The closing date is 19th Aug 2026
/*generated inline style */
Job summary
We're looking for a compassionate and motivated Health Care Professional (Occupational Therapist, Social Worker, or Registered Mental Health Nurse) to join our dedicated Perinatal Mental Health Service in Somerset.
In this rewarding community-based role, you will coordinate care, undertake comprehensive assessments, and develop and deliver evidence-based care plans for women and families accessing the service. You'll work closely with a multidisciplinary team, providing specialist advice, guidance, and support to colleagues and partner agencies to ensure the highest standards of care.
This countywide position offers the opportunity to make a real difference to women experiencing mental health and emotional wellbeing challenges during the perinatal period. You'll provide personalised assessment and support for individuals requiring pre-conception counselling, during pregnancy, and throughout the postnatal period, helping them achieve the best possible outcomes for themselves and their families.
To be successful in this role, you'll need a full UK driving licence and access to a vehicle, as regular travel across Somerset is required. We offer a generous mileage allowance for NHS business travel, and there is also the opportunity to apply for a lease car.
If you're passionate about supporting women and families during this important stage of life and want to be part of a specialist, supportive team, we'd love to hear from you.
/*generated inline style */
Main duties, tasks & skills required
Your responsibilities will include:
Providing safe, effective, and evidence-based assessments and interventions, using advanced clinical reasoning and specialist assessment skills.
Managing a varied caseload, coordinating care and ensuring the delivery of high-quality support tailored to individual needs.
Participating in the team duty rota, providing timely advice, support, and response to referrals.
Acting as a key worker under the Care Programme Approach (CPA), ensuring care plans, risk assessments, and reviews are accurate, up to date, and regularly evaluated.
Planning, delivering, reviewing, and adapting interventions to meet identified needs while effectively managing risk.
Supporting and assessing the needs of partners, carers, and family members, developing appropriate programmes of support where required.
Safeguarding women, babies, and families by promoting safety and protecting individuals from abuse, neglect, and harm.
Working within a multidisciplinary team and alongside external agencies to support informed clinical decision-making and seamless care pathways.
Maintaining accurate, timely, and professional clinical records in line with service and professional standards.
Contributing to case conferences, care reviews, and multidisciplinary meetings, ensuring women and their families are actively involved in decisions about their care.
Supporting service development initiatives, project work, and quality improvement activities that enhance patient care and service delivery.
/*generated inline style */
About us
At Somerset NHS Foundation Trust, we're committed to supporting our employees with a range of benefits designed to enhance your professional and personal life. We offer:
Flexible working options to help you balance work and life
NHS pension scheme for long-term financial security
Generous annual leave allowance to recharge and relax
A strong focus on career development to help you grow and achieve your potential
Additionally, you'll gain access to our Blue Light Card, unlocking exclusive discounts on shopping, dining, and leisure activities, as well as NHS-specific perks to support you both inside and outside of work.
We are proud to foster a diverse, skilled, and inclusive workforce, and we encourage applications from all backgrounds.
Why Somerset? Somerset offers the perfect blend of idyllic countryside, outstanding areas of natural beauty, and breathtaking coastlines, with vibrant cities like Bristol, Bath, and Exeter just a short drive away - and only two hours to London.
The region is home to excellent educational facilities, and with affordable housing compared to other parts of the country, it's a great place to build both your career and your future.
Somerset truly has it all - the peaceful countryside and cosmopolitan city life, with something for everyone to enjoy.
/*generated inline style */
Job description
Always act in a dignified and responsible manner with service users, carers and colleagues, using appropriate language and communication skills, which acknowledge barriers to understanding, cultural differences and diversity.
To provide supportive and sensitive communication, written and verbal advice to patients, carers and staff, whilst demonstrating an understanding of the nature and effects of some information and of barriers to effective communication e .g, sensory or cognitive impairment and unrealistic expectations whilst being considerate of client confidentiality.
Develop and maintain communication (sensitive, complex and contentious) with other teams, external agencies, in order to promote good client care and deliver initiatives such as Care Programme Approach.
To confidently convey complex written and verbal information on both clinical and non-clinical issues and to support the development of these skills with individuals within the team.
Act as an advocate, support service users through their care programme both physically and psychologically to achieve expected outcomes, explaining care, treatment and associated risks (complex information)
Provide and receive complex information where persuasive, motivational, negotiating, empathic and re-assurance skills are required to support service users through their recovery period.
Maintain strict confidentiality of complex and sensitive client information at all times.
Organise and plan activities with service users, facilitating therapeutic and educational groups, adjusting own workload in response to prevailing circumstances.
In order to manage risk - requirement to adhere to individual risk assessments.
Develop and complete risk assessments, analysing and deciding the most appropriate approach to implementing care plans, agreeing objectives with service users and carers.
To provide a high standard of clinical care ensuring safe and effective assessment and treatment using highly developed clinical reasoning skills and appropriate assessment tools.
To manage a caseload and service delivery in accordance with and in order to contribute towards the attainment of Service/Trust productivity requirements and Quality priorities.
To facilitate the admission to or discharge from specialised inpatient Mother and Baby Units when required.
To work flexibly across a 5-day-a-week service.
To be compliant with CQC standards.
To delegate aspects of the patient treatment plan to other members of the team whilst maintaining overall responsibility for patients care, where appropriate.
To ensure the clinical practice of nursing members of the Perinatal Community Mental Health Team is of the highest standard.
To act as keyworker under the Care Programme Approach, ensuring up to date care plans, risk assessments and reviews are in place.
Work with women to assess their mental health, recognise mental illness and identify their related needs and circumstances; and enable them to understand, manage and where appropriate change their behaviour.
Plan, implement, review and improve interventions to meet women's identified needs and manage their inherent risk.
To assess carers' and family's needs and develop, implement and review programmes of support for carers and families.
Protect people from abuse, neglect and harm.
Enable women to develop independent living skills in their own community.
To work collaboratively and promote effective working relationships with members of the multi-disciplinary team, ensuring effective and appropriate clinical decision-making, both within the Perinatal Community Mental Health Team and with external agencies.
To maintain accurate and timely clinical records and to co-ordinate and monitor those of the team.
To adhere to relevant code of professional conduct and ethics, plus associated legislation.
To develop clinical practice having due regard to guidelines of the N.S.F for Mental Health N.I.C.E and Mental Health Act (1983)
To undertake specific project work or any other duties as negotiated with the Perinatal Team Keyworker.
To act as lead professionals within the Perinatal Community Mental Health Team.
Develop effective and supportive links with other health and social care staff. To create networks that improve the pathway of care for clients referred to the Perinatal and Maternal Mental health Team.
Participate in post registration education, training, continuing professional development and Revalidation.
Attending meetings as appropriate.
Fulfilling duties of weekly timetable including any 'out of hours' responsibilities.
Plan, implement, review and improve interventions to meet people's identified needs and manage their inherent risk.
Contribute to case conferences and reviews, supporting service users and carers to engage with services and contribute to their care.
/*generated inline style */
Person specification
/*generated inline style */
Qualifications
/*generated inline style */
Essential
A registered qualification in one of the following:
Registered Mental Health Nurse
Social worker
Occupational therapy.
Evidence of continuing professional development and maintenance of relevant professional qualification
/*generated inline style */
Desirable
Management Training
/*generated inline style */
Experience
/*generated inline style */
Essential
Relevant knowledge/experience of Perinatal Mental Health assessment and care planning
Experience of working with individuals in crisis in an inpatient or community setting
Experience of working with people with severe and enduring mental illnesses
Evidence of continuing professional development
/*generated inline style */
Desirable
Previous experience of working with women whose pregnancy or postnatal period is complicated by serious mental illness in any setting
/*generated inline style */
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
/*generated inline style */
UK Professional Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website.
/*generated inline style */
For help with your application, contact:
Debbie Bunce
[email protected]
01278454185
/*generated inline style */
Pay scheme
Agenda for Change
/*generated inline style */
Band
Band 6
/*generated inline style */
Salary
/*generated inline style */
£39959.00 to £48117.00 Yearly
/*generated inline style */
Contract
Permanent
/*generated inline style */
Working pattern
Part-Time, Full-Time
/*generated inline style */
Reference number
184-OL-GR-5300
/*generated inline style */
Job locations
Glanville House
Church Street
Bridgwater
Somerset
TA6 5AT
/*generated inline style */
