Interview will be held on 29th Sept 2025
An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Band 5 Mental Health Practitioner to join our Adult Crisis Resolution and Home Treatment Team.
We are looking for a candidate who is a Registered Professional Mental Health Nurse, Social Worker or Occupational Therapist. We welcome applications from both newly qualified nurses yet to complete their preceptorship programme and experienced nurses.
Based at Prospect Park Hospital in Reading, you will work as part of the Crisis Resolution Home Treatment Team supporting patients in the community to avoid hospital admission. The post holder will be actively involved in formulating plans and support the delivery of care specified within the plans of care formulated and directed by the broader multidisciplinary team. You will be working with patients who are in a mental health crisis requiring intensive home treatment and support without which they would likely require admission to Hospital. You will enjoy working as part of a large team and thrive in a busy fast paced environment.
Overview
The role involves providing intensive home treatment to individuals in mental health crisis to prevent admission, working within a multidisciplinary team, delivering planned care in the community, and coordinating with external services as needed.
Main duties
* Be a consistent point of contact and maintain relationships with professionals external to the area of service, service users and their significant others (where appropriate) within area of service/specialism.
* Deliver interventions and elements of planned programmes of care to service users autonomously as well as under the direction and clinical supervision of a clinical lead.
* Ensure services are delivered in a manner that is appropriate, relevant and respectful to all community members, recognising the diversity of ethnicity, culture, belief, privilege and capacity of service users and carers.
* Have a flexible approach in providing support, including administrative tasks, duties and activities as and when required across the service.
* Effectively communicate routine information and advice to service users, other professionals, and external agencies.
* Help service users gain access to relevant information and advice on services and external support (such as benefits and housing).
* Be responsible for the accurate maintenance of clinical record keeping and the required communication of individual patient care packages for the post holder's area of responsibility/specialism.
About us
Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust is a specialist mental health and community health services trust. rated outstanding by the CQC, we are committed to providing the best possible care to people across Berkshire. As an employer, we are committed to offering an inclusive and compassionate environment where our people share in a sense of belonging and are supported to flourish.
Our values at Berkshire Healthcare are:
* Caring for and about you is our top priority
* Committed to providing good quality, safe services
* Working Together with you to develop innovative solutions
Your wellbeing is important to us. Some of the benefits of working for us include:
* Flexible working options to support work-life balance
* 27 days' annual leave rising with service + opportunity to buy and sell
* Excellent learning and career development opportunities
* 'Cycle to Work' and car leasing scheme including electric vehicles
* Access to a range of wellbeing tools and services
* Discounts at hundreds of popular retailers and restaurants
* Staff networks for race, diversity, disabilities, the environment and armed forces community to support equality
* Generous maternity, paternity, adoption and special leave
* Free parking across Trust sites
Job responsibilities
The must haves for this role:
* Degree in health/social care or equivalent qualification/experience with professional registration
* Experience of working effectively in and leading a multi-disciplinary team and multi-agency environment
* Experience working in a very busy and fast paced mental health setting, preferably also with a risk triage experience
* Effective and competent interpersonal, influencing, communication, observation and reporting skills
* Previous knowledge and experience of working in a care environment and with service users who have complex mental health needs
* Good interpersonal, communication, observation, and reporting skills
* Able to empathise, be supportive and sensitive to the needs of others as well as being able to cope with distressing circumstances
* Able to work flexibly on a shift pattern to cover 24hrs of CRHTT Service as required and the ability to travel independently between locations to fulfil the requirements of the position
For further information about the role, please see attached job description and person specification.
We strongly encourage you to review how you meet the criteria in the person specification and write about this point-by-point in your supporting statement for the best chance of being shortlisted.
We are committed to equal opportunities and welcome applications from all sections of the community. Our commitment to inclusion is reflected in our accreditations: Race Equality Matters Silver Trailblazer, Neurodiversity in Business Corporate Member, Disability Confident Leader, Carer Confident Level 2, and the Armed Forces Covenant Gold Award. Reasonable adjustments will be provided to candidates as needed.
We welcome a conversation about flexibility and any other questions you may have. Please don’t hesitate to call: Anita Onovo on 08001299999 or email: anita.onovo@berkshire.nhs.uk who will be delighted to help.
Please note, if we receive a high number of applications, we may close this role earlier than the advertised closing date, so please submit your application as soon as possible.
Person Specification
Education/Qualifications/Training
* Degree in health/social care or equivalent qualification/experience
* Qualification attained in mentoring would be ideal but not essential
Continuous Professional Development
* Registered Mental Nurse, Occupational Therapist, Allied Health Professional or Social Worker whereby the person is licensed to assess, plan, implement and evaluate care for patients with mental health problems.
Previous Experience
* Strong knowledge and understanding of the health and social care systems and operating frameworks, clinical observations and the Mental Health Act
* Previous knowledge and experience of working in a care environment, through placements in an area of discipline, with service users who have complex mental health needs
Knowledge, Skills & Abilities
* Strong knowledge and understanding of the health and social care systems and operating frameworks, clinical observations and the Mental Health Act
* Good organisational skills and the ability to analyse situations and be able to make the right decisions
* Ability to cope in a pressurised environment and apply practical problem solving skills in everyday situations
* Competent IT skills and the ability to navigate around various systems and software packages (such as outlook, databases, MS office and the internet)
* Able to work flexibly on a shift pattern as required and the ability to travel independently between locations to fulfil the requirements of the position
* Previous knowledge and experience of working in a care environment and with service users who have complex mental health needs
* Effective and competent interpersonal, influencing, communication, observation and reporting skills
* Ability to work effectively in a team, work on own initiative, work unsupervised and manage own workload
Additional Requirements
* Ability to travel to multiple sites
* Manage difficult situations with service users that have complex mental health conditions and challenging behaviours
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.
West Crisis Resolution HTT, Prospect Park Hospital
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