Job summary
- Main area
- Mental Health
- Grade
- Band 6
- Contract
- 6 months (6 Months - Fixed term)
- Hours
- Full time - 37.5 hours per week (long day, twilight, night)
- Job ref
- 270-TH147-MH
- Employer
- Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Kettering General Hospital & Northampton General Hospital
- Town
- Kettering & Northampton
- Salary
- £39,959 - £48,117 pa, pro rata
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 25/06/2026 08:00
Employer heading
Mental Health Lead Practitioner
Band 6
Job overview
We have an exciting opportunity for a Band 6 mental health nurse to work as an integrated part of the care pathway. Predominantly based in the Acute Liaison Mental Health Services (ALMHS) at Kettering General Hospital, with the ability to travel to Northampton General Hospital if required, providing frontline assessment and support to service users in the Emergency Department (ED) and the wider hospital wards. This role has links with the Integrated Response Hub (IRH), Crisis Cafes and VCSE’s, Urgent Care and Assessment Team (UCAT), Crisis Response Unit (CRU) as well as the wider community pathways. Successful applicants would be willing to work out of a range of these services during the working week, providing specialist mental health assessment and liaison to those in crisis. Services aim to reduce mental health attendance at ED across the county, offer genuine opportunities for service users to self-refer at the point of crisis and provide partner organisations with proactive support and alternate pathways for service users who they come into contact with. The pathway has a strong emphasis on service user collaboration.
Main duties of the job
Working for our organisation
There will be an expectation that out of hours support will be provided within this role, and that the post holder will be able to provide cover for the service Countywide, working on a shift pattern across a 24/7 basis including nightshift and weekend working.
NHFT is an NHS Community and Mental Health Foundation Trust, providing physical, mental health and specialty services in hospital settings and in the community. We provide over 200 services across the county - as well as some specialist services in bordering and nearby counties. We work together with our partners to ensure that everyone who comes through our doors receives compassionate, person-centred care, regardless of their background or circumstances.
NHFT promotes a culture of learning, to improve the care and safety of our patients and colleagues. We have achieved our ‘outstanding’ rating by encouraging opportunity, innovation, development and growth across our workforce.
At NHFT we believe that work should be rewarded in every sense which is why we are proud to an accredited living wage employer.
We aim to support financial wellbeing and create an environment where are people feel valued and able to thrive.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Clinical
1. To work within the referral and assessment protocols within the ALMHS service and wider pathway, to address the mental health needs highlighted by the relevant agencies.
2. To initiate a comprehensive risk assessment process, highlighting risks to self and others, with consideration given to continuity of care following
discharge from hospital.
3. To formulate detailed care plans/packages of care for individuals whilst in hospital, remaining mindful of their discharge, to ensure that mental health
care provision is seamless and inclusive of mental health needs across the spectrum of primary and secondary care.
4. To assist in the appropriate use of the Mental Health Act with individuals requiring transfer to a psychiatric hospital setting.
5. To involve patients throughout the assessment and treatment processes, ensuring that care packages are tailored to meet individual needs.
6. To work within protocols for joint working with our primary and secondary care colleagues, to ensure optimum care pathways for our patients.
7. To work within information sharing protocol guidance.
8. To ensure risk assessment are routinely conducted and reviewed, with regards to high-risk suicide and self-harm individuals, in line with the trust risk assessment process.
9. To work with the appropriate local Mental Health Services to ensure external services remain involved in the assessment and care planning of patients’ needs, both in hospital an post discharge.
10. To maintain an effective referral database of individuals with mental health needs within the hospitals, highlighting location, current and future
professionals involved, and ongoing needs to be addressed whilst in hospital and post discharge.
11. To act as the clinical mentor for students working on placements with the ALMHS service and wider pathway.
12. Maintenance of up to date clinical records in line with Trust Policy and professional clinical standards.
For further information on the advertised role, please refer to the job description located under the Supporting Documents heading. The full person specification can be accessed under the ‘About You’ Section of the document.
Person specification
Qualifications & Experience
Essential criteria
- Registered Degree Level with mental health knowledge and experience.
- Experience of working with service users in crisis.
Desirable criteria
- Experience of working with older people or those with complex health and social care needs.
- Nurse Prescribing
Skills & Knowledge
Essential criteria
- Significant post‑registration experience in mental health services (minimum 2 years) Band 6 liaison roles require recent mental health experience and the ability to undertake complex assessments for individuals presenting with mental health crises in acute settings.
- Demonstrable ability to carry out comprehensive biopsychosocial and risk assessments in acute hospital settings Acute liaison services require Band 6 nurses to conduct evidence‑based mental health and risk assessments, particularly for individuals presenting after self-harm, with mood disorders, psychosis, dementia, or acute behavioural disturbance.
- Experience of working with adults who have Autism, ADHD, Learning Disabilities, and a wide range of mental health diagnoses
Desirable criteria
- Advanced clinical skills in working with adults who are experiencing mental health crisis
- Experience working within an Acute Liaison Psychiatry or Emergency Department mental health team Liaison psychiatry teams work across A&E, acute medical wards and need familiarity with fast‑paced acute environments.
- Experience providing clinical advice, education or support to multidisciplinary colleagues Liaison roles include an advisory and educational component, offering guidance to acute hospital staff to improve mental health care quality.
- Experience supporting individuals with Drugs and Alcohol (substance misuse) issues, including assessment, brief intervention, and signposting to specialist services
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
- Nicola Clare
- Job title
- Mental Health Lead Practitioner
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 07598144568
- Additional information
Richard Tweed 07598144376
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