Primary Care Mental Health Liaison Practitioner

Vacancy for a Primary Care Mental Health Practitioner based in SW Hertfordshire in Dacorum.

Are you a Nurse, Occupational Therapist or Social Worker looking for a change? Do you want to contribute to the development of Primary Care? Do you want to join a well established team? We are looking for a motivated and skilled mental health practitioner to join us in continuing to develop primary care mental health services. This is in line with the Five Year Forward View for Mental Health and recognises that by placing specialist mental health staff in GP practices, promoting recovery focused early assessment and treatment will help the service user achieve the best outcomes.

The post holder will join a team of Band 6 mental health practitioners with relevant professional qualifications (nursing, social work, OT) who are based within the primary care setting. They will be supported by Band 7 ARRS workers and the Service Manager. The post holder will

**provide**:

- Specialist advice
- Timely support to service users (and where relevant their carers)
- Support and consultation to primary care practitioners within local GP surgeries within a Primary Care Network.
- Assist primary care practitioners in the transfer of service users from secondary care to primary care.

This post will also provide the opportunity to work alongside various professional groups including GPs, other primary care professionals and wider community agencies. There are also opportunities to develop and progess.

We are seeking applicants who
- have extensive knowledge and experience of working with individuals with mental health needs
- possess advanced assessment and formulation skills
- are keen to develop their clinical skill base.
- are confident, flexible and dynamic in their approach to their work with a positive outlook to working within a fast-paced environment.
- able to work autonomously whilst also being a good team player.

In return for this you would be offered continued training, and an opportunity to contribute to service development whilst working within a friendly and supportive team. The post holder will receive clinical support and supervision from operational managers and a Consultant Psychiatrist as well as Peer support.

Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (HPFT) is an outstanding organisation with ambitions to match. We are one of just five mental health trusts to achieve an overall rating of ‘Outstanding’ from the Care Quality Commission, and our aim is to be the leading provider of mental health and specialist learning disability services in the country.

Our family of over 3500 members of staff provide health and social care for over 400,000 people with mental ill health, physical ill health and learning disabilities across Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire, and Norfolk, delivering these services within the community and several inpatient settings. We also deliver a range of nationally commissioned specialist services including Tier 4 services for children and young people, perinatal services, plus medium and low secure learning disabilities services.

The care we provide makes a fantastic difference to the lives of our service users, their families and carers - everything is underpinned by choice, independence and equality, with our Trust values embedded throughout:
**Our Trust values are**:
Welcoming. Kind. Positive. Respectful. Professional.

These values are at the core of who we are, everything we do, and how we do it

Would you like to be part of the HPFT family? Would you like work with us to ensure our service users live the fullest lives possible they can? Would you like to be supported in your career to be the best that you can be?

Then please read on
- To undertake assessments of individuals and their families within primary care including the assessment of risk in order to consider access or re-access to secondary mental health services
- To be a core member of primary care teams within an defined area, using specialist mental health knowledge.
- To develop links and foster a culture of partnership between Primary Care Teams and HPFT Adult Mental Health Services.
- To promote the use of treatment protocols and care pathways leading to increased integration of service users within Primary Care setting.
- To enable practitioners in Primary Care to develop their skills and confidence in assessment and treatment of particular mental health problems.
- Facilitate joint work between Primary Care and Secondary Care interface and Primary Care/Voluntary Sector to increase range of services/interventions available.
- To develop a close relationship with Primary Care practices, attending practice meetings and having regular informal contact.
- Interventions will be delivered under Primary care governance and policies whilst also maintaining adherence to HPFT Trust policy.

For full details of the main duties and responsibilities of the role please refer to the job description and person