Calling all experienced Mental Health Nurses, Social Workers or Occupational Therapists to become a Specialist Practitioner within a newly developed service.

As a Community Mental Health Practitioner you will be joining a dynamic, multi-disciplinary team of experienced Mental Health nurses, Social Workers and Occupational Therapists, Support Workers and Peer Specialists. This mix of professionals enables holistic and effective care to be provided to our service users.

Connection is a new and developing service designed in collaboration with staff and service users to support them when in crisis. We work to a model of self-defined crisis meaning that there is no threshold for accessing the services. Anyone working for the team will become specialist in these assessments, working closely with colleagues within Access Mental Health including Home Treatment teams, Psychiatric Liaison and the Retreat. Telephone support is available 24 hours a day seven days a week to people of all ages living in Dorset, experiencing a mental health crisis. The service is accessed directly through a single phone number or via 111.

The successful candidate will be completing brief clinical risk and mental state assessments to provide brief interventions for people presenting in mental health crisis with a view to signposting them onto the most appropriate service to meet their care needs. Working via telephone, our qualified practitioners will be experts in validating, de-escalating crisis and coaching people in distress tolerance and emotional regulation strategies. 

As well as telephone based work the role will also entail completing urgent assessments across Dorset enabling the successful candidate to develop their assessment skills whilst supporting clients in accessing support in a timely manner.

This role also includes managerial responsibility for the Mental Health Support Workers within the team providing guidance and support. Using a range of brief interventions, you will empower patients, carers and families to manage distress and crisis effectively.

Continued training and education is a key objective at Dorset HealthCare for all staff. The Home Treatment Team offers continuous development for all our practitioners both from internal and external resources. Specialist training continues to be developed and offered for all disciplines within the team.

This post is an opportunity for you to expand on your existing knowledge, skills and experience to become part of this specialist service and to play an active part in the remodelling exercise taking place as a result of the Acute Care Pathway Review

You will be required to undertake shifts in both Connection and Street Triage. Street Triage is a service which also provides telephone support and advice to Dorset Police where you will also receive full training on the Police Computer system.

Within this role we will be able to provide development for an experienced band 5 – please contact us for further details.  

Employment in this post requires an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check. The DBS levies a charge of £40 and the Trust will recover this cost in instalments from your first 3 salary payments. This will only apply to candidates who are new to the Trust and not internal staff.

Applicants who subscribe to the DBS update service and are able to present a valid DBS certificate will not incur a charge.

If you are interested in moving to Dorset we also offer a generous relocation package of up to £5,000. 

Informal contact welcomed, for further information or to apply please click on the APPLY button below 

We encourage you to contact us for informal conversations about the role, we are able to organise a visit to come and meet the team.