Crisis Care Practitioner

We have an opportunity for Band 6 in our Crisis Assessment & Treatment Team. You will be part of a Multi-Disciplinary Team where you will gain a range of skills, knowledge and experience as a key member of the community healthcare team. It is a frontline community mental health service that requires responding to clinical needs within a short period of time.

The role of Crisis Care Practitioner in CATT consists of conducting assessments and brief home-based treatment to people with mental health problems to safely avoid hospital admission. Our goal is to develop highly motivated, skilled staff who will work in partnership with patients in least restrictive environments, hence we believe in embracing the expertise of our staff to make a difference to the lives of our patients in the community.

As a service our aim is to promote and encourage positive community relationships with patients to enable them learn and develop new skills to manage their difficulties on their own.

We will consider applicants looking for secondments/flexible working/part-time.

The post holder will deliver the gatekeeping function for admission to inpatient mental health units and offer in reach work in wards to facilitate discharges. They will plan, implement and evaluate programmes of care for clients in crisis with acute mental health problems in the community, and coordinate activities with other professionals and agencies. The post holder will offer interventions, advice and support on telephone and undertake first response face to face crisis assessments in a variety of settings. They will ensure that patients receive the most appropriate care and treatment following triage and assessment, referring to the most appropriate mental health provision or signposting to the relevant services. This may include providing intensive community based treatment/support services as an alternative to in-patient admission, brief interventions or pathway planning.

West London NHS Trust is one of the most diverse providers of mental health, community and social care in the UK.

Our 3,982 staff care for people in hospital and in the community, helping them to recover and go on to lead full and productive lives. We aim to be the best organisation of our kind in the country.

We provide care and treatment for more than 800,000 people living in the London boroughs of Ealing, Hammersmith & Fulham and Hounslow, delivering services in the community (at home, in GP surgeries and care homes), hospital, specialist clinics and forensic (secure) units.

We’re rated good overall by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

Together, we’re committed to promoting hope and wellbeing, working with patients, service users, carers, families and partners across the communities we serve.

We are keen to ensure that our workforce reflects the community it serves, particularly in terms of ethnicity, gender, disability, LGBTQ+ and experience of mental illness.

Covid-19 vaccination is a condition of employment for this role, unless an exemption applies. The successful applicant may have contact with vulnerable service users and we will therefore seek proof of being fully vaccinated during the recruitment process.

This job description is intended as an outline indicator of general areas of activity and will be amended in the light of the changing needs of the organisation. To be reviewed in conjunction with the post holder on a regular basis. You may be required to work at other locations within the Trust as determined by the duties of your post which may include the Single Point of Access. You may be required to undertake any other duties at the request of the line manager which are commensurate with the role, including project work, internal job rotation and absence cover.

General
- The post holder may be required to work at any of the Trust’s sites in line with the service needs.
- The post holder must at all times carry out his/her responsibilities with due regard to the Trust’s Equal Opportunities Policy.
- This job description describes responsibilities, as they are currently required. It is anticipated duties will change over time and the job description may need to be reviewed in the future.
- All staff has a responsibility to participate in the Trust’s Performance Appraisal Scheme and to contribute to their own development and the development of any staff that they are responsible for appraising.

Confidentiality
- The post holder must ensure that personal information for patients, members of staff and all other individuals is accurate, up-to-date, kept secure and confidential at all times in compliance with the Data Protection Act 1998, the Caldicott principles and the common law duty of confidentiality. The post holder must follow the record keeping guidelines established by the Trust to ensure compliance with the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Data Protection Act
- All staff who have access to patients’ care records have a responsibility to en