Staff benefits

At Dorset CAMHS we recognise that people are our greatest asset. It’s thanks to the incredible staff here and in other teams at Dorset HealthCare that the trust has been rated ‘outstanding’ by the CQC. We strive to ensure people enjoy working here and feel valued for what they do – and we believe that shows.

Staff working at Dorset CAMHS can enjoy a wide range of benefits including an attractive pension package, learning and development opportunities including a unique clinical staff development programme, career mobility, up to 33 days of annual leave a year (depending on NHS service, excluding bank holidays), staff discounts, health and wellbeing support, and a relocation package of up to £5,000 for hard to recruit vacancies.

Find out more about the benefits of working for Dorset HealthCare on the trust’s staff benefits pages. You can also read more about why Dorset is a fantastic place to live and work here.

Learning and development

Dorset CAMHS offers a wide range of outstanding learning and development opportunities including apprenticeships, role-specific skills training, professional mentoring, training roles, leadership qualifications and support for academic study.

Our dedicated workforce team work to ensure staff are trained to meet the needs of our service, whether that be through specific therapy training, specialist qualifications or study at one of our affiliated universities, and our staff have the opportunity and support to progress in their careers.

CAMHS Clinical Staff Development Programme

All newly recruited clinical staff at Dorset CAMHS will take part in our Clinical Staff Development Programme. This includes a year-long mentorship programme alongside the completion of core competencies, which are a combination of e-learning, observation and then practice.

Training roles

We offer a wide variety of training roles for people looking to develop their skills. These include apprenticeships, trainee practitioner posts, nurse associate roles and more.

We’re part of collaborative training schemes that give staff access to professional qualifications, and regularly have trainee positions for both qualified and unqualified roles.

For example, our trainee Wellbeing Practitioner posts offer graduates an opportunity to gain professional experience whilst studying through one of our affiliated universities. Our Mental Health Support Workers might also choose to undertake further training and qualifications if they wish, for example through apprenticeship schemes or by studying for professional qualifications.

Clinical qualifications

Dorset CAMHS offers a variety of career paths for qualified clinical staff, depending on their own ambitions and interests. For example, mental health nurses might become advanced nurse practitioners, entry-level practitioners such as trainee wellbeing practitioners can train to become qualified therapists, and staff in other clinical roles may choose to specialise in certain areas. Clinical staff may also go on to undertake leadership training (see below).

Preceptorship Programme

Specifically designed for our newly qualified mental health nurses, we offer a structured Preceptorship Programme. We also provide support and training throughout the process of revalidation, ensuring nurses fully understand what is needed to meet a range of requirements.

Support worker training

In common with support workers across Dorset HealthCare, CAMHS support workers can undertake a variety of training. This includes Therapeutic Engagement, a two-day course designed for all support worker roles, and Care Certificate training (see below). Some support workers at CAMHS also study for apprenticeships, which give them the opportunity to progress into roles such as senior support worker.

Care Certificate

The Care Certificate assesses the fundamental skills, knowledge and behaviours that are required to provide safe, effective and compassionate care. It will be awarded to all staff in clinical roles bands 1-4 who can demonstrate that they meet each of the 15 Care Certificate standards.

Coaching

In partnership with Thames Valley and Wessex Leadership Academy, Dorset HealthCare has created a network of trained coaches and is now offering either an internal or external coach, free or charge, to support staff development.