Liaison and Diversion Practitioner
South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust
London, SW9 9SPView on map(opens Google Maps in a new tab)
Salary
£47,951 to £56,863
Contract
Fixed-Term
Hours
Not specified
Closing date
17 November 2026
3 days leftJob description
This is an exciting opportunity for a skilled practitioner, with an interest and/or experience in the criminal justice system, to be an integral part ...
As a Liaison and Diversion Practitioner, some of the responsibilities you can expect will include:
- Proactive screening of cases in police custody or at court.
- On-the-day triaging and assessment - including full mental state examinations, risk assessment and gathering of background history for individuals presenting with a wide variety of established or suspected needs. These can include anxiety, challenging behaviour, serious mental illness, personality disorder, neurodiversity needs speech and language difficulties, substance misuse and associated social issues within police custody.
- Responding to detainees who present with urgent and non-urgent clinical issues with appropriate interventions. Interventions may include onward referrals for a Mental Health Act assessment, advice, signposting or making onward referrals into primary, secondary or voluntary care agencies.
- Providing advice, information and support to custody/court personnel.
- Provision of written assessment summaries to police, court and other relevant agencies in the criminal justice pathway.
- Liaising with CAMHS, YOT practitioners or other relevant agencies whilst screening young people.
- Recording data for regular auditing and evaluation.
To work with colleagues, police, custody healthcare staff and other custody/court staff (inc Appropriate Adults) in order to provide a comprehensive and integrated vulnerability screening and assessment service.
To demonstrate strong assessment skills, solid problem solving and decision making and developing holistic and patient centred care plans whilst also being able to recognise when they may need senior clinical/managerial advice/support and to actively seek this in the clinical setting.
To facilitate appropriate signposting to/referring on, or interventions in close collaboration and liaison with other relevant agencies. Developing a good working knowledge and understanding of local services and pathways will be important in this role. Knowledge of clinical pathways will enable the applicant in the ambition of facilitating a persons diversion away from the criminal justice pathway at the earliest possible opportunity. (The term diversion being used in its widest possible sense and includes urgent and non-urgent pathways).
Demonstrate effective communication with colleagues, partners and stakeholders and with people in vulnerable groups. The candidates approach will be inclusive, collaborative and helpful. Communication types include verbal, written and digital methods of communication. Competent digital skills will be needed for this role.
To actively promote relationships with colleagues that support open communication and collaborative working, taking personal responsibility for one's contribution to this process at all times.
To maintain a high standard of written communication that is mindful of the readership and takes into account the legal context. Written work will also involve recording appropriate events and observations to evidence interventions.
Proactively seek service user feedback about their experiences of liaison and diversion to inform and shape our service.
Please see the combined job description and person specification for more details of the role.
- *It is a mandatory requirement that all staff working in a Police Custody suite, Magistrates or Crown Court must be a healthcare professional, eligible to be a member of a healthcare regulatory body listed here:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/professions-regulated-by-law-in-the-uk-and-their-regulators
IMPORTANT this position is offered subject to a successful Police Vetting that will enable successful candidates to work in police custody locations. As such, you will be subjected to a significantly higher level of vetting than is standard. This vetting is conducted by the Metropolitan Police. It is essentially a detailed background check of you and close family members.
Any criminal conviction is highly likely to result in a fail another of the most essential criteria is that you are required to have resided in the UK for at least 3 years.
If vetting is unsuccessful, you will not be able to work in custody and therefore any job offer may be withdrawn.
Unfortunately the police vetting requirement is a lengthy process that could extend beyond the existing pre-employment checks that are conducted by Recruitment Services. If you are successful at interview and we wish to take forward your application, please be assured we are really keen to have you with us and we ask you for your patience with any undue delay that is outside our control.
- Comprehensive pay, pensions and leavers package which is dependent on the role and length of service.
- Work life balance,flexible working and support a range of flexible options, such as: part-time working and job sharing.
- Career development,There are plenty of opportunities to progress your career and we support your development through a number of programmes such as mentoring, coaching, positive people management, collective leadership and other talent programmes
- Car lease,our staff benefits from competitive deals to lease cars
- Accommodation,our staff benefits from keyworker housing available which is available on selected sites
- NHS discounts,with discounts up to 10% from a variety of well-known retail brands though Health Service Discounts website.
- We are committed to get the very best out of our staff and support staff in their career aspirations. We have career pathways available, where you will be able to develop your skills and build on your experience to progress into other roles across different specialties. For this role, we offer career pathways to Senior clinical Practitioner or Clinical Team Leader. In addition, we offer ongoing training and development in Leadership and MSC programme.
Qualifications
Essential
- Nursing & Midwifery Registered. Applications accepted for those with an equivalent mental health professional registration, notably Practitioner Psychology staff, Occupational Therapy staff and Social Workers. (AI) It is a mandatory requirement that all staff working in a Police Custody suite, Magistrates or Crown Court must be a healthcare professional eligible to be a member of a healthcare regulatory body listed here: (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/professions-regulated-by-law-in-the-uk-and-their-regulators **Speech and Language Therapists are encouraged to apply
Desirable: - Speech, Language and Communication skills and experience
Experience
Essential
- Demonstrable appropriate post qualifying experience of working with vulnerable persons within a community or inpatient MH setting (A)
- Demonstrable evidence of transferable knowledge, skills, competencies and related activities that is applicable, relevant and replicable to working in Liaison and Diversion (AI)
Desirable
- Experience of delivering mental health assessment, treatment and care interventions in a criminal justice system setting (A)
- Experience of working across organisational and agency boundaries in front line crisis services. (AI)
Knowledge and Skills
Essential
- Thorough knowledge and understanding of the needs of vulnerable adults (AI)
- Skilled in the assessment and management of risk and safeguarding. (AI)
- Ability to communicate clearly, concisely and confidently to a range of other professionals including those without specialist MH training or knowledge. (AI)
- An ability to develop a therapeutic relationship. (A)
- Ability to present information both written and oral and communicate this effectively (A)
Desirable
- Knowledge and/or experience of the criminal justice system (AI)
- Knowledge and understanding of Liaison and Diversion (AI)
- Ability to work independently and autonomously in a multi agency context. (A)
- Knowledge and/or demonstrable practice around Trauma Informed care. (AI)
How to apply
Applications are handled entirely by the employer on the original advert. We do not collect CVs, supporting statements or application data.
Provenance
Source
NHS Jobs
First seen
3 November 2026
Last checked
4 November 2026
Salary, closing date and description are taken from the employer's advert. The original advert always takes precedence.
About the employer
NHS organisation
This listing was structured from NHS Jobs. Vacancy details and the application process remain the responsibility of the original source.
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