Mental Health / Homeless Nurse
Community Services – County Durham Drug & Alcohol Recovery Services (CDDARS)
Location: County Durham
Contract: ASAP start – Until 31 March 2026
Hours: Full-time, 37.5 hours per week
Working Pattern: Monday to Friday (hours flexible to meet service needs)
About the Role
Austin Dean Recruitment is currently recruiting an experienced and compassionate Mental Health / Homeless Nurse to support County Durham Drug and Alcohol Recovery Services (CDDARS).
This is a highly rewarding role working with individuals experiencing rough sleeping, dual diagnosis, substance misuse, mental health challenges, and complex social needs. The post holder will manage their own caseload autonomously and work predominantly in an outreach capacity, supporting harm reduction services and rough sleeping outreach teams.
You will also play a lead role in dual diagnosis provision, contributing to mental health–specific clinical governance within outreach services and supporting best practice across the team.
Key Responsibilities
*
Manage an autonomous caseload of clients with complex needs
*
Deliver specialist mental health and dual diagnosis interventions
*
Work in outreach settings supporting harm reduction and rough sleeping services
*
Act on referrals from internal teams and external stakeholder organisations
*
Lead on mental health–specific clinical governance within outreach services
*
Monitor standards of care and service delivery
*
Provide staff support, clinical supervision, and contribute to CPD
*
Support practice education and implementation of policies and clinical guidelines
*
Advocate for service users and promote recovery-oriented, solution-focused care
Essential Criteria
*
Registered Mental Health Nurse (RMN)
*
Strong awareness of the social context of substance misuse
*
Previous experience working with substance-misusing clients
*
Experience in assessing clients and prescribing safely and effectively in line with best practice
*
Experience carrying out general health assessments and delivering health promotion and harm reduction interventions
*
Experience providing clinical supervision
*
Up-to-date knowledge of prescribing guidelines
*
Understanding of recovery-oriented substance misuse treatment, including challenges and opportunities within primary care
*
Ability to act as a service user advocate
*
Solution-focused, adaptable, and confident working autonomously
Why Work with Austin Dean Recruitment?
*
Competitive pay rates
*
Weekly payroll options
*
Dedicated consultant support throughout your assignment
*
Fast-track compliance and onboarding
*
Opportunity to make a real impact within a frontline community service
*
Work within a supportive, multidisciplinary team
Apply now or contact Austin Dean Recruitment today to discuss this role in confidence. Immediate starts available