Community Mental Health Practitioner

Role overview

This position focuses on delivering compassionate, person-centred therapeutic support to older adults living with mental health challenges across community environments, care homes, and memory assessment pathways. The work involves specialist assessment, review, and intervention for people with complex presentations such as dementia, cognitive impairment, and other mental health conditions, with care delivered in the least restrictive and most evidence-informed way possible.

You will work flexibly across multiple services, supporting patients, carers, and colleagues while contributing to service development and quality improvement activity. The role also includes helping to plan and coordinate care across primary and secondary care settings for individuals living in the community and in residential care.

Main duties

Your day-to-day work will involve supporting older people and their families with sensitive, respectful conversations about diagnosis, treatment, and ongoing care needs. You will complete specialist mental health assessments, including memory and functional assessments, and manage a diverse caseload across community and care home settings.

You will provide practical, evidence-based care for people with dementia and other mental health conditions, including care planning, review, and ongoing monitoring. The role also requires supporting timely diagnosis, assessing and managing risk, and responding appropriately in crisis situations.

Working as part of a multidisciplinary team, you will collaborate with GPs, occupational therapists, psychologists, and social care professionals to ensure coordinated and effective care. You will maintain professional standards, support less experienced staff, contribute to a positive team culture, share learning, and take part in service improvement initiatives aimed at strengthening dementia care.

The post also involves working within relevant legal frameworks, maintaining safe practice, safeguarding service users, keeping accurate records, and protecting confidentiality at all times.

Organisation overview

Aneurin Bevan University Health Board is an award-winning NHS organisation committed to compassionate care. It offers a supportive environment where employees are valued and trusted, with opportunities to begin, progress, and develop across different career stages. The organisation provides integrated acute, primary, and community care for a population of 650,000 and employs more than 16,000 staff.

The Health Board offers a strong benefits package, paid mandatory training, in-house development programmes, recognised qualifications, and structured career pathways, including management development opportunities. Flexible working, work-life balance, occupational health support, and a developing Wellbeing Centre of Excellence also form part of the employment offer. Its Clinical Futures strategy continues to support care closer to home alongside high-quality hospital services for the future.

Additional information

Applications are welcomed from people with protected characteristics, including disabled and neurodiverse candidates and members of the Armed Forces Community. Candidates may apply in Welsh, and applications submitted in Welsh will be treated no less favourably than those in English.

If you need any adjustments or support during the recruitment process, you are encouraged to contact the manager listed in the vacancy details. There is no need to share personal or medical information; you only need to explain the support that would help you take part fully. Larger-print or alternative-format documents, such as braille, can be requested from the recruiting manager or from the Aneurin Bevan University Health Board recruitment team on 01495 745805 option 3 or by email at abb.vacancyrequests@wales.nhs.uk.

If shortlisted, communication will be sent to the email address used in your application, so it should be checked regularly. Successful candidates will receive their conditional offer and information pack by email. The vacancy may close early and can also be withdrawn if filled through internal redeployment.

The organisation supports flexible working. Its sites are smoke-free by law, and smoking is not allowed anywhere on ABUHB premises for staff, contractors, patients, or visitors. Further details are available in the Smoke-Free Environment Policy, and help to stop smoking is available through the Help Me Quit team.

Knowledge and qualifications

Essential knowledge includes functional mental health concerns, the different types of dementia, the Mental Health Act and Mental Health Measures, and the medications used in practice. A current NMC registration is required. Ideally, candidates will have been qualified for at least one year and have completed a preceptorship programme. Experience in older adult mental health is desirable, as is the ability to travel between multiple locations across the borough.