Liaison & Diversion Practitioner

Sussex Liaison and Diversion (SL&D)are seeking to recruit a dynamic, qualified and registered health, social care, or justice professional with significant mental health experience to work in our Police Custody team (experienced nurse (esp. RMN, LD), occupational therapist, social worker, Approved Mental Health Professional (AMHP), etc.).

Operating across Sussex and Brighton & Hove, SL&D provides high quality mental health and vulnerability screening and assessment to people of all ages who have become involved in the criminal justice system.

sed mainly at Brighton Police Custody but able to work flexibly across Sussex's police custody suites, courts, probation offices, and other locations you will be part of a growing team of frontline staff. You will ideally have knowledge of both the criminal justice and mental health systems, and experience of working with people who are at risk of poor health and social care outcomes. Using your excellent triage and case prioritisation skills, you will be responsible for coordinating your own assessment work, as well as work undertaken by Support Worker staff who you will supervise and work alongside on a day-to-day basis.

You will focus on providing detailed mental health and vulnerabilities assessments of complex and higher risk cases arriving at the custody suite or in other justice locations. You will have meticulous attention to detail in gathering and recording health, social circumstances, and risk information, sometimes under time pressures. You will be able to develop clear risk management plans to ensure a safe pathway for the vulnerable people you assess as they leave police custody, whether they are remanded to a court or prison, or are returning to a potentially complex situation in the community. our written assessments and verbal feedback will inform police and court decision making, and will support the early identification of need in order to successfully refer vulnerable people into appropriate health and social care services. Onward plans for the service users you asses will cover a wide range of activity: from routine voluntary sector or primary care referrals through to serious safeguarding alerts, and detention under forensic section. You will therefore develop and maintain links with locality AMHP teams, safeguarding hubs, Probation and YOT teams, and voluntary sector agencies (amongst others). You will also develop relationships and maintain referral pathways to community, crisis, and acute mental health services, including forensic mental health services.

**About the Trust**:
We provide mental health and learning disability care for children, young people, and adults across Sussex. SPFT is rated ‘good’ overall and ‘outstanding’ for caring by CQC. In our staff survey:

- 82% agree that care for patients is our top priority
- 70% highlight flexible working opportunities as key to satisfaction at work
- 79% report feeling able to make improvement to improve the work within their team
- 77% identify opportunities to show initiative in their roles

**About Sussex**:

- Travel easily between coast and countryside, with a blend of picturesque villages and seaside towns there’s always new experiences to be enjoyed
- Embrace the city life with great access to visit Brighton and London
- With easy access to Gatwick and Heathrow and excellent railway links across the UK there is plenty of opportunity for adventure

SLDS has a positive supervision and appraisal culture, and values staff training and development.

To protect the health and safety of our staff/workers, patients, and those attending our sites, we encourage our workforce to get fully vaccinated against COVID

You will maintain positive working relationships with police custody staff in your main location, but will be able to robustly articulate your professional and clinical judgement when challenged, escalating any risk or difficulty appropriately and promptly within the team. You may from time to time give verbal evidence in court if required.You will maintain positive working relationships with police custody staff in your main location, but will be able to robustly articulate your professional and clinical judgement when challenged, escalating any risk or difficulty appropriately and promptly within the team. You may from time to time give verbal evidence in court if required.

You will report to, and be supported by, an experienced Clinical Nurse Specialist but will operate with substantial autonomy once your induction has been completed. You will meticulously collect outcomes data as required by NHSE/I and by the Trust.

This role requires you to respond dynamically to support your SL&D team colleagues in other locations using both remote working methods and attending in person as required. You will therefore need to be able to travel promptly between locations during the working day, including locations in East or West Sussex, or Brighton/Hove as necessary.

**Pay Band**: