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Original poster

Mental health duty caseworker post

29 replies

SillyBridget · 01/03/2025 10:28

Quite a specific topic so unsure if posting in right place, but has anyone worked in this type of role before and if so can they tell me what it was like? The role I'm interested in involves 4 days casework as an AHP and 1 day duty in a CMHT. I've done MH casework before in a different setting but never duty and I'm a bit unsure what it involves. Do duty workers generally deal directly with crisis and manage risk during working hours, or refer to crisis team?

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Original poster
SillyBridget · 02/03/2025 00:07

Sorry one more questions for anyone still reading! How feasible is it in a cmht that you could do the odd school pick up then continue working at home on your none duty days of course? I can currently do that where I am now but I'm guessing that in a cmht it might just depend on what happens on the day?

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Original poster
SillyBridget · 02/03/2025 10:02

Ladamesansmerci · 01/03/2025 23:55

Enjoyed:
-you get far more time to sit and get to know patients, and I feel you end up building some really good therapeutic relationships
-some clinicians will meet patients in cafes or etc, and this isn't frowned upon, at least where I work!)9
-you get to do a lot more therapeutic work compared to wards and have time to think about preparing materials to help with anxiety management etc
-I like managing my own diary and planning my own week. It's very flexible in terms of if you need a dental appointment or etc. If you need to finish 30 mins early it doesn't really matter, you can always log back on later that night and finish up a bit of paperwork
-I personally enjoy driving around as it gives you downtime between patients and space to think
-It's a good hybrid role in terms of working from home Vs office time
-I personally enjoy thinking on my feet, relying on my own decision making, and managing cases independently

Don't enjoy:
-recruitment and retention is very poor in CMHT. You get a lot of sickness due to stress
-can be very hard managing a caseload alongside duty, students etc
-there is A LOT of paperwork, and quite a lot of pressure to do it right, a lot of the time when I'll be honest there's no real benefit to the patient
-you need to plan time for admin or you'll end up on your laptop until 7pm and never take your lunch break. Most nurses I know do this. I used to do it, but now make a point of turning off my laptop at 5 and taking 30 mins for lunch. I'll only stay on if it's related to safeguarding/risk, or if it's something I couldn't avoid e.g. being sat with a patient waiting for an AMPH
-You carry the risk alone a lot, which can feel hard. If you have a complex/risky case, don't be afraid to bring it to every MDT. People won't have solutions, but it will make you feel less alone, and you'll feel more secure having the backing of the MDT for whatever your plan is
-I think when you first start, you do miss some of that team bonding time as you're not all in the office together

Lone work:
-I personally like lone working as I don't like being watched or micromanaged. You can always teams/ring your colleagues for advice, which I do often!
-There will be some kind of lone working policy around checking in with people
-I've always felt pretty safe, but I work with older people's and many of our patients are frail haha. If anyone has violent risk history, you will be attending in pairs. If anyone gives you a bad vibe, go in pairs. If someone is psychotic and paranoid about professionals, go in pairs. Just use your common sense. I've been verbally abused by patients before. The only physical thing I've had is someone with dementia trying to get me with a walking stick 😭🤣 I'm more commonly shouted at by stressed family members than I am patients!! You will have some secret code word to use if you need the police or etc.

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Crying at the walking stick comment sorry 😂😂

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Ladamesansmerci · 02/03/2025 10:46

SillyBridget · 02/03/2025 00:07

Sorry one more questions for anyone still reading! How feasible is it in a cmht that you could do the odd school pick up then continue working at home on your none duty days of course? I can currently do that where I am now but I'm guessing that in a cmht it might just depend on what happens on the day?

If your kid is old enough to entertain themselves and you can plan it around visits, you'd get away with it. I think it would be impossible every day though. Your week will quickly fill up with visits and meetings, and you need to be prepared you might be asked to go on an urgent visit or something, so you'd need to have back up for pick up!

Original poster
SillyBridget · 02/03/2025 11:25

Ladamesansmerci · 02/03/2025 10:46

If your kid is old enough to entertain themselves and you can plan it around visits, you'd get away with it. I think it would be impossible every day though. Your week will quickly fill up with visits and meetings, and you need to be prepared you might be asked to go on an urgent visit or something, so you'd need to have back up for pick up!

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Ah yeah I was thinking even if it worked out once a week or so it would be a nice bonus but I definitely would know I couldn't rely on it.

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