Mental Health Practitioner

Pennine Care; Stockport; On-site; GBP 38,000 - GBP 47,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading mental health service provider in Stockport is looking for a full-time Mental Health Practitioner to join the Older Peoples Mental Health Liaison Team. The role involves providing direct support to individuals in crisis while collaborating with various healthcare professionals. Candidates should be Registered Mental Health Nurses with relevant experience in mental health care. This position offers a salary range of £38,682 to £46,580 per annum, pro rata, alongside several employee benefits including generous leave and flexible working opportunities.

Benefits

Generous annual leave entitlement

Flexible working opportunities

Access to Continued Professional Development

Health and Wellbeing activities

Qualifications

• Experience in mental health conditions prevalent in older populations.
• Understanding mental health assessment tools for older people.
• Knowledge of Mental Health Act and capacity legislation.

Responsibilities

• Provide specialist mental health nursing advice and assessment.
• Carry out thorough assessments of service users' mental health needs.
• Triage referrals and allocate clinical priority.

Skills

Mental health assessment

Risk management

Communication skills

Team collaboration

Education

Registered Mental Health Nurse (RMN)

Registered General Nurse (RGN)

Post registration short course

Job description

Main area Older Peoples Community Mental Health Grade NHS AfC: Band 6 Contract Permanent Hours Full time - 37.5 hours per week (post covers seven days - 4 day working week) Job ref 311-S694-26-A

Site The Meadows Town Offerton, Stockport Salary £38,682 - £46,580 per annum, pro rata Salary period Yearly Closing 19/02/2026 23:59

If you are Kind, Fair, Ingenious and Determined then we want you to come and join our #PennineCarePeople

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a suitably qualified and motivated person to join the Older Peoples Mental Health Liaison Team as a Mental Health Practitioner.

This award-winning team is based at The Meadows within the borough of Stockport. The service provides a resource into a variety of settings to support a range of disciplines from health, social care and the third sector to meet the mental health needs of our service users.

Role Summary

The post holder will be based in the OP Community Mental Health Liaison Team and covers the borough of Stockport. You will work alongside the Urgent Community Response Team to provide specialist mental health nursing advice and a joint assessment service.

You will provide direct care to service users to support individuals who are in crisis because of physical health or social status changes which is directly, or indirectly, impacting on the individual’s mental health.

The role also includes communicating and supporting wider health and social care professional groups to model effective approaches of care when supporting individuals with mental health needs.

This post is full time and a seven day service.

Main duties of the job

Key Responsibilities of the Post

To represent the OP Community Mental Health Liaison Team whilst working across the Stockport borough and to work in conjunction with the Urgent Community Response Team.

Triage all referrals that are made to the service and allocate clinical priority.

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 and infection.

To model appropriate methods of communication and care delivery to social care staff.

Working for our organisation

We are proud to provide high quality mental health and learning disability services, both inpatient and in the community across five boroughs of Greater Manchester - Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport and Tameside and Glossop.

Our vision is for a happier and more hopeful life for everyone in our communities and our staff work hard to deliver the very best care for the people who use our services. We’re really proud of our #PennineCarePeople and do everything we can to make sure we’re a great place to work.

All individuals regardless of race, age, disability, ethnicity, nationality, gender, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, religion or belief, marriage and civil partnership are encouraged to apply for this post. We would also encourage applications from individuals with a lived experience of mental illness, either individually or as a carer.

If you come and work for us we will offer a range of benefits and opportunities, including:

• Generous annual leave entitlement for Agenda for Change and Medical and Dental staff.
• Flexible working opportunities to support your work/life balance
• Access to Continued Professional Development
• Involvement in improvement and research activities
• Health and Wellbeing activities and access to an excellent staff wellbeing service
• Access to staff discounts across retail, leisure and travel

Person specification

Knowledge

• Experience of identifying mental health conditions prevalent in the older population.
• Understanding and application of mental health assessment tools utilised in the care of older people.
• Understanding of current Mental Health Legislation, Vulnerable Adult and Safe Guarding Procedures
• Knowledge of the Mental Health Act and Mental Capacity Act.
• Awareness of NICE Guidance in the treatment of mental health problems and knowledge of treatments and interventions appropriate for individuals with mental health needs
• Understanding of confidentiality and data protection issues
• Knowledge of mental health assessment and risk assessment / management processes
• Comprehensive understanding of deliberate self-harm and appropriate management strategies
• Comprehensive knowledge regarding the impact of physical health disorders on mental health
• Medications management

Education / Qualifications

• Registered Mental Health Nurse (RMN)
• Completion of Preparation for Mentorship / Practice
• Post registration short course and experience to Post graduate diploma level
• Registered General Nurse (RGN)
• Formal teaching qualification

Experience

• Significant post registration experience at Band 5 or above.
• Experience of working within older people’s mental health inpatient, community or liaison settings.
• Experience of implementing programmes to manage BPSD
• Experience of working with individuals who present to mental health services in crisis and have symptoms of mental health illness
• Experience of working in multi-disciplinary teams
• Experience of using safeguarding adult procedures
• Experience of working with clients presenting with physical health comorbidity.
• Experience of triaging referrals.
• Working knowledge of mental health challenges faced by individuals under the age of 65

Skills and Abilities

• Comprehensive mental health and risk assessment skills.
• Ability to supervise and direct the work of junior staff
• Ability to construct effective packages of care and risk management plans
• Ability to execute a range of mental health assessment tools
• Ability to deliver a range of evidence based interventions.
• Ability to work autonomously in a community setting
• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal.
• To have the ability to devise and present training packages
• Ability to form productive working relationships with service users, carers and multi-disciplinary staff.
• Ability to be assertive and maintain a professional demeanour under pressure
• Good organisational and prioritisation skills.
• Skills in the area of audit or research

Work Related Circumstances

• Must be flexible and able to work within a 7 day service, including bank holidays and out of hours on a rota basis.
• Use of a car or access to a means of mobility to travel across the Trust footprint in line with service needs
• Willing to carry out all duties and responsibilities of the post in accordance with the Trust’s Equal Opportunities and Equality and Diversity policies
• Appointments to regulated and controlled activities require an enhanced DBS disclosure.

🌍 Sponsorship Information - We are an approved sponsoring organisation. Applications will be considered from applicants requiring sponsorship alongside all other applications. Please be aware, not all roles are eligible for sponsorship. You can review the list of eligible role and requirements on the government website.

📬 After You Apply - Once your application is submitted, you’ll receive updates via email. Shortlisting is based on how well you meet the criteria outlined in the person specification. Only shortlisted candidates will be invited to interview, and invitations will be sent by email.

✅ If You're Offered the Role - If successful, the hiring manager will contact you directly with a verbal offer. They will then notify the Recruitment Team and submit the necessary paperwork. You’ll receive a formal conditional offer via email

🔍 Pre-Employment Checks - To confirm your suitability for the role, we will carry out pre-employment checks in line with NHS Employment Check Standards . These include:

• Identity verification
• Right to work check
• Disclosure and barring service (DBS)/Criminal record check (dependent on role)
• Professional registration and/or qualification check
• Occupational health assessment
• Employment history and reference validation

All applicants external to Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust will be required to provide their HMRC employment history to cover the most recent three years employment. This information will used to validate employment history andreferences.

If you require sponsorship, we will assess your eligibility based on current government guidance. If the role is not eligible and you cannot demonstrate your right to work, your conditional offer may be withdrawn.

Once Checks Are Complete - The Recruitment Team will coordinate with you and the hiring manager to confirm a start date. You’ll be booked onto a Trust Welcome Session and receive your Pennine Care NHS Terms and Conditions.

We are committed to equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI), and we strive to ensure our workforce reflects the communities we serve. We actively encourage applications from individuals of diverse backgrounds to help us grow, innovate, and improve.

If you wish to be considered under the Disability Confident Scheme, you will be guaranteed an interview if you meet the essential criteria for the role.

If you need reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process, please contact us on 0161 716 3181 as early as possible so we can support you.

Please note

• We do not accept unsolicited contact from recruitment agencies. Hiring managers should not be contacted directly.
• We may close vacancies early if we receive a high volume of applications. To ensure your application is considered, please apply as soon as possible.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.