Advanced Liaison & Diversion Practitioner - Courts

Advanced Liaison & Diversion Practitioner - Courts

Please note, at this stage, the role is open only to internal staff (including NHSP and Agency staff currently on placement within our organisation) and staff substantively employed within Kent and Medway NHS Trusts and the Kent and Medway Integrated Care Board (ICB). Any individual who is at risk of redundancy will be given priority, provided they meet the essential criteria.

Are you a conscientious and proactive mental health practitioner who has expert knowledge and experience of assessing and supporting individuals who are in the Criminal Justice System?

If you are, we would like to hear from you as this would be an exciting secondment opportunity for you to develop your assessment, liaison and diversion skills and experience within the Court pathway of Liaison, Diversion & Reconnect (LDR).

This is an exciting opportunity as part of LDR to lead, develop and sustain a comprehensive liaison and diversion service to the Crown and Magistrates courts in Kent.

The role is based predominantly in Maidstone and Canterbury Crown Courts (with oversight of our Magistrates provision), providing a highly visible, accountable and professional service to our Criminal Justice partners to deliver a clinical screening, assessment and reporting service, according to LDRs 'all vulnerabilities' model.

Main duties of the job

This is an autonomous role with responsibility for in-person Court assessment and liaison as well as overall management of the Court pathway.

You will be collaborating with multi-agency stakeholders on service provision while engaging with and supporting our Court partners in delivering an effective and responsive service.

You will also have the opportunity to enhance the existing relationships that have been developed over the last 3 years with our Court partners.

The post holder must hold a full, valid, UK driving licence and have access to a car/vehicle to use for business purposes (unless you have a disability as defined by the Equality Act 2010).

About us

We are the Kent and Medway Mental Health NHS Trust. We care for the mental health and wellbeing of people across Kent and Medway. Our teams support adults with a wide range of mental health needs. Because we cover the whole county and both hospital and community settings, we can make care more joined up and easier to access for the 1.8 million people of Kent and Medway. Rated 'Good' by the CQC, we care for over 2,000 people in our hospitals and 54,000 in the community each year.

Our vision is simple: We are here to help communities not just live with mental illness, but live well. It's why we're passionate about working with communities to make mental health care better for everyone. And everything we do is guided by our values caring, inclusive, curious and confident.

Join us - if you share our passion for better mental health care and want to be part of a team that's doing well together.

At Kent and Medway Mental Health NHS Trust, we are serious about diversity and inclusion, and we are working hard to build this into our DNA. We warmly welcome applications for any of our roles from people from diverse backgrounds, and we are proactively encouraging applications from under-represented communities for our more senior roles, like this one.

Job responsibilities

Please see the attached job description for full details of the main duties and responsibilities of the role.

Person Specification Training and qualifications and registration

• A BSc or equivalent qualification/experience at post registration level
• Member of a professional body
• Mentorship qualification (for nurses)
• Further training, relevant to the role, at post graduate (MSc) or equivalent level

Experience

• Minimum of 4 years post registration experience in mental health
• Minimum 2 years within experience of working within a community mental health team
• Experience of forensic mental health and/or the criminal justice system
• A background evidencing assessment and decision-making
• Experience of line management and leadership within a team
• Experience of liaising with a variety of stakeholders both internal and external to the Trust
• Experience of court settings
• Experience of supervising/developing staff and students
• Experience of audit research and clinical governance procedures and their application in practice

Knowledge and Skills

• Excellent communication, networking and negotiation skills
• Clear, precise and professional verbal and written reporting skills
• Advanced understanding and expertise in the principles of risk assessment, risk management and care pathways
• A demonstrable understanding of the Mental Health Act
• Detailed knowledge of the relevant legislation procedures and policies relating to mental health care i.e. safeguarding, Mental Capacity Act, CPA
• Ability to respond efficiently to complex information within tight deadlines and prioritise accordingly
• Ability to maintain a high degree of professionalism at all times, especially in complex/challenging situations
• Ability to work autonomously and co-operatively as part of a multi-agency team
• Planning and decision-making skills
• A working knowledge of the sections applied in a forensic setting
• A demonstrable understanding of the Police and Criminal Evidence (PACE) principles
• Ability to guide and motivate others in clinical aspects and through periods of change

Other 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.