Senior Mental Health Practitioner

The closing date is 4th Oct 2026

Job summary

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust delivers the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service in Hampshire.

CAMHS is seeking to appoint an experienced, compassionate, and highly skilled Band 7 Senior Mental Health Practitioner to join our dynamic Single Point of Access (SPA) Team.

As a senior practitioner within the SPA team, you will provide clinical leadership and oversight at the front door of CAMHS, ensuring referrals are managed safely, effectively, and in line with service thresholds. The role involves supporting colleagues with complex clinical decision-making, risk assessment and management, demand and capacity oversight, and the delivery of patient-centred care.

The Single Point of Access is a vital part of the CAMHS front door that acts as the first point of contact for young people, families, and professionals seeking mental health support for young people. Through the provision of timely, high-quality triage and assessment of referrals, you will help ensure that young people experiencing mental health difficulties receive access to the most appropriate services and interventions.

To be successful, you must hold current professional registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), Social Work England (SWE), or the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) and have substantial experience working within mental health services.

The team is based at New Kings Court in Chandlers Ford, Eastleigh. The service operates Monday to Friday 9am-5pm.

Main duties, tasks & skills required

• Support the team manager with clinical leadership within the team
• Supporting the day to day operational and clinical oversight of the Triage & Assessment of referrals
• Conduct comprehensive triage to determine the urgency and nature of referrals. Utilise clinical judgment to prioritise cases based on risk and need.
• Gather detailed information regarding the young person's mental health history, current concerns, and psychosocial factors.
• Formulate accurate risk assessments, identifying potential risks of self-harm, harm to others, or any safeguarding concerns, and ensure appropriate action is taken.
• Crisis Intervention.
• Provide immediate crisis intervention and support for young people in acute distress or experiencing mental health crises. Implement de-escalation techniques and ensure the safety of the individual and others.
• Develop crisis management plans that outline strategies and resources for the young person and their family during future crises.
• Care Planning
• To explore all possible avenues of appropriate support through the wider community and where appropriate, to formulate a plan for access and management within CAMHS (Getting Help, Getting More Help, Specialist Services).
• To integrate the mental health agenda, build community resilience, support early identification of mental health concerns, and improve general mental wellbeing, through the consultation support and advice.
• Collaboration & Communication
• Work closely with a multi-disciplinary team

About us

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust provides joined-up mental and physical healthcare for around two million people across our communities. With over 13,000 staff working in the community and local hospitals, we deliver care at every stage of life, helping people live their best and healthiest lives.

Our mental health services include community-based support and early intervention in psychosis (EIP) for both adults and young people, alongside a network of specialist inpatient wards covering forensic, learning disability, eating disorder and older person's care.

We deliver extensive physical health services too, from urgent community response teams helping frail and older patients remain safely at home, to hospitals at home teams providing acute-level care in familiar surroundings. Our neurological services offer rehabilitation and treatment for conditions including Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson's Disease, Motor Neurone Disease, Head Injury, Cerebral Palsy and Stroke. Across Hampshire, our community hospitals provide inpatient rehabilitation as a step down from acute care, and our dedicated teams also staff Treetops Sexual Assault Referral Centre in Portsmouth, offering expert, compassionate support.

Everything we do is underpinned by our CARE values of compassion, accountability, respect and excellence

Job description

Further information about the Trust and this role can be found on the Job Description and Person Specification document attached. It is important to us that we ensure our recruitment processes are accessible and inclusive to everyone - if as a potential candidate you are concerned a person specification may prevent or restrict your application for employment as a result of unintentional barriers on the grounds of your sex, race, age, sexual orientation, religion/belief or disability please initially contact the Trust's Recruitment team - detailed in the advert. The Trust will seek to resolve this issue wherever possible.

We are happy to talk Flexible Working - all requests for flexible working options can be discussed as part of the interview process.

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential

• Current professional registration with an approved professional body (NMC, HCPC, Social Work England).
• Evidence of continuous professional development.
• Degree / diploma level supplemented by specialist qualification, training, experience, courses to master's level equivalent relevant to the care group.
• Evidence of post registration training in relevant service area.
• Completion of Mentorship Course / Practice Supervisor Course.

Experience

Essential

• Extensive post qualifying experience in relevant service area.
• Experience of supervising staff and students.
• Able to manage a caseload of children and young people with complex mental health needs.
• Comprehensive knowledge of interventions specific to service area.
• Awareness of Trust policies and service specification.

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.

UK Professional Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website.

For help with your application, contact:

Clair Lockyer

[email protected]

Pay scheme

Agenda for Change

Band

Band 7

Salary

£49387.00 to £56515.00 Yearly

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-Time

Reference number

348-CFS-12568

Job locations

New Kings Court
Tollgate
Chandlers Ford
Hampshire
SO53 3LG