Triage Coordinator

An excellent opportunity has arisen for an experienced Mental Health Practitioner to join our management team as a Coastal West Sussex Referral Co-ordinator/Team Leader managing our referral management system. We have a centralised referral system and a dedicated referral line open from 08.00 - 18.30 and we prioritise referrals based on clinical need ensuring patients/service users are assessed in a timely manner. In your role, you will work closely with primary care and other statutory services and you will help to support the broader functions of our Assessment & Treatment Service working as part of a management team providing effective leadership, management and supervision to clinical staff.

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.

This post straddles two services Adur, Arun and Worthing Assessment and Treatment Service coupled with Chichester and Bognor Assessment and Treatment Service. You will be required to work across both services however there is scope for home working and to work from one base either in Worthing or Chichester.

As the triage coordinator you will use your expert knowledge and experience of working with people with mental health needs to coordinate the triage function for adults referred into the service. Working alongside Psychiatrist, Psychologies, Pharmacy, Lead Practitioners and Mental Health Liaison Practitioners you will determine the best assessment and treatment pathway for people using our service. You will be liaising closely with GPs, Time to Talk, Secondary Care Mental Health Colleagues and other relevant providers.

Over the next five years, community mental health services are going to be undergoing a real transformation and you could be part of these exciting developments. Our community mental health teams will become part of a
much more integrated network of services and our mental health clinicians will be central in driving the changes, in close partnership with our primary and third sector colleagues.

We recognise that working in mental health can be stressful so we prioritise staff welfare, providing regular supervision, reflective practice, mentoring, and any other support that our clinicians need to ensure their wellbeing.

This is a clinical leadership role that will offer you the opportunity to provide early engagement with people referred to the service and assist with the effective and timely triage of referrals assessing the patient’s needs, determining the priority of care and processing the referrals accordingly. You will work alongside other clinicians and administration staff in the team and will demonstrate excellent communication skills, understanding and kindness to people who will, very often be having their first contact with our services.

We are committed to ensuring that mental health care is co-produced wherever possible and delivered in a person-centred, compassionate, and supportive way. Mental health care should promote safety and wellbeing while addressing social care needs and ensuring equality and fairness for all. It should be needs-led, outcome-focused, responsive and delivered in a way that empowers people to build on their strengths, promotes recovery, and supports families and carers.

For full details of main duties and responsibilities, please see attached Job Description document.