Psychiatric Liaison Team Link Worker at Sunderland Counselling Service

Contract Type: Fixed term

Role Type: Employment

Hours: Full time

Application deadline:

Based: Sunderland

Salary: £32,073 Per Annum

Salary Type: Salary Scale

Location: Tyne and Wear

Role description: Project Support

 Psychiatric Liaison Team Link Worker

Contract Type: Fixed term for one year

Contract Hours: 37.5 hours p/w

Salary: AfC Band 5 comparable (£32,073)

Application deadline:  31^st July 2026

Sunderland Counselling Service (SCS) is seeking to appoint link workers to work alongside the Psychiatric Liaison Team and Primary Care Networks within Sunderland, in an exciting new project. The service will be set within a unique independent mental health charity, which is acknowledged for its contribution to the community by mental health professionals, health practitioners and local and regional voluntary and statutory agencies.

This new project will provide support to meet the needs of people with mental health problems in Sunderland who present at the Emergency Department at Sunderland Royal Hospital. The project will use a holistic, person centred approach to collaboratively supportive people to manage emotional, social and environmental stressors within a recovery-based approach.

The post holder will work with individuals identified by clinical staff within PLT or primary care, who will direct individuals to the link worker for additional, non-clinical support. Work may include direct emotional or practical support, signposting, providing self-help materials, a check in system, identifying a suitable package of specific support and making any necessary onward referrals, while always being led by the individual themselves.

The post holder will work with frequent attenders to PLT through attending formulation sessions/MDT to identify any themes and to support implementation of any plans to prevent re attendance at SRH.

This activity is envisaged as additional non-clinical emotional and practical support to wrap around existing mental health services, to support people while they are waiting for formal treatment, prevent deterioration, maximising treatment outcomes and supporting independence. It is NOT intended to operate as a crisis service or an alternative to crisis services, nor as a clinical intervention and would not take on care planning or case management functions which clearly must be provided by clinical staff.

To allow flexibility and to respond to client need, services may be delivered from the PCN bases as well as SCS city base and other community venues in Sunderland such as the Mental Health Hubs. The post holder will be called upon to use a personal means of transport while engaged in the work of the service for which travel expenses will be available.

The post holder will be employed on a fixed term contract of one year which will be subject to a probationary period of 6 months. As this is a pilot project, continuing employment is subject to obtaining ongoing project related funding.

If you have any questions about this role, please contact Alicia Harris (Senior Mental Health Link Worker) on 0191 514 7007.