Primary Care Mental Health Practitioner

Ensure service users are more quickly supported to the right service utilising the PCN social prescribers or equivalent. Provide dedicated support and presence within primary care settings Build long-term relationships and improve communications with primary care colleagues and other stakeholders Enhance the skills and capacity in primary care and VCS through training and facilitation of joint working with the social prescribers. To offer advice or obtain advice for primary care colleagues to plan appropriate and timely intervention. To participate in pro-active mental health promotion and wellbeing initiatives (World Suicide prevention day / world mental health day) Support smooth transition between primary and secondary care services if required.
Improve access to mental health services for service users and carers at the first point of contact as required. Participate in receiving and screening referrals that the Primary Care Mental Health Practitioner can then complete a Mental health assessment and complete comprehensive risk and evidenced based decisions. To recognise and describe effectively symptoms of mental illness and distress and escalate concerns effectively and in a timely manner. This may include decisions made with SCMH colleagues / GPs and social prescribers.
Decisions may include signposting to the appropriate services, either within the CWPT, or externally as appropriate, and providing advice and feedback to referrers. To record any assessment / assessment of risk and plan for each person they see on CWPT specified systems To link in with locality community mental health duty teams to discuss any open referrals or for advice. For patients presenting in crisis, the post holder may be required to support / or in conjunction with the GP referral process to Mental Health Access Hub. To communicate and provide case studys and any other required to internal (CWPT / GP) and external stakeholders.
To make telephone contact with patients within 5 working days as appropriate. To agree with the patient brief interventions to be offered (maximum 4 weeks) or other support such as referral to social prescribers, referral to IAPT or SCMH as appropriate To participate as an effective member of the PCN MDT and be responsible for the development and implementation of a person-centred approach to care: screening and decision making for referrals, identifying the needs of service user and their carers Facilitate onward referral to the Voluntary sector via social prescribers. Facilitate short term case management within Primary Care offering professional advice, joint support and information. Use specialist assessment skills to undertake high quality Brief Solution Focused work when appropriate and facilitate referral on for appropriate treatment if required within SCMH.
To discuss present performance and future needs with the PCN project development team. To attend meetings with the PCN project development team as delegated and requested and participate and feedback information as appropriate. To provide clinical supervision of Social prescribers based with the PCN To prepare data for activity reports as required Participate in implementation of policy to develop the role with the PCN project group and contribute to development of the role and service through awareness and engagement with the PCN project team To facilitate improved patient and family/carer experience, Improved liaison and co-working with partners, timely interventions. To support the reduction in carer crisis, hospital admissions and inequality To support with the prevention of de/escalation to specialist/acute services and reduce inappropriate referrals to Community Mental Health Teams.