These B8a Non-Medical Prescriber (NMP) roles are the cornerstone of our Community Mental Health transformation which seeks to provide a more seamless pathway of mental health care across different levels of care. These new senior posts are critical in maintaining the smooth running of the system and are part of the Trust's commitment to developing nurse career pathways, growing and retaining our nursing expertise and cultivating a new diverse workforce.

Post holders offer clinical supervision, CPD and skills building and clinical leadership for primary care colleagues. They also offer assessments for those patients with complex needs which may also involve prescribing before commencing their treatment intervention in the less intensive levels of care. The nurses also work closely with the GP's offering ad hoc advice and guidance, join MDT virtual clinics and monthly meetings with the PCN GP mental health leads to support building relationships of trust and transparency between mental health services and primary care.

The Specialist Nurse Practitioners are based in the district Adult Locality Teams. They enhance the senior MDT leadership team offering the voice of primary care. They offer triage and support to clinical discussion; they offer outpatient reviews and support the appropriate step down of patients from more intensive levels of treatment into the new psychological skills and stabilisation services.