Senior Mental Health Practitioner Primary Care

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Band 7 senior mental health practitioner to work in partnership in Primary Care as part of the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS) - part of a wider transformation and expansion of community-based mental health services set out in the NHS Long Term Plan.

The post sits within the HIPC Primary Care Network MDT working alongside the GP surgery teams and other PCN professionals and the post holder will also be part of the community mental health MDT with ready access to a wide range of support and expertise across both MDTs.

HIPC PCN are a group of practices working together to focus on local patient care. Covering 5 practices across Stoke on Trent North areas, covering a total population of 42,000.

With strong leadership, led by the PCN Clinical Director and a supportive management team, HIPC are a forward thinking and innovative PCN who are supportive of professional development.

The role delivers timely access to an integrated, high quality, service user-centred service in primary care that enables people with mental health needs and/or social care problems (regardless of diagnosis) to improve their well-being and functionality, thereby preventing, reducing or delaying the need for more specialist services (either for mental health, physical health or social care needs).

The post holder will lead on the service delivery to ensure the mental health and associated social care needs of service users are addressed alongside their physical care thereby promoting wellbeing, independence and choice - whilst preventing, reducing or delaying the onset of greater need.

The post will sit within the GP practices and will offer a combined consultation, advice, triage and liaison function. The role will involve providing leadership, development and supporting shared decision making about self-management, facilitating onward access to treatment services and providing brief psychological intervention where appropriate.

The MHP will offer screening and advice/signposting to patients where there is an indicated mental health problem - which will include working age adults and older adults with both functional and organic mental health problems. The MHP will provide the least intensive intervention appropriate to personal needs first, and patients can then step up or down the care pathway in accordance with their changing needs and response to treatment.

The practitioner can facilitate onward access to other secondary care-based services or third sector services integrated within the mental health pathway.

The MHP will also oversee operational management and clinical supervision of a small team.

North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare is one of only two specialist mental health trusts in England with an overall ‘Outstanding’ rating.

We are on an ambitious journey to deliver our vision to be outstanding - in all we do and how we do it.

The post holder will demonstrate outstanding autonomous and critical thinking and is a caring, compassionate and committed experienced health professional. They will, whilst acting within their professional boundaries, provide care for the presenting patient from initial history taking, assessment and management of care, arrange timely assessments, either face to face or via telephone triage and provide short-term intervention as appropriate.

They will demonstrate safe, competent clinical decision-making and expert care for patients within the practice and wider primary care network. They will communicate and work collaboratively with the general practice team to meet the needs of patients, supporting the delivery of policy and procedures. They will liaise with other professionals and agencies both statutory and non-statutory and to provide a link between primary and secondary services from a North Staffs Combined perspective.

To be a point of contact for acute crisis in known mental health patients and support navigation to the most appropriate point of assessment, whether this be in primary or secondary care

Support the wider PCN teams in the best practice management of mental health.
- Assess, plan, implement and evaluate treatment/interventions and care for patients via telephone or video, in clinic or in their own homes.
- Proactively identify and manage treatment plans for patients with dementia and serious mental illness.
- Diagnose and manage both acute and chronic conditions, integrating both drug
- and non-drug-based treatment methods into a management plan
- Review medication for therapeutic effectiveness, appropriate to patient needs and in accordance with evidence-based practice and national and practice protocols, and within scope of practice
- Work with patients in order to support compliance with and adherence to prescribed treatments
- Prioritise health problems and intervene appropriately to assist the patient in complex, urgent or emergency situations.
- Take prompt action on changes in condition, liaising wit