Engagement, Activity & Physical Health (EAP) Practitioner
Band 4
Main area Older Adult Inpatient Mental Health Grade Band 4 Contract Permanent Hours Full time - 37.5 hours per week Job ref 327-26-885
Site Charlton Lane Hospital Town Cheltenham Salary £28,392 - £31,157 per annum Salary period Yearly Closing 22/11/2026 23:59
We love what we do and we think you will, too!
At Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust (GHC), we provide joined-up mental health, physical health and learning disability services to people of all ages across Gloucestershire. We run community hospitals and provide care and support in people’s own homes and in a range of other locations across the county .
We are on a mission to enable people to live the best life they can and we have a vision to work together to provide outstanding care . We put people at the heart of our services, focusing on personalised care by asking ‘what matters to you ’.
We’re passionate about making sure that everyone can contribute to achieving our mission and w e are continually working to support healthy and happy high-quality team s in all areas of the Trust .
Our application process aims to understand each candidates knowledge, skills and experience. We have found that candidates that use AI to generate their answers can lack specificity and fail to address key criteria outlined in the job description.
It is really important to personalise your application to convey your individual skills, knowledge, and experiences effectively and for us to understand why you are applying for this role with GHC. We discourage over reliance on AI-generated applications as it will lessen your chances of success in securing an interview with us .
Job overview
An exciting opportunity has arisen for an EAP practitioner to join the well established teams at Charlton Lane Hospital. The role is a rotational post to jointhe current EAP team.
There are three wards and these are Chestnut and Mulberry which are for functional mental health patients that are over 65 and Willow specialised in organic disorders specifically dementia.
The unit serves the population within Gloucestershire and works closely with NHS England. The successful applicant will join a friendly, well established service.
The successful candidate will hold a keen interest in improving the lives of individuals whom experience mental ill health and will hold experience working within mental health.
A valid UK driving licence plus the use of own transport for business purposes is essential. For qualifying staff the Trust has a Lease Car Schemein place and also offers a popular Salary Sacrifice Car Scheme with our partner Tusker.
This post does require the post holder to be fully able to undertake all statutory and mandatory training; physical interventions including PARRI. Fitness for physical intervention will be assessed by Occupational Health
Main duties of the job
- Initiate, coordinate and run ward and community based social and recreational; activities for ward patients, including individual and group activities that support and promote recovery and social inclusion.
- To plan and implement a programme of personalised activity based on developing engagement through interest. Provide a daily structure, giving a feeling of productivity and reducing destress.
- Working closely with families to offer information and guidance in concordance with triangle of care and be a link worker for the carers group.
- Contribute to specialist assessment/ care planning, utilising assessment tools within the wider multi-disciplinary team.
- To ensure risks and associated with interventions and environment are assessed and managed in collaboration with multi-disciplinary team.
Working for our organisation
We have a skilled and dedicated workforce of over 5000 colleagues working in a diverse range of services over 55 sites and within people’s homes. We strive to enable a welcoming workplace culture that builds and celebrates civility, inclusivity and diversity, while providing a sense of belonging and trust.
Annual staff surveys, regular Pulse surveys and other engagement opportunities provide our people with lots of opportunity to tell us about their experiences of working with us. In the latest staff survey, 61% of colleagues gave us their views. It was great to hear that:
- 72% of colleagues would recommend the Trust as a place to work, ranking us 1st for Provider Trusts in the South West region on this question.
- 76% would recommend the standard of care provided in our services if a friend or relative needed treatment, also ranking us 1st in the South West region.
- 81% said that care of patients and service users is the Trust’s priority, compared with an average in comparable NHS Trusts in England of 64%.
This high-level overview shows we are in a healthy position, with higher scores than average for comparable organisations, alongside a great response rate, indicating good staff engagement. However, we also know we have plenty of room for improvement in many areas. To that end, we continue to prioritise and invest in our commitment to genuinely becoming a Great Place to Work with consistent top-quartile performance in the annual staff survey and Pulse surveys.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Gloucestershire Health and Care is committed to embedding and providing personalised care through all of its services as part of our high-qualitycare strategy. The purpose of personalised care is to empower people to lead the lives they want to live. Personalised care starts with a conversation with people about what matters to them. It builds on what people can do, as well as addressing their health needs. Including new ways of working and delivering care, emphasising that we need to make effective use of the full range of our people’s skills and experience to deliver the best possible patient care. So we want to know What Matters to You and that you will share our values and join us on this very important journey.
To support compliance with UK immigration requirements, all applicants who require a visa to work in the UK must disclose their visa history in full. This includes current and previous sponsors, dates of sponsorship, visa category, and any changes of employment. If you are on a Graduate or Dependant Visa, please disclose the expiry date on your application. Incomplete information may mean we are unable to consider your application.
Person specification
Qualifications
- NVQ level 3 or equivalent level of competency based training in a relevant health or social care area
- Full driving licence
Length and/or Nature of Experience
- Significant experience of working in a mental health or social care setting
- Significant experience of working in a team and independently
- Experience in the assessment of patients
- Experience of lone working and decision making
- Experience of providing social and recreational activities
Knowledge
- Knowledge of mental illness/learning disabilities and dementia and its impact on the Individual
- Knowledge of how mental illness has an impact on motivation, social skills and activities and on the individual and their families
- Knowledge and understanding of risk assessment and management obtained through formal inhouse training course
When joining us, as well as becoming part of a team that makes a difference, we also offer:
- Free car parking at many of our sites
- 27 days leave plus bank holidays, increasing up to 33 days with long service
- A broad range of training and development opportunities, including apprenticeships up to Level 7 qualification.
- A multi-professional preceptorship programme for all Newly Qualified; Nurses, Nursing Associates, Internationally Educated Practitioners, Allied Health Professionals and Return to Practice Practitioners.
- Generous NHS pension and enhanced pay when if you work unsocial hours
- Flexible, family friendly and agile working opportunities
- Recognition and long service awards
- Fast Track physiotherapy
- Access to discounts and salary sacrifice schemes; including Cycle to Work, Car scheme and discounts on travel, leisure and retailers.
Employer certification / accreditation badges
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.
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