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Job summary

Main area
Dual diagnosis
Grade
Band 7
Contract
Fixed term: 12 months
Hours
Full time - 37.5 hours per week
Job ref
364-A-7594-A
Employer
Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust
Employer type
NHS
Site
Rectory Lane, Loughton
Town
Loughton
Salary
£43,742 - £50,056 per annum, plus High Cost Allowance
Salary period
Yearly
Closing
16/05/2024 23:59

Employer heading

Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust logo

Dual Diagnosis Practitioner

Band 7

About Us

EPUT provides community health, mental health and learning disability services to support more than 3.2 million people living across Bedfordshire, Essex and Suffolk. Also:

  • We are among the largest employers in the in the East of England region, with more than 10,000 staff working across more than 200 sites.
  • We run the COVID-19 vaccination programme across mid and south Essex and Suffolk and north east Essex.

EPUT was formed on 1 April 2017 following the merger of North Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (NEP) and South Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (SEPT). A new leadership team was established at the Trust in 2020.

Our vision and values

Our Vision

“To be the leading health and wellbeing service in the provision of mental health and community care”.

Our Purpose

“We care for people every day. What we do together, matters”.

Our Values

  • We Care
  • We Learn
  • We Empower

Our strategic objectives

  • We will deliver safe, high quality integrated care services.
  • We will enable each other to be the best that we can.
  • We will work together with our partners to make our services better.
  • We will help our communities to thrive.

Our services

  • Mental Health Services
  • Community Health Services
  • Learning Disabilities Services
  • Social Care

Find out more about the services we offer in our service directory. 

Job overview

An exciting opportunity has arisen for highly motivated senior social worker to join Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (EPUT) as locally we invest in the development of social workers to deliver the NHS Long Term Plan.  EPUT is a highly successful and ambitious organisation dedicated to providing mental health services, substance misuse services and other specialist award winning services to a population of approximately 2.5million throughout Essex, Bedfordshire, Suffolk and Luton. We are seeking enthusiastic and resourceful senior social workers for a two year fixed term contract, who will respond positively and creatively to the needs of individuals.  You will work as a Dual Diagnosis Practitioner alongside the community services in West Essex and work with the Essex Specialist Treatment and Recovery Services (STaRS) (excluding Southend and Thurrock) leading on the delivery and provision of an integrated service for people with co-existing substance misuse and mental health problems. The Trust employs the definition of dual diagnosis as referring to people with a severe mental illness (including schizophrenia, schizotypal and delusional disorders, bipolar affective disorder and severe depressive episodes with or without psychotic episodes) combined with misuse of substances (the use of legal or illicit drugs, including alcohol and medicine, in a way that causes mental or physical damage). 

Main duties of the job

Integral to your role will be whole family working and a multi-agency ethos, underpinned by a non-judgmental attitude and approach. You will undertake assessments and joint assessments with a range of services including  Community Mental Health Services, Criminal Justice, Essex STaRS service and the third sector to ensure that service users with multiple needs are not passed from one service to another.  

You will support the delivery of strength and asset based approaches promoting recovery and social inclusion with individuals and families including Motivational Interviewing techniques. This post will involve implementing the personalisation agenda through strengths based assessments and you’ll be vital to delivering the statutory social care duties and responsibilities within the Care Act (2014).

 

Working for our organisation

EPUT are looking for motivated staff who shares our Trust values of Care, Learn and Empower. In return, EPUT can offer you a range of benefits and development including;

  • Season Ticket Loans
  • NHS discounts for staff
  • Excellent Training facilities and opportunities
  • Buying and Selling annual leave scheme
  • The opportunity to work bank shifts and expand knowledge and experience in other areas
  • Salary Sacrifice schemes including lease cars and Cycle to Work
  • Day One Flexible Employer

The Trust supports and actively encourages flexible working for all employees. We offer many options and you are encouraged to ask the recruiting manager what is possible for this role. If appointed, you will have the opportunity to apply for a flexible working request from the first day of your employment

Join our Staff bank

What is Staff Bank?

Our EPUT NHS staff bank is an entity managed by the trust that hires clinical and non-clinical healthcare professionals to take on shifts at our trust hospitals and community settings. Here at EPUT we maintain our own bank of specialist staff to ensure that we are able offer safe and effective care at all times.

All our permanent staff are automatically enrolled onto the staff bank however this does not mean you have to work any additional shifts, but the option is there for you if you wish.

If you are joining our Trust in a fixed term role, please indicate on your New Starter Paperwork that you wish to join our staff bank.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

You will be expected to lead on the collaboration with key partner organisations, individuals, clinicians and other practitioners within the multi-disciplinary services providing a flexible approach to meet the needs of service users and their families. At times working evenings to meet the needs of service users and families and meeting in non –stigmatising environments.

You will also actively practice as an AMHP, undertaking Mental Health Act (MHA) assessments and other allocated work in relation to service users with a range of mental health problems and engaging with their carers so that, within the legislation, appropriate action is taken. 

Person specification

qualification

Essential criteria
  • Social Worker qualification

experience

Essential criteria
  • community and dual diagnosis experience

AMHP

Desirable criteria
  • AMHP qualification

Employer certification / accreditation badges

Apprenticeships logoNo smoking policyPositive about disabled peopleAge positiveDisability confident leaderImproving working livesArmed Forces Covenant Gold AwardMindful employer.  Being positive about mental health.Essex Family Friendly Employers

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

Apply online now

Further details / informal visits contact

Name
Katharine Timson-Sheppard
Job title
Clinical Lead
Email address
[email protected]
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