Job summary
- Main area
- Qualifications
- Grade
- NHS AfC: Band 3
- Contract
- Permanent: To be based at a community site in Lewisham in SE13 or SE8 initially with an intended move to Heather Close – Lewisham SE12 in May 2026
- Hours
- 37.5 hours per week (Full time - 37.5 hours per week (Flexibility to work a shift pattern of 8am - 8pm across a 7-day service))
- Job ref
- 334-NUR-7318100-LF
- Employer
- South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Lewisham Locality
- Town
- Lewisham
- Salary
- £30,546 - £32,207 per annum inclusive of HCAS
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 14/09/2025 23:59
Employer heading
Community Support Planner
NHS AfC: Band 3
South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust has a rich history, well-established community links and an international reputation. We deliver specialist services in the London boroughs of Croydon, Lambeth, Lewisham and Southwark, Bexley, Bromley, Greenwich, Wandsworth and Richmond.
We are committed to provide a high quality and specialist care to our service users and we are recognised for our care and treatment we provide. The Care Quality Commission already rates our services as ‘good’.
We launched our five-year strategy, Aiming High; Changing Lives in 2021 together with Our Care Improvement System as our quality management system methodology to make a positive impact on patient care, outcomes and staff experience. By joining SLaM, all staff will get the opportunity to be part of this exciting improvement journey supported with learning and development to harness everyone’s potential as change makers.
The trust recognises the unique and valuable contribution that people with lived experience of mental illness can bring to a role. We therefore welcome applications from people with lived experience and consider them as an asset to the Trust.
Our Values
We take pride in providing specialist care to our service users where our Trust values and our promise to be caring, kind, polite, prompt, honest, listen and do what I say I’m going to do is at the heart of everything we do. When you join us, you’ll be part of something special.
As a Trust we are happy to talk flexible working.
Job overview
Are you passionate about reshaping mental health care? Do you believe in the power of community, collaboration with community partners and local voluntary care sector, inclusion, and peer support to transform lives? We’re launching an innovative community care centre inspired by world-class models like the Trieste Mental Health Community Network, Navigo in Grimsby, and Clubhouse models in New York and Brixton.
We have an incredibly exciting and rare opportunity to be part of a new community mental health pilot. This centre will hold a major national profile with NHS England who are hoping that the pilot will radically transform how we deliver mental health care in the UK.
We are looking for dedicated staff to help us pioneer this revolutionary approach to care.
What We Offer
· A Unique Care Model: Join a programme focused on community, social inclusion, and holistic recovery.
· Supportive Environment: Collaborate with peers, contribute to a recovery-oriented care system, and make a real difference.
· Development Opportunities: Be part of a pioneering team shaping the future of mental health care, with training and career growth built-in.
Main duties of the job
To provide direct support to adults using community mental health services within the Lewisham Pilot who require a period of re-ablement, stabilisation or preventative intervention.
Support Planners will be based within neighbourhood-based community mental health teams which provide integrated health and social care services. Their aim will be to provide direct support to services users to reach their full potential, to optimise and maintain their independence, and to exercise choice and control over the way that they live their lives.
Working for our organisation
South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust (SLaM) provide the widest range of NHS mental health services in the UK as well as substance misuse services for people who are addicted to drugs and alcohol. There are very few organisations in the world that have such wide-ranging capabilities working with mental illness. Our scope is unique because it is built on three major foundations: care and treatment, science and research, and training.
SLaM employs around 5000 staff and serve a local population of 1.1 million people. We have more than 230 services including inpatient wards, outpatient and community services. Currently, provide inpatient care for approximately 5,300 people each year and treat more than 45,000 patients in the community in Croydon, Lambeth, Lewisham and Southwark; as well as substance misuse services for residents of Bexley, Bromley and Greenwich.
By coming to work at SLaM, you will gain experience of being part of an organisation with a rich history and international reputation in mental health care. You will have access to professional development and learning opportunities and have the chance to work alongside people who are world leaders in their field. SLaM delivered more than 14,000 training experiences in 2014; providing an extensive range of learning opportunities for staff at all levels.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
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To participate in the assessment of service users' mental and physical health needs. including risk assessment and early signs of relapse, promptly reporting observations to those in the team with responsibility for care.
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To work in partnership with service-users, carers and more senior staff to identify goals and to develop self-directed support plans
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To identify and overcome barriers to achieving goals by providing practical time-limited support to service-users in the community to assist them to develop skills and to access available resources
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To participate in the planning and delivery of support in a way which promotes recovery and social inclusion, including delivery of group interventions.
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To support care coordinators to review the need for ongoing care packages following a period of re-ablement and as part of the process of Self-Directed Support for those who are eligible for care packages and Personal Budgets
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To contribute to regular reviews of progress against the service user's goals and to work with service users to revise goals as necessary
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To develop and maintain detailed knowledge of mental health resources and mainstream opportunities within and outside the borough of Lewisham.
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To record all interventions and other aspects of data collection in accordance with the Trust’s requirements.
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
- NVQ2 or equivalent
Desirable criteria
- NVQ3 or equivalent
Experience
Essential criteria
- Experience of facilitating groups or workshops health service-users in a care or support role (I/A)
- Experience of working as part of team in a care or support setting (I/A)
- Flexibility to work a shift pattern of 8am - 8pm across a 7 day service
Knowledge & Skills
Essential criteria
- Understanding of the needs of people with mental health problems (I/A)
- Good understanding of Equality and Diversity issues (I/A).
Desirable criteria
- Knowledge of Recovery model (A/I)
- Understanding of benefits system as it pertains to service users with mental health issues(A/I)
- Understanding of Self-Directed Support and/or personalised health or social care budgets (A/I)
Employer certification / accreditation badges
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.
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Kathryn Kelly
- Job title
- Occupational Therapist
- Email address
- [email protected]
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