Job summary
- Main area
- Mental Health Act Legislation
- Grade
- NHS AfC: Band 3
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Full time - 37.5 hours per week
- Job ref
- 383-COR-6024-25
- Employer
- Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Kingsway Hospital or Derwent Unit Chesterfield
- Town
- Derby
- Salary
- £24,937 - £26,598 per annum
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 22/09/2025 23:59
Employer heading
Mental Health Act Legislation Officer
NHS AfC: Band 3
Want to make a real difference and have a truly rewarding career? Join 'Team Derbyshire Healthcare' and become part of a talented, compassionate and enthusiastic workforce committed to a vision of ‘making a positive difference in people's lives’.
We’ve been rated ‘good’ overall by the CQC, with some outstanding services. The CQC commented at our most recent inspection on how our colleagues “treated patients with compassion and kindness” and “felt positive and proud about working for the trust.
We are passionate about making equality, diversity and inclusion part of our DNA. We take pride in our “People First Culture” which creates a workplace where everyone feels a genuine sense of belonging, difference is celebrated, and people are comfortable to bring their whole selves to work. We value the richness that comes from having colleagues that are fully representative of the local community. We welcome people who identify as Black, Asian or from a Minority Ethnic background, protected characteristics, and with all backgrounds and experiences.
Job overview
Job overview
An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Mental Health Act Legislation Officer to join our forward thinking Trust.
The successful candidate will be part of a small team responsible for the provision of MHA administration across the Trust, based at Kingsway House, Derby or Derwent Unit Chesterfield.
You will need to be a self-motivated individual with good knowledge of the MHA. Responsibilities include: receiving and scrutinising Mental Health statutory documents, arranging for amendments to be made within the legal timescale; requesting reports and organising Mental Health Tribunals, sending out section expiry reminders to clinical teams.
The candidate will need to be able to prioritise their workload, liaise with consultants, clinical teams, social services, solicitors, Care Quality Commission, service users and their relatives.
The candidate will need to have excellent administrative and organisational skills, together with the ability to communicate at all levels.
Please note, if a high volume of applications is received, this advert may close early so please ensure you submit your application without delay.
Main duties of the job
Main duties of the job
To work closely with colleagues in the Mental Health Act team to ensure high quality systems and procedures are in place in order to comply with the administration requirements of the MHA.
A good understanding (or the ability to learn) the complexities of the MHA and to disseminate information appropriately within the area of responsibility.
To develop and maintain good working relationships both internally and externally.
To support and advise colleagues, patients and their nearest relatives on the MHA and associated procedures.
Working for our organisation
Working for your organisation
Our purpose is to provide community health services to a patient population of over one million people in Derbyshire and Derby, as part of Joined Up Care Derbyshire.
We employ around 4,200 substantive staff, caring for patients in 11 community hospitals and more than 30 health centres, as well as in clinics, GP practices, schools, care homes and, increasingly, in people’s own homes and via virtual consultations.
During the pandemic response we have led the implementation of public vaccination centres in collaboration with partners across health and social care.
It is Trust policy that for posts that are for a time limited period, applicants who are currently employed by an NHS organisation will only be appointed on a secondment basis and should have approval from their line manager this is possible before applying. Applicants who are not employed by an NHS o
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Please see attached Job Description and Person Specification. To apply, please click APPLY FOR THIS JOB - this link will take you to the TRAC Recruitment Site. You will need to register if you do not already have an account
- Understand the Trust's obligations under the MHA
- Scrutinise section papers and ensure any rectifiable error are undertaken within the specified timescale
- Ensure efficient and accurate systems are in place to manage the MHA
- Be able to provide an accessible point of contact to advise patients and colleagues on the MHA and associated legislation
- Maintain appropriate contact with internal and external agencies to ensure MHA requirements are met
- Arrange hearings for patients detained under the MHA, requesting reports, liaising with appropriate agencies and booking venues to ensure they run smoothly
- To prepare statistics in relation to MHA reporting
- To assist with auditing of the MHA
- Use your own initiative to manage and prioritise workload within the limitation of your own knowledge
- To escalate any areas of concern in a timely manner
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“As an employer and sponsor licence holder, to be able to provide sponsorship to overseas nationals via the Skilled Worker route we must ensure that we adhere to the sponsorship requirements set by UK Visa’s and Immigration. Please note without previous NHS Service you will commence at the bottom of the pay band which currently does not meet the minimum salary requirement for sponsorship for this post. For details on eligibility criteria for a Skilled Worker visa, please follow this link to the gov.uk website Skilled Worker visa: Overview - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)”
Person specification
Attainment and Qualifications
Essential criteria
- Educated to GCSE level or equivalent
Desirable criteria
- Certificate in Mental Health Law or equivalent
- ECDL or equivalent
Skills
Essential criteria
- Ability to communicate effectively and clearly, verbally and in writing
- Computer literacy and keyboard skills
- Ability to organise a varied workload against a background of frequently changing priorities and the ability to meet deadlines
- Understand the concept and importance of confidentiality
- Ability to develop effective working relationships with staff from a variety of agencies and disciplines
Knowledge and experience
Essential criteria
- Understand the essential principles and components of the Mental Health Act
- Work to deadlines and achieve the desired results
- Communicate and deliver information effectively and concisely
- Experience of working in Mental Health Act Administration
Desirable criteria
- Knowledge of issues concerning people with mental health problems
- In-depth knowledge of the Mental Health Act
- Experience of working within the NHS
Employer certification / accreditation badges
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Andrew Coburn
- Job title
- Assistant Director of Corporate
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 07917461223
- Additional information
Should you have any questions , please Contact
Andrew Coburn
Contact details : [email protected]
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