Job summary
- Main area
- Primary Care - Mental Health Services
- Grade
- Band 6
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Full time
- Part time
- Job ref
- 350-MHC7904203
- Employer
- Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Various GP surgeries for Halton PCN
- Town
- Warrington
- Salary
- £39,959 - £48,117 per annum pro rata
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 05/05/2026 23:59
- Interview date
- 13/05/2026
Employer heading
Primary Care Mental Health Practitioner
Band 6
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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
We have an exciting opportunity for a part time staff member to work in the Runcorn area, covering several different GP surgeries within the working hours.
This post is 2 x days a week for 15 hours in total. Core working hours are 9am-5pm.
This position is for an experienced registered mental health nurse to work in an exciting, innovative post that supports patients to access mental health support via Primary Care. It is vital that candidates have community experience and understand the role.
*This job is only suitable for a NMC Registered Mental Health Nurse.
The core working hours of this role are 9am - 5pm excluding bank holidays over two days a week (to be decided in partnership with service delivery and the applicants preference)
Applicants will need to confirm they are able to complete these hours and have the means to be able to travel between the different GP surgeries.
Main duties of the job
The successful applicant will work in the Primary Care setting, offering specialist Mental health assessment to those patients who have moderate to severe mental health conditions. This role allows the practitioner to work across the interface between Primary Care setting and Secondary Care Mental Health Services to provide advice, support, and assessment to patients. This will allow timelier access to services and ensure that the patient gets the right treatment at the right time and will offer the practitioner the environment to work in an autonomous way.
The role aims to improve the experience for our patients with mental health needs to ensure they can transition between services with the best support in place.
The post holder will be an effective member of a multi-disciplinary team, effectively triaging and signposting patients into the right team or service to support them in their needs
The post holder will be supported in their role by a variety of other professionals. This includes Pharmacists, GP’s, Advanced Nurse Practitioners, Clinical Leads, Non Medical Prescribers and Psychologists – as well as the management team.
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
To provide a safe and effective day to day operation of the service, including the handling of clinical enquiries. The role holder may be required to undertake telephone triage screening assessments to assess the level of risk/priority with that patient, so they can be treated, signposted, or referred on to agencies as appropriate as well as face to face appointments within the GP surgery.
To undertake assessments of individual patient’s difficulties, establishing risk and determining the appropriate course of action, taking into consideration all possible options. The relationship should adopt a ‘partnership approach’, engaging service users in the positive management of their health and wellbeing.
Work with patients to support adherence to prescribed treatments, monitoring mental health medication, taking into consideration any physical health interactions.
To providing short term interventions and support, under the guidance of the GP and ensure that monitoring is well managed, and care and treatment is provided in line with practice standards.
Provide and receive information, some of which may be contentious, sensitive, and complex to and from individuals and their families/carers and actively support as appropriate.
To collate and organise contemporaneous information about opportunities and resources in the local area which may be of benefit to patients referred to the service (e.g., voluntary and community organisations, educational and recreational opportunities). Facilitate ‘sign posting’ to other appropriate services and occasionally undertake very short-term interventions for patients with moderate to severe mental health difficulties.
To evaluate outcomes and maintain accurate clinical data.
Have an awareness of your own clinical competencies, knowledge base and experience and ensure that you practice within this and seek support as required.
Utilise clinical curiosity in assessing and developing treatment plans with patients. Obtaining and focussing on goal based outcomes with patients, using a holistic approach to their care and social circumstances.
To understand and process Quality Outcome Framework data.
Undertake joint assessment work (as required) with PCN colleagues.
Offer advice to or obtain advice for the Primary Care Team on appropriate interventions and on-going Service User care management.
Ensure systems/ pathways are in place to enable smooth transition between primary care and secondary mental health services.
Regularly be involved in quality improvement activity/audit/significant event review and clinical meetings.
Clinical Partnership
Support the establishment of partnerships and networks with key stakeholders across the PCN/ secondary mental health care system.
Develop links and foster a culture of ‘partnership’ between Primary Care Teams and Secondary Mental Health Services.
Facilitate joint work with PCN, Secondary Care providers and Voluntary Care Sector (VCS) to increase range of services / interventions available to the communities.
Attend PCN meetings and work with PCN members to develop and implement joint governance and clinical forums.
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
- Registered on the appropriate part of the NMC register and hold a current NMC registration or holds a relevant professional qualification (to be maintained)
- Assessor/Mentorship Training*
Desirable criteria
- Post registration training in relevant field
- Leadership/Management training
- Qualification in non-medical prescribing
Experience/Knowledge
Essential criteria
- Experience of mentorship, supervision and co-ordination of staff
- Experience of Care Planning process working in a multi- agency framework.
- Demonstrate a contribution to change management process
- Demonstrate experience of problem solving approaches
- Recovery model
- Mental Health Act (1983)
- Effective Care Coordination
- Relevant national policies and guidance
- Evidence based and reflective practice
- Mental Capacity Act
- Vulnerable Adults Procedure and Child Protection
- Safety, Privacy and Dignity Guidelines
Desirable criteria
- Community experience
- Experience of working as a Nurse in Charge/ Shift Coordinator
- Experience in positive leadership of a team
- An overview of the Trust’s objectives
Skills
Essential criteria
- Demonstrate sound leadership qualities and an understanding of management styles
- Understanding of quality and change in the clinical setting
- Ability to delegate and co- ordinate
- Ability to work to deadlines
- Ability to utilise assessment skills and tools effectively
- Ability to communicate in a variety of settings
- IT skills
- Able to present factual information and refer questions to others where appropriate
- Able to deal with sensitive issues with tact and diplomacy
- Ability to develop effective interpersonal relationships with colleagues
- Effective time and workload management
- Mentorship skills and record keeping
- Ability to identify and minimise risk effectively
- Ability to travel in the course of performing duties.
- Flexible approach to working
- Commitment to effective teamwork
- Commitment to service development
- Good time management
- Demonstrate continuous professional development
Desirable criteria
- Project Management
- Formulation of reports
- Presentation skills
- Resource and budget management
VALUES
Essential criteria
- Continuous Improvement
- Accountability
- Respectfulness
- Enthusiasm
- Support
- High professional standards
- Responsive to service users
- Engaging leadership style
- Strong customer service belief
- Transparency and honesty
- Discreet
- Change oriented
Employer certification / accreditation badges
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
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Sophie Kenny
- Job title
- Operational Manager
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 01925 666647
- Additional information
We would encourage informal visits prior to interview, to gain an understanding of this new and innovative role.
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