Crisis Alternative Practitioner

Job Purpose

This role is within our crisis alternative emergency department (ED) service, which is an out of hours service providing a safe and welcoming space for people who present at A&E, feeling distressed and experiencing crisis. The service will work collaboratively with hospital Psychiatric Liaison Team (LPS) to ensure those in crisis are supported by the appropriate team. The service will operate 365 days a year from 5pm-1am across three ED’s in West London. 

Staff within the service will triage, assess and provide face-to-face support to anyone who is experiencing mental health crisis. This will be person-centred and will be in various forms of de-escalation support; practical, emotional support, grounding techniques, safety planning, care/action planning etc. Staff within the service will work alongside LPS and escalate if clinical intervention is required. Staff will also actively participate in MDT discussions for frequent attenders and take a key role in initiating and promoting alternative crisis support in the aim of preventing A&E use. Staff in our Safe Space ED service are required to have experience in a mental health clinical setting (such as inpatient, A&E, or other clinical setting) however, they do not need to hold a clinical qualification for this role.

The Role

The role of the crisis practitioner will be to work collaboratively with LPS and service users to de-escalate crises in ED. The role will also involve triaging and assessing all clients accessing the service, alongside LPS. The crisis practitioner’s duty will be to de-escalate low/moderate mental health and social needs and deliver collaborative self-management plans with service users to improve mental wellbeing and reduction in A&E attendance. The crisis practitioner will also be responsible for linking in and signposting follow up support with our community Safe Space team. This role does not include clinical intervention. The crisis practitioner will be required to raise and follow up on safeguarding concerns, with support by the Team Manager.

Person Specification

• Minimum of 2 years working in clinical mental health services or settings 
• Minimum of 2 years supporting clients experiencing severe mental health distress and crisis
• Minimum of 2 years supporting clients with moderate/severe mental health 
• Extensive experience of managing challenging behaviour and dealing with clients with complex needs

About Us

We’re Hammersmith, Fulham, Ealing and Hounslow Mind, part of Mind the mental health charity. We won’t give up until everyone experiencing a mental health problem gets support and respect. We provide advice and support to empower anybody experiencing a mental health problem and we campaign to improve services, raise awareness, and promote understanding.

We work in Hammersmith, Fulham, Ealing, and Hounslow and have a range of services and products to help children, young people and adults maintain and regain their mental health. We work with employers, partners, community groups and other charities to achieve our aims. 

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

HFEH Mind are committed to creating and fostering a culture that promotes safeguarding and the welfare of all children and adults at risk. Our safer recruitment practices support this by ensuring that there is a consistent and thorough process of obtaining, collating, analysing and evaluating information from and about candidates to ensure that all persons appointed are suitable to work with children and vulnerable adults.

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.

Equal Opportunities

We are an equal opportunities employer; and are proud to employ a workforce that reflects the diverse communities we serve. We welcome applications from all suitably qualified persons from all backgrounds.