Senior Liaison Mental Health Practitioner

Job summary
Due to the retirement of a colleague who has worked in the service for many years, a rare opportunity has arisen for a part time band 6 senior clinician in the department of Liaison Psychiatry, within the Older People's Service.

Liaison Psychiatry services, sometimes called Psychological Medicine services, aim to support the delivery of integrated healthcare within the acute hospital. Liaison Psychiatry teams have specific skills, knowledge and expertise in assessing and treating patients who may have complex problems that cannot improve without addressing both their physical and mental health or psychological needs. Patients with mental health or psychological difficulty in the general hospital often have complex needs associated with longer lengths of stay, higher re-admission rates, and poorer health outcomes. We provide a specialist Liaison Psychiatry service to Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (LTHT) which aims to minimise the extent to which psychological or psychiatric symptoms prevent patients from getting the best possible outcomes from medical care.

This opportunity is perfect for an experienced registered professional who has an interest in this specialist and rewarding area. Applicants should express a strong interest in Liaison Psychiatry in their application.

This is a part time position, 22.5 hours per week

Main duties of the job
The successful candidate will work within a well-established and supportive multidisciplinary team, based at Beckett Wing, St James Hospital and working into St James Hospital, Leeds General Hospital and Chapel Allerton Hospital.

Our teams strongly value teaching and continued learning and so we offer a commitment to your ongoing development, as well as a culture of continuous reflection, learning, and improvement. You will be provided with a comprehensive and supported period of induction which is tailored to your needs. We also have established twice-monthly teaching sessions, regular reflective practice sessions, and offer regular supervision and shadowing opportunities.

Our core working hours are Monday-Friday 9am-5pm, but our out of hours service is supported by the older people's team on weekdays between 5pm-9pm and weekends/bank holidays 9am-5pm. This means there is a requirement for some evening and weekend working.

Informal enquiries and discussions are highly encouraged, please contact Clinical Team Manger Cassie Hartley on 07929858660. Alternatively, you can contact the team directly on 0113 20 67147 and any of the team members will be happy to talk to you about the role.

About us
The Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (LYPFT) is the main provider of Mental Health and Learning Disability services in Leeds. We also provide specialist inpatient services in York and some highly specialised services across the country. As a teaching trust with strong links to local universities, we are a centre of excellence for teaching, research and development.

There are many benefits of working for LYPFT including fantastic employee wellbeing support, 27 - 33 days annual leave, flexible working and remote working arrangements, the NHS Pension Scheme, coaching, support and opportunities for career development and training and education support alongside a range of exclusive discounts and payment schemes including for cars, extra leave days and more NHS Discount Offers.

We also have a bank department, offering variety of roles in nursing, allied health professions, healthcare support worker and administration clerical. Permanent employees are automatically added to bank.

Applicants should be aware that individuals requiring a visa to work in the UK, the Trust only provides sponsorship for registered healthcare practitioner roles(this does not include Healthcare Support Workers). This is an essential requirement, and the Trust is unable to offer you a role if you do not meet Trust requirements for sponsorship and Home Office requirements for a visa.

Job responsibilities
The role involves providing biopsychosocial assessment, risk assessment and short-term psychosocial interventions to patients admitted to a general hospital bed. You will develop robust clinical formulation and subsequent management plans that safely and effectively meet the needs of the patient and ward team. You will hold and autonomously manage a small caseload and also support the provision of new patient assessments and more intensive input for patients who require full MDT oversight or input due to a higher level of need.

You will also provide advice and education to our general hospital colleagues around topics/issues such as mental health presentations, risk management, legal frameworks, and available statutory or voluntary community services. You will work collaboratively with our general hospital colleagues to meet the needs of patients with concurrent physical and mental health or psychological needs. It is essential that applicants are confident working in a general hospital setting and can communicate and work effectively, proactively and collaboratively with a broad range of clinicians from different medical and multidisciplinary specialities.

You will also be expected to deliver teaching both internally and to staff at the general hospital. This may be in a formal setting, or as informal situations arise.

Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential

• Degree/diploma in nursing (Mental Health), Occupational Therapy, or Social Work

Skills

• Evidence of partnership working with a wide range of services and professionals

Experience

• Working at least 2 years at Band 5 (or above)

Knowledge

• Demonstrates high level of competence in the assessment, treatment and evaluation of interventions with service users and carers, using a person centered approach.

Values Based
Desirable

• Tell us about a time when you spotted something small going wrong and did something to stop it becoming a bigger issue.
• Tell us about a time when you realised a colleague or someone you know needed a bit of support and you offered to help.
• Tell us about a time when you showed someone kindness or understanding.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website.

Employer details
Employer name: Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
Address: Liaison Psychiatry Hospital Mental Health Team, Beckett Wing, St James Hospital, Leeds, LS9 7TF, United Kingdom
Employer's website: https://www.leedsandyorkpft.nhs.uk/

Employer contact details
For questions about the job, contact: Clinical Team Manager Cassie Hartley, Cassandra.hartley@nhs.net, 07929858660

Details
Date posted: 26 October 2026
Pay scheme: Agenda for change
Band: Band 6
Salary: £39,959 to £48,117 a year pa pro rata
Contract: Permanent
Working pattern: Part-time
Reference number: 173-57726-LPS
Closing date: 13 November 2026

Apply through our website.