Bradford District Care NHS Foundation Trust is recruiting a Band 6 Mental Health Liaison Practitioner to join its Acute Liaison Psychiatry Service (ALPS), with applications closing on 21 November 2026.

The post is a 12-month fixed-term role, paid at £39,959 to £48,117 a year. The successful applicant will be based in Bradford's general hospitals, working as part of a skilled and experienced liaison mental health team that supports people who arrive at hospital in mental health crisis.

What the role involves

Practitioners in the service deliver timely and compassionate assessments and help arrange appropriate onward care for people presenting with mental health needs at the city's general hospitals. The work includes clinical risk and mental health assessment, formulation and short-term contingency planning for people in accident and emergency departments and on acute hospital wards.

Working in the community, practitioners also provide face-to-face brief solution-focused interventions, empowering service users, carers and families to make decisions about their care and signposting them to a range of health and social care support.

ALPS is an all-age service, so experience of working with children and young people, as well as older adults experiencing a mental health crisis, would be desirable. Key areas of focus include trauma-informed care, making sure older adults receive an equitable service, developing safe and inclusive pathways for intoxicated service users, recognising increased risks for perinatal service users, and linking people to support that addresses the impact of social deprivation.

Strong partnership working is essential, including with the voluntary care sector, the local authority, blue light services, service users and their families. There is also the opportunity for placements within the trust's wider Acute Community Services, which include the Intensive Home Treatment team and the First Response Service, although this post is based in the Acute Liaison Psychiatry Service.

Who can apply

Applicants must be a Registered Mental Health Nurse, Occupational Therapist or Social Worker with a minimum of 18 months' post-qualified experience, and must hold current UK professional registration. Essential experience includes mental health care relevant to the service area, work in acute mental health nursing, working with adults presenting in mental health crisis, multi-agency working across service interfaces, and working within a multicultural framework.

Experience of teaching, training or supervising clinical staff is desirable. The post is subject to a Disclosure and Barring Service check under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act. The trust says it provides sponsorship for registered healthcare practitioner roles only, and applicants must maintain the legal right to work in the United Kingdom throughout their employment.

Pay, benefits and how to apply

The salary is NHS Agenda for Change Band 6, at £39,959 to £48,117 a year. The trust says it will consider a variety of flexible working arrangements, and lists benefits including increased mileage rates for travel over 4,500 miles, health and wellbeing support packages, and learning and development opportunities. The trust also holds a Bronze Award in the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme.

The closing date is 21 November 2026, with shortlisting on 23 November and interviews in the week commencing 30 November. The trust reserves the right to close the vacancy before the closing date if it receives a sufficient number of applications, so candidates are advised to apply as soon as possible.

Bradford District Care NHS Foundation Trust provides mental health, learning disability, community and children's services across Bradford, Airedale, Wharfedale and Craven. Applications are made online through the trust's vacancies page and the NHS Jobs service, where the full job description and person specification are published.