Mental Health Practitioner - Social Worker

We also provide some specialist services that are commissioned regionally, such as our medium secure services; and nationally, such as the Cassel Hospital for people with complex and severe personality disorder and our high secure services at Broadmoor Hospital.

Job overview
Mental Health Practitioner

MINT Team – Hounslow Band 6 Social Worker

As one of the 12 ‘early implementer’ sites for integrated community mental health services, we are expanding our community mental health offer. Our new services are centred around the Primary Care Networks and aspiring to comprehensive engagement with Integrated Care Systems using a whole person, whole population health approach. The model utilizes all the community resources available including health, social care, Voluntary Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) organizations and local communities and consider resources to support wellbeing outside of mental health services alone. These new teams enable and support people to access mental health services wherever and whenever they need it and support individuals to manage their mental health supported in their local community. We are therefore looking for skilled and enthusiastic individuals.

Main duties of the job
Through this work, an exciting opportunity has arisen for an innovative role of Mental Health Practitioner within each borough. As a Mental Health Practitioner, you will be employed by West London NHS Trust, and will be key in the development of pathways of care in the local community mental health team (MINT). This role would also provide an opportunity to be mentored or to mentor, career progression and continued education.

We are seeking applications from Registered Social Workers, who have experience of working in community services.

The ideal candidate will have:
- Prior experience of working across a range of community mental health settings and with a range of mental health diagnoses/needs.
- Knowledge of and experience in delivering a range of brief interventions to patients with mental health needs.
- Good written and verbal communication skills and the ability to use these to strengthen local relationships with the local MINT Teams.

Working for our organisation
West London NHS Trust is one of the most diverse providers of mental health, community and social care in the UK.

Our 3,982 staff care for people in hospital and in the community, helping them to recover and go on to lead full and productive lives. We aim to be the best organisation of our kind in the country.

We provide care and treatment for more than 800,000 people living in the London boroughs of Ealing, Hammersmith & Fulham and Hounslow, delivering services in the community (at home, in GP surgeries and care homes), hospital, specialist clinics and forensic (secure) units.

We’re rated good overall by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

Together, we’re committed to promoting hope and wellbeing, working with patients, service users, carers, families and partners across the communities we serve.

We are keen to ensure that our workforce reflects the community it serves, particularly in terms of ethnicity, gender, disability, LGBTQ+ and experience of mental illness.

The regulations mandating vaccination for in-scope roles in the NHS have now been removed. The Trust does however continue to encourage and support staff to be vaccinated as this remains the best line of defence against COVID19. Vaccination data will be collected by our recruitment team during your on-boarding if you are happy to provide a copy of your COVID pass.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities
The post holder will be registered with Social Work England and have experience of working with adults facing mental health and wellbeing challenge.

Operating within a multidisciplinary team alongside colleagues from Primary Care Networks to provide appropriate, professional social work support for adults with mental health needs and their identified carers, with a focus upon enablement, recovery and supporting the meeting of individual identified outcomes.

Proactive and ongoing engagement with community and voluntary services to enable the provision of a high standard of intervention to service users.

Within the context of a strengths based approach and operating within an integrated service, to provide individualised, outcomes-led, personalised support, based on person centred, structured, individual assessments that inform the setting up and commissioning of appropriate enablement packages of support and meet the principles of mental health enablement model.

Provide expertise to the health and social care agenda within community services, ensuring timely and proactive care planning is offered to users and their families to the best possible standard in keeping with the Care Act 2014.

Provide professional expertise in relation to the Care Act 2014, the Mental Health Act 1983 (as amended in 2007), the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and other relevant health and social care legislation.

Undertake complex assessments, packages of care and long term support for people who are eligible for services that require a professional/ specialist input.

Person specification
Qualifications and Training
Essential criteria
• Professional qualification in Social Work, with current Social Work England registration.
Desirable criteria
• Educated to degree or Diploma level
• Evidence of recent and on-going relevant further professional development.
Experience
Essential criteria
• Demonstrable experience of post qualifying work as a Social Worker/Mental Health clinician in a mental health setting
• Understanding and experience of operating with a comprehensive assessment framework
• Experience of preparing clear and accurate correspondence, reports and other written documentation
• Experience of working with people within a social care model of mental health
Desirable criteria
• Evidence of experience in a Band 6 position or equivalent
• Other relevant post registration experience
• Experience of working in a primary care setting/ social care/ voluntary sector
• Experience of supervising junior staff within own and/or other disciplines
Knowledge
Essential criteria
• Knowledge of counselling skills/cognitive behavioural skills, psychosocial interventions
• Knowledge of recovery approaches in mental health
• Ability to interpret research and apply to practice
• Specialist knowledge of mental health conditions as well as their relationship to physical health.
• Risk assessment/management and crisis intervention skills
• Experience of social work assessment and interventions
• Higher level communication skills, both written and oral
• Ability to engage challenging and/or acutely distressed service users and use de-escalation techniques effectively
• Sufficient clinical knowledge to be able to make autonomous decisions, based on an analysis of complex presenting problems and judgement about available options, with senior clinical support/supervision
• Team/self-management and organisation skills that enable a number of complex activities and clinical work to be undertaken, revising and adjusting these according to the needs of individual service user and the service
• Computer literate
Personal Qualities
Essential criteria
• Ability to work under pressure, particularly in unpredictable situations where there will be exposure to highly distressed service users
• Ability to meet deadlines
• Commitment to equal opportunities
• Ability to accept constructive feedback
• Self-motivated, able to work autonomously and independently with confidence when required
• Exercise initiative, flexibility and tact and self-awareness
• Willing to use peer and group supervision creatively
• Be able to work flexibly if required
As an employee of West London NHS Trust, you have a responsibility to maintain a sound understanding of, and a commitment to uphold the National Health Service values and principles set out in the NHS Constitution.

We reserve the right to close adverts prior to the closing date stated should we receive a high volume of applications.

By applying for this post you are agreeing to West London NHS Trust transferring the information contained in this application to its preferred applicant management system. If you are offered a job, you will be required to undergo a pre-employment checks which can take between 4-8 weeks . After which your information will also be transferred into the national NHS Electronic Staff Records system (ESR ).

Please ensure you include email addresses for your referees which MUST be at supervisory or managerial capacity covering the last 3 years of employment to date to avoid delay in the recruitment process.


The regulations mandating vaccination for in-scope roles in the NHS have now been removed. The Trust does however continue to encourage and support staff to be vaccinated as this remains the best line of defence against COVID19. Vaccination data will be collected by our recruitment team during your on-boarding if you are happy to provide a copy of your COVID pass.


West London NHS Trust is committed to safeguarding all children and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.