Overview
About The Organisation. As Scotland’s smallest health board, NHS Orkney is committed to delivering excellent care to our 22,000 residents. Whether you’re new to the NHS or bringing experience from elsewhere, your skills will make a real difference. Our modern healthcare facility, The Balfour, brings together inpatient care, emergency services, outpatient clinics, diagnostics, GP practices and the Scottish Ambulance Service. We’re also investing in services across our outer isles, ensuring high-quality care reaches every corner of Orkney. We are guided by our core values that shape everything we do: Open and honest, Respect and Kindness from how we care for our patients to how we support each other as colleagues.
About Orkney. With over 70 islands, 20 of them inhabited, Orkney offers a unique blend of natural beauty, close-knit community and an opportunity for adventure. From dramatic coastlines and rare wildlife to rich cultural traditions and active lifestyles, it’s a place where compassion thrives and every day brings something new. Regularly named one of the UK’s best places to live, Orkney offers a lifestyle that’s both fulfilling and inspiring.
The Position
An exciting opportunity is available for 2 band 6 registered mental health nurses to become part of a new All-Age Nurse-led Psychiatric Liaison Team (AANLPLT) in NHS Orkney. The AANLPLT will offer a specialist service to people of all ages from Orkney’s diverse community, providing urgent and same-day assessments and management plans for individuals presenting in acute mental health crisis/distress.
The team will receive referrals from The Balfour Hospital (inpatient and emergency department), GPs and out of hours. The team will offer post-discharge support to individuals returning to Orkney from an off-island psychiatric admission, and will work collaboratively with CMHT colleagues to facilitate support for people while they are in the emergency mental health transfer room and during transfer off island. As this is a new service, the Band 6 nurses will be involved with and supportive of the Band 7 Nurse Team Leader in the continual review of the service, quality improvement and embracing positive changes. The postholders will also work alongside the local CMHT on the Out of Hours on-call service rota ensuring access to mental health support/guidance on a 24/7 basis.
The Candidate
We are looking for an enthusiastic registered and experienced mental health nurse to join this exciting new team. The successful candidate will have experience working in community/unscheduled care, be flexible and able to adapt, work autonomously and with compassion. The candidate should have a positive attitude to change and be able to develop effective working relationships with other disciplines. The post holders will have excellent ability to facilitate robust person-centred mental health and risk assessment, taking into consideration the individual’s holistic needs including physical health, families and carers and the uniqueness of the small community. They will have contemporary knowledge and understanding of evidence-based practice and continue to promote their personal and professional development.
Location, Working Pattern and Contract Duration
This post will be based at Vaenta. The successful candidates will work full time (36 hours per week). These posts are permanent. It is a condition of employment that you must live and remain a resident within the UK for the post in which you will be employed with NHS Orkney.
Benefits And Salary
The salary for these posts is Band 6. If residing on Orkney, you’ll also receive a Distant Islands Allowance of £1,719 pro rata per annum. NHS Orkney offers an attractive pension scheme, a wide range of work-life balance policies, an employee assistance programme and various discounts to both local and national retailers.
Further Information
If you share our vision and are ready to be part of Team Orkney, we’d love to hear from you. Your rewarding career starts here. We are happy to consider reasonable adjustments that candidates may need during the recruitment process. If there are additional requirements you would like to request, please contact us. For guidance on the recruitment process and tips for creating a strong application, please refer to our Candidate Application Pack. To find out more about this opportunity please contact Megan Marwick, Nurse Team Leader, by email or Diane Young, Service Manager Mental Health Services by email. This post is subject to a Disclosure Scotland check. Interview Date: Monday 1st of June 2026.
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