Employer Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust Employer type NHS Site Custody suites across South Cumbria Town Cumbria Salary £32,073 - £39,043 per annum (subject to confirmation) Salary period Yearly Closing 04/05/2026 23:59
Liaison and Diversion Practitioner
Band 5
Our Vision is to provide the best mental health, learning disability, autism, community, and physical health services for the populations we serve.
As an integrated Trust, Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust (LSCFT) delivers a comprehensive range of services, including:
* Primary and secondary mental health care for children and adults, including specialist inpatient child and adolescent mental health provision, perinatal mental health, and forensic services with low and medium secure care.
* Specialist mental health inpatient care for individuals with learning disabilities, alongside specialist community support for children and adults with learning disabilities and autism, including intensive support.
* Extensive community physical health and well‑being services for children and adults, covering prevention, treatment, rehabilitation, and long‑term condition management.
The Trust was first established in 2002 and employs approximately 7,500 staff who provide care from more than 400 sites. The organisation offers opportunities for medics, mental health, general nurses, children’s nurses, allied health professionals, psychology, administration and clerical staff, apprentices and volunteers, as well as those specialising in learning disabilities and community physical health services.
Important: This post requires successful candidates to undergo NPPV Level 2 (full) Police Vetting of which successful clearance is essential in order to fulfil the role. As part of this vetting process the candidate is required to have been resident in the UK for at least three years.
An opportunity has arisen within the Liaison and Diversion Team for the role of Liaison & Diversion Practitioner as part of The Bay Liaison & Diversion Team. This key position within the established Liaison and Diversion Service for Police Custody Suites and Magistrates Courts will be offered as a permanent post.
This postholder will be expected to work across all three sites.
The service operates seven days per week 8‑8 when fully operational and staff work on a shift basis.
Essential Criteria
* A minimum of NVQ Level 3 in relevant subject OR Diploma in Health and Social Care AND/OR Experience of working with people with complex needs for a minimum of 2 years
Desirable Qualifications
* Professional recognised qualification such as RMN, Learning Disability Nurse, Social Worker, and Occupational Therapist.
* Psychology Degree, CBT Diploma, Substance Misuse Diploma
Please refer to the Job description and person specification for full details regarding the requirements of the post and essential and desirable criteria.
Main duties of the job
Liaison and Diversion (L&D) services identify people who have substance misuse, mental health, learning disability or other vulnerabilities when they first come into contact with the criminal justice system as suspects, defendants or offenders.
The service can then support people through the early stages of criminal system pathway, refer them for appropriate health or social care or enable them to be diverted away from the criminal justice system into a more appropriate setting, if required.
This is an ‘all age’ service and so you will be required to work with people from the age of 10 years upwards and originates from the Bradley Report 2009.
The main things that L&D services do for the people we see are identification, screening, assessment and referral to other services.
* We work in Police Custody Suites and Courts throughout Lancashire & Cumbria and offer assessments to individuals within the Criminal Justice system including Voluntary Attendees.
* We look to identify unmet need and vulnerabilities that often lead to or exacerbate offending behaviour, offer onward referral and signposting as appropriate.
* We liaise across agencies to support onward planning and intervention to address needs.
* We offer some brief community based intervention to maximise service user access and engagement with those appropriate services.
* We help to inform decision makers with relevant and timely information to support sentencing and disposal outcomes.
Person Specification
Qualifications
* Degree qualification in relevant subject or demonstrable evidence or equivalent experience relevant to field of practice.
* Professional recognised qualification such as RMN, Learning Disability Nurse, Social Worker, Occupational Therapist.
* Psychology Degree.
* CBT Diploma.
* Substance Misuse Diploma.
Knowledge
* Knowledge of mental health issues and/or learning disability.
* Knowledge of Criminal Justice System, including roles and responsibilities of staff working in it.
* Knowledge of assessing and mitigating risk – including risk of harm to self and others.
* Knowledge of theoretical approaches to working with vulnerable people.
* Knowledge of Safeguarding Adults and Children.
Experience
* Working with people with complex needs for a minimum of 2 years either whilst studying or post qualification.
* Initial Assessment of Health and Social Needs.
* Timely and accurate documentation on electronic records.
* Assessment of Risk of Service Users to self and others.
Personal
* This post requires successful candidates to undergo NPPV Level 2 (full) Police Vetting of which successful clearance is essential in order to fulfil the role. As part of this vetting process the candidate is required to have been resident in the UK for at least three years.
Contact
Gail McGregor – Team Manager, Email: gail.mcgregor@lscft.nhs.uk, Tel: 07929795507
Hayley McGoldrick – Team Leader, Email: hayley.mcgoldrick@lscft.nhs.uk, Tel: 07790578489
Daniel Wilson – Team Leader, Email: daniel.wilson@lscft.nhs.uk, Tel: 07415648037
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