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Job summary

Main area
Community Mental Health / Primary Care Mental Health Team
Grade
NHS AfC: Band 7
Contract
Permanent
Hours
Full time - 37.5 hours per week (Part time considered)
Job ref
285-5076-MH
Employer
Black Country Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
Employer type
NHS
Site
Dudley PCN's
Town
Dudley
Salary
£46,148 - £52,809 per annum
Salary period
Yearly
Closing
14/07/2025 23:59

Employer heading

Black Country Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust logo

Senior First Contact Mental Health Practitioner

NHS AfC: Band 7

Black Country Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust provides specialist mental health, learning disability, and community healthcare services for the population of the Black Country.

Across the whole of the region we provide:

  • Adult and older adult mental health services
  • Specialist learning disability services
  • Mental health services for children and young people
  • Community healthcare services for children, young people and families in Dudley

Black Country Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust was formed on 1 April 2020, with the merger of Black Country Partnership NHS Foundation Trust and Dudley and Walsall Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust. Combining resources, strategies and talented workforce enables us to deliver a wider variety of outstanding services that are based on best practice and are continually improving.

We currently employ over 4,000 people and just like the population we serve, we are made up of diverse cultures and backgrounds. Whatever your role, working in a NHS Foundation Trust, like ours, is a demanding and extremely rewarding experience. Knowing that every day you can help to make a positive difference to someone’s life is a very powerful feeling. We know that our Trust runs on this desire to help and support people, and our Trust vision expresses this. Our vision is to improve health and wellbeing for everyone, especially our colleagues to achieve the best possible work/life balance.

We proudly offer supportive, inclusive and family friendly employment and flexible working policies. We have a wide range of professional services and employee networks to help our colleagues be at their best - and find support if they need it. To find more about our staff benefits, please visit our website: blackcountryhealthcare.nhs.uk. 

Don’t meet every single requirement? Studies have shown that women and ethnic minority candidates are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every single qualification. At Black Country Healthcare we recognise and value all forms of knowledge and expertise, so if you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification or criteria in the job description/person specification, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.

For further supporting information to help you apply for this role please see documents attached under ‘Additional documents’.

Job overview

Are you Independent and supplementary Prescriber or willing to train?

Are you a registered Mental Health Nurse?

Do you have a passion for improving access to high quality, innovative and compassionate services for people with mental health needs?

As a Senior First Contact Mental Health Practitioner, the post holder will work as part of a dynamic team in delivering an effective service supporting Primary Care Networks (PCN’s) to deliver high quality mental health support within primary care. This is a specialist role working at an advanced level and is embedded into GP practices.

As well as triage and assessment the post holder will offer expertise in networking and navigation to promote the ease of access to a range of mental health support services. This role ensures that each person receives the best possible care in the right place at the right time and by the right person.

Main duties of the job

  • Undertake clinical duties within a GP practice as an autonomous Mental Health practitioner working independently, offering a comprehensive triage (including risk assessment) without the need to see a GP first. These appointments are typically 30-minutes with patients aged 16 & over and through a range of contact mechanisms such as face to face, telephone calls & home visits (where appropriate).
  • You will diagnose (within scope of practice) and develop appropriate management plans based evidence based practice/ NICE guidance
  • In addition to risk assessments, you will also provide short term risk management intervention(s) when safe to do so within a primary care setting, working with patients and their significant others to develop risk management plans, which, may include safety planning and self-harm management.
  • Identify when risk cannot be managed safely in primary care and make appropriate and timely referrals to specialist mental health services, ensuring the safety of patients is maintained and close liaison with these services.
  • You will be required to make referrals to many different services across primary and secondary care mental health services, 3rd sector and health and social care services.

Working for our organisation

Black Country Healthcare is encouraging positive workplace who welcomes staff, with a desire to perform at a high level.

Black Country Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust provides specialist mental health, learning disability and community healthcare services for the population of the Black Country.

Black Country Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust was formed on 1 April 2020, following the merger of Black Country Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (covering Wolverhampton and Sandwell) and Dudley and Walsall Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust.

Combining resources, strategies and a talented workforce enables us to deliver a wider variety of outstanding services that are based on best practice and are continually improving. We currently employ over 3,000 members of staff and just like the population we serve, we are made up of diverse cultures and backgrounds.

Why is this the place to work?

  • Beautiful, and peaceful hospital grounds, with seating areas
  • Good transport links around the midlands
  • Flexible working
  • NHS discount schemes
  • Working together with the local community to support patients and staff
  • Good performance outcomes
  • Training opportunities
  • Excellent staff support facilities, dedicated Health & wellbeing team, reflective practice, supervision, and debrief sessions
  • Opportunities to work with other services within the trust
  • New, up and coming digital processes and support

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

  • Undertake clinical duties within a GP practice as an autonomous Mental Health practitioner working independently, offering a comprehensive triage (including risk assessment) without the need to see a GP first. These appointments are typically 30-minutes with patients aged 16 & over and through a range of contact mechanisms such as face to face, telephone calls & home visits (where appropriate).
  • You will diagnose (within scope of practice) and develop appropriate management plans based evidence based practice/ NICE guidance
  • In addition to risk assessments, you will also provide short term risk management intervention(s) when safe to do so within a primary care setting, working with patients and their significant others to develop risk management plans, which, may include safety planning and self-harm management.
  • Identify when risk cannot be managed safely in primary care and make appropriate and timely referrals to specialist mental health services, ensuring the safety of patients is maintained and close liaison with these services.
  • You will be required to make referrals to many different services across primary and secondary care mental health services, 3rd sector and health and social care services.

Person specification

Experience

Essential criteria
  • Leadership qualification or training or experience
  • Experience of managing an SMI register
  • Degree or equivalent qualification or experience in evidence based psychological therapies relevant to Pathway
Desirable criteria
  • Non-Medical Prescriber or willingness to work towards
  • Experience of working in both Primary and Secondary Care
  • Supporting staff in the day to day provision of clinical services
  • Experience of issuing fit notes

Employer certification / accreditation badges

Apprenticeships logoNo smoking policyAge positiveDisability confident leaderCare quality commission - GoodArmed Forces Covenant Bronze Award

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

Apply online now

Further details / informal visits contact

Name
Samantha Hemming
Job title
Team manager
Email address
[email protected]
Telephone number
07935080624
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