Mental Health Nurse: South East London (multi-site)

Mental Health Nurse. Location: Multi-site (including Lewisham). Salary: NHS Band 6 (£37,000) – Band 7 (£46,000). Immediate Start Available.

Main duties of the job

• Triage and assess new and follow-up patients in a primary care setting, aiming for 15-minute appointments wherever clinically appropriate
• Provide rapid, same-day mental health nursing services to reduce the burden on GPs and on-duty doctors
• Perform initial psychiatric diagnostics akin to A&E mental health nursing, and refer on to appropriate secondary services when needed
• Collaborate closely with Lead GPs, GPs, and our clinical/non-clinical leads to ensure seamless patient pathways
• Adapt infection-control protocols, including mask-wearing, to maintain a safe environment for patients and staff

About us

• Immediate start: Help us meet urgent patient needs from day one
• Career development: Salary aligned to NHS Bands 6–7, with regular reviews
• Collaborative culture: Work alongside leading GPs and mental health professionals dedicated to transforming primary care
• Impact: Play a pivotal role in reversing reliance on large local MH employers (e.g., SLAM) by delivering high-productivity, high-comfort care

Apply today with your CV and a brief cover letter outlining your primary care and A&E mental health experience.

Penrose Health is an equal-opportunity employer. We welcome applications from all backgrounds and are committed to creating a supportive, inclusive workplace.

Job responsibilities

• Triage and assess new and follow-up patients in a primary care setting, aiming for 15-minute appointments wherever clinically appropriate
• Provide rapid, same-day mental health nursing services to reduce the burden on GPs and on-duty doctors
• Perform initial psychiatric diagnostics akin to A&E mental health nursing, and refer on to appropriate secondary services when needed
• Collaborate closely with Lead GPs, GPs, and our clinical/non-clinical leads to ensure seamless patient pathways
• Adapt infection-control protocols, including mask-wearing, to maintain a safe environment for patients and staff

Person Specification

Experience

• Registered Mental Health Nurse (RMN) with solid basic nurse training; A&E MHN background highly desirable
• Experience in primary care or first-contact practice (FCP) environments is a plus
• Strong, efficient mindset to manage a mix of new and follow-up patients with pace and precision
• Holistic approach to patient care; this is not a counselling role (counselling referrals are handled by our specialist service)
• Flexible, team-oriented, and comfortable working across multiple sites
• Multilingual candidates encouraged to apply

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.