Liaison & Diversion Practitioner

We are looking for innovative and motivated Health/Social Care professionals to work in the Liaison and Diversion Service. The service covers Nottingham City and Nottinghamshire County and we're based in Nottingham Custody Suite, Mansfield Custody Suite, Nottingham Magistrate Court and Nottingham Crown Court. The service runs over 7 days providing cover in the police stations from 8am – 8pm.

The L&D Service aims to improve the access to, and engagement with, services for people coming into contact with the criminal justice system (court, police custody etc.). Whilst not a service which provides long term clinical interventions, the L&D Service offers liaison, advocacy, signposting and short term support to those coming into contact with the criminal justice system to support engagement in community- based health and support services. This approach aims to support the wellbeing of people being arrested to reduce inequalities and address health-related drivers of offending behaviours. We are an all vulnerability all age service providing care for people from age 10 upwards.

If you would like a challenge and the opportunity to be an inclusive, creative practitioner, this job may be for you.

The team is made up of Nurses, Social Workers, Support Workers, Peer Support Workers, Speech and Language Therapist and Psychologist. We work with and support our service users from the earliest point of contact with Criminal Justice Agencies and if required up to the point of sentencing and, in some cases, beyond. The services assess and formulate an initial plan of care within the time frames of the PACE clock in custody and into the community. To ensure robust support and information sharing, the team liaise with services and share information to ensure the best care is provided safely in the immediate environment and onwards into the community/court/prison. The service has some capacity for staff to carry a small community caseload, involving collaboratively working with service users in the community providing assessments and support into services where needs are identified.

Suitable applicants will be a qualified RMN/RNLD, Occupational Therapist/AHP or Social Worker and have experience of working with people with mental health problems, particularly working with service users with complex presentations/engagement issue

TeamNottsHC comprises over 11,000 dedicated colleagues who #MakeADifference every day. We deliver intellectual disability, mental health, community health, forensic, and offender healthcare services across Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, and South Yorkshire. Our care is provided from over 200 sites, spanning community locations, acute settings, and secure environments, including prisons.

We are one of the largest mental health and community Trusts in the East Midlands and one of Nottinghamshire's biggest employers. We also host national and regional services, such as the National High Secure Deaf Service and the Nottingham Centre for Transgender Health.

We offer a variety of employee-led staff networks, including Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) groups, the Green Champions network, the Freedom to Speak Up network, the Health and Wellbeing Champions network, and the Menopause Champions network. These networks play a vital role in supporting our diverse workforce and promoting a culture of inclusivity.

The health and wellbeing of our colleagues is a top priority. We invest significantly in this through our in-house occupational health and staff counselling services, supported by a dedicated Health and Wellbeing team.

The Trust is committed to reducing its carbon emissions, with a specialised Energy and Environmental team working to ensure compliance with environmental legislation, enhance our environmental performance, and achieve our net-zero commitment

This service has several L&D Practitioners, and you will be one of these working in the team in supporting assessments and holding a small caseload of service users to ultimately improve health and social outcomes for children and adults who are in contact with the criminal justice system, ensuring good information sharing across agencies.

Assessment - Completion of all vulnerability's assessment, highlighting factors that impact on the wellbeing of a child or adult within the criminal justice service. Due to the nature of the people, we work with, skill and experience in undertaking risk assessments is essential.

Active engagement & Caseload - Assertive follow up and support through the justice system and encourage engagement within a service user population who often experience stigma and discrimination leading to significant impact on engagement.

Develop good working relationships - To effectively liaise and develop links with services within the criminal justice services and, in the community, to establish effective pathways. Referring, liaising and supporting adults and children access relevant services and support to services within health, social care, third sector agencies and Criminal Justice agencies. Supporting the team to provide awareness training for a range of services and agencies working within the Criminal Justice Pathway i.e. Police, court staff, probation and youth offending teams.

Appointed applicants will have access to robust clinical and managerial supervision and career development opportunities. The service is committed to ensuring the staff in the team are well equipped to work with the complex service users accessing the service and so training is well supported and there is a range of access to robust supervision.

Please note applicants will be required to pay for their DBS check. Costs are deducted from salary following appointment. The cost of the DBS application is £26.40 (standard) or £54.40 (enhanced), this cost will be deducted from your salary over the first 2 months of employment.

You are encouraged to enrol for the DBS Update Service. An annual fee of £16 per year applies.

A full UK driving license and vehicle for business use is required for this post; however reasonable adjustments will be made for disabled individuals in line with the Equality Act 2010.

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