Mental Health Practitioner

Job summary

This Mental Health Practitioner (MHP) post will be based at Chester.

An exciting opportunity has arisen to be part of our developing Children and Young People's (CYP) Emergency and Urgent care provision. As part of the NHS 5 Year Forward View, CWP have undertaken the development of the crisis response services for Children and Young People (CYP).

We are continuing to recruit a number of enthusiastic and motivated clinicians to CWP's developing CYP Urgent Support Team.

These dynamic team members will form part of our skilled, multidisciplinary team. Clinicians will be offered the opportunity to develop skills and experience in this area through the induction process, internal training ,Continuing Professional Development (CPD) and supervision.

shortlisting 10/12/2025

Main duties of the job

The service operates over 24 hours, 7 days per week to provide crisis mental health assessment and brief interventions for CYP in a range of settings in line with the Urgent and Emergency Mental Health Care for CYP implementation guidance NHS England Urgent and emergency mental health care for children and young people: national implementation guidance.

Clinical knowledge and relevant experience of assessing and managing risk within a mental health or social care setting is highly desirable although not essential, as continuing support and development opportunities will be provided. Professional registration with HCPC, Social Work England or NMC is required.

Key components of the role include comprehensive mental health risk assessment, planning crisis interventions and appropriately safeguarding young people. You will work collaboratively to promote safety and support young people and their family/carers through face to face work and via the CWP Trust Wide Crisis Line. The post also involves liaison with other services and external agencies to ensure effective pathways of care.

The posts will cover the Cheshire and Wirral Partnership footprint, therefore access to transport for work purposes is essential. The role is based at Chester.

About us

Cheshire and Wirral Partnership (CWP) provides health and care services for a population of over one million people, including mental health, learning disability, community physical health and all-age disability care, as well as the provision of three GP surgeries in Cheshire.

We employ around 4,500 staff across 73 sites and have services across Wirral and Cheshire, as well as Trafford, Warrington, Bolton, Halton and Liverpool. We also provide specialist services for the North West as a whole.

Our aim is to help improve the lives of everyone in our communities, adopting a compassionate, person-centred approach to everything we do. We are rated as Outstanding for Caring by the Care Quality Commission, with a Good rating overall.

As a Disability Confident Employer, Rainbow Badge Scheme member, Veteran Aware organisation and proud holder of the Armed Forces Covenant Employer Recognition Scheme Gold Award, CWP is committed to making our recruitment practices as inclusive as possible and developing a culture that values differences, and welcome applications from people who have direct experience of accessing our services.We also offer up to three weeks' induction, with our Prepare to Care programme for all new starters. This aims to give you all the knowledge and guidance to help you hit the ground running with CWP.

Whether you are just starting out in your career or looking to use your existing skills and experience in a new role, you'll find something to suit you at CWP.

Job description

Job responsibilities

Please download a copy of the job description (see documents to download section below) for full details of the main responsibilities for this role.

At CWP, our recruitment selection processes are based on both competence (see person specification for details) and values.

CWP recruits people that can demonstrate the Trusts Values in their everyday life and we use a values-based approach in our interviews, which explores not only what you do but how and why you do it.

Before applying, we encourage you to review the Trusts Values and think about how these align with your own personal values. The supporting information section in your application should reflect your understanding of the Trusts Values and associated behaviours and you should provide examples from your work experience and/or personal life which demonstrate these values through your behaviours.

An applicant guide to help and support you through your recruitment journey can be accessed at the bottom of this page. Further help and support for completing your application can be accessed via our website. If you need any further guidance to help you complete your application, contact our recruitment team via email at: cwp.recruitment@nhs.net or by calling 01244 393100.

If you have a disability that meets the definition set out in the Equality Act 2010, and you can show that you meet the essential criteria described in the person specification for an available position, please answer YES to the question: Do you wish to be considered under the Guaranteed Interview Scheme?

Please inform the team if you have any special support needs to be considered as part of the interview and selection processes.

The trust offers a Guaranteed Interview Scheme to any armed forces community applicants who meet the essential criteria for the post and encourages applications from armed forces reservists or cadet force adult volunteers.

Please note applicants will be required to pay for their DBS check. Costs are deducted from salary following appointment. You are encouraged to enrol for the DBS Update Service. A small annual fee of £16 per year applies.

New entrants to the NHS will commence on the minimum of the scale stated above.

Applicants are advised to apply early as if a large number of applications are received for this post we reserve the right to close the vacancy prior to the advertised date.

Good luck with your application. We hope to welcome you to Team CWP very soon!

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential
-Core profession (Social Work, Nurse, Allied Health Professional)
-Professional Registration with recognised National Body (HCPC, NMC, Social Work England)
-Nationally recognised post-qualification, continuous professional development (CPD) related to the core profession (Social Work, Nurse, Allied Health Professional).

Desirable
-Therapeutic Training to intermediate / diploma level

Knowledge and Expertise

Essential
-Demonstrable working knowledge of specialist therapeutic approaches e.g. CBT, Family Therapy
-Knowledge of Child Protection workings and Practice.
-Working knowledge of Children related legislation
-Experience of inter-agency working
-Experience of writing, implementing and evaluating Care / Treatment Plans

Desirable
-Experience of working with Students/ Learners
-Experience of providing clinical supervision

Experience

Essential
-Significant post qualification experience of working within a CYPMHS or Child Mental Health related field.
-Recognised experience of working within an environment where evidence based interventions have been delivered
-Undertaking formal and informal clinical risk assessments and risk management planning
-Undertaking Mental Health Assessments
-IT skills, including using databases, Microsoft Office and clinical systems

Desirable
-Post qualifying experience of working within NHS community CYPMHS