Clinical Practice Lead

Job summary
This is a fixed term secondment opportunity for the role of Clinical Practice Lead with DPT's First Response Service until 30 June 2027. As a secondment you will need to have had a discussion with your manager before applying.

Main duties of the job
The Clinical Practice Lead will work with the First Response Service to provide 24 hour urgent access to mental health services for people aged 18 and above who identify, or have been identified as being in a mental health crisis.

The post holder will be responsible for ensuring compliance with quality and safety standards within their assigned clinical pathways/teams.

They will ensure that all individuals receiving care and treatment from the service do so in line with Trust strategic objectives and are safeguarded from any harm.

The key responsibilities of this role are as follows.

• Workforce planning
• Lead on evidence based clinical interventions, making autonomous decisions, striving for excellence.
• Promote a recovery model that empowers users of services to be at the forefront of decision making and ownership of their care and treatment.
• Champion dignity, equality, diversity, choice and respect
• Prioritise demand and allocate/delegate accordingly
• Work flexibly across a range of sites - regular and frequent travel from base to and between settings.
• Lone working at times
• Quality improvement and audit
• Compliance with CQC standards
• Managing complaints and compliments
• Learning from experience
• Practice education

About us
About Devon Partnership Trust

We provide mental health, learning disability and neurodiversity services, as well as a range of specialist & secure services for the wider south west region & nationally. We are passionate about promoting good mental health & wellbeing. We strive to use the expertise & resources within our organisation, and through our partnerships, to deliver high quality services that are safe & focused on people's recovery.

We are committed to developing a culture of coproduction, involving patients, families & carers in everything we do.

Our values
We not only recruit based on qualifications & experience - we recruit individuals who possess & demonstrate the behaviours which underpin our Trusts core values. These include such attributes as showing a commitment to quality of care, improving lives of others, giving respect, dignity & compassion. We can bring those values to life in our everyday tasks by giving a smile; making time for people; challenging ourselves & others, & being open to new ideas.

We are committed to being an inclusive employer & applications are encouraged & welcomed from all sections of the community, regardless of any protected characteristics as governed by the Equality Act 2010. Part time & flexible working applications will be considered & supported, where possible. We particularly encourage applicants with lived experience of mental health conditions, neurodiversity or learning disabilities. We are a Disability Confident Leader.

Details
Date posted: 26 October 2026
Pay scheme: Agenda for change
Band: Band 7
Salary: £49,387 to £56,515 a year
Contract: Secondment
Duration: 7 months
Working pattern: Full-time
Reference number: C9369-26-0849
Job locations: Wonford House, Dryden Road, Exeter, Devon, EX2 5AF, United Kingdom

Job responsibilities
Communication and Working Relationship Skills

• To work collaboratively with internal stakeholders
• Work closely with key external stakeholders including, Police, Social Services provision, Housing, Voluntary and non-statutory agencies and a wider Health and Social Care Community ensuring that people aged 18 and above, who use our services are signposted appropriately through the care pathway.
• Act as a point of contact for agencies seeking information or wanting to refer
• Present information, some of which may be contentious, to staff groups, service user groups, carers groups and other stakeholders using a range of techniques and media.
• Co-ordinate and investigate complaints and clinical practice performance issues; taking action as necessary ensuring that any clinical lessons learned are identified and disseminated to teams.
• Ensure that any learning from SUIs and RCAs is identified, disseminated and where necessary put into practice.

Analytical and Judgemental Skills

• Role model clinical leadership
• Practice in a way that actively minimises dependency and promotes recovery
• Communicate information in a way that makes it relevant and understandable for users of services.
• Promote a duty of care to users of services; encompassing safe and competent care
• Peoples wishes, feelings, values and beliefs should be taken into consideration alongside the views of those close to them.
• Take personal accountability for own practice; answerable for actions and omissions, regardless of advice or directions from another professional.
• Remaining professionally competent by participating in own and others clinical supervision
• Demonstrate specialist knowledge and skills, not only relating to the care of users of services, but also in depth knowledge of the roles and functions of other professionals across services.
• Establish and maintain internal clinical audits and develop a research element for the service.
• Produce evaluation data and reports in a timely manner

Planning and Organisational Skills

• Coordinate and participate in multi-agency forums ensuring that the development and delivery of integrated local services is in line with local need.
• Ensure that service delivery activity is delivered in accordance with agreed quality and performance standards and service level agreements.
• Ensure that services provide and facilitate education and learning from experience
• Work constructively with the multi-disciplinary team
• Oversee the day to day clinical practice
• Ensure that governance and assurance systems are in place for care pathways/clinical practice; providing expert professional advice with regards to clinical care, incidents and complaints.
• Ensure that services are delivered by practitioners with the appropriate knowledge, skills and competencies.
• Coordination of multi-disciplinary team working and engagement in service delivery in line with practice standards.
• Ensuring the safety and effectiveness of the service through the implementation of effective risk management, governance and assurance systems.
• Act as a role model
• Monitor and improve quality in line with NICE guidance
• Contribute to the ongoing operation and development of the service; data monitoring in the context of service evaluation.
• Promotion of the service locally and nationally as appropriate

Responsibility for Patient/Client Care, Treatment and Therapy

• Promote, develop and role model high standards of clinical care
• Ensure a holistic approach to assessment, care and treatment, including physical health needs.
• Ensure effective care pathways are in place for transition between mental health and other services.
• Monitor, evaluate and action plan team members with regards to their clinical performance
• Work closely with other teams within the Trust coupled with the Voluntary, Statutory and independent sectors; implementing key success criteria for NICE regarding diagnosis, treatment and management plans.
• Participate in Safeguarding
• Provide expert advice pertaining to complex cases
• Responsible for maintaining Clinical Governance Standards
• Have enhanced clinical skills
• The post holder has responsibility to report and/or ensure a clean environment for care and ensuring infection prevention and control guidelines are followed
• Ensure documentation is in line with Trust Policy and professional registration

Responsibility for Policy and Service Development Implementation

• Support and negotiate required changes in practice to meet on-going service developments
• Identify and implement best practice in the delivery of the First Response Service
• Participate in the maintenance of current services and future developments within the locality, initiating service developments and projects.
• Plan the provision of local services in conjunction with Service Manager and other managers
• Responsible for the development and monitoring of the assigned care pathway quality and improvement plans; ensuring all clinical effectiveness systems are embedded and sustainable
• Participate in, and lead as required on the development, implementation and evaluation of strategies/clinical policies to ensure the service continues to evolve to meet the needs of people who use services
• Participate fully in quality assurance initiatives, with particular emphasis on a person first approach.
• The post holder will initiate and participate in audit/research projects associated with the work of the service.
• Promote the NHS programme; right person has the right care, in the right place, at the right time, making the best use of available resources.

Responsibility for Finance, Equipment and Other Resources

• Ensure that care is provided within resources
• Ensure that workforce development, training and CPD opportunities are provided within the agreed workforce development plan.

Responsibility for Human Resources, e.g. Supervision, Training, HR Advice and Management

• Provide clinical leadership for a team of staff ensuring that they operate within policies and procedures.
• Recruit and select staff within the team according to resource requirements
• Ensure that new clinical staff receive an induction programme
• Ensure that all staff are compliant with the Mental Health Act, Mental Capacity Act, and Deprivation of Liberty Standards, including child and adult safeguarding legislation.
• Responsible for the workforce development plan and its implementation with staff
• Promote reflective recovery focused practice
• At all times follow Codes of Professional Conduct, ensuring all staff within sphere of responsibility also adhere to codes of conduct.
• Supervise, monitor and appraise the performance of qualified and unqualified staff within sphere of responsibility.

Responsibility for Information Resources and Administrative Duties

• Maintain records of supervision for both self and others
• Maintain and disseminate appropriately data relating to work undertaken e.g. research and audit results.

Responsibility for Research and Development

• Undertake programmes of audit and research within the team and implement the findings.

Freedom to Act

• To lead on the formulation of robust care pathway plans without supervision, which may include a prompt referral to secondary mental health services, social and voluntary services.
• As a lone worker, you will be required to make autonomous clinical decisions in relation to care pathways of complex mental health problems, without direct supervision.

Any Other Specific Tasks Required

• Monitor standards and ensure Trust policy compliance including activity data, manual and electronic record keeping.
• Lead on the undertaking of specialist bio psychosocial assessments and complex risk assessment.
• Management skills are required in order to undertake this function effectively; implementing, evaluating and documentation of specialist care
• Responsible for ensuring the quality and triangulation of the CQC guidance checklist, any quality improvement plans and managing the service risk register.
• Responsible for any key practice development projects

Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential

• A professional mental health qualification to degree level or equivalent
• Post Graduate qualification relevant to specialism
• Evidence of commitment to life-long learning and continuing professional development.

Desirable

• Management qualification
• Training to level 3 in Safeguarding children and young people: roles and competencies for Health Care staff.

Experience
Essential

• Significant post qualifying work, including community mental health care
• Risk assessment/management
• Working with people presenting in mental health crisis
• Evidence of working therapeutically with individuals
• Ability to interpret research and apply to practice
• Knowledge and utilization of counselling skills / cognitive behavioural skills, psychosocial interventions
• Experience in the management of clients with drug and alcohol problems/dual diagnosis
• Experience of carrying out assessments, identifying the appropriate care pathways and confirming diagnosis
• Other relevant post registration experience
• Understanding of research principles

Desirable

• Teaching, training and/or supervision of clinical staff
• Clinical leadership

Other Criteria
Essential

• Excellent communication skills including the ability to engage with large groups who may be antagonistic and/or distressed. This will apply to persons who use the service and their carers/relatives and professional staff groups
• Able to produce well written reports
• Ability to communicate complex information across multi-agency teams
• Ability to support junior staff: professionally and academically, promoting their personal growth and developing their competencies
• Ability to develop a healthy culture of team working
• Able to identify and own problems and get involved in the solutions
• Ability to assess and manage all levels of risk
• Excellent clinical assessment skills
• Supervisory skills / Ability to manage change in a positive manner
• Ability to work flexibly / Ability to manage own time and that of the teams
• Ability to be mobile across a geographical area
• Computer literacy

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 (opens in a new window).

Employer details
Employer name: Devon Partnership NHS Trust
Address: Wonford House, Dryden Road, Exeter, Devon, EX2 5AF, United Kingdom
Employer's website: https://www.dpt.nhs.uk/

Employer contact details
For questions about the job, contact: Interim Team Manager, Stephen Croucher, stephen.croucher@nhs.net