multi disciplinary team. We are proud that the perinatal service currently has one of the highest staff retention rate in the South West and has always attracted a high calibre both locally and nationally.

The Community Perinatal Mental Health Team cover PAN Dorset to ensure Perinatal Services are accessible to women and families across the county, having two main office hubs at Dorchester (Forston Clinic) and Bournemouth (Alumhurst Road). This position is specifically to cover the EAST of Dorset geographically.

Applications from candidates that require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are unfortunately ineligible to apply for this position.

The practitioner will work within this dynamic team providing care for woman with a moderate to severe degree of mental health problems during pregnancy and up to a maximum of one year postnatally, working across both the inpatient unit and within the community outreach service.

The practitioner will be expected to actively participate in the development of a high quality and innovative service for women, their babies, and their partners.

This post involves assessment; treatment and monitoring of the mothers' mental health, development and monitoring parenting skills, individual 1-1 work, group work and other therapeutic interventions, regardless of the location, which may be either within the inpatient unit or a community setting.

An important facet of this role involves consultation and liaison with local CMHT's, Child & Family Social Services and Health Visitors amongst other professionals.

This post will require the practitioner to work closely with the Perinatal Mental Health Service Team Leader in the day to day running of the service and in their absence oversee the service provision, ensuring all areas of the service are staffed adequately, the receipt of referrals and allocation or workload across the team.

Employment in this post requires an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check, which the Trust will cover the cost of. Applicants who subscribe to the DBS update service are able to present a valid DBS certificate instead of requiring a new check.

At Dorset HealthCare we're on a mission to empower people to make the most of their lives through our outstanding, joined-up healthcare services. We're a dynamic, forward-looking Trust, running 12 community hospitals, specialist inpatient facilities and a wide range of integrated community and mental health services for a population of almost 800,000 people.

We do things differently here – it's one of the reasons the CQC rated us 'outstanding' in 2019. It's also why 95% of patients across our services say they have a good or very good experience of our services and 89% of staff feel they can really make a difference. Whether you're looking to work with us in one of our bustling market towns, vibrant urban locations, thriving seaside spots, or among the rolling hills of Dorset, there are lots of ways you can make a difference in our communities.

Our 7,000-strong workforce is at the heart of what we do, and our success is a testament to our brilliant people. We're all about building a workplace for the future, we believe in equal opportunities, and we celebrate diversity. We're an inclusive workplace, where everyone is welcome, everyone can be authentic, and we are all encouraged to be the best version of ourselves.

Working with us you'll be part of a strong team, challenge yourself, build a career, and teach us what we don't know. And you'll be working towards our vision to be better every day through excellence, compassion, and expertise in all we do.

For the main duties and responsibilities for this role please read the attached job description and person specification. When completing your application please ensure your supporting statement reflects the criteria set out in these documents by showing how your experience and skills apply to this post.

We understand that using AI can be a useful and supportive tool when completing your application. However, we have also seen an increase in the over-reliance of AI tools which is negatively impacting applications as they remove candidate's individuality, and it becomes much harder to get a sense of who you are and your authentic experience. If you do use AI, it should be used to enhance your application and not to create your supporting statement in its entirety. If we suspect you have used AI to create your supporting statement and this does not match your experience, we may withdraw your application.

As part of our vision to have a skilled, diverse and caring workforce, Dorset HealthCare offers support for people getting into work. We offer an employability service to support individuals with application writing, interview skills and other employment support. If you would like or know of anyone who would value this support, please do contact

Applications from candidates that require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are unfortunately ineligible to apply for this position.