Job summary
- Main area
- Specialist Perinatal Service
- Grade
- Band 4
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Full time - 37.5 hours per week
- Job ref
- 350-CC7467304
- Employer
- Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Liverpool & Sefton Perinatal Mental Health Team
- Town
- Liverpool/Sefton
- Salary
- £27,485 - £30,162 per annum
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 12/10/2025 23:59
Employer heading
Assistant Practitioner (Perinatal Physical Health and Wellbeing)
Band 4
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Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust celebrates diversity and promotes equal opportunities; we are committed to challenging and eliminating racism and other forms of discrimination and advancing and promoting equality of opportunity in the provision of services and creating an inclusive environment for all employees. We believe that everyone has the right to be treated with dignity and respect.
We take positive action to support disadvantaged groups and also particularly encourage applications from ethnically diverse, disabled and LGBTQIA+ people that are under-represented in our workforce. Furthermore we welcome applications from reservists and ex-armed forces personnel as we recognise the benefits of the values, skills, training and experience that they bring to their work with us. We encourage all applicants to share their equality information with us.
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Job overview
The post holder(s) will be part of a multi-disciplinary team, contributing to the effective provision of Perinatal and Infant Mental Health Services to an identified caseload of women.
Improving the physical health of our clients and reducing the impact of inequality on poor health outcomes (both maternal and child) has been identified as a need in our current service provision and this post reflects this.
(This post will cover both the Liverpool and Sefton area)
Main duties of the job
The post holder will assist in the identification of physical health and lifestyle needs, and participate in the delivery and evaluation of interventions developed to meet those needs.
Working alongside mothers experiencing moderate to severe perinatal mental health problems, and including those with pre-existing severe mental health disorders.
The post holder will contribute to holistic community assessments, in a range of settings, with a strong emphasis on promoting optimum physical health and wellbeing.
The post holder will actively work with families and carers in their own home and in the community settings flexibly and will offer practical support and advice based on the identified needs of service users , partners and their children.
Working for our organisation
Mersey Care is one of the largest trusts providing physical health and mental health services in the North West, serving more than 1.4 million people across our region and are also commissioned for services that cover the North West, North Wales and the Midlands.
We offer specialist inpatient and community services that support physical and mental health and specialist inpatient mental health, learning disability, addiction and brain injury services. Mersey Care is one of only three trusts in the UK that offer high secure mental health facilities.
At the heart of all we do is our commitment to ‘perfect care’ – care that is safe, effective, positively experienced, timely, equitable and efficient. We support our staff to do the best job they can and work alongside service users, their families, and carers to design and develop future services together. We’re currently delivering a programme of organisational and service transformation to significantly improve the quality of the services we provide and safely reduce cost as we do so.
Flexible working requests will be considered for all roles.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Undertaking person centred lifestyle assessments, in a sensitive manner, empowering mothers to make positive change. This may include discussions regarding nutrition, exercise, smoking, alcohol use, substance misuse, sexual health – both in pregnancy and in the postnatal period.
To provide appropriate information/education to service users, families and carers relating to physical health and lifestyle ensuring informed decision making.
Make appropriate referrals and support to access relevant lifestyle improvement initiatives available.
Provide support, motivation and development of appropriate action plan for each client.
Carry out review meetings to assess progress and provide long term motivation and guidance, using solution focussed or motivational interviewing skills as appropriate.
Produce progress or activity reports as required in relation to interventions offered.
Evaluate and feedback clients’ responses to the intervention and modify in discussion with multi disciplinary colleagues.
Whilst working with clients and community groups, identify barriers and possible solutions to making sustainable lifestyle changes, reporting these back to the lead professional involved.
To contribute to planning, development, implementation and evaluation of individual care interventions related to physical health and wellbeing during the perinatal period.
To identify, obtain and if appropriate carry out appropriate diagnostic/ assessment techniques to identify and respond to clients’ physical health needs in a range of settings.
For women who have severe mental illness and are prescribed mood stabilisers or antipsychotic medication work alongside lead professionals to ensure that appropriate monitoring tests are performed and accurately recorded, and any concerns escalated as necessary.
If necessary and appropriate, accompany and provide support to women undergoing physical health tests.
Obtain necessary results from blood tests and other investigations and record accurately in electronic patient record, escalating to medical staff when necessary.
Liaison as necessary with maternity and primary care regarding the physical health needs of clients.
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
- Minimum of NVQ Level 3 in a subject relevant to Health, Social Care and/or child development
- Good standard of general education including English and Maths to GCSE grade C or above or equivalent.
Desirable criteria
- Foundation Degree in Health Care
Values
Essential criteria
- Accountability
- Respectfulness
- Enthusiasm
- Support
- High professional standards
- Responsive to service users
- Engaging leadership style
- Strong customer service belief
- Transparency and honesty
- Discreet
- Change oriented
Knowledge/Experience
Essential criteria
- Clinical skills and competencies relevant to the role
- Experience of working with local community groups in delivery of training sessions
- Knowledge and understanding about health determinants and barriers to good health
- Understand how motivation works and how behaviour can change
- Knowledge of local services and how to support individuals to access
- Record keeping & report writing skills, including IT skills to manage electronic patient notes
- Understanding of issues relating to safeguarding of vulnerable groups
- Awareness of clinical governance
- Good interpersonal skills
- Understanding of confidentiality and diversity issues
- Able to work autonomously and as part of a team
- Experience in a health or social care setting with service users and/or families with complex needs’
- To demonstrate how to implement clinical care/ care packages
- Post qualification experience of working with children, young people and their families
- Experience of working with challenging groups /individuals
- Recent experience of working with parents/families/children
- Experience of contributing to appropriate risk management/child protection plans
Desirable criteria
- Ability to deliver training to other professionals service users and carers
- Knowledge and understanding of the impact of lifestyle facors, physical and mental health on pregnancy outcomes for mums and babies
- Knowledge of the impact of psychotropic medication on physical health
- Good working knowledge of models of family support
- Experience of working with clients in Recovery from serious Mental Health issues
- Experience in a healthrelated care setting with service users experiencing severe and enduring mental health
Skills
Essential criteria
- Ability to use tools relevant to the service e.g., clinical outcomes tools
- Experience in making judgements involving facts or situations, some requiring analysis
- Contribute to appropriate risk management/child protection plans
- Commitment to anti-discriminatory practice
- Ability to demonstrate nonjudgemental / professional attitude
- Empathy, tact and judgement to enable and support ongoing positive relationships with Clients, their families or Carers
- Demonstrates motivation, reliability and commitment to team working and the development of others
- Excellent organisation skills and time management
- Flexible, and responsive to change
- Confident and Professional
- Demonstrates an ability to value the opinions of others
- Strong interpersonal, motivational, communication and organisational skills, qualities and behaviours
- Flexibility to respond to urgent client need or the needs of the Service
- Willingness to undergo education and training for both service and professional development needs
- Positive role model
- To demonstrate how to provide and receive routine information requiring tact or persuasive skills; barriers to understanding
- Travel is integral to this post ability to travel across Trust sites
- Able to work flexible hours as required
- Evidence of ongoing personal development
- Willingness to undertake further training
Other
Essential criteria
- Enhanced DBS
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
- Samantha Evans
- Job title
- Team Manager
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 0151 702 4012
- Additional information
Liz Clarke (Specialist Perinatal Mental Health Pharmacist) 0151 702 4012
Cheryl Finnigan (Team Manager) 0151 702 4012
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