Job overview
We are looking for an experienced Band 6 Nurse or Social Worker to join our Harrow Integrated Discharge Team, based at Northwick Park Hospital Mental Health Centre.
This is an exciting and dynamic role working across Harrow’s Home Treatment Team (HTT) and Acute Inpatient Services, helping to facilitate safe, timely and recovery-focused discharges for service users transitioning from hospital to community settings.
As a Band 6 Discharge Coordinator, you will work closely with ward teams, community mental health services, social care, housing and voluntary sector partners to remove barriers to discharge, improve patient flow and promote continuity of care. You will also develop specialist knowledge of local housing pathways, supported accommodation and placement options to support patients’ recovery journeys.
This is an excellent opportunity to build leadership and coordination skills in a key interface role, while contributing to service innovation and best practice in discharge planning.
Main duties of the job
Post holder duties will:
Work across Harrow Home Treatment Team (HTT) and Acute Inpatient Services to coordinate safe, effective, and timely discharges.
Identify patients who are clinically ready for discharge (CRFD) and ensure plans are in place to prevent unnecessary delays.
Conduct comprehensive psychiatric assessments to determine suitability for Home Treatment Team input and support.
Liaise proactively with social services, housing teams, community mental health services, and voluntary organisations to enable smooth and coordinated transitions of care.
Develop and maintain expert knowledge of local housing pathways, supported accommodation, and placement options, offering guidance and advice to ward teams.
Attend and contribute to ward rounds, whiteboard reviews, and multidisciplinary team (MDT) meetings, representing the discharge function.
Support ward and HTT staff to apply recovery-focused and person-centred approaches to discharge planning.
Anticipate and resolve barriers to discharge through collaborative problem-solving and creative care coordination.
Maintain accurate and up-to-date documentation, and contribute to data collection, audit, and performance monitoring against discharge key performance indicators (KPIs).
Promote early discharge planning from the point of admission and work with colleagues to reduce length of stay and prevent readmissions.
Working for our organisation
Central and North West London (CNWL) NHS Foundation Trust is one of England's largest NHS Trusts.
With great size, comes fantastic opportunities, to develop, innovate and progress.
Along with the fully established benefits such as Monthly supervision; Annual personal development plans/appraisals; Support and guidance with Revalidation; Hidden Gem and annual award ceremonies. We are also able to offer access to a full range of internal and external training opportunities across our services.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Please refer to the attached Job Description and Person Specification on this advert for further info.
We are seeking an experienced and motivated Band 6 Mental Health Nurse or Social Worker to join the Harrow Integrated Discharge Team, based at Northwick Park Hospital Mental Health Centre.
You will work across two adult acute inpatient wards (each 18 beds) to coordinate safe, effective, and recovery-focused discharges in collaboration with the Harrow Home Treatment Team (HTT) and inpatient multidisciplinary teams (MDTs).
You will be supervised by the Band 7 Discharge Lead, with additional operational support from the HTT Manager and the wider Harrow Urgent Care leadership team.
This is a full-time, Monday to Friday (9am–5pm) role with no evening or weekend working requirements. The post is hospital-based and involves close, face-to-face collaboration with inpatient staff, community teams, and external agencies to ensure timely and well-planned discharges.
As the Discharge Coordinator, you will:
- Work closely with ward staff to identify patients who are clinically ready for discharge (CRFD) and remove any social or practical barriers to discharge.
- Conduct comprehensive psychiatric assessments of patients to determine suitability for Home Treatment Team support and ongoing community care.
- Liaise with housing departments, adult social care, community mental health teams, voluntary sector organisations, and primary care services to coordinate discharge arrangements.
- Develop and maintain expert knowledge of local housing pathways, supported accommodation, and placement options, providing advice and guidance to ward teams.
- Participate actively in ward rounds, whiteboard meetings, and MDT discussions, representing the discharge function and ensuring accurate, up-to-date discharge information is shared.
- Work collaboratively to promote recovery-focused and person-centred discharge planning, supporting the ward team to embed these principles in practice.
- Maintain accurate records and contribute to data collection, audit, and performance monitoring to meet discharge key performance indicators (KPIs).
- Promote early discharge planning from admission, ensuring each patient’s transition to community care is safe, coordinated, and recovery-oriented.
- Provide information and updates to inpatient staff on discharge policy, pathways, and processes.
- You will not hold a caseload; instead, your focus will be on supporting and coordinating discharge activity across the two inpatient wards, acting as the central link between ward teams, HTT, and community partners to ensure smooth and timely transitions of care.
The role offers the opportunity to develop advanced coordination, leadership, and partnership skills in a key interface position, contributing directly to improved patient flow, reduced length of stay, and enhanced patient outcomes.
Vaccination
The successful applicant may have contact with patients or service users. As an NHS Trust we strongly encourage and support vaccination as this remains the best way to protect yourself, your family, your colleagues and of course patients and service users when working on our healthcare settings.
1. Due to the high response levels we receive for some vacancies, we may expire any of them prior to the advertised closing date and advise you to submit your application as soon as possible.
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3. Our Agenda for Change employment contracts are subject to a contractual 13 week probationary period.