NursingNetUK

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Job Description
Post: Community Mental Health Liaison Practitioner 
Band: 6
Responsible to: Clinical Lead
Main Contacts: Community Clusters, Primary Care Services and Multi Disciplinary teams, Pennine Acute NHS Trust, MH 
services, Independent and 3rd Sector Providers
Job Summary
You will work in a senior liaison capacity within the local cluster teams to support  patients experiencing mental health problems within the community. The service will 
operate and be co-located within borough cluster care teams and will operate  Monday to Friday 9-5.
To provide specialist nursing advice and assessment skills in conjunction with health, community and social care staff in order to fully develop appropriate interventions 
and treatment plans for people with mental health problems.
To carry out comprehensive risk assessments of mental health needs and have knowledge and experience of risks within the community. 
To act in an advisory capacity in the delivery of clinical and social interventions to  this client group in relation to referring on to other agencies and discharge.
To supervise the work of junior staff and provide clinical advice and support to the team.
It is expected that the post holder will deliver care in accordance with all Pennine  Care NHS Foundation Trust policies and procedures, the Mental Health Act, Mental Capacity Act and community care legislation.
Main Duties and Responsibilities
Clinical Work
 To work across cluster teams and the discharge / enablement pathway to provide  specialist mental health nursing advice and a joint assessment service
 Triage all referrals that are made to the service and allocate clinical priority. 

 To work in close liaison with staff within health and social care in upholding and implementing clinical standards for the care of people with mental health needs within the community setting
 To carry out a thorough assessment of the service users’ current mental health needs, including risk assessment, psychological needs and cognitive functioning
 To demonstrate the ability to make decisions in relation to the clinical management of individual patients and make critical clinical judgements in relation to mental health and care provision within the community setting.
 To be able to assess and manage clients presenting with co-morbidities of physical and mental health needs including the impact of medication.
 To model appropriate methods of communication and care delivery to staff within the cluster teams
 Contribute to making decisions regarding client care in consultation other members of the multi-disciplinary team.
 To undertake short term nursing interventions and/or co-ordinate transition of care to other specialist support.
 To utilise counselling skills when communicating with clients and carers in relation to assessment, diagnosis and treatment plan.
 To make onward referral to the most appropriate service to meet the individual patient’s needs.
 To identify the need for protection in line with Safeguarding Adults Policy and comply with local procedures. 
 To liaise and negotiate with other professions, statutory and independent agencies to ensure the best possible service is provided to service users and carers.
 To evaluate systematically and record, outcomes of mental health treatment plans, adapting care on the basis of these outcomes.
 To involve family and carers in the assessment and care planning with service users consent.
 To provide education and appropriate self-help resources to patients specific to individual needs.
 To maintain accurate and up to date clinical documentation on all service user contacts, ensuring confidentiality at all times.
 To have a thorough understanding of functional and organic illness and management strategies to support these.
 To possess a sound knowledge of issues surrounding the management of violence and aggression and to be able to diffuse potentially difficult and volatile situations.
To provide advice and information to non-mental health trained social care staff regarding the management of patients with mental health problems..
 To observe and practice within the legal requirements of the Mental Health Act 1983 and Mental Capacity Act.
 To maintain professional awareness by keeping abreast of changing trends in clinical / professional practice.
 To be aware of professional accountability, with due regard your professional Code of Conduct.
Research and Audit
 To ensure that the NCRS records are efficiently maintained.
 To contribute to audits as required, 
 To provide relevant data as required in line with performance monitoring targets.
 To participate in research opportunities as directed by team or service manager.
Education and Training
 To contribute to the on-going training and development of non- mental health trained social care staff with regard to mental health issues.
 To have effective presentation skills in order to positively promote the social care liaison team
 To provide mentorship, education and training to learners from a range of professional backgrounds. 
 To attend mandatory and other training as identified as relevant to the post and necessary to ensure safe effective practice
Service Development
To participate in monitoring and evaluation of the effectiveness of service delivery and contribute to developments relevant to mental health services.
Management

 To provide clinical and peer supervision, advice and support to team members across the divisional team.
 To deal appropriately with clinical incidents, complaints etc from patients, relatives and members of the public, via line manager, in accordance with Trust policy.