Head of Mental Health Legislation | Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust

Posting date:	02 June 2025
Salary:	Not specified
Additional salary information:	£67,950 - £78,028 pa inc pro rata
Hours:	Full time
Closing date:	02 July 2025
Location:	Dartford, DA2 7WG
Company:	Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust
Job type:	Permanent
Job reference:	7140061/277-7140061-CORP

Summary

Are you passionate about mental health legislation and looking for an exciting leadership role? We are seeking an experienced clinician to join us as the Head of Mental Health Legislation in a job share with the current postholder. This is a unique opportunity to provide strategic leadership for the Trust in all matters relating to Mental Health Law, ensuring we are at the forefront of good practice and safeguarding the rights of our patients and lead the committed Mental Health Act team.

We are looking for someone with extensive knowledge and experience in mental health legislation and working practices across various mental health settings. Significant experience in administering the Mental Health Act with multi-professional teams is essential.

The successful candidate will have a strong operational and strategic background, a proven track record in delivering transformational change, and exceptional interpersonal and leadership skills. You will inspire, motivate, and influence at all levels, winning hearts and minds with your drive and determination to succeed in our progressive organisation and partnerships.

In return, we offer a great experience, recognition, support, and a real sense of team purpose. We support people to excel across Oxleas and welcome applications from all walks of life with diverse backgrounds.

If you are a proven inspirational leader committed to excellence and want to be part of a great team, we would love to hear from you.

Provide strategic leadership in all matters relating to Mental Health Law, ensuring the organisation is at the forefront of good practice, and safeguarding the rights of patients. Ensure the trust is compliant with the requirements of relevant legislation including the MHA 1983, MCA 2005 and DOLs.

Responsibility for strategic and operational integration of MH legislation requirements with clinical best practice and for representing the trust externally in relation to MH legislation matters.

Responsibility for the co-ordination of governance arrangements for MHA and MCA and reporting.

Ensure appropriate arrangements in place for the performance of hospital manager functions on behalf of the Board and ensure patient rights are protected at all times.

Provide management and leadership for the MHL team. Be responsible for the development, implementation and ongoing review of MH law policies and procedures.

Responsibility for the collection of and analysis of data and information relating to MHA and MCA activity ensuring that this can be reported internally and externally to the organisation.

Responsibility for ensuring that adequate mental health law training is provided for staff. They will take the lead in collating responses to the CQC following MHA monitoring visits.

Oxleas offers a wide range of NHS healthcare services to people in community and secure environment settings. Our services include community health care such as district nursing and speech and language therapy, care for people with learning disabilities and mental health care such as psychiatry, nursing and therapies. Our multidisciplinary teams look after people of all ages and we work in close partnership with other parts of the NHS, local councils and the voluntary sector and through our new provider collaboratives. Our 4,300 members of staff work in many different settings including hospitals, clinics, prisons, secure hospitals, children’s centres, schools and people’s homes.

We have over 125 sites in a variety of locations in the South of England. In London we operate within the Boroughs of Bexley, Bromley Greenwich and into Kent. We manage hospital sites including Queen Mary’s Hospital, Sidcup and Memorial Hospital, Woolwich, as well as the Bracton Centre, our medium secure unit for people with mental health needs. We are the largest NHS provider of prison health services providing healthcare to prisons within Devon, Dorset, Bristol, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire, Kent and South London. We are proud of the care we provide and our people.

Our purpose is to improve lives by providing the best possible care to our patients and their families. This is strengthened by our new values:
• We’re Kind
• We’re Fair
• We Listen
• We Care

Take a strategic lead across the trust for the management and monitoring of practice in line with the requirements of the MHA Act 1983, and Mental Capacity Act 2005 and other associated legislation, case law and government departmental guidance.

Ensure that the Mental Health Act (MHA), Mental Capacity Act (MCA) and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DOLs) are administered within statutory guideline and meets internal and external targets.

Identify and manage any legal risks.

Provide advanced and specialist expert advice and support to staff and act as a consultant to managers and clinicians on their implementation of MH Legislation and to ensure that best practice is developed and maintained across the trust.

To set and monitor standards to ensure an effective MHA administration service is in place throughout the trust and that CQC recommendations are fully addressed.

Ensure that practice promotes and safeguards individual rights.

Act as the professional lead for MHA administrators within the trust and facilitate good teamwork in all their dealings.

Represent the views and experiences of the Trust at London and national level especially in the London MHA network, our dealings with the Court and Tribunals Service, the Care Quality Commission and the Ministry of Justice.

Develop systems and practices that promote accountability for best practice

Act as a gatekeeper to authorise other practitioners to access and instruct legal representation where required.

Instruct legal representation for the Trust as necessary, prepare for and attend Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals as required.

To ensure that the Trust Mental Health Legislation Oversight Group is convened in accordance with the group terms of reference and that the agenda facilitates appropriate oversight of the implementation of mental health legislation within the trust.
To prepare and present the mental health law annual report.

Liaise with the Care Quality Commission and respond to reports.

Providing expert advice for the development, implementation, and evaluation of programmes of education relating to Mental Health Legislation.

To conduct high level investigations within the Trust’s disciplinary, grievance and safety processes and procedures.

Provide a visible and credible presence within the Trust in relation to all aspects of Mental Health Legislation.

Represent the Trust at relevant local external forums.

Work with heads of nursing, matrons, approved clinicians, ward managers and other clinicians to create an environment where the rights of people subject to detention are upheld, identifying good practice and challenging practice that is poor or unlawful.

Work with Heads of Nursing/Patient Safety team/Complaints & PALS team to ensure systems are in place to identify mental health legislation issues that are raised via Complaints and PALS and ensure appropriate actions is taken.

Ensure correct and timely MHA data entry into the electronic patient record system to inform clinical decision-making and enable the production of useful reports. Analyse reports to identify trends or underlying factors which require further joint managerial action. Ensure the accuracy of external reporting.

Support the effective use of trust resources, within and beyond the MHA Admin team.

Ensure that all in team have regular supervision and appraisal.

Take the lead in ensuring that the Trust provides hearing rooms that meet the Tribunal room specifications in association with the estates and facilities team.

Ensure that trust management is aware of the resource implications of proper implementation of MH legislation. Manage the processes for MHA Manager allowances.

Recruit, train and line manage the MHA Admin team and ensure that adequate operational administrative systems are in place to support the implementation of the Act.

Ensure that MHA managers appointed on behalf of the trust Board are competent to undertake the duties required under s23 MHA 1983.

Work closely with MHA Managers, ensuring that any concerns they raise are managed appropriately, collating such concerns, monitoring trends and putting in place systems and processes to prevent reoccurrence.
Support the Chief Medical Officer and Chief Nursing officer in delivering proper clinical governance in all areas flowing from MHA legislation

Support the Trust Board in their accountabilities of the Mental Health Act

Chair meetings of the MHA Managers

Provide advice to Clinical & Service Managers and Heads of Nursing on requirements for meeting CQC Fundamental Standards.

Manage the budget for the MHA service, including expense payments for MHA Managers.


This advert closes on Thursday 12 Jun 2025

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