Job overview

Are you compassionate, a great listener, with excellent communication skills and a genuine interest and experience in supporting those in  mental health crisis?

Based at St Ann's Hospital, with a sea view from the office, Connection is Dorset’s 24/7 open access mental health crisis service.  Access Mental Health Dorset 

You will handle telephone calls into the service, providing support and brief interventions to callers. You will need to be able to think flexibly and adapt to the situation, offer appropriate advice,  with empathy, compassion and expertise. You should have good working knowledge of local statutory and non-statutory services. You will also need to be able to recognise safeguarding and safety concerns, and communicate clearly in escalating to the registered practitioners on shift. Registered practitioners are on each shift, providing support, supervision and direct clinical work.   

 A full induction and ongoing training and supervision are offered. 

As a 24/7 service, shift patterns include weekends, bank holidays and nights. Full and part time hours available. Flexible working discussions are welcomed, but note this is an on-site post with no remote working option. 

Please note visa sponsorship for this role is unfortunately not available. Please ensure you hold valid right to work in the UK and will not require sponsorship if successful.

Main duties of the job

You will work via telephone , offering compassionate, validating support and coaching to de-escalate crisis situations.

You will provide support, brief interventions (for example supporting emotional regulation and anxiety management), advice and signposting. 

You will be able to clearly communicate with registered practitioners on shift. And delivery and implementation of care plans, with their support and direction.  

You may have the opportunity to go out and support Mental Health Practitioners assessing service users in the community.

This is an ideal post for experienced Health Care Support Workers with experience in Mental Health.

Employment in this post requires an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check. 

Working for our organisation

At Dorset HealthCare we’re on a mission to empower people to make the most of their lives through our outstanding, joined-up healthcare services. We’re a dynamic, forward-looking Trust, running 12 community hospitals, specialist inpatient facilities and a wide range of integrated community and mental health services for a population of almost 800,000 people.

We do things differently here – it’s one of the reasons the CQC rated us ‘outstanding’ in 2019. It’s also why 95% of patients across our services say they have a good or very good experience of our services and 89% of staff feel they can really make a difference. Whether you’re looking to work with us in one of our bustling market towns, vibrant urban locations, thriving seaside spots, or among the rolling hills of Dorset, there are lots of ways you can make a difference in our communities.

Our 7,000-strong workforce is at the heart of what we do and our success is a testament to our brilliant people. We're all about building a workplace for the future, we believe in equal opportunities and we celebrate diversity. We’re an inclusive workplace, where everyone is welcome, everyone can be authentic, and we are all encouraged to be the best version of ourselves.

Working with us you’ll be part of a strong team, challenge yourself, build a career, and teach us what we don’t know. And you’ll be working towards our vision to be better every day through excellence, compassion and expertise in all we do.