Main area Associate Practitioner - Adult Community Mental Health Team Grade Band 4 Contract Permanent Hours Full time - 37.5 hours per week (9-5pm) Job ref 364-A-9396
Employer Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust Employer type NHS Site Basildon Mental Health Unit Town Basildon Salary £28,860 - £31,671 plus HCA per annum Salary period Yearly Closing 08/10/2025 08:00
Band 4
Our Trust cares for more than 100,000 patients at any one time across our community health, mental health and learning disability services across Essex and parts of Bedfordshire and Suffolk.
We want you to be part of our journey of transformation, where our patients and their families are at the heart of everything we do and to achieve our vision to be the leading health and wellbeing service in the provision of mental health and community care.
You’ll be part of a Trust where you will be supported to be your authentic self and be the best you can be, where we will help you to grow, develop and thrive.
The Trust is recognised by the University of Essex and is a top provider of apprenticeships for people looking to be an assistant practitioner, senior health care support worker (CAP). Our trailblazing CAP apprenticeship won a national HSJ Award.
We are also recognised as a Veteran Aware Trust and holder of gold accreditation from the Ministry of Defence Employment Recognition Scheme. Our services are highlighted as an exemplar of good practice, producing the best care for more than 3.500 armed forces veterans in the past seven years.
We have been shortlisted and won national awards. We are an inclusive organisation and Level 3 Disability Confident Leader Trust.
We are constantly innovating and looking for new ways to deliver care, such as using technology to enhance patient care and working with partners to launch new services such as the Basildon Mental Health Urgent Care Department, virtual hospitals and falls response cars.
Join us and you’ll do the best work of your life – and make a difference to other people’s lives. What we do together, matters.
Job overview
An exciting opportunity has arisen to join our service as an Associate Practitioner. You will be working independently and accountably as part of the Adult Community Mental Health Team and wider multi-disciplinary team, offering mental health access and information in the locality. The service currently runs 5 days a week (Mon – Fri 9-5pm)
The successful candidate will be responsible for delivering high quality, patient centred, compassionate care under the direction of a registered nurse with a focus on promoting positive physical / mental health and independence.
Main duties of the job
They will be professionally accountable and work as part of a designated clinical and care team delivering care that focuses on the direct needs of the individual. The Nursing Associate carry out specific clinical and care tasks and responsibilities to a high standard and competency, under the direction of a registered nurse and have the ability to work without direct supervision, at times delivering care independently in line with the individual’s defined plan of care, within the parameters of practice of the Nursing Associate role. They will access clinical and care advice when needed.
The responsibility of the post holder is to participate in the planning and delivery of individual care provided by the multi-disciplinary team. They will work independently under the supervision of the Registered Nurse, providing holistic evidenced based high quality care to patients and will be professionally accountable for their actions. They will supervise and delegate appropriately to support staff within the team and they will support and supervise students and learners who are on placement.
Working for our organisation
EPUT are looking for motivated staff who shares our Trust values of Care, Learn and Empower. In return, EPUT can offer you a range of benefits and development including;
* Season Ticket Loans
* NHS discounts for staff
* Excellent Training facilities and opportunities
* Buying and Selling annual leave scheme
* The opportunity to work bank shifts and expand knowledge and experience in other areas
* Salary Sacrifice schemes including lease cars and Cycle to Work
* Day One Flexible Employer
The Trust supports and actively encourages flexible working for all employees. We offer many options and you are encouraged to ask the recruiting manager what is possible for this role. If appointed, you will have the opportunity to apply for a flexible working request from the first day of your employment
Join our Staff bank
What is Staff Bank?
Our EPUT NHS staff bank is an entity managed by the trust that hires clinical and non-clinical healthcare professionals to take on shifts at our trust hospitals and community settings. Here at EPUT we maintain our own bank of specialist staff to ensure that we are able offer safe and effective care at all times.
All our permanent staff are automatically enrolled onto the staff bank however this does not mean you have to work any additional shifts, but the option is there for you if you wish.
If you are joining our Trust in a fixed term role, please indicate on your New Starter Paperwork that you wish to join our staff bank.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
The Nursing Associate will be responsible for delivering high quality, patient centered, compassionate care under the direction of a registered nurse with a focus on promoting health and independence. They will be professionally accountable and work as part of a designated clinical and care team delivering care that focuses on the direct needs of the individual. The Nursing Associate carry out specific clinical and care tasks and responsibilities to a high standard and competency, under the direction of a registered nurse and have the ability to work without direct supervision, at times delivering care independently in line with the individual’s defined plan of care, within the parameters of practice of the Nursing Associate role. They will access clinical and care advice when needed.
The responsibility of the postholder is to participate in the planning and delivery of individual care provided by the multi-disciplinary team. They will work independently under the supervision of the Registered Nurse, providing holistic evidenced based high quality care to patients and will be professionally accountable for their actions. They will supervise and delegate appropriately to support staff within the team and they will support and supervise students and learners in placement
Person specification
Qualifications & Experience
* Good understanding of mental health conditions and their effect on day to day living.
* Experience of liaising and working within a community team.
* An understanding of the roles of multi-professional team members
Knowledge & Skills
* Basic understanding of patients physical healthcare needs / difficulties and statutory requirements
Personal
* Must have a driving licence and vehicle
Important note: please ensure that as part of your application, you include professional references with business contact information covering your last three years of employment history. We are unable to accept personal or character references.
As a newly appointed employee, you are responsible for incurring the cost of your initial DBS check relevant to your post; the amount will be deducted from your first salary with the Trust.
Our Trust is an Equal Opportunities Employer. We particularly welcome applications from people with experience of using mental health services. We also hold the Disability two tick symbol and have made the pledge to commit to employing more people with learning disabilities, we encourage people with a disability to apply. If you require this application form in another format i.e. Braille or audio tape etc, please contact the Recruitment Department on 01375 364513 or email [emailprotected] and we can arrange for this to be dispatched to you.
The Trust has the right to expire vacancies prior to the closing date if they so wish. The Trust makes every attempt to contact all applicants and we strongly advise that you check the email account which is registered with NHS Jobs regularly, we would advise however due to the high number of applications we receive that if you have not heard from us within three weeks of the closing date your application has been unsuccessful on this occasion.
We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults, and expect all staff to undertake this commitment. Applicants will be subject to robust safer recruitment processes.
Important Notice: Recently the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) (Amendment) (Coronavirus) Regulations 2021 (the Regulations) which amended on 22 July 2021 and come into force on 11 November 2021 that anyone directly employed to work in a Care Home or who are required as part of their role to be deployed to a CQC registered care home are required to have had both their COVID vaccinations, unless they are exempt. This is therefore a requirement of this role and will form part of our pre-employment checks.
Please note -staff who are formally at risk within the organisation will be given priority in securing alternative employment. Should it come to light that a post being advertised by the Trust is considered ‘suitable alternative employment’ to an individual who is at risk, the recruiting manager will be advised and the post will be withdrawn from NHS Jobs.
Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Applications for this role should be written by the applicant. If artificial intelligence (AI) programmes are used then the application may be rejected due to this document being an important part of the assessment process. This does not prevent applicants seeking appropriate support with applications should they need to for the purposes of any declared disability.
Employer certification / accreditation badges
You must have appropriate UK professional registration.
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.
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