Primary Care Mental Health Practitioner (PCMHP)
About Us
EPUT provides community health, mental health and learning disability services to support more than 3.2 million people living across Bedfordshire, Essex and Suffolk. Also:
- We are among the largest employers in the in the East of England region, with more than 10,000 staff working across more than 200 sites.
- We run the COVID-19 vaccination programme across mid and south Essex and Suffolk and north east Essex.
EPUT was formed on 1 April 2017 following the merger of North Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (NEP) and South Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (SEPT). A new leadership team was established at the Trust in 2020.
Our vision and values
Our Vision
“To be the leading health and wellbeing service in the provision of mental health and community care”.
Our Purpose
“We care for people every day. What we do together, matters”.
Our Values- We Care
- We Learn
- We Empower
- We will deliver safe, high quality integrated care services.
- We will enable each other to be the best that we can.
- We will work together with our partners to make our services better.
- We will help our communities to thrive.
- Mental Health Services
- Community Health Services
- Learning Disabilities Services
- Social Care
Find out more about the services we offer in our service directory.
Job overview
Primary Care Mental Health Practitioner (PCMHP)
Band 6
Previous applicants need not apply
We are excited to announce with the mental health transformation funding we are able to recruit Primary Care Mental Health Practitioners.
Successful candidates will contribute to the delivery of an enhanced Primary Care Team as part of a new approach to the delivery of Mental Health Primary Care services in Southend area PCNs.
This is a hybrid post with the successful candidates based both in GP practices and working from home. The primary care mental health practitioners work with existing Primary Care teams to triage, assess and offer follow up treatment to patients registered with GPs in the local area.
The post can be offered as a developmental Band 5 post and the post holder will be supported and trained to develop their skills and knowledge under supervision. The Band 5 staff will increasingly work independently, but always under supervision according to their knowledge, skills and competency.
The post will assist with undertaking physical health checks for patients on the SMI register and support patients who are discharged from secondary care.
This is an exciting role for a Primary Care Mental Health Practitioner to support the way forward in the delivery of Community Mental Health Services. The post will be hosted by Essex Partnership University Trust (EPUT) with day to day management within Primary Care.
Main duties of the job
As a Primary Care Mental Health Practitioner you will be a highly skilled and motivated Mental Health Nurse, or Allied Healthcare Professional, and be part of the Enhanced Primary Care team at the forefront of establishing this innovative development in Primary Care Mental Health Services.As a highly competent and proficient practitioner you will be able to work autonomously and be confident in your ability to provide evidence based psychological and non-psychological treatments for common mental health disorders.
This will be in the context of a wider programme of mental health service transformation aimed at creating more capacity and supporting services to become more inclusive and accessible by removing boundaries between services and organising care, based on individual need.The role will actively change the way that services are designed and delivered for people experiencing severe and multiple disadvantage in Southend.
Working for our organisation
EPUT are looking for motivated staff who shares our Trust values of Care, Learn and Empower. In return, EPUT can offer you a range of benefits and development including;- Season Ticket Loans
- NHS discounts for staff
- Excellent Training facilities and opportunities
- Buying and Selling annual leave scheme
- The opportunity to work bank shifts and expand knowledge and experience in other areas
- Salary Sacrifice schemes including lease cars and Cycle to Work
- Day One Flexible Employer
The Trust supports and actively encourages flexible working for all employees. We offer many options and you are encouraged to ask the recruiting manager what is possible for this role. If appointed, you will have the opportunity to apply for a flexible working request from the first day of your employment
Join our Staff bank
What is Staff Bank?
Our EPUT NHS staff bank is an entity managed by the trust that hires clinical and non-clinical healthcare professionals to take on shifts at our trust hospitals and community settings. Here at EPUT we maintain our own bank of specialist staff to ensure that we are able offer safe and effective care at all times.
All our permanent staff are automatically enrolled onto the staff bank however this does not mean you have to work any additional shifts, but the option is there for you if you wish.
If you are joining our Trust in a fixed term role, please indicate on your New Starter Paperwork that you wish to join our staff bank.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
For further detailed information please refer to the job description and person specification attached to this vacancy.
Person specification
Education/Qualifications Knowledge
Essential criteria- Registered Health Professional
- Risk Management training and/or Suicide Prevention training
- Mentorship Preparation
- Meet the requirements for revalidation as set out by the NMC
- Venepuncture trained
- Trained to deliver Physical Health screening
Skills/Experience
Essential criteria- Experience of working within a Mental Health setting
- Literate in IT/Computer Skills
- Ability to inspire confidence in the MDT, service users, carers and junior staff.
Please note - staff who are formally at risk within the organisation will be given priority in securing alternative employment. Should it come to light that a post being advertised by the Trust is considered ‘suitable alternative employment’ to an individual who is at risk, the recruiting manager will be advised and the post will be withdrawn from NHS Jobs.
Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Applications for this role should be written by the applicant. If artificial intelligence (AI) programmes are used then the application may be rejected due to this document being an important part of the assessment process. This does not prevent applicants seeking appropriate support with applications should they need to for the purposes of any declared disability.
Important Professional References
Make sure that as a part of your application you have professional references with business contract information covering your last three year employment history. We are unable to accept personal or character references.
As a newly appointed employee you are responsible for incurring the cost of your initial DBS check relevant to your post, the amount will be deducted from your first salary with the Trust.
Applications for Job Share are positively welcomed.
Equal Opportunities Employer
Our Trust is an Equal Opportunities Employer. We particularly welcome applications from people with experience of using mental health services. We also hold the Disability two tick symbol and have made the pledge to commit to employing more people with learning disabilities, we encourage people with a disability to apply.If you require this application form in another format i.e. Braille or audio tape etc, please contact the Recruitment Department on 01375 364513 or email [email protected] and we can arrange for this to be dispatched to you.
The Trust has the right to expire vacancies prior to the closing date if they so wish. The Trust makes every attempt to contact all applicants and we strongly advise that you check the email account which is registered with NHS Jobs regularly, we would advise however due to the high number of applications we receive that if you have not heard from us within three weeks of the closing date your application has been unsuccessful on this occasion.
We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults, and expect all staff to undertake this commitment. Applicants will be subject to robust safer recruitment processes.
Covid Vaccination
Although Covid vaccinations are no longer a mandatory requirement within the NHS we continue to encourage and support the vaccination uptake as this remains the best line of defence against Covid19. The safety of our staff and patients is a top priority for us at EPUT.
If you would like to book a Covid vaccination or would like more information please contact us by emailing [email protected].