Bank Mental Health Support Worker – HMP Bristol

Bank Mental Health Support Worker – HMP Bristol

Band 4

Main area Offender Healthcare Grade Band 4 Contract Bank Hours Flexible working – 37.5 hours per week (Up to 37.5hrs p/wk, Please note bank hours are ad-hoc and not guaranteed) Job ref 277-BankMHSW-HMPBRI

Site HMP Bristol Town Bristol Salary £28,392 Per annum pro-rata Salary period Yearly Closing 07/10/2026 23:59

Job overview

Are you ready tounlock your potential within a challenging, creative and fast paced work environment? Do you want to work with people to build positive and productive lives, whatever their past?

This is an excellent opportunity for to join our team of diverse, talented healthcare professionals to deliver care that is not only efficient but deeply centred on the patient.

Our healthcare team have a real impact on promoting health and well‑being to those in prison and we pride ourselves on using skills and strategies that instil hope for patient’s future resettlement back into the community. We directly deliver Mental Health, Physical Health, Pharmacy and Clinical Substance Misuse in an integrated healthcare delivery model to provide effective and responsive care to improve wellbeing and support better outcomes in the future.

This position isn’t just a job; it’s a chance to blend your clinical knowledge, personal skills and a commitment to delivering the highest standards of care in an environment that is as rewarding as it is challenging.

Main duties of the job

This role is focussed on supporting people in prison with a range of acute mental health needs. The individuals may be in crisis, and their carers (including friends and relatives) and supporters will also require support to enable and assist them to meet daily health, social care and wellbeing needs. These needs will need to be met in line with personal recovery goals and facilitating engagement with mainstream services.

Always under the overarching framework of CPA, the postholder will contribute to the ongoing assessment, planning, delivery and review of activities and interventions against identified health, social care and wellbeing needs. You will be acting as the care/recovery coordinator for an allocated group of service users. The role will also require undertaking and delivering defined activities and interventions for a wider group of identified service users, in accordance with the agreed personal recovery plan. This may be either on a one-to-one basis, or as part of a group activity.

Working for our organisation

Oxleas offers a wide range of NHS healthcare services to people in community and secure environment settings. Our services include community health care such as district nursing and speech and language therapy, care for people with learning disabilities and mental health care such as psychiatry, nursing and therapies. Our multidisciplinary teams look after people of all ages and we work in close partnership with other parts of the NHS, local councils and the voluntary sector and through our new provider collaboratives. Our 4,300 members of staff work in many different settings including hospitals, clinics, prisons, secure hospitals, children’s centres, schools and people’s homes. We have over 125 sites in a variety of locations in the South of England. In London we operate within the Boroughs of Bexley, Bromley Greenwich and into Kent. We manage hospital sites including Queen Mary’s Hospital, Sidcup and Memorial Hospital, Woolwich, as well as the Bracton Centre, our medium secure unit for people with mental health needs. We are the largest NHS provider of prison health services providing healthcare to prisons within Devon, Dorset, Bristol, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire, Kent and South L

ane. We are proud of the care we provide and our people.

Our purpose is to improve lives by providing the best possible care to our patients and their families. This is strengthened by our new values:

• We Listen
• We Care

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• To undertake the role of care/recovery coordinator for an allocated caseload of service users organising and participating in the ongoing assessment, planning delivering and review of care to meet identified physical and mental health social care and wellbeing needs
• Organising and participating in defined assessment methods/activities
• Arranging CPA meetings in line with trust policy
• Developing and reviewing appropriate care plans identifying and organising other resources as appropriate
• Providing defined interventions/ activities as part of the care plan
• Completing relevant paper and electronic documentation in line with the care coordinator role
• Plan and undertaking defined interventions and treatments to enable the individual to meet and develop their ongoing daily living skills, to increase confidence and independence in line with agreed personal recovery plans
• Preparing for and delivering defined self‑help groups
• Therapeutic activities to improve and individuals coping skills eg, improving sleep, anger, anxiety, stress management, assertiveness or relaxation
• Therapeutic activities to improve an individual’s physical health such as exercise programmes, diet or nutritional planning
• Planning and undertaking activities to enable the individual to meet and develop their daily living skills, to increase confidence and independence in line with agreed personal recovery plans
• Emotional support to individual focusing on motivation and encouragement
• Information and advice to maintain good physical health by encouraging a good diet and exercise
• Information on rights under the mental health act.
• To work collaboratively with service users and their carers to understand and manage their mental health needs in line with their personal recovery plan and relapse prevention strategies
• To undertake specific activities and interventions in the support of carers including engagement and involvement, assessment and provision of support or services
• Organise and participate in the development of risk assessments and crisis management plans, rapid access plans, within the appropriate framework, ensuring that when trigger points are reached these are reported appropriately to a registered practitioner, and that immediate or direct action is taken in line with these, or in the event of a crisis
• Respond to the needs of individual with sensitivity with regard to their age, culture, race, gender, ethnicity, social class or disability, modifying behaviour to optimise the helping relationship
• Promote the rights of individual by recognising differences and acting in accordance with the relevant legislation, recognising and reporting discriminatory behaviour, and taking appropriate action
• Promoting independence and increasing confidence by providing appropriate self help materials, information about available resources/services, facilitating identified group work and educational workshops
• Contribute to the protection of individuals from abuse and harm in line with local safeguarding policies and procedures

IMPORTANT INFORMATION, PLEASE READ: All applicants must be willing to undertake National Security Vetting in order to work in a Prison Setting. This will be completed as part of the pre-employment checks through Oxleas and the prison vetting team.

You will need to provide:

• Proof of right to work documentation
• Proof of ID, needs to include 1 photographic ID
• Proof of address documentation
• Non-UK passport holders will need to have correct documentation (right to work in the UK) and a Home office Share code.

Address History:5 years address history will be needed. Applicants that are not UK Passport holders who provide less than 5 years UK address history will need to provide a Police Certificate which must be in English from where they resided previously. Applicants who are UK Passport holders who have lived abroad for a period of more than six months during the last three years will need to provide a certificate of good conduct or an overseas police check in English from the countries resided in or visited.

In order to assist you in obtaining a Police Certificate, guidance can be sought from:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/criminal-records-checks-for-overseas-applicants

If the country you have resided in is not listed here, you can obtain the necessary information by contacting the relevant Embassy or High Commission for that Country. Their contact details can be found on the Foreign & Commonwealth Office website (http://www.fco.gov.uk/en)

Person specification

Qualifications

• NVQ Level 3 completed in a mental health setting or equivalent qualification

Experience

• Relevant experience of working in any health, social care setting or any related voluntary organisation.
• Demonstrates a clear understanding of recovery principles and the role of secondary mental health services in the delivery of care.
• Able to demonstrate some awareness of theories underpinning health and social care.
• Able to articulate a clear knowledge of policy and legislative frameworks within which mental health services are delivered including a persons rights under the MHA , CPA Mental Capacity Act.
• Prison or secure environment experience

Skills

• Good communication and an ability to form positive relationships with patients, carers and other professionals.
• Developed IT literacy with an understanding of Microsoft office

We are committed to creating an inclusive workplace that welcomes and supports individuals of all abilities. Remember, if you meet the minimum criteria for this role and you have a disability, you can be guaranteed an interview under the Disability Confident Scheme – Please ensure you select this on your application form. We would encourage you to be open about your needs so we can work with you to design a comfortable and accessible interview experience. Any information you provide regarding a disability or a need for adjustments will be treated in confidence and will only be shared with colleagues who are supporting this request.

If you require any adjustments to participate fully in the interview process, please let us know by adding the relevant details when scheduling your preferred interview date and time. Please feel free to contact the appointing manager to discuss your needs.

We encourage applicants to contact the hiring manager before their interview, if they have any questions about the role or the process. This is a great way to get clarity and prepare effectively for the interview.

If you have declared you are part of the armed forces community, you may be asked to provide evidence during the recruitment process. If you misrepresent this information, your offer may be withdrawn. For Armed Forces specific support, see our webpage: https://oxleas.nhs.uk/armed-forces-community/

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

If you choose to use AI or other tools to assist in writing your application, it’s essential to personalise this information, particularly your supporting information section. While AI can help streamline the writing process, these tools cannot fully grasp the context or requirements of the job you’re applying for. There is also a risk that it can generate false or misleading information. AI-generated job applications can often be generic, impersonal and may not accurately reflect your qualifications, knowledge, skills, and experiences. It is crucial that you personalise your supporting statement by articulating these in your unique voice. Relying solely on AI to write your application or supporting information section is not advocated by Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust and could negatively impact your chances of success in the application process.

We monitor applications for any behaviour that could create an unfair advantage, and we check all references carefully. You are likely to be tested on your experience at interview, so be honest and make sure all the information in your application is correct. Please note that the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is prohibited during the interview process.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

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.

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