Job Description

Are you an experienced Mental Health Nurse/Occupational Therapist/Social Worker with a clear understanding of how coordination of care can contribute to an individual's recovery?

As a Community Mental Health Practitioner in our service you will be supporting service users with severe and enduring mental health problems and their carers. You will hold a caseload and input to the duty function of the team with other responsibilities dependent on your professional qualification. To be successful you will need to be able to work cohesively with other services both within our Trust and with partner agencies. Caring, compassionate and a good communicator, you will have a commitment to improving the lives of our service users through creative, evidence-based practice

We have a monthly academic afternoon as well as a comprehensive package of supervision, appraisal and reflective practice.

Hastings & Rother Assessment and Treatment Service is a multi-disciplinary service for adults with complex mental health problems. Our work is challenging, but we receive regular positive feedback from our service users and carers.



The role of a Community Mental Health Practitioner is to work in partnership with service users in the designated care group with multiple mental health presentations and working alongside service users to develop their care plans and recovery plans to enable them to lead fulfilling lives. You will demonstrate an understanding of clinical interventions relevant to the care group to include education, care plans and discharge planning, working closely with carers, families and partner agencies to facilitate this.

Post Holder Expectations:

To be an active participant in the multi-disciplinary team, formulating care plans and utilising appropriate assessments.

To take part in all quality initiatives actively supporting and participating in both policies and service developments in the specific care group.

Carry a caseload, actively working with other involved agencies, families and carers.

Assess, plan and implement care, and provide specialist nursing advice and carry out specialist nursing procedures.

To participate in regular clinical, professional and managerial supervision.

Provide clinical supervision to junior staff and act as a mentor for student nurses.

To maintain and contribute to standards of professional care, ethics, policies and procedures.

To contribute, to improve access for patients to local generic health care services, primary, secondary and specialist services.

To maintain record keeping within Trust guidelines, national standards and NICE.



As a mental health trust Sussex Partnership places a huge focus on the wellbeing of their staff, their reward packages reflect the immensely important work their staff do.

If you are looking for the opportunity to work within a busy but rewarding Assessment and Treatment service in a seaside town like no other, then we would love to hear from you. Hastings is a vibrant seaside town, offering affordable coastal living along with independent shopping and a variety of cafes, bars and restaurants and a very creative music and artistic scene.

As a practitioner in our team we can offer you:

Access to numerous wellbeing and support programmes

Excellent supervision programmes, with ongoing opportunities for training and development

Flexible working patterns

Reimbursed parking

Child care vouchers

Access to a host of NHS discount schemes (including gyms, shopping, restaurants and cars)

A position within a trust rated as 'Outstanding' for caring and 'Good' overall by the CQC

Generous holiday entitlement (dependent on length of NHS service) starting at 27 days + 8 bank holidays

NHS Pension contributions



We encourage flexible working .

We know that a positive work/ life balance brings about huge health-related benefits, which has a positive impact on the care we provide. Please speak to us about flexible working, for example, part time hours, flexible start/ finish times or anything else. If it works for you and works for the role, we'll do our best to make it happen.



Registered Practitioner with current registration (Mental Health or Learning Disabilities Nurse /Social Work/ OT) appropriate to the role



Evidence of continuous professional development



Essential Knowledge

Experience of working alongside people with complex mental health needs in the designated care group.

Experience of providing a range of clinical interventions to people in the designated care group with a variety of mental health problems

Experience of working consultatively with other professionals

Experience of conducting clinical assessments including risk assessments

Experience of partnership working within and across various statutory and non-statutory teams and agencies

Experience of working within the CPA process

Knowledge of MHA (1983/2007).

Knowledge of Mental Capacity Act (2005), to include practical knowledge of FACE documentation, DOLS and Best Interest decisions.

Child and Adult safeguarding procedures.

Change management and organising and prioritising their workload.

Demonstrate ability to enhance care through evidence-based knowledge.

Demonstrate professional development relevant to the specific care group.



Person Specification

Essential Qualifications

Registered Practitioner with current registration (Mental Health or Learning Disabilities Nurse /Social Work/ OT) appropriate to the role

Completion of Mentorship Course/ENB equivalent

Evidence of continuous professional development



Experience/Knowledge

Significant post qualifying experience in the relevant care group

Experience of working alongside people with complex health problems in the designated care group

Experience of supervising staff

Experience of providing a range of clinical interventions to people in the designated care group with a variety of health problems

Experience of working consultatively with professionals

Experience of conducting clinical assessments including risk assessments

Experience of partnership working within and across various statutory and non-statutory teams and agencies

Experience of working within the CPA process

Previous experience of working in the community