Senior Mental Health Practitioner – Locality Access Point (LAP)
At a glance
- Band
- Band 7
- Contract
- Permanent
- Pattern
- Part-time
- Posted
- 07/09/2026
- Closes
- 14/09/2026
Sponsorship verdict
This contract type is not eligible for Skilled Worker sponsorship.
NHS Trusts cannot issue a Certificate of Sponsorship for part-time, bank, locum, zero-hours, job-share or short fixed-term (under 12 months) contracts under current Home Office rules. This applies even when the wider Trust holds a Skilled Worker licence.
Role summary
This role is for an experienced registered Mental Health Nurse to join the Older People's Mental Health Services. You will manage a small caseload of complex cases, provide clinical leadership, and act as the main contact for Locality Access Point (LAP) meetings. The position involves undertaking comprehensive assessments, developing care plans, and providing mental health expertise to professional colleagues. You will also contribute to anticipatory care planning and manage complex caseloads within professional accountability frameworks.
Essential criteria
- Degree in Mental Health Nursing or equivalent professional qualification
- Dual Qualification e.g. RGN or Psychological Therapy training
- Current professional registration
Desirable criteria
- Additional qualification in older people's mental health, dementia care or advanced clinical practice.
- Continuous Professional Development
- Evidence of continuous professional development.
- Previous Experience
- Minimum of 5 years post registration experience of working within a mental health setting.
- Significant experience working within Older People's Mental Health.
- Experience of working in community settings
- Clinical supervision/mentoring of staff or students.
- Substantial experience of managing complex caseloads
- Experience of undertaking dementia assessments.
- Experience in service development
- Knowledge, skills and abilities
- Specialist clinical reasoning skills in mental health
- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
- Experience of engaging in audits, data collection and data reporting
- Excellent knowledge and understanding of the health and social care systems and operating frameworks, clinical observations and the Mental Health Act
- Knowledge and experiencing of managing situations concerning safeguarding, risk management, complaints and investigations
- Knowledge of national dementia strategies and guidance.
- Advanced knowledge of dementia and cognitive disorders
- Sound knowledge of pharmacological interventions for dementia.
- Advanced communication skills for delivering diagnoses and supporting carers.
- Ability to work autonomously, in MDTs and with wider stakeholders and hold a complex caseload
- Knowledge of relevant mental health policy and national drivers/guidelines
- Ability to support with research activity
- Advanced IT skills and the ability to navigate around various systems and software packages (such as Rio, outlook, databases, and MS office)
- Ability to work autonomously and effectively in a team, reprioritising work and that of others work to reflect changing needs.
- Ability to contribute to service development and evaluation.
- Excellent presentation, facilitation and teaching skills
- Experience of training and education for colleagues/professional students
- Additional Requirements
- The role will involve home visits and lone working
- Enhanced DBS clearance
- Ability to travel within the community, across multiple destinations
- Car driver with access to a vehicle
- Commitment to ongoing professional development
- Education, qualifications or training
- Degree in Mental Health Nursing or equivalent professional qualification
- Dual Qualification e.g. RGN or Psychological Therapy training
- Current professional registration
- Additional qualification in older people's mental health, dementia care or advanced clinical practice.
- Continuous Professional Development
- Evidence of continuous professional development.
- Previous Experience
- Minimum of 5 years post registration experience of working within a mental health setting.
- Significant experience working within Older People's Mental Health.
- Experience of working in community settings
- Clinical supervision/mentoring of staff or students.
- Substantial experience of managing complex caseloads
- Experience of undertaking dementia assessments.
- Experience in service development
- Knowledge, skills and abilities
- Specialist clinical reasoning skills in mental health
- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
- Experience of engaging in audits, data collection and data reporting
- Excellent knowledge and understanding of the health and social care systems and operating frameworks, clinical observations and the Mental Health Act
- Knowledge and experiencing of managing situations concerning safeguarding, risk management, complaints and investigations
- Knowledge of national dementia strategies and guidance.
- Advanced knowledge of dementia and cognitive disorders
- Sound knowledge of pharmacological interventions for dementia.
- Advanced communication skills for delivering diagnoses and supporting carers.
- Ability to work autonomously, in MDTs and with wider stakeholders and hold a complex caseload
-
Useful to know
Agenda for Change 2024/25 pays Band 7 at £46,148 – £52,809 a year, across England.
This advert: £51,657 – £58,785 — outside the standard scale; check for HCAS/London weighting.
Posted 1d ago · Closes in 7d
Plenty of time to prepare a strong application.
Full advert · preview
Berkshire Healthcare Foundation Trust
Senior Mental Health Practitioner – Locality Access Point (LAP)
The closing date is 14 September 2026
Job summary
Are you an experienced registered Mental Health Nurse looking to secure the next step in your career or to take on a new challenge within Older People's Mental Health Services? If so, we are currently looking for an enthusiastic Senior Practitioner to join our fantastic team.
You will have specialist knowledge of the care of older people with mental health conditions and an understanding of the challenges that older adults face and how these impacts on their well-being. You will hold a small caseload of complex cases and lead by example demonstrating exemplary clinical and management standards.
As a member of the wider OPMH Service, you will be the main point of contact with local multidisciplinary and multi-agency Locality Access Point (LAP)/Cluster meetings and support formulation within the meetings. The purpose of these meetings is to deliver an integrated approach to assessment, care planning and decision making for frail patients with long term conditions, in line with the Integrated Care Decision Making (ICDM) initiative of the Frimley Integrated Care System. You will help to identify the appropriate level of psychosocial support for individual patients. To achieve this, you will need to be aware and un
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