Job overview

All Age Mental Health Liaison Practitioner - Band 6

 37.5 hours a week on a rota basis

The mental health liaison team provides a comprehensive service to patients/service users over 16yrs, carers and clinical colleagues based within the Acute Hospital Trust.  This involves:

Offering an assessment service to patients presenting with a range of mental health and psychological problems.

•    Providing a mental health consultation-liaison and advice service
•    Delivering a range of interventions to individual patients and their families, as appropriate
•    Assisting and supporting general hospital colleagues in making decisions about treatment and care in complex situations
•    Providing formal and informal education and clinical supervision to registered and unregistered staff
•    Representing mental health services within the general hospital
•    Providing a communication structure between the general hospital, secondary mental health services, primary care and non-statutory services, as a means of ensuring the highest possible standards of patient care
•    Following assessment, discuss and agree with the band 7 practitioner, the most appropriate pathway, signposting and were an inpatient stay is potentially required refer to the Enhanced Gatekeeping MDT.
•    Co-ordinate 136 MHA presentations in the A&E Department and support Section 136 Suites co-located. 

You will have experience of working with service users who present with complex mental health needs.

Main duties of the job

As a member of the mental health liaison team the post holder will be expected to assess and treat patients who are referred from a variety of sources, which will include:
•    Emergency Department
•    Urgent Care Centres
•    Medical assessment areas
•    All wards, departments and clinical teams across the hospital

Patients may present with a wide range of mental health and psychological problems, including following an episode of self-harm, psychiatric emergency and as a consequence of physical illness.  You will be expected to work with individuals experiencing psychosomatic disorders and a variety of psychological and adjustment issues resulting from physical illness.  You will be required to make autonomous decisions, based on an analysis of complex presenting problems, while utilising effective clinical judgments about the most appropriate treatment, discharge and follow-up options.  

You must have the ability to positively influence and adapt to a rapidly developing service that is able to meet the needs of mental health services in Lancashire. 

You should be able to demonstrate evidence of Leadership and care that facilitates a positive culture of patient engagement, a commitment to enhancing the service user and carer experience and of on-going professional development.

If you would like to discuss this post further or want to arrange an informal visit please contact us on the details provided.

Working for our organisation

Lancashire & South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust provides a range of services including secondary mental health care across this area. Specialist provision comprises inpatient child and adolescent mental health services, perinatal mental health and forensic services including low and medium secure care.

The Trust also provides a range of physical health and well-being services in the community alongside a range of partners in the Lancashire, Cumbria and Sefton area.

Lancashire & South Cumbria Foundation Trust encourages flexible working, we believe that a positive work/life balance benefits NHS employees through improved health and wellbeing. We would consider working patterns such as; term time, part time, compressed hours, flexi-time and career breaks. We encourage applicants to state clearly on their application forms this request and discuss these options at interview.

For more information please visit our website via Lancashire & South Cumbria NHS FT

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