Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust highlights career opportunities for mental health nursing in Mental Health Awareness Week
Added by Love Business East Midlands | 16 May 2019
UPDATED: 16 May 2019
During Mental Health Awareness Week (13-17 May) Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust, (LPT) which provides mental health, learning disability and community health services for one million people in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland, is highlighting career opportunities for mental health nurses.
According to statistics from the Nursing and Midwifery Council, the number of mental health nurses fell from 90,693 to 88,821 nationally between 2014 and 2018. To address the shortage in Leicestershire, LPT is promoting the region as a leading career destination for nurses, especially to those with an interest in mental health.
Daniel Norbury, Head of Employment Services at Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust said,
“Mental Health Awareness Week is an ideal opportunity to highlight the excellent career opportunities we have for those working in the mental health field. Mental health nursing is challenging, but immensely fulfilling, and our aim as a Trust is to improve the health and wellbeing of people in Leicestershire and Rutland, by providing high quality care and services.
“The benefits of working here include our first-rate training and development programmes, as well as our structured nursing career pathways that help staff progress in their careers, whatever stage they are at. Our diverse range of services and teams across 100 sites also enables us to offer people many varied career paths, whilst staying with the same employer.”
LPT currently has vacancies for experienced mental health nurses, including Band 5 Staff Nurses at the Bradgate Mental Health Unit and Band 5 Staff Nurses to join LPT’s female Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) ward, with roles on this PICU ward attracting an additional recruitment and retention payment of £1542 per annum.
Other opportunities include a Band 6 Mental Health Practitioner to join the liaison psychiatry team at Glenfield Hospital, who provide services to University Hospitals of Leicester for the assessment of working age adults, and a Band 6 Community Psychiatric Nurse to work in City West CMHT.
As well as our Adult Mental Health Services, LPT also provides specialist mental health services to people of different ages. Our Mental Health Services for Older People team are recruiting nurses, whilst we are also recruiting to our CAMHS service to a band 8a team lead.
LPT also recruit Band 6 Bank Community Psychiatric Nurses which involve working as part of secondary care teams providing assessments and treatment packages for a range of service users aged 16-65 years with complex mental health needs.
Katie Abram has been a mental health nurse for three years and works at the Bradgate Mental Health Unit, part of Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust. The ward is a short-term acute ward, where men with conditions such as paranoid schizophrenia, bipolar and severe depression or severe anxiety will be admitted for around 30 days.
Katie says,
“Working as a mental health nurse is hugely rewarding. I really enjoy the challenges of working on a fast paced environment on an acute ward and helping patients on their recovery journey and to get back to their families. I work in a very supportive team and together, we work extremely hard to give patients the best possible care.”
Katie’s role involves engaging in therapeutic activities with patients, which she says helps improve the relationships between staff and patients. She says,
“I love engaging in these activities and patients tell me they enjoy the activities too, as it helps break their day up and is something they look forward to. Having staff take part in ward activities helps create a more positive experience for patients and breaks down barriers.”
Joanne Lock is a Ward Matron at the Bradgate Mental Health Unit and has worked as a mental health nurse for 16 years.
Joanne says,
“The Trust is a big investor in training and development. As well as mandatory courses, staff can choose courses to progress their careers. I’ve been on several leadership courses, and we’re currently supporting a member of staff to do her degree. We have good links with the universities, so this is a good place to start your career.
“We are currently in the second year of a five-year all-age transformation of mental health and learning disability services, working with staff, service users and carers to improve experience within all our care pathways, including innovative new developments such as social prescribing to peer supporters. It is a great time to join and be a part of shaping our future.”
lPT is part of a recently launched recruitment campaign Y/Our Future that unites five major health and social care employers - University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust, LOROS Hospice, Rutland County Council and Leicester City Council - to recruit doctors, nurses and health and social care workers to work in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland.
Y/Our Future aims to promote Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland as a leading career destination for health and social care professionals, with great career and lifestyle opportunities.
For more information on the vacancies visit: https://www.your-future.co.uk/
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