Mental Health Act Administrator

The Mental Health Legislation and Compliance Department, forming part of Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust, are seeking to recruit a highly motivated and experienced full time Mental Health Act Administrator to join our specialist team providing a high quality legal administration service. You will play a key role in delivering an efficient and effective Mental Health Law service ensuring that the Trust is fully compliant with the MHA 1983 and the Code of Practice in the receipt and scrutiny of all Mental Health Act documentation.

You will be required to work as part of the Team and supervise the Mental Health Law Officers in the smooth running of the Mental Health Legislation office.

As a Mental Health Act Administrator your role will include, but is not limited to:

- Supporting HPFT staff to ensure that the Mental Health Act and associated legislation is adhered to so that service user's rights are protected.
- To act as the first point of contact for enquiries from service users, carers and professionals.
- Liaise with an extensive range of healthcare professionals, local authorities, solicitors, Tribunal staff, Ministry of Justice staff and other outside agencies, Care Quality Commission and Courts.
- To maintain and update systems and spreadsheets including an Electronic Patient Record.
- Supervise Mental Health Law officers within the Department providing training and supporting their development.

You will be required to work without direct supervision, using independent judgement and taking responsibility for the oversight and control of a defined workload.

You should be a positive team player who is motivated and diligent with excellent communication skills.

You must be highly organised and enjoy working in a busy environment to specific deadlines whilst maintaining high levels of accuracy to your work.

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?

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
- To support the MH Legislation and Compliance Department and in doing so will ensure that the Mental Health Act and associated legislation is adhered to so that service user's rights are protected.
- To act as the first point of contact for enquiries from service users and their Nearest Relatives.
- To work within standard operational procedures and refer any enquiries to the appropriate personnel as necessary.
- To scrutinise section papers after acceptance by ward staff and facilitate correction of rectifiable errors if necessary.
- To give information by letter with regard to detention under the Mental Health Act to service users and where appropriate their nearest relative.
- To provide reminders to Responsible Clinicians when statutory documentation is required
- To ensure that statutory documentation is accurate and available on the Electronic Patient Record (EPR)
- To maintain and update systems and spreadsheets including the EPR
- To work with team leaders, nursing staff and Responsible Clinicians to ensure that all statutory documentation is completed within appropriate time frames.
- To conduct audits at regular intervals to ensure compliance with the requirements of MHA, (MHA “Health Checks”), which include Consent to Treatment and S132 Rights.
- To act as a source of advice to staff on all aspects of the MHA
- To assist in collating information from audits to ensure that current systems in place are effective.
- To monitor the use of the Community Treatment Order and the Consent to Treatment provisions
- To attend MHA Managers’ Hearings and support First Tier Tribunals (Mental Health)
- To keep up to da