We are looking for a mental health practitioner to join our practice team on a fixed term contract for maternity leave cover.
The post holder will be a Mental Health Nurse, who acts within their professional boundaries, working alongside general practice teams. They will work for the benefit of patients, providing and maintaining a high standard of care for patients with mental health needs. They will provide assistance and advice to the GPs and other members of the primary healthcare team in managing the mental wellbeing of the practice population.
The post holder will be an integral part of the General Practice team, working within the practice, as well as being an integral part of a wide multidisciplinary team. This includes building relationships with other community providers and mental health services.
Main duties of the job
You will work as part of a multi-disciplinary team in a patient facing role to clinically assess and treat patients using expert knowledge of mental health.
Assess all patient contacts with primary care presenting with mental health concerns either during a face‑to‑face appointment at the practice, via a telephone appointment following carrying out a triage assessment.
Where possible treat and follow‑up patients that do not require interventions provided by the Wellbeing Service or community or secondary care mental health services.
Provide the interface between primary care and mental health services, helping patients with the transition between services.
Follow agreed clinical protocols with referral to nurse practitioner or GPs as appropriate for other relevant symptoms.
Able to document consultations according to Practice guidelines using the EMIS Clinical System.
Ensures awareness of statutory and local clinical protection procedures, including systems of referral.
Ability to recognise signs and symptoms of child/adult abuse and report any safeguarding issues.
Able to perform cardio‑pulmonary resuscitation according to current UK guidelines.
Ensure infection control guides are maintained.
Attend and participate in any practice meetings when required, and lead the mental health MDT as required.
Deliver training, mentoring and guidance to other clinicians and staff on mental health issues.
About us
We are a GP Practice based in central Cornwall and have 24,000 patients covering a semi‑rural practice area. We operate from 3 clinical sites and provide the majority of our appointments from our buildings in Bodmin.
We have a large multi‑disciplinary team, which includes GPs, Physio, Physician Associates, ANP's, Practice Nursing team, and a full administrative team.
We are a large training practice and encourage supportive learning for all.
Core competencies
* Special Requirements of the Post:
* An understanding, acceptance and adherence to the need for strict confidentiality
* Ability to use own judgement, resourcefulness and common sense
* A commitment to maintain a high professional standard of care and keep up to date with all aspects of care relevant to the post
* A commitment to ensure all Health and Safety requirements and Infection control measures are met and to report any problems to the practice manager
* A commitment to the effective use of practice and NHS resources
* An awareness of own limitations and experience
* To work only in accordance with the GP Practice Code of Conduct
* To have a written professional development plan and to maintain an up to date portfolio which meets the requirements of registration with the NMC
* Cooperate with annual appraisal meetings
* To attend clinical meetings and present any significant events.
* Generic Job Description areas: Communication
* Utilise and demonstrate sensitive communication styles, to ensure patients are fully informed and consent to treatment
* Communicate effectively with patients and carers, recognising the need for alternative methods of communication to overcome different levels of understanding, cultural background and preferred ways of communicating
* Anticipate barriers to communication and take action to improve communication
* Maintain effective communication within the organisational environment and with external stakeholders
* Act as an advocate for patients and colleagues
* Ensure awareness of sources of support and guidance and provide information in an acceptable format to all patients, recognising any difficulties and referring where appropriate
* Delivering a quality service – Prioritise, organise and manage own workload in a manner that maintains and promotes quality
* Participate in quality assurance and safety processes across the organisation and its activities
* Participate in shared learning across Bosvena Health group and the wider organisational environment
* Use a structured framework (e.g. root‑cause analysis) to manage, review and identify learning from patient complaints, clinical incidents and near‑miss events
* Assess the impact of policy implementation on care delivery
* Understand and apply legal issues that support the identification of vulnerable and abused children and adults, and be aware of statutory child/vulnerable patients health procedures and local guidance
* Leadership personal and people development
* Take responsibility for own learning and performance including participating in coaching/supervision and acting as a positive role model
* Support staff development in order to maximise potential
* Actively promote the workplace as a learning environment, encouraging everyone to learn from each other and from external good practice
* Encourage others to make realistic self‑assessment of their application of knowledge and skills, challenging any complacency or actions that are not in the interest of the public and/or users of services
* Critically evaluate and review innovations and developments that are relevant to the area of work
* Enlist support and influence stakeholders and decision‑makers in order to bring about new developments in the provision of services
* Contribute to planning and implementing changes within the area of care and responsibility
* Contribute to the development of local guidelines, protocols and standards
* Team working – Understand own role and scope and identify how this may develop over time, work as an effective and responsible team member, supporting others and exploring mechanisms to develop new ways of working, delegate clearly and appropriately, adopt principles of safe practice and assessment of competence
* Create clear referral mechanisms to meet patient need, prioritise own workload and ensure effective time‑management strategies are embedded within the culture of the team
* Work effectively with others to clearly define values, direction and policies impacting upon care delivery, discuss, highlight and work with the team to create opportunities to improve patient care
* Manage and lead the delivery of specifically identified services or projects as agreed with the practice management team
* Agree plans and outcomes by which to measure success, management of risk, monitor work areas and practices to ensure they are safe and free from hazards, ensure appropriate supervision of safe storage, rotation and disposal of vaccines and drugs
* Participate in mandatory and statutory training requirements, apply infection‑control measures within the practice according to local and national guidelines
* Interpret national strategies and policies into local implementation strategies that are aligned to the values and culture of general practice
* Use technology and appropriate software as an aid to management in planning, implementation and monitoring of care, presenting and communicating information
* Review and process data using accurate Read codes for monitoring and audit processes, manage information searches using the internet and local library databases
* Monitor and confirm that the nursing team is receiving and processing data and information in an agreed format, collate, analyse and present clinical data and information to the team
* Undertake mentorship for team members, disseminate learning and information gained to other team members, assess own learning needs and undertake learning as appropriate, provide an educational role to patients, carers, families and colleagues in an environment that facilitates learning
* Enable others to promote equality and diversity, support people who need assistance in exercising their rights, monitor and evaluate adherence to local policy, act as a role model in the observance of equality and diversity good practice, assist patients from marginalised groups to access quality care.
Qualifications
* Qualified Mental Health Nurse with current validation and registration
Experience
* Experience of working within a nursing team
* Experience of dealing with vulnerable patients
* Experience of working in primary care
* Experience of working in a GP practice
* An understanding of Health Inequalities and a desire to work to support groups and improve patient care
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.
Depending on experience. Based on Agenda for Change Band 6.
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