Job summary
As a Support, Time and Recovery (STR) Worker within our integrated Home Treatment and Rapid Response Services, you will play a vital role in providing a safe, compassionate alternative to inpatient admission. You will work directly with individuals experiencing acute mental health crises, supporting them and their families within their own homes when they need it most.

This is a dynamic, fast-paced role operating on a 24/7 roster. You will balance providing evidence-based, recovery-oriented care with responding rapidly to urgent referrals, helping patients navigate significant distress with dignity and respect.

Key Responsibilities

• Home Treatment Function: Deliver client-centred, recovery-focused support to patients and their carers in their home environment, utilizing general mental health knowledge to promote stability and wellbeing.
• Rapid Response & Assessment: Undertake crucial assessments for referrals received via the Urgent Mental Health Helpline, as well as completing gatekeeping assessments to ensure patients receive the most appropriate level of care.
• Crisis Management: Provide a safe, effective alternative to hospital admission by supporting individuals experiencing acute distress in a familiar environment.
• Collaborative Care: Work seamlessly within the Care Programme Approach (CPA) framework and in strict accordance with Trust and Crisis Resolution Home Treatment Team policie

Main duties of the job

• To provide support to clients of Home Treatment and Rapid Response and their carers in relation to personal care, daily living and social activities, and help maintain the social network by the use of a range of home treatment interventions.
• To carry out specified interventions, alone on occasion, as per crisis plan and update as appropriate
• To monitor progress of Home Treatment and Rapid Response clients against the crisis plans and communicate findings, recommend changes to senior HOME TREATMENT AND RAPID RESPONSE staff in order for crisis plan to be reviewed.
• To report any changes in client presentation and safety to Senior Home Treatment and Rapid Response staff
• Work flexibly in order to respond to crisis work and adjust allocated work and prioritise at short notice as required by Shift Co-Ordinator.
• Engage clients and carers with Home Treatment and Rapid Response crisis plans and negotiate options available whilst promoting crisis prevention recovery and resilience.
• Support carers to enable clients to remain at home. On occasions assist client with administration of medication as per crisis plan.
• Promote work of Home Treatment and Rapid Response to clients, carers, other mental health professionals, statutory and non statutory agencies

About us
We are Kent and Medway Mental Health NHS Trust. We care for the mental health and wellbeing of people across Kent and Medway and are rated 'Good' by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

Our teams support children, young people and adults with a wide range of mental health needs. We also provide specialist services, including all-age eating disorder services and neurodevelopmental assessments for children and young people, such as autism and ADHD.

Because we work across the whole county and across hospital and community settings, we can make care more joined up and easier to access for the people we serve.

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. 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 working well together.

Take a look at our Healthcare Assistant Video

Job responsibilities
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).

Please refer to the attached job description for full details and main responsibilities of the role.

What We Are Looking For

• Crisis Experience & Resilience: Knowledge of mental health recovery principles and the ability to stay calm, clear-headed, and compassionate in high-pressure or crisis situations.
• Adaptability: Comfort working across a 24/7 shift pattern to support our round-the-clock Rapid Response function.
• Strong Communicator: Ability to quickly build trust with patients, families, and carers during challenging times, while maintaining excellent professional boundaries.
• Policy Minded: A commitment to working within established clinical frameworks, Trust policies, and the Care Programme Approach.

Person Specification
Training and Qualifications
Essential

• Be willing to work towards the qualifications listed in the desirable section.
• Ability and desire to both obtain and underpin knowledge and skills appropriate to a support worker

Desirable

• NVQ level 2 or 3 as an example.
• Certificate in mental health.
• Health and social care awards as examples

Experience
Essential

• Previous experience of working in or using mental health services

Desirable

• Knowledge/experience of emotional distress
• Knowledge/experience of mental health Services

Knowledge and Skills
Essential

• Ability to listen effectively and communicate effectively at all levels
• Basic written communication skills to enable completion of records etc
• Empathy, compassion, and patience
• Ability to create innovative solutions to help empower service users
• Ability to work on own initiative in a range of settings
• Ability to form positive therapeutic relationships with service users and carers
• A keenness to make a positive contribution to improving the quality of life for people with mental health problems
• Ability to acknowledge diversity and promote anti-discriminatory practice/equal opportunities
• Ability to provide practical support with daily living skills
• An ability to act calmly in emergencies and respond in a professional manner to stressful and challenging behaviour
• Ability to reflect on practice and receive and deliver constrictive feedback to enhance performance

Desirable

• Basic first aid
• Basic health and safety awareness
• Moving and handling awareness
• Awareness of local services/resources
• Knowledge of benefits/employment system

Circumstances
Essential

• Has UK driving licence, a car and is able to travel within the geographical work area in a timely and effective manner.

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.