Band 6 Specialist Mental Health Practitioner Brislington

Job summary

This new role of Specialist Mental Health Practitioner for Primary Care is fundamental to the development and leadership of innovative new teams and integrated mental health services based within Primary Care.

The role promotes and provides early assessment, treatment and improved access to evidence-based interventions supporting people contacting primary care for help with their mental health needs.

The Specialist Mental Health Practitioner role will help people over 18 years old, who are accessing support through primary care, to define achievable goals and access local community resources and receive an assessment of their mental health and care needs.

Areas of focus will include:

• Those with mental health needs that do not meet the access criteria for IAPT (Improving Access to Psychological Therapies provided through Vita Health) and do not meet the access criteria for secondary care.
• People with serious or significant mental illness (SMI) who are not under secondary care mental health services and require this.
• Those diagnosed with, or presenting with traits of, personality disorder who will benefit from being signposted to services who can best meet their needs
• Older adults with complex presenting issues.
• First contact with primary care.
• Facilitate mental health and 'strengths-based' support conversations in Primary Care and support the Primary Care Team in accessing appropriate level of services
• Promote understanding and confidence in the delivery of mental health care and collaboration with all agencies involved in the care of service users.

We are AWP (Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust): a diverse organisation with over 5,000 dedicated staff providing inpatient and community-based mental health care.

We provide services from a range of locations to approximately 1.8 million people living in Bath and North East Somerset (B&NES), Bristol, North Somerset, South Gloucestershire, Swindon, across the county of Wiltshire and in parts of Dorset.

Our outstanding people promote mental health and wellbeing. The expertise and resources within AWP are dedicated to a person-centred approach for those who use our services and for all employees. We recognise that happy and fulfilled employees give better care.

At AWP we actively encourage applicants from all backgrounds; we are particularly keen to encourage applications from people from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds, those with disabilities and from the LGBTQ+ community. We want people to bring their unique blend of experiences, backgrounds, perspectives and knowledge to AWP, as diversity makes us stronger.

Date posted 07 September 2026

Pay scheme Agenda for change

Band Band 6

Salary £39,959 to £48,117 a year

Contract Fixed term

Duration 12 months

Working pattern Full-time

Reference number 342-BR124-0926

Job locations Callington Road Hospital, Marmalade Lane, Brislington, BS4 5BJ
, United Kingdom

• Contribute to delivering and co-developing the primary care mental health service model. This includes care pathways for the provision of integrated physical and mental health care in a designated Primary Care Network within the Division.
• Be the point of contact for patients that are directed from primary care via an agreed route, promote early assessment / treatment, and ensure robust relationships and links with other community-based services.
• Work closely with and become a part of the primary care team, including recovery navigators, to support adults (18+) with mental health needs, whose mental health needs can be best met within primary care and whose difficulties are best understood within a biopsychosocial model.
• Work closely with colleagues in specialist…