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Job summary

Main area
General Psychiatry
Grade
Band 4
Contract
Permanent
Hours
Full time - 37.5 hours per week
Job ref
351-BAY1124-EB
Employer
Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust
Employer type
NHS
Site
North Cumbria
Town
Cumbria
Salary
£28,392 - £31,157 per annum
Salary period
Yearly
Closing
09/11/2026 23:59

Employer heading

Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust logo

Release Engagement Practitioner for ReConnect

Band 4

Our Vision is to provide the best mental health, learning disability, autism, community, and physical health services for the populations we serve.

As an integrated Trust, Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust (LSCFT) delivers a comprehensive range of services, including:

  • Primary and secondary mental health care for children and adults, including specialist inpatient child and adolescent mental health provision, perinatal mental health, and forensic services with low and medium secure care.
  • Specialist mental health inpatient care for individuals with learning disabilities, alongside specialist community support for children and adults with learning disabilities and autism, including intensive support.
  • Extensive community physical health and well-being services for children and adults, covering prevention, treatment, rehabilitation, and long-term condition management.

The Trust was first established in 2002 and employs approximately 7,500 staff who provide care from more than 400 sites. The organisation offers opportunities for medics, mental health, general nurses, children’s nurses, allied health professionals, psychology, administration and clerical staff, apprentices and volunteers, as well as those specialising in learning disabilities and community physical health services.

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

Job overview

This role is not eligible for sponsorship. Applicants must have an existing right to work in the UK and be able to maintain that right for the duration of employment without sponsorship from the Trust

This role requires supporting people primarily in the area of North Cumbria, though may require cover across other areas of Cumbria as required by the service.

The post holder will work within the Reconnect Care after Custody service for Lancashire and Cumbria, covering 6 prisons and the wider community of Lancashire and Cumbria. Reconnect is a triage, assessment, referral and support service and starts working with people before they leave prison, where they will have access to a Reconnect practitioners and support practitioners, helping them to make the transition to community-based services that will provide the health and care support that they need. It is offered to people in prison up to 3 months prior to release, and up to 6 months support post release. Reconnect will create an effective link between prison & community in order to:

Increase access & uptake up of healthcare or relevant support services for vulnerable individuals who would otherwise struggle to engage

Reduce health inequalities for prison leavers

Ensure the health needs of individuals who are leaving prison are met

Ensure a safe transition from prison to community-based healthcare & support services & to provide follow-up to ensure engagement is maintained. 

 

Main duties of the job

The post holder will actively engage and work with a number of individuals who are likely to have a wide range of vulnerabilities and complex needs, including homelessness, substance misuse problems, mental health, significant risk histories and social exclusion, and who at times may present with extremely challenging behaviours. They will support people to access services for the full scope of vulnerabilities as identified

Please note that hybrid working is necessary due to the area of coverage, involving some working from home and utilising other trust sites as a bases as required

LSCFT staff entering the prison and probation estate are required to hold vetting and will be subject to security vetting carried out by HMPPS which is a requirement of this post.

The post holder is also expected to be have Enhanced DBS status.

For further information or an informal discussion about the post please contact us using the details provided

Working for our organisation

LSCFT values diversity and inclusion, recognising that talent from varied backgrounds creates a flexible, creative, and effective workforce. We actively challenge discrimination and welcome applications from all, regardless of age, disability (including those with experience of accessing or caring for someone who has accessed mental health or learning disability services), ethnicity, gender, religion, belief, or sexual orientation.

Our aim is to reflect the communities we serve, so we particularly encourage applications from under-represented groups. If you’d like to discuss your application, please ask.

We also welcome individuals with lived experience relevant to the role or service area, as your insight brings authenticity to our services.

LSCFT support 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 and flexi-time.

The wellbeing of our people is at the heart of everything we do. We offer a wide range of resources, tools and support to help you thrive both in and out of work.

Explore our full wellbeing offer here: Keeping our workforce well 

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Please see attached the job description and person specification for more information about this role.

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential criteria
  • Diploma in Health and/or Social Care or equivalent experience
  • Level 3 NVQ in health-related subject
Desirable criteria
  • Foundation degree within a relevant field e.g. health, psychology, criminology etc (or equivalent qualification/ reflected experience).

Knowledge

Essential criteria
  • Required level of knowledge and skill beyond that of the traditional healthcare assistant or support worker.
  • Require factual and theoretical knowledge in broad contexts within their field of work.
  • Well-developed verbal and written communication skills.

Experience

Essential criteria
  • Previous experience of working with adults with vulnerabilities e.g. learning disabilities, substance misuse, mental health
  • Experience of direct patient care and working with people with complex needs

Employer certification / accreditation badges

Apprenticeships logoNo smoking policyArmed Forces Covenant Gold AwardMindful employer.  Being positive about mental health.Disability confident employerCare Leaver CovenantStep into healthDefence Employer Recognition Scheme (ERS) - Gold

Applicant requirements

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.

Application numbers

This vacancy may close early if it receives a high number of applications. You are therefore advised to consider applying for this vacancy as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

Documents to download

Apply online now

Further details / informal visits contact

Name
Alison Foreman
Job title
Clinical Lead
Email address
[email protected]
Telephone number
07507846008
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