Senior Police Liaison Practitioner

Are you an experienced, highly motivated mental health practitioner and who is passionate about improving health outcomes for those within the Criminal Justice system?

We now have the opportunity to recruit two full time vacancies (2.0 WTE) for Band 7 Senior Police Liaison Practitioners to join our well established but now expanding team working in MET police custody suites, Acton and Hammersmith. These custody suites serve large diverse boroughs within the West London area.

The police Liaison teams sits within a wider Liaison and Diversion service in West London NHS Trust, including Court Diversion at Westminster and Youth Justice Tri Borough. With this recruitment, we aim to provide a 7-day service to the suites, ensuring access to all those who become involved in the Criminal Justice system.

We are looking for suitably experienced mental health professionals rather than one particular discipline. We are interested in hearing from mental health/Learning disability nurses, social workers, clinical/forensic psychologists or occupational therapists. An experienced AMHP would be desirable.

We provide proactive screening and assessment to individuals within Police custody, identifying need/vulnerabilities, signposting to other services and where indicated diverting to health. You will be primarily screening those over 18 but at times will be expected to assess children and young people if our Youth team is not available. Our aim is to improve overall health outcomes, reduce further police contact and re-offending rates, and to avert disorder-related crises.

This scheme, commissioned by NHS England operate to a standard model and similar schemes are now available in every part of the country. It is an all-age service and all women and people under the age of 18 are screened as mandatory due to their vulnerability within the system.

The service needs practitioners who are able to think quickly and work independently under pressure when screening and assessing vulnerable people in police custody. You will need excellent communication and risk management skills and demonstrate a commitment to close partnership working with the Police and other agencies, both statutory and voluntary.

The successful applicant must be able to demonstrate knowledge and direct experience of the crisis pathway and risk management to a high standard and should have previous experience working with young people and adults within acute, community and/or forensic settings.

If you think that this is you, your enthusiastic and committed, then our friendly team is for you.

West London NHS Trust is one of the most diverse providers of mental and physical 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 are 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.

The post holder will work under the remit of the Forensic Community Service providing a proactive assessment, liaison and diversion service in two Police Custody Suites within the West London area.

The post holder will join an established team which already comprises of 6 x Band 7 Police Liaison Practitioners. The post holder will work in partnership with health, social services and the criminal justice system, to ensure that individuals presenting with mental health problems in police custody have their needs addressed and are diverted into appropriate health care services as necessary. Unsocial hours working will be required, including bank holidays.

For further information please see attached JD & PS.