Senior Mental Health PractitionerNHS

Job summary

This is an exciting opportunity to come and work as a mental health liaison practitioner in the large modern state of the art Southmead hospital as part of the Bristol Foundation Trust.

The BFT Mental Health Liaison Team currently provides mental health assessment, advice, care and treatment to patients within the general hospital and emergency department who have a mental health element to their attendance/admission. The team currently operates a 7 day, including nights, age-inclusive and needs led service.

We would like to recruit an enthusiastic and dynamic Band 7 practitioner to join our team of medical, nursing, and social work staff. We are looking for experienced mental health practitioners with the skills, confidence and flexibility to assess complex individuals and make appropriate plans for their support and care in collaboration with hospital staff.

You will have excellent assessment and communication skills, an ability to formulate clinical decisions and act on them promptly in a demanding, challenging but supportive environment. This is an ideal development opportunity for an experienced practitioner to gain skills in a new and vibrant environment.

Main duties of the job

• Undertake specialist psychosocial assessments and therapeutic interventions of patients, you will prioritise seeing patients in the Emergency Department. However, you will be available to support the wards as and when required with regard to nursing support, education and risk management.
• Make autonomous decisions based on an analysis of complex presenting problems whilst utilising sound clinical judgements regarding the most appropriate treatment, discharge and follow up options taking into account the risk and assessment and management plan.
• Provide a Mental Health consultation/Liaison and advice service.
• Assist and support General Hospital Colleagues in making decisions regarding treatment and care in complex situations.
• Work autonomously and or in close collaboration with colleagues internally and externally to ensure the delivery of high-quality evidence based practice.
• Engage and negotiate with acutely distressed individuals sometimes in potentially challenging situations.
• Work in accordance with Trust Guidelines and Policies and adhere to NMC or equivalent professional regulatory codes and requirements.
• Represent Mental Health Services within the General Hospital, promoting a supportive culture in relation to Mental Health.
• Role model clinical excellence and high standards of practice to other staff.
• Provide education to all areas within the trust to enhance skills, knowledge and confidence in mental health.

Job description

For a more detailed job description and main responsibilities, please refer to the job description document attached to this vacancy.

The Mental Health Liaison Service is a specialist multidisciplinary team providing mental health assessment, intervention and support across the Bristol Foundation Trust Group acute hospital sites, including City and Weston site and Southmead site. The service works closely with acute hospital colleagues and partner agencies to ensure patients receive timely, high-quality mental healthcare alongside their physical health needs.

About us

Bristol Foundation Trust employs over 12,000 staff providing healthcare to the residents of Bristol, South Gloucestershire and North Somerset from our award-winning hospital building at Southmead. We are the regional Major Trauma Centre, and an internationally recognised centre of excellence in a range of services and major specialities. Our vision is that by enabling our teams to be the best that they can be, we will provide exceptional healthcare, personally delivered.

Bristol Foundation Trust values all people as individuals. We aim to be an anti-discriminatory organisation and are committed to building a team that represents a variety of backgrounds, perspectives, and skills. We welcome applicants from all underrepresented groups.