First Contact Mental Health Practitioner

JOB LOCATION - Teesdale Primary Care Network

18.75 hours days to be agreed

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a First Contact Mental Health Practitioner who is enthusiastic, motivated, and interested in working in primary care mental health to join our existing team. You will be part of a growing multidisciplinary service within County Durham Primary Care Networks. The role is fundamental to the development and leadership of innovative and integrated mental health services.

Together with Tees Esk and Wear Valleys (TEWV) NHS Foundation Trust, the PCN is working to transform local community mental health services for people withmental health problems. The PCN, alongside TEWV, consider this joint approach to be essential for the provision of high quality, sustainable care. By working co-operatively, we will be able to provide meaningful support for people with mental health difficulties in a way that meets their needs closer to their communities and their homes., You will develop close working relationships with all our clinical staff, including our existing Mental Health Practitioners and become a valued member of the Primary Care Team, collaborating with other professionals both internal to and external from the PCN.

Your role will involve offering specialist mental health advice and providing expert clinical care for people with a range of mental health needs, ensuring that those with serious mental illness do not fall between gaps in services. You will improve access by being a 'first contact mental health worker', undertaking triage, assessments, brief interventions, and reviews. You will contribute networking and navigation expertise, enabling access to a range of appropriate mental health support across the community system. You will ensure that, once assessed, each person receives the best possible care in the right place at the right time by the right supporting service.

We would welcome enthusiastic innovators with a strong desire to achieve the best possible outcomes for patients and have the motivation and flexibility to help develop the services as the team evolves to meet the needs of the population. The successful candidate will be well supported, work autonomously and have day to day responsibility for their clinics and workload. Primary Care experience is not essential; however, a good understanding of how Primary Care works would be beneficial.

The PCNs are forward thinking, innovative and driven by a team of professionals who are focused on delivering high quality care for local people. You will be joining a diverse workforce made up of GPs, ANPs, Urgent Care Practitioners, Paramedics, Pharmacists, Nurses, Health Care Assistants, Care Coordinators, Link Workers, Well Being Coach, and Mental Health Workers.