Mental Health Support Worker

**About The Role**:
**UNLOCK YOUR BEST WORK LIFE**

**+ MAKE A DIFFERENCE TO EVERY LIFE**

We have a fantastic opportunity for a Mental Health Support Worker to join the Mental Health team at HMP Preston, a Category B male prison in Preston city centre with capacity of around 750.

This is a fantastic opportunity to work across inpatients and the wings, looking after mental health patients.

No 2 days are the same in this challenging, yet rewarding and supportive environment.

**Hours**:
This is a full time role, 37.5 hours per week, working a variety of shifts between Monday and Sunday. This role involves working every other weekend. You will work on a weekly rota between 07:30 - 20:30.

**Salary**:
This position is full time, you’ll receive an annual salary of £24,669 - £28,690 per annum - depending on experience.

**How will we support you?**
- Bespoke induction, including our Introducing Health in Justice training course
- Competency framework
- Regional and national career development opportunities
- Our bespoke Learning Management System to address your learning needs
- Support from the wider team

**What you'll be doing**:
As our new Mental Health Support Worker, your responsibilities will vary. Some of your duties will include:

- Work with mental health patients across the wings and the inpatients unit, looking after patients with severe mental health issues, personality disorders etc
- Be a key part of the nursing team - assisting nurses and reporting back on findings and assessments
- Be responsible for venepuncture
- Carry out physical care as necessary
- Ensure continuity of care for all patients, and deliver outstanding care at all times
- Contribute to, and implement care packages, assist with health promotion, wellbeing and clinics

If you are interested in **career development,** we have a wide range of opportunities for you to develop your skills and experience, which include both **internal and external options** for development and learning.

**It doesn’t stop there**we also offer:

- Company pension scheme
- 25 days annual leave increasing with service up to 28 days per year, plus public bank holidays
- An extensive range of wellbeing and lifestyle benefits
- Discounts on shopping and leisure activities
- Support to grow in your role and continue your professional development
- Excellent long-term career prospects
- 24/7 employee assistance helpline and financial assistance when you need it

**What we’ll look for in you**:
The Health in Justice team at Practice Plus Group makes a real difference across over 53 prisons, young offenders and immigration removal centres. We’re the UK’s leading independent provider of NHS services to over 40,000 patients in secure environments, always putting their needs first, regardless of their background.

Practice Plus Group’s purpose is to Unlock your best work life and we stand by our core values:

- we treat patients and each other as we would like to be treated
- we act with integrity
- we embrace diversity
- we strive to do things better together

We are looking for caring, compassionate but also driven professionals who can help us drive our vision for a fair and inclusive healthcare access to all.

Our new Mental Health Support Worker will:

- Ideally hold a NVQ Level 2 or 3 in Health & Social Care
- Have experience within a mental health environment
- Have knowledge of mental health issues
- Have experience of ECGs and venepuncture, or be willing to undertake this training
- Ideally have experience of working with groups
- Any experience in a prison / secure setting or hospital would be a bonus

Secure environments are one of the most challenging, yet rewarding places for healthcare professionals to work. If you’re looking for a role where you can develop your existing healthcare skills and learn something new every day in an environment that never stands still, then this could be the right opportunity for you.