Job summary
- Main area
- Community Mental Health
- Grade
- Band 6
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Full time - 37.5 hours per week
- Job ref
- 222-SF-706
- Employer
- West London NHS Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Non Healthcare Site
- Town
- Acton & Hammersmith
- Salary
- £46,418.40 - £55,046 per annum inclusive of HCAS (Inner)
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 26/01/2026 23:59
Employer heading
Police Custody L&D Practitioner
Band 6
West London NHS Trust provides a full range of mental health, community and physical healthcare services for children, adults and older people living in the London boroughs of Ealing, Hammersmith & Fulham and Hounslow.
We also provide some specialist services that are commissioned regionally, such as our medium secure services; and nationally, such as the Cassel Hospital for people with complex and severe personality disorder and our high secure services at Broadmoor Hospital.
Job overview
We now have an exciting opportunity to recruit one full time Band 6 Police Liaison and Diversion Practitioners to join our well established and progressive team working in MET police custody suites, Acton and Hammersmith. These custody suites serve large diverse boroughs within the West London area and can be busy and at times unpredictable, with everyday being different and an opportunity to develop your clinical skills/knowledge and experience.
The police Liaison teams sit within a wider Liaison and Diversion service in West London NHS Trust, including Court Diversion at Westminster, Ealing Magistrates, Isleworth Crown Court and Youth Justice.
We are looking for suitably experienced mental health professionals rather than one particular discipline. We are interested in hearing from mental health nurses, social workers or occupational therapists, who have an interest in the Criminal Justice System and offending. We would also like to hear from Speech and Language, that have significant mental health experience.
The successful applicant must be able to demonstrate knowledge and direct experience of the crisis pathways and risk management to a high standard and should have previous experience working with vulnerable young people and adults within acute, community and/or forensic settings.
Main duties of the job
(This could include the ‘dimensions’ of the role from the Job description or be a high-level summary of the main duties from your job description as this will appear later in the text of the advert).
Example:
Responsible for the safe custody of medication, including checking and administration.
We provide proactive case identification, screening and assessment to individuals within Police custody, identifying need/vulnerabilities, signposting to other services and where indicated diverting to health. This will be on the day and you will be expected to gather collateral information and perform a mental state and risk assessment, while offering advice/information to custody staff.
You will be primarily screening those over 18 but at times will be expected to assess children and young people if our Youth team is not available.
This scheme, commissioned by NHS England operates to a standard model and similar schemes are now available in every part of the country. It is an all-age service and all women and people under the age of 18 are screened as mandatory due to their vulnerability within the system.
The service needs practitioners who are able to think quickly and work largely independently (with limited/some supervision) under pressure when screening and assessing vulnerable people in police custody, often with high levels of complexity. This is a non health care setting.
Working for our organisation
West London NHS Trust is one of the most diverse healthcare providers in the UK, delivering a range of mental health and physical healthcare and community services. The Trust runs Broadmoor Hospital, one of three high secure hospitals in the country, with an international reputation.
Our high secure services care for patients from South of England and we provide low and medium secure services across eight London boroughs. The Trust also provides mental and physical healthcare in three London boroughs (Ealing, Hounslow and Hammersmith & Fulham). We employ over 5,000 staff, of whom 59% are BME. Our turnover for 2024-25 is over £500m.
The Trust is rated as ‘Good’ overall by the Care Quality Commission. Forensic services are rated as ‘Outstanding’.
The Trust is an established partner and contributor in the development of the evolving North West London Integrated Care System and the Integrated Care Board. The Trust leads the NW London Children and Adolescent Mental Health provider collaborative.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
The Candidate Pack provides an overview of the key tasks and responsibilities of the role, and the person specification outlines the qualifications, skills, experience and knowledge required. Please view as attached
The person specification below is not the full person specification, but outlines the criteria against which your application form will be assessed.
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
- Qualified Registered Mental Health Nurse with current registration or similar professional qualification, including SALT
- Meaningful evidence of continuing professional development and post registration training
Experience
Essential criteria
- Experience of working in a multi-disciplinary/multi-agency team
- A minimum of 2 years’ post-registration experience
- Experience of crisis work and risk assessment/management
- Application of the Mental Health Act (2007) and the Mental Capacity Act (2005)
Knowledge
Essential criteria
- Effective written and verbal communication skills
- Ability to use information technology systems in order to carry out duties
- Ability to make comprehensive psycho-social assessments
- Good report writing skills
- Ability to make sound and safe risk assessments
- Evidence of effective time management and organisational skills
- Ability to work semi-independently with supervision and to work as a member of a multi-disciplinary/multi-agency team
- Ability to treat service users with respect and dignity at all times, adopting a culturally sensitive approach that considers the needs of the whole person
- Ability to build constructive relationships with warmth and empathy, using good communication skills
- Knowledge of current legislation relating to community mental health provision and forensic psychiatry (Mental Health Act and Mental Capacity Act)
- Familiarity with research, reports and publications relevant to liaison and diversion.
- Knowledge of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE) 1884 and PACE Codes of Practice 2004
- Ability to promote service users' involvement
Other Requirements
Essential criteria
- Sickness (or attendance) record that is acceptable to the Trust; to be checked at interview
- Declared medically fit by the Occupational Health department to perform the duties of the post
- Capable of completing scrutiny of Police NPPV2 Vetting procedure for both Met and City forces
- The post-holder must have the ability to understand and implement the Equal Opportunities Policy at a level appropriate to the job
Employer certification / accreditation badges
Applicant requirements
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.
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Carol Nolan
- Job title
- Service Manager Liaison and Diversion
- Email address
- [email protected]
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