Go back Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust
First Response Service Clinical Lead
The closing date is 02 February 2026
Are you a passionate and motivated mental health professional looking for your next challenge? We're seeking an enthusiastic Clinical Lead to join our dynamic First Response Service— a pioneering, award-winning team providing 24/7 mental health crisis support to individuals of all ages.
As part of our service, you'll work closely with key community partners including the police, ambulance services, and local authorities to deliver compassionate, responsive care during times of crisis. This is a unique opportunity to make a real difference in people's lives when they need it most.
* Provide 1:1 support through both telephone triage and face-to-face assessments
* Collaborate with service users to develop effective crisis and safety plans
* Lead and support a multidisciplinary team, offering clinical guidance and mentorship
What we're looking for:
* A qualified mental health practitioner with leadership experience or aspirations
* Strong clinical skills in crisis intervention, risk assessment, and safety planning
* Resilience, adaptability, and a calm approach under pressure
* A commitment to compassionate, person-centred care
* Be part of a forward-thinking, supportive team.
* Work in a role that offers variety, challenge, and the chance to grow professionally
If you're ready to take the next step in your career and want to be part of a service that's transforming mental health crisis care in our community — we want to hear from you.
Main duties of the job
Please note this role involves shifts, shifts are 07:00 to 19:30 day shifts and 19:00 to 07:30 night shifts.
As Clinical Lead, you'll play a pivotal role in both direct care and team leadership. Your responsibilities will include:
* Coordinating shifts and allocating referrals and assessments across the team
* Conducting telephone triage and face-to-face community assessments, especially for complex cases
* Delivering brief clinical risk assessments, mental health formulations, and short-term contingency plans
* Liaising with professionals and agencies such as emergency services, GPs, schools, and care homes
* Working closely with other mental health services including secondary care and crisis teams
* Implementing solution-focused interventions to empower patients, carers, and families
* Developing safe and effective care plans using strong communication and clinical judgement
* Drawing on your knowledge of external resources to provide tailored support for individual needs
About us
Cambridgeshire & Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust is a health & social care organisation dedicated to providing high quality care with compassion to improve the health & wellbeing of the people we care for, as well as supporting & empowering them to lead a fulfilling life.
Our clinical teams deliver many NHS services not only via inpatient and primary care setting but also with the community. These services include Children, Adult & Older Peoples mental & physical health, Forensic & Specialist mental health, Learning Disabilities, Primary Care & Liaison psychiatry, Substance misuse, Social care, Research & Development.
To achieve our goal, we look to recruit high calibre candidates that share our vision & values. As an equal opportunities employer, we encourage applications from all sectors of the community, particularly from under-represented groups including disabled people & members of our ethnic minorities & LGBTQ+ communities.
Please be advised we reserve the right to close adverts earlier than the closing date should we receive sufficient applications.
Regrettably, we cannot offer sponsorship for all our job roles. If you apply for a role that we cannot offer sponsorship for, unfortunately, your application form will be rejected from the process.
Job responsibilities
Please refer to the attached job description and person specification for full details of responsibilities.
Co-ordinate shifts and support colleagues.
Provide evidence based clinical interventions, making autonomous clinical decisions about own professional practice.
Responsibility for the development, planning and implementation of brief care and treatment interventions for individual patients in liaison with the First Response Service.
Provide assessment, planning and implementation of individual packages of care and treatment.
Ensure that individual episodes of care are delivered in a timely, effective and integrated manner.
Promote a recovery model that empowers patients, carers and relatives to be at the forefront of decision making and ownership of their packages of care and treatment.
Undertake clinical risk assessments, based on latest empirical evidence and compliant with local policies and procedures.
Act as the patients and relatives advocate.
Enable patients and carers to manage disability, loss and change.
Champion patients rights, including: dignity, equality, diversity, choice and respect.
When undertaking all of the above ensure good documentation is provided and entered within the appropriate systems of record sharing.
Delegate duties and prioritise urgency of assessments.
Person Specification
Education/Qualifications
* Mental Health Nurse Qualification/ NMC Registration.
* Evidence of continuing professional development
* Undertaken/working towards accredited courses which enable potential Advanced Practitioner registration.
* Teaching (clinical practice) qualification/certificate or equivalent experience
* Advanced Nurse Prescriber Qualification / or AMPH qualification
Experience
* Mental health care/treatment relevant to service.
* Working with people presenting in mental health crisis.
* Teaching, training and/or supervision of clinical staff.
* Multi‑agency working/working across service interfaces.
* Working within a multicultural framework.
* Experience of teaching, training and/or supervision of clinical staff.
Skills & Abilities
* Assessing, formulating and working with people presenting in heightened state of distress.
* Communicating (oral and written) complex/highly technical and clinically sensitive information to clients, their families, carers and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS.
* Clinical risk assessment and contingency planning.
* Able to meet the service needs for mobility across the geographical area covered.
* Able to demonstrate commitment to high quality care and service provision
* Experience of delivering brief psychological interventions/strategies for managing crisis
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust
#J-18808-Ljbffr