Mental Health Practitioner

Job overview

We have a new exciting job opportunity available for a Mental Health Practitioner within Sevenoaks Primary Care Network (PCN) in Kent.

The PCN consists of a group of 8 GP practices located in Sevenoaks, which includes Borough Green and Edenbridge, who work together in a local geographical area. The PCN is made up of a Multi-Disciplinary Team which includes GPs, Social Prescribers, Health & Wellbeing Coaches, Paramedics, Pharmacists and Physician Associates.

We are looking for an experienced and creative Mental Health Practitioner– this could be a Mental Health Nurse, Social Worker or Occupational Therapist - to work in the PCN as part of the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS). The introduction of these roles is part of a wider transformation and expansion of community-based mental health services.

This is an exciting opportunity to improve the experience for individuals with mental health needs through offering early assessment and access to treatment and support to promote mental health and wellbeing in primary care, as well as getting involved in transformational work across the PCN.

The successful applicant will have access to regular supervision with a Senior Mental Health Practitioner, Professional Supervision, Group Peer Supervision and day to day support from members of the PCN MDT.  The PCN also provides access to protected learning time.

The PCN is able to consider requests around both flexible and hybrid working.

Main duties of the job

The practitioner will be embedded as part of the PCN Multi-Disciplinary team and they can access and draw down on secondary mental health services and help provide a “bridge” between primary care and secondary mental health providers by delivering high quality mental health care in a Primary Care setting.

The ARRS mental health practitioner will be working with individuals aged 18+ with low-medium complex needs including risks that can be managed between the individual and GP . When the needs of the patient increase and the patient is unresponsive to the first line of treatment the mental health practitioner will refer the patient to Mental Health Together.

The role requires the practitioner to be a confident communicator and have the ambition and drive needed to work within an environment of change and innovation.

The practitioner will be expected to work autonomously & creatively in a busy and demanding role. Excellent assessment skills and knowledge of local resources are essential to this role, as it is the gate keeper and guardian for referral to secondary care services.

The Mental Health Practitioner will work closely with GPs to provide advice and support in caring for patients with mental health issues. There may also be opportunities to deliver training around mental health within the PCN.

As this role is based within a community setting the successful applicant must be able to travel .

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Please see attached job description and person specification for full details of the roles and responsibilities.