Job Title: Mental Health Practitioner - Band 6 (Primary Care)
Line manager: Primary Care Mental Health Team Lead
Accountable to: PCN Management
Hours per week: Part Time 22.5 hours per week (0.6 FTE)
Working Pattern: Working pattern to be mutually agreed within Monday–Friday operational hours (8am–6pm). No weekends or evenings.
Salary: From £18.92 to £22.26 depending on experience + NHS Pensions
Contract: Permanent
Job Summary:
An exciting opportunity has become available within Andover Primary Care Network for a Band 6 Mental Health Practitioner to join our well-established Primary Care Mental Wellbeing Team. The postholder will provide registered mental health expertise, assessment, brief intervention and care navigation to adults and older adults across our five member GP practices in Andover.
Working at the interface between primary care, community and specialist mental health services, the Mental Health Practitioner will support the early identification, assessment and management of mental health needs within primary care. The postholder will undertake mental health screening and assessment, including assessment of clinical risk and safeguarding concerns, provide brief evidence-based interventions within their professional competence, and maintain an appropriate short-term clinical caseload. They will support patients to access the right care at the right time, including signposting and referral to community services and escalation to urgent or secondary mental health services where required.
An important element of the role will be providing responsive mental health support directly to the PCN’s member practices through established and agreed pathways. This will include reviewing appropriate patients identified through practice eConsult submissions, duty lists and other agreed primary care routes and, where appropriate, contacting and assessing patients directly. This approach will enable suitable patients to receive timely mental health assessment and support without requiring an additional GP appointment or separate referral into the service, while ensuring that patients requiring GP, urgent or specialist mental health input are appropriately identified and escalated.
Working alongside the Primary Care Mental Health Team Lead, GP Mental Health Lead and wider multidisciplinary team, the postholder will provide clinical advice and support to colleagues within the Mental Wellbeing Team and across member practices. This will include supporting the management of patients with more complex mental health needs or clinical risk, undertaking joint assessments where appropriate, contributing to multidisciplinary case discussion, and supporting the development of clinical knowledge and confidence across the wider team.
Safeguarding will form an important part of the role. The postholder will identify, assess and respond appropriately to safeguarding concerns arising through patient contact and provide advice and support to colleagues where concerns are identified. They will work collaboratively with the PCN Safeguarding Team, member practices and relevant partner organisations to support appropriate escalation, information sharing and coordinated safeguarding responses.
The postholder will develop and maintain effective relationships across primary care, community and secondary mental health services and voluntary and community sector organisations, supporting effective care navigation and continuity of care. They will also contribute to the ongoing development and clinical governance of the PCN’s mental health provision, including multidisciplinary working, clinical supervision and education, service evaluation and quality improvement.
The role will primarily be based within the Andover PCN offices, with regular working across our five member GP practices and engagement with partner services as required.
Key Responsibilities
The Band 6 Mental Health Practitioner will provide the following functions depending on local context, supervision and appropriate clinical governance:
a) Mental health advice, support, consultation, and liaison across the wider local health and social care system, including acting as a first point of contact in primary care for patients whose care needs are not suitable for Talking Therapies;
b) Facilitation of onward access to mental and physical health, well-being, and biopsychosocial interventions;
c) Provision of brief psychological interventions, where qualified to do so and where appropriate;
d) Work closely with other PCN-based roles to help address the potential range of biopsychosocial needs of patients with mental health problems. This will include the PCN’s MDT, including, for example, PCN clinical pharmacists for medication reviews, and social prescribing link workers for access to community-based support; and
e) May operate without the need for formal referral from GPs, including accepting some direct bookings where appropriate, subject to agreement on volumes and the mechanism of booking between the PCN and the provider.
Wider Responsibilities
Clinical Practice and Practice Support
- Undertake mental health screening and assessment, including assessment of clinical risk and safeguarding concerns, and provide appropriate brief interventions and support within professional scope of practice.
- Maintain an appropriate short-term clinical caseload, supporting patients with symptom management, care planning and access to appropriate services.
- Provide responsive mental health support to member practices through agreed pathways, including reviewing appropriate patients identified through eConsult submissions, practice duty lists and other agreed routes.
- Where appropriate, contact and assess patients directly, determining the appropriate outcome, including intervention, signposting, onward referral, advice to the practice or escalation to GP, urgent or secondary mental health services.
- Undertake joint assessments and contribute to multidisciplinary case discussion where appropriate.
Safeguarding, Clinical Advice and Team Support
- Identify and respond appropriately to safeguarding concerns and clinical risk, working collaboratively with the PCN Mental Wellbeing and Safeguarding Teams, member practices and relevant partner organisations.
- Provide clinical advice and support to Mental Wellbeing Team and practice colleagues regarding patients with more complex mental health needs, risk or uncertainty regarding the appropriate pathway.
- Support the professional and clinical supervision of members of the Primary Care Mental Wellbeing Team, within the postholder’s professional competence and agreed governance arrangements.
- Contribute to case discussion, reflective practice, education and the sharing of best practice, supporting the development of knowledge and confidence across the wider team.
Multidisciplinary and Partnership Working
- Work collaboratively with the PCN’s five member practices, wider PCN services and relevant health, social care, voluntary and community sector partners.
- Participate in relevant multidisciplinary meetings, case discussions and reviews, contributing mental health expertise to shared decision-making.
- Support effective communication, referral and transition between primary care, community and secondary mental health services, promoting continuity of care and effective care navigation.
- Develop and maintain knowledge of local services and pathways, identifying gaps or barriers to appropriate patient support where these arise.
Service Development and Clinical Governance
- Work closely with the Primary Care Mental Health Team Lead and GP Mental Health Lead to support the safe and effective delivery and ongoing development of the service.
- Contribute to the development and review of clinical pathways and ways of working, including eConsult, practice duty and other direct-access arrangements.
- Participate in appropriate clinical governance, quality improvement, audit and service evaluation activity, contributing to the monitoring of service activity and outcomes.
- Work autonomously within professional scope of practice, recognising limitations and accessing appropriate clinical advice, supervision or escalation when required.
Supervision and Support
The postholder will work under the leadership of the Primary Care Mental Health Team Lead, with support from the PCN’s GP Mental Health Lead and wider Primary Care Mental Wellbeing Team.
Andover PCN will ensure that the postholder has access to appropriate professional and clinical supervision, including support through the local community mental health services provider, alongside robust clinical governance arrangements to support safe and effective practice.
General Conduct Responsibilities
All staff at Andover PCN have a duty to conform to the following:
Equality, Diversity & Inclusion (ED&I)
A good attitude and positive action towards ED&I creates and environment where all individuals are able to achieve their full potential. Creating such an environment is important for three reasons: it improves operational effectiveness, it is morally the right thing to do and it is required by law.
Patients and their families have the right to be treated fairly and be routinely involved in decisions about their treatment and care. They can expect to be treated with dignity and respect and will not be discriminated against on any grounds including age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation. Patients have a responsibility to treat other patients and our staff with dignity and respect.
Staff have the right to be treated fairly in recruitment and career progression. Staff can expect to work in an environment where diversity is valued and equality of opportunity is promoted. Staff will not be discriminated against on any grounds including age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation. Staff have a responsibility to ensure that you treat our patients and their colleagues with dignity and respect.
Safety, Health, Environment and Fire (SHEF)
This organisation is committed to supporting and promoting opportunities for staff to maintain their health, wellbeing and safety.
The post holder is to manage and assess risk within the areas of responsibility, ensuring adequate measures are in place to protect staff and patients and monitor work areas and practices to ensure they are safe and free from hazards and conform to health, safety and security legislation, policies, procedures and guidelines.
All personnel have a duty to take reasonable care of health and safety at work for themselves, their team and others and to cooperate with employers to ensure compliance with health and safety requirements.
All personnel are to comply with the:
· Health and Safety at Work Act 1974,
· Environmental Protection Act 1990,
· Environment Act 1995,
· Fire Precautions (workplace) Regulations 1999
· Coronavirus Act 2020
· Other statutory legislation which may be brought to the post holder’s attention.
Confidentiality
This organisation is committed to maintaining an outstanding confidential service. Patients entrust and permit us to collect and retain sensitive information relating to their health and other matters, pertaining to their care. They do so in confidence and have a right to expect all staff will respect their privacy and maintain confidentiality at all times.
It is essential that if, the legal requirements are to be met and the trust of our patients is to be retained that all staff protect patient information and provide a confidential service.
Information Management
To maintain appropriate confidentiality of information relating to the organisation and its staff and maintain compliance with the Data Protection Act. To be responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of all patient and staff records. Support good integrated governance and information governance practice within the practice. Report any concerns or incidents as per policy.
Quality and Continuous Improvement (CI)
To preserve and improve the quality of our output, all personnel are required to think not only of what they do, but how they achieve it. By continually re-examining our processes, we will be able to develop and improve the overall effectiveness of the way we work. The responsibility for this rests with everyone working within the practice to look for opportunities to improve quality and share good practice.
Andover PCN continually strives to improve work processes which deliver healthcare with improved results across all areas of our service provision. We promote a culture of continuous improvement where everyone counts and staff are permitted to make suggestions and contributions to improve our service delivery and enhance patient care.
Staff should interpret national strategies and policies into local implementation strategies that are aligned to the values and culture of general practice.
All staff are to contribute to investigations and root cause analyses whilst participating in serious incident investigations and multidisciplinary case reviews.
Induction
At Andover PCN, you will be required to complete the induction programme, and the PCN management team will support you throughout the process.
Learning and development
The effective use of training and development is fundamental in ensuring that all staff are equipped with the appropriate skills, knowledge, attitude and competences to perform their role. All staff will be required to partake in and complete mandatory training as directed by the PCN HR and the management. It is an expectation for this post holder to assess their own learning needs and undertake learning as appropriate.
The post holder will provide an educational role to patients, carers, families and colleagues in an environment that facilitates learning.
Collaborative working
All staff are to recognise the significance of collaborative working and understand their own role and scope and identify how this may develop over time. Staff are to prioritise their own workload and ensure effective time-management strategies are embedded within the culture of the team.
Teamwork is essential in multidisciplinary environments and the post holder is to work as an effective and responsible team member, supporting others and exploring the mechanisms to develop new ways of working and work effectively with others to clearly define values, direction and policies impacting upon care delivery.
Effective communication is essential and all staff must ensure they communicate in a manner which enables the sharing of information in an appropriate manner.
All staff should delegate clearly and appropriately, adopting the principles of safe practice and assessment of competence.
Plans and outcomes by which to measure success should be agreed.
Managing information
All staff should use technology and appropriate software as an aid to management in the planning, implementation and monitoring of care and presenting and communicating information.
Data should be reviewed and processed using accurate SNOMED/read codes to ensure easy and accurate information retrieval for monitoring and audit processes.
Service delivery
All PCN Staff will be given detailed information during the induction process regarding policy and procedure.
The post holder must adhere to the information contained within the organisation’s policies and regional directives and the DES, ensuring protocols are always adhered to.
Security
The security of the organisation is the responsibility of all personnel. The post holder must ensure they always remain vigilant and report any suspicious activity immediately to their line manager.
Under no circumstances are staff to share the codes for the door locks with anyone and are to ensure that restricted areas remain effectively secured. Likewise, password controls are to be maintained and are not to be shared.
Professional Conduct
All staff are required to dress appropriately for their role.
Annual Leave
All personnel are entitled to take paid annual leave. Line managers are to ensure all of their staff are afforded the opportunity to take a minimum of 5.6 weeks leave each year and should be encouraged to take all of their leave entitlement which is 33 days in total (inclusive of bank holidays) for a full-time equivalent working 37.5 hours per week.
PLEASE NOTE: we reserve the right to interview throughout the duration of the advertising period, and if a suitable candidate is found we may withdraw the advert prior to the published close date.
Pay: £18.92-£22.26 per hour
Benefits:
- Company pension
- Employee discount
- Health & wellbeing programme
- Store discount
Education:
Licence/Certification:
- NMC / HCPC / relevant professional registration (required)
Work authorisation:
- United Kingdom (required)
Work Location: In person
