About this role
Job summary
Are you an experienced mental health practitioner looking to develop your skills within a fast-paced and rewarding crisis service?
The Mental Health Single Point of Access (MH SPA) and NHS 111 Mental Health Service is seeking skilled and compassionate Band 5 Telecoach to join our growing team in Ealing
This opportunity is ideal for individuals with substantial experience working in mental health crisis, triage, assessment or psychologically informed support roles who are looking to further develop their practice within an innovative frontline service.
Working within a supportive multidisciplinary team, you will provide frontline mental health triage and crisis support across telephone, digital and face-to-face settings. You will undertake assessments, deliver psychologically informed interventions, support risk identification and contribute to ensuring individuals receive the right care, at the right time, in the right place.
This is a highly rewarding but emotionally demanding role requiring resilience, compassion, sound judgement and the ability to remain calm within high-pressure situations.
The service operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and post holders will be required to participate in a full rota including days, nights, weekends and bank holidays.
All new starters will undertake a structured induction programme and must be available to attend during standard weekday working hours. Annual leave is not ordinarily approved during the induction period
Main duties of the job
As a Band 5 Telecoach within the MH SPA and NHS 111 Mental Health Service, your responsibilities will include:
Undertaking mental health triage and assessment of individuals presenting in crisis via telephone, digital and face to face contact
Completing psychosocial and risk assessments to support safe and effective decision making
Delivering brief psychologically informed interventions to support emotional regulation, de-escalation and distress tolerance
Formulating immediate support plans and contributing to crisis care planning
Signposting and referring individuals to the most appropriate internal and external support pathways
Escalating high-risk, deteriorating or complex presentations to senior clinicians appropriately
Liaising with professionals and partner agencies including police, ambulance services, GPs and mental health teams
Maintaining accurate and defensible clinical documentation
Supporting peers, new starters and junior colleagues within the team
Participating in service improvement, audit and reflective practice activities
This role offers excellent development opportunities for practitioners seeking to strengthen their experience in crisis assessment, risk formulation and frontline mental health intervention.
About us
West London NHS Trust is one of the most diverse healthcare providers in the UK, delivering a range of mental health and physical healthcare and community services. The Trust runs Broadmoor Hospital, one of three high secure hospitals in the country, with an international reputation.
Our high secure services care for patients from South of England and we provide low and medium secure services across eight London boroughs. The Trust also provides mental and physical healthcare in three London boroughs (Ealing, Hounslow and Hammersmith & Fulham). We employ over 5,000 staff, of whom 59% are BME. Our turnover for 2024-25 is over £500m.
The Trust is rated as 'Good' overallby the Care Quality Commission. Forensic services are rated as 'Outstanding'.
The Trust is an established partner and contributor in the development of the evolving North West London Integrated Care System and the Integrated Care Board. The Trust leads the NW London Children and Adolescent Mental Health provider collaborative.
Job description Job responsibilities
The Candidate Pack provides an overview of the key tasks and responsibilities of the role, and the person specification outlines the qualifications, skills, experience and knowledge required. Please view as attached
The person specification below is not the full person specification, but outlines the criteria against which your application form will be assessed
Person Specification
Qualifications & Training Essential
Qualified to degree level in a relevant subject (nursing, OT, Social Worker, Psychologist with BPS approved post graduate certificate, counselling, psychological therapy) or equivalent experience Psychological Therapy qualification (or currently working towards). PWP training course qualification Significant demonstrable equivalent experience in specific area or practice.
Desirable
Masters level training in relevant Psychological or Mental Health area. Post-graduate training in relevant mental-health / psychological / recovery discipline. Qualified psychological therapist
Experience Essential
Demonstrable experience of work with people with moderate to severe mental health problems. Experience in psychological interventions - CBT or interpersonal therapy / dialectical behaviour therapy interventions or other evidence based approaches. Experience of NHS procedures and structures. Experience of multi-agency working. Experience of working within and multi-disciplinary team.
Desirable
Experience delivering psychological therapies via telephone. Experience in applying specialist psychological therapies. Previous experience of working within a crisis team.
Knowledge & Skills Essential
Knowledge of legislation related to mental health and social care e.g. Mental Health Act, Mental Capacity Act, Care Act, Care Programme Approach etc. Knowledge and skill in assessment, formulation of need and evaluation of presenting problems Competency in delivering clinical skills i.e. assessment, therapeutic interventions and management of mental health Ability to work independently, reliably and consistently with work agreed and managed at regular intervals. Ability to work under pressure and manage distressing and challenging situations Ability to challenge existing practice and promote continuous quality improvement Influencing and negotiating skills as well as adept at conflict resolution Presenting skills and IT literate - specifically in the MS office suite of programmes. High level communication skills (written and verbal) including an ability to communicate and work in settings in which the atmosphere may be highly emotive. Ability to communicate sensitive information to service users, cares and colleagues in a way that addresses psychological resistance. Ability to feedback and discuss cases within the multi-disciplinary team. Ability to interact sensitively with people with mental health problems. Excellent report writing skills. Excellent documentation of duties performed. Confidence to work autonomously. Ability to communicate information on formulation, risk and intervention to staff from other disciplines.
Desirable
Knowledge of RiO patient record system. Previous experience of assessing people who present in an acute mental health crisis.
Personal Qualities Essential
Good range of problem solving skills. Good range of information gathering skills. Ability to assess and manage risks. Ability to accept and use supervision appropriately and effectively. An understanding of the needs and difficulties of people with learning disability, problems or other disabilities. An ability to sustain empathy and personal engagement with individuals experiencing mental health problems or challenging behaviour. Willingness to embrace integrated model and new ways of working. Driven, reliable and methodical
Other Requirement Essential
Ability to work as part of a multi-disciplinary team providing a service to clients 24 hours a day, 7 days a week may include some on-call work. Fit and able to undertake patient facing work as and when required.
Desirable
Possession of a valid UK driving license.
Disclosure and Barring Service Check This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Employer details Employer name West London NHS Trust
Address St Bernards
Uxbridge Road
London
UB1 3EU
United Kingdom
Employer's website https://www.westlondon.nhs.uk (Opens in a new tab)