Job summary
- Main area
- Crisis Pathway
- Grade
- NHS AfC: Band 6
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Full time - 37.5 hours per week
- Job ref
- 294-AAUC-7774786-FZ-B
- Employer
- South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Springfield Hospital
- Town
- Tooting
- Salary
- £46,419 - £55,046 per annum inclusive of Inner London HCAs
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 10/06/2026 23:59
Employer heading
Community Psychiatric Nurse (HTT)
NHS AfC: Band 6
South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust has a rich history, well-established community links and an international reputation. We provide a full range of local mental health services to the Kingston, Merton, Richmond, Sutton and Wandsworth London boroughs, as well as specialist forensic mental health services, including specialised services such as national deaf adults and CAMHS inpatients and OCD.
We are committed to providing high quality integrated health and social care for local people with mental health problems in South West London and more specialist mental health services for people throughout the UK. The Care Quality Commission already rates our services as ‘good’ however we aim to be ‘outstanding’.
Our Values
We take pride in providing specialist care to our service users where our Trust values; being consistent, compassionate, collaborative, respectful and open is at the heart of everything we do. Our mission is "making life better together".
When you join us, you’ll be part of something special – an innovative and rapidly growing organisation that is helping to redefine the Mental Health, education and social care landscape in the UK.
As a Trust, we are happy to talk flexible working.
Job overview
We are excited to offer an excellent opportunity for an experienced and motivated Crisis Assessment Practitioner (Band 6) to join our Enhanced Night Home Treatment Team (HTT) within the Trust’s Crisis Pathway.
This is a newly developed role, reflecting the Trust’s commitment to strengthening out-of-hours crisis provision and ensuring people experiencing acute mental health crisis receive timely, high-quality assessment, intervention and support overnight.
The Enhanced Night HTT provides a 7-day, out-of-hours function, working closely with day HTTs, Liaison Psychiatry, Emergency Departments, the Mental Health Crisis Line and inpatient services to support people in crisis and reduce unnecessary admissions.
This is a unique opportunity to work at the forefront of crisis care, within a developing and innovative service model.
Main duties of the job
As a Band 6 Crisis Assessment Practitioner, you will:
- Undertake comprehensive mental health assessments, including risk assessment and formulation, for people presenting in crisis overnight.
- Provide short-term therapeutic and crisis interventions in line with HTT and Trust models of care.
- Develop and review collaborative care and safety plans with service users and carers.
- Make clinically informed decisions regarding admission, home treatment, onward referral or discharge, in line with agreed pathways.
- Work autonomously within professional scope of practice, with access to senior clinical advice and on-call medical support.
- Liaise closely with Liaison Psychiatry, ED teams, wards, police, LAS, MHCL and community services to ensure safe handover and continuity of care.
- Contribute to MDT discussions, escalation processes and overnight operational problem-solving.
- Ensure accurate, timely and high-quality clinical documentation.
- Contribute to service development, audit, and quality improvement activity within the Enhanced Night HTT.
Working for our organisation
We are Proud to Belong at South West London and St George’s Mental Health NHS Trust.
We have expert services, a rich history and a clear commitment to providing the best quality care for those with mental ill-health. The Care Quality Commission already rates our services as ‘good’ - we aspire to be ‘outstanding’.
This is a great time to join us. We are transforming the way we care for our communities to support our mission of Making Life Better Together. We have built two brand new mental health facilities at Springfield University Hospital, which are amongst the best in the world. More developments are planned across our sites and services.
We are inclusive and diverse and strive to be actively anti racist. We want to attract people from all backgrounds and experiences to enrich the work we do together. We are proud to co-produce and involve our local communities in all that we do.
We offer flexible working, career development and a variety of benefits to enable a positive, welcoming environment in which our people and their careers can thrive.
About our locations:
Tooting (Wandsworth)
Our Trust headquarters is located within the impressive grounds of Springfield University Hospital in Tooting. This is easily accessible via the Northern Line (Tooting Bec Station) and via private transport. Our main site is located immediately next to Tooting High Street where staff can easily access a range of shops, cafés and restaurants.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Clinical
- Undertake timely crisis and risk assessments for individuals referred by the Mental Health Crisis Line (MHCL), following initial triage. Clinicians will be expected to respond in line with the urgency indicated - completing assessments within 4 hours for urgent cases and within 24 hours for routine referrals.
- Ensure safe and appropriate decision-making regarding follow-up care or discharge.
- Formulate brief crisis care plans, incorporating safety measures, signposting, and risk management strategies in line with evidence-based practice.
- Exercise clinical autonomy within scope of practice and escalate complex presentations, safeguarding concerns, or high-risk decisions to senior clinicians as appropriate.
- Support triage processes by prioritising referrals and identifying urgent needs, including in liaison with NHS 111, the Mental Health Crisis Line, and ED teams.
- Promote trauma-informed, recovery-focused, and least-restrictive approaches in crisis intervention.
- Deliver face-to-face care in a range of settings, including service users’ homes, community clinics, and Recovery Cafés, in accordance with service protocols.
- To undertake home visits (single or joint) single visits only when there are no health, risk or safety issues evident.
- Maintain accurate and timely clinical documentation on RiO, ensuring assessments, risk summaries and plans are clearly recorded.
- To actively participate in relapse prevention work
- To actively support the client in self- management of their symptoms and diagnosis and with the formation of their collaborative crisis plan.
- To provide comprehensive risk assessments in accordance with the Trust Guidelines.
- Communicate sensitively and clearly with service users, carers and professionals, especially in distressing or challenging situations.
- Demonstrate a sound understanding of legal and ethical frameworks, including the Mental Health Act (1983) and Mental Capacity Act (2005), and apply these appropriately within clinical decision-making.
- Contribute to multi-agency working, liaising with IRHs, HTTs, social care, and other stakeholders to support coordinated care pathways and appropriate use of resources.
- To offer advice and support to other professionals on issues of referrals to HTT or signposting if not appropriate for HTT.
- Participate in regular clinical supervision and reflective practice, and engage in continuous professional development in line with NMC standards.
- Support student nurses or less experienced staff where required, providing informal guidance or shadowing opportunities under supervision of senior staff.
- Provide verbal and written information to service users and carers regarding available services, rights, and the Trust’s feedback and complaints procedures.
- To ensure effective communication with Children & Families Teams when safeguarding children.
- To report to Team manager any incident or Serious Untoward Incidents that may take place and provide reports and accurate records relating to the incidents.
Person specification
Training & Qualifications
Essential criteria
- • RMN (current NMC registration)
- • Evidence of continuing professional and personal development
- • Full and current drivers licence and car owner (or willing to take part in car lease scheme run by the Trust)
Desirable criteria
- • Mentorship ,ENB 998 or equivalent
- • RGN
- • Diploma in cognitive behavioural therapy/psychodynamic counselling
Experience
Essential criteria
- • Demonstrable experience of working with people who experience serious ongoing mental health problems in a community or outpatient setting post qualification
- • Experience of working in a multidisciplinary team
- • Experience of assessing and managing crisis with those with a severe mental illness
- • Experience of working as a clinical supervisor
Desirable criteria
- • Experience of managing and supervising staff
- • Experience of contributing to policy and procedure development and implementation
Employer certification / accreditation badges
Applicant requirements
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Joan Henshaw
- Job title
- Clinical Manager – Crisis Pathway
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 0203 513 5016
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