SHSCT Senior Practitioner Home Treatment Crisis Response Band 7 ref:56008701
Branch: Craigavon & Banbridge area (SHSCT)
Location: Trasna House
Directorate: Mental Health & Disability Services
Salary: Band 7 (£47,810 - £54,710)
Contract Type: Temporary
Opening date: 05/11/26
Closes: Thu, 19 November 2026 @ 4:00 PM
Interview Dates: To be confirmed

Notes: Online and Manual applications accepted. If you are submitting a manual application, please post it to: Recruitment Shared Services, Rosewood Villa, Longstone Hospital Site, 73 Loughgall Road, Armagh, BT61 7PR. Applications received after the advertised closing date/time cannot be considered, so please allow enough time for postage. A waiting list may be created for similar posts that may arise while the waiting list is live, this may include temporary or part-time posts. This will be managed in line with the updated HSC waiting list principles effective from 1 April 2026. Where a part-time waiting list is required, one part-time waiting list will be created- regardless of any specific hours advertised, this waiting list will cover all future vacancies where part-time posts arise. A part-time post is defined as any post that has less than 37.5 hours per week. Please remember to save or print a copy of the job description before submitting your application, as it will not be accessible afterwards.

Flexible Working
We welcome flexible working requests from day one. All HSC organisations offer a range of flexible working options. The options available for this post will depend on the requirements of the role. Find out more about flexible working options on our website.

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Job Summary
The Southern Trust Mental Health Home Treatment/Crisis Response (HTCR) service offers an alternative to inpatient care for those who in the absence of the service would otherwise require hospital admission. Service is delivered 7 days a week over 24 hours a day. HTCR are responsible for gate-keeping admissions to the Acute Adult In-patient beds in Bluestone.

As part of Unscheduled Care Services, HTCR form part of the resource that will respond to Emergency Departments for urgent mental health assessments for those presenting in the out of hours periods.

The Senior Practitioner is responsible for the day to day co-ordination of the Home Treatment Crisis Response Service. They will work as part of a multi-disciplinary team and will take referrals, triage and assess patients, and deliver Home Treatment/Crisis management. They will participate in duty rotas to ensure effective delivery of the service over 24 hours 7 days a week throughout the Southern Trust. This will include rotation between day and night duties.

Key Duties / Responsibilities

• Triage new referrals as appropriate – informing referrers of the decisions taken and outcomes recommended
• Provide initial and individualised assessments including, care planning, treatment and therapeutic programmes, taking the lead role in decision making for all patients referred to the service for Home Treatment and liaison in the out of hours period
• Be responsible for gatekeeping of all potential hospital admissions.
• Take a lead role in the assessment and triage of all unscheduled care referrals made to the service and will have sufficient skills and experience to make autonomous decisions re management of complex cases and follow up care.
• Work in collaboration with other practitioners in providing services and in new service developments. This will include multi agency working, providing advice and guidance to medical, nursing staff and social work staff in CAH/DHH on the management of adults who have been referred to HTCR/liaison.
• Be knowledgeable and competent to develop management plans for people who are in custody or detained by PSNI/Prison Services and are taken to Emergency departments for assessment understanding the legal implications that may influence these plans. Ensure information is disseminated to relevant authorities in relation to the outcome of assessments and management plans.
• Be appropriately skilled, competent and knowledgeable in sensitively engaging in therapeutic work with vulnerable adults and their families
• Prioritise work through the efficient and effective allocation of the HTCR team resources in conjunction with or in the absence of the team leader.
• Be flexible and adaptable in responding to service needs for adults, this includes hospital emergency liaison in the out of hours period in agreement with line manager and participate in a duty rota that will ensure the delivery of Home Treatment Crisis Response 7 days per week over 24 hours a day.
• To lead in the development of a home treatment care package in partnership with the user/significant carer/keyworker.
• Be required to practice advanced clinical interventions and/or practice independent mental health prescribing.
• Comply with the regulations of the respective professional bodies and participate in any profession specific duty rota.
• Participate as a member of a multi-disciplinary team accepting referrals through agreed criteria and policies.
• Adhere to all agreed risk management protocols/procedures, ensuring an effective risk management approach underpins all aspects of care provision
• Ensure that users/carers are provided with timely and factual information post assessments and throughout the delivery of care
• Provide effective management of risk in the community, maximising the safety of service users, carers and the public/staff during episodes of crisis
• Take a lead role in the assessment of in-patient clients to facilitate early discharge from acute inpatient units.
• Demonstrate, through personal skill and achievement, high levels of patient care, using such educative processes such as preceptorship and supervision
• You may be required to research, develop and deliver training to other members of the multidisciplinary team as part of Continued Professional Development.
• Ensure that interventions take place within agreed home treatment/crisis response protocols
• Management of services in the absence of team leader their span of duty. Work to deadlines, organise self and manage time appropriately, assist members of the HTCR team in dealing with the day to day crisis within team caseload and ensure a high level of post incident support regarding verbal/hostile/aggressive incidents and any other untoward incidents within the team. To supervise band 5 staff and support workers on a day to day basis.
• Submit to the team leader all statistical data and information required by the Trust and commissioners for service evaluation/review and further service delivery

Human Resource Management Responsibilities

• Establish and promote a supportive, fair and open culture that encourages and enables all parts of the team to have clearly aligned goals and objectives, to meet the required performance standards and to achieve continuous improvement in the services they deliver.
• Ensure access to skills and personal development through appropriate training and support.
• Promote a culture of openness and honesty to enable shared learning.
• Encourage and empower others in their team to achieve their goals and reach their full potential through regular supportive conversation and shared decision making.
• Adhere to and promote Organisational policy and procedure in all staffing matters, participating as appropriate in a way which underpins The Organisation’s values.

Raising Concerns - Responsibilities

• The post holder will promote and support effective team working, fostering a culture of openness and transparency.
• The post holder will ensure that they take all concerns raised with them seriously and act in accordance with the Trust’s ‘Your Right to Raise a Concern (Whistleblowing)’ policy and their professional code of conduct, where applicable.

General Requirements

• Assist the organisation in fulfilling its statutory duties under Section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 to promote equality of opportunity and good relations and under the Disability Discrimination (Northern Ireland) Order 2006. Staff are also required to support the organisation in complying with its obligations under Human Rights Legislation.
• Ensure the Organisation’s policy on equality of opportunity is promoted through his/her own actions and those of any staff for whom he/she has responsibility.
• Co-operate fully with the implementation of The Organisation's Health and Safety arrangements, reporting any accidents/incidents/equipment defects to his/her manager, and maintaining a clean, uncluttered and safe environment for patients/clients, members of the public and staff.
• Adhere at all times to all Trust policies/codes of conduct, including for example: Smoke Free policy; IT Security Policy and Code of Conduct; standards of attendance, appearance and behaviour.
• Contribute to ensuring the highest standards of environmental cleanliness within your designated area of work.
• Co-operate fully with regard to Trust policies and procedures relating to infection prevention and control.
• Take responsibility to minimise the Trust’s environmental impact wherever possible. This will include recycling, switching off lights, computers, monitors and equipment when not in use. Helping to reduce paper waste by minimising printing/copying and reducing water usage, reporting faults and heating/cooling concerns promptly and minimising travel.
• All employees of the Organisation are legally responsible for all records held, created or used as part of their business within the [org name] including patients/clients, corporate and administrative records whether paper-based or electronic and also including emails. All such records are public records and are accessible to the general public, with limited exceptions, under the Freedom of Information act 2000 the Environmental Information Regulations 2004, the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. Employees are required to be conversant with the [org name] policy and procedures on records management and to seek advice if in doubt.
• Take responsibility for his/her own ongoing learning and development, in order to maximise his/her potential and continue to meet the demands of the post.
• Represent The Organisation’s commitment to providing the highest possible standard of service to patients/clients and members of the public, by treating all those with whom he/she comes into contact in the course of work, in a pleasant, courteous and respectful manner.

This Job Description will be subject to review in the light of changing circumstances and is not intended to be rigid and inflexible but should be regarded as providing guidelines within which the individual works. Other duties of a similar nature and appropriate to the grade may be assigned from time to time. It is a standard condition that all Trust staff may be required to serve at any location within The Organisation's area, as needs of the service demand.

Personnel Specification
Job Title and Band: Home Treatment Crisis Response Senior Practitioner Band 7
Directorate: Mental Health & Disability Services
Hours: 37.5 hours per week (including weekends and nights)

Essential Criteria

• Hold a Degree OR recognised professional qualification in Nursing/Social Work or AHP (Allied Health Profession), OR registered as a Mental Health Nurse on Part 1 of the Live NMC Register or eligible for registration, OR hold HCPC registration or eligible for registration, OR NISCC registration or eligible for registration, AND be registered with the relevant professional body i.e. NMC/NISCC/HCPC.
• Minimum of 5 years post registration experience working within Adult Psychiatry in an acute/community setting.
• Hold a current full driving licence which is valid for use in the UK and have access to a car on appointment. This criteria will be waived in the case of applicants whose disability prohibits driving but who have access to a form of transport approved by The Organisation which will permit them to carry out the duties of the post.
• Ability to provide effective leadership to meet the needs of the post in full.
• Ability to influence and manage change, including the promotion of evidence based practice.
• Have effective communication skills to meet the needs of the post in full.
• Demonstrate ability to work effectively as part of a multi-disciplinary team.
• Be conversant with current professional issues in relation to nursing/midwifery.
• Provide evidence of continuous personal and professional development.
• Have sound knowledge of changing trends within Home Treatment Crisis Response.

Desirable Criteria

• Evidence of post registration professional development in relevant clinical skills including: Psychological Therapies, Psycho/Social Interventions, CBT.
• Experience in working in Unscheduled Care.
• Experience in working with electronic information systems.
• Non-medical Prescribers Training.

Notes to applicants:

1. You must clearly demonstrate on your application form under each question, how you meet the required criteria as failure to do so may result in you not being shortlisted. You should clearly demonstrate this for both the essential and desirable criteria.
2. Shortlisting will be carried out on the basis of the essential criteria set out in Section 1 below, using the information provided by you on your application form. Please note The Organisation reserves the right to use any desirable criteria outlined in Section 3 at shortlisting. You must clearly demonstrate on your application form how you meet the desirable criteria.
3. Proof of qualifications and/or professional registration will be required if an offer of employment is made – if you are unable to provide this, the offer may be withdrawn.

If this post is being sought on secondment then the individual MUST have the permission of their line manager IN ADVANCE of making application. As part of the Recruitment & Selection process it may be necessary for The Organisation to carry out an Enhanced Disclosure Check through Access NI before any appointment to this post can be confirmed. The Organisation is an equal opportunities employer. Successful applicants may be required to attend for a Health Assessment; can expect to be placed at the minimum point of the pay scale, although a higher starting salary, within the range of the pay band may be available if the person appointed has experience relevant and equivalent to the post. If the successful candidate is an existing HSC employee moving to a higher band, AfC Pay on Promotion will apply. Successful applicants are able to request Flexible Working from the 1st day of their employment. A number of flexible working provisions are offered by all HSC Organisations including Full-time working, Fixed working patterns, Part-time working, Flexi-time, Compressed/elongated hours, Average hours working patterns, Term-time working, Job-share or Homeworking for some or all of the working pattern, depending on the role being undertaken. Successful applicants are encouraged to discuss with their manager what Flexible Working provisions may be available in the role they are taking up, prior to commencing employment, to help them achieve a positive Work/Life Balance. All staff are expected to display the HSC Values at all times.