Alcohol Assertive Outreach Practitioner | South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust

Are you passionate about making a real difference in the lives of people affected by alcohol? Join our expandingAlcohol Care Outreach Teamat South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust

This role is part of our exciting expansion into Bromley, Greenwich, and Bexley, and we’re looking for practitioners who are flexible and ready to help shape services in new boroughs. You will be initially based in Southwark, but will need to be able to travel to other boroughs as we expand our service.

As an Alcohol Assertive Outreach Practitioner, you’ll work within a multi-disciplinary team to deliver outreach interventions to individuals who frequently use emergency and inpatient services. You’ll manage a caseload of clients with lower complexity, support Band 6 clinicians, and engage in work in both hospital and community settings.

This is a fantastic opportunity for someone looking to grow in the field of Addictions.

We’re looking for someone who is

• Professionally registered (e.g., nursing, psychology, OT, social work) or has equivalent experience in the field of addictions
• Experienced in engaging hard-to-reach service users
• Skilled in communication and engagement
• Ready to work flexibly across diverse settings and communities

In return, you’ll be part of a supportive team with access to professional development, reflective practice, and opportunities to contribute to service improvement.

• Support assessments and care planning for individuals with alcohol dependence.
• Hold a caseload of clients with lower complexity, delivering low-intensity psycho-social support and harm reduction advice in hospital and community settings
• . Carry out assertive outreach, including welfare visits and accompanying clients to appointments.
• Maintain accurate records and assist with clinical observations.
• Contribute to AAOT’s expansion across South London, including Bromley, Greenwich, and Bexley.
• Promote AAOT pathways, support engagement at new sites, and assist with service evaluation and improvement.
• Act as a positive ambassador for AAOT, participate in supervision and team meetings, and support new staff through informal guidance.
• Communicate effectively across diverse settings and adapt to service user needs.
• Stay up to date with evidence-based practices, engage in training, and promote inclusive, trauma-informed care.
• Must be professionally registered and able to travel across boroughs.

South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trustprovide the widest range of NHS mental health services in the UK as well as substance misuse services for people who are addicted to drugs and alcohol. We work closely with the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London and are part of King's Health Partners Academic Health Sciences Centre. There are very few organisations in the world that have such wide-ranging capabilities working with mental illness. Our scope is unique because it is built on three major foundations: care and treatment, science and research, and training.

By coming to work at our Trust, you will gain experience of being part of an organisation with a rich history and international reputation in mental health care. You will have access to professional development and learning opportunities and have the chance to work alongside people who are world leaders in their field. The Trust delivered more than 14,000 training experiences in 2014; providing an extensive range of learning opportunities for staff at all levels. In addition, our working relationship with King's Health Partners allows those working at the Trust to get involved in academic research.

Treatment Provision

• Following allocation by senior clinicians, support the assessment of clients with alcohol dependence and related psycho social needs, contributing to care planning under supervision. This may include gathering relevant clinical and social history and identifying basic support needs.
• Hold a caseload of clients with less complex needs, delivering low intensity support while escalating any concerns or changes in risk to supervising band 6 and 7 staff.
• Respond to individual client needs by contributing to care coordination, liaising with families, carers, and other professionals to help reduce barriers to engagement and support continuity of care.

•

Deliver 1

1 low-intensity psychosocial interventions and harm reduction support in community and hospital settings. This may include brief interventions, motivational engagement, alcohol advice, and structured follow-up support.

• Support assertive outreach activities, including accompanying clients to appointments and carrying out welfare visits to homes, hostels, or other agreed locations, using trauma-informed approaches.
• The post-holder will work across sites and boroughs, including both hospital and community settings, and will be expected to work flexibly, including via phone, text, or digital contact where appropriate to maintain engagement.
• Liaise with clinical teams, housing, and support services to advocate for clients and promote access to treatment pathways, social care, and health services.
• Provide direct care to service users by delivering low-intensity psychosocial support, alcohol-related harm reduction advice, and structured outreach interventions under supervision
• Contribute to accurate and timely documentation of client contacts and outcomes using Trust electronic record systems, ensuring safe information sharing with appropriate partners.
• Where trained and appropriate, assist in clinical observations such as breath alcohol monitoring
• Use standard keyboard skills for data entry into clinical systems, communication platforms, and electronic care records.
• Be able to drive or use public transport for outreach work across multiple sites.

Service development

· Support the expansion of AAOT services across South London boroughs by engaging service users at new sites, promoting AAOT pathways among local services, and sharing feedback with senior colleagues to inform ongoing development.

· Maintain accurate and timely records of service activity including client contacts, referrals, and engagement outcomes, contributing to service evaluation, audit, and performance reporting.

· Act as a point of contact for frontline staff seeking advice about alcohol harm reduction, signposting to relevant pathways or escalating concerns to Band 6 clinicians as appropriate.

· Manage day-to-day responsibilities with good time management, prioritising tasks to meet service deadlines and adapting to the changing needs of the client group and the team.

· Plan and prioritise daily tasks to ensure continuity of care, attendance at appointments, timely record-keeping, and responsiveness to service user needs.

· Support research, evaluation, and innovation by identifying potential participants for service-related studies, promoting involvement in quality improvement initiatives, and supporting Trust research governance processes (e.g., Consent for Contact).

· Be responsible for the safe use, storage, and inventory of mobile devices and outreach materials (e.g. phones, leaflets, harm reduction supplies), ensuring these are used in line with Trust protocols

Leadership and supervision

· Act as a positive ambassador for the Alcohol Assertive Outreach Team (AAOT) and promote the team’s trauma-informed, person-centred approach when working with service users, professionals, and partner agencies.

· Participate actively in supervision, reflective practice sessions, and team meetings to support ongoing development and delivery of high-quality care.

· Share examples of good practice and learning with colleagues and contribute to a culture of continuous improvement and collaboration.

· Support the induction of new staff, students, or volunteers by offering informal guidance and opportunities for shadowing, under the direction of senior team members.

Communication

• The post holder will liaise regularly with the following:

COMMUNICATION WITH

FREQUENCY

Service Director / Clinical Director

As required

AAOT Team Leader

Daily

Peer Group – AAOT Practitioners

At least weekly

Alcohol Care Team members

Daily

Nursing staff

Daily

Medical staff

Daily

Allied HP staff

Daily

Patients/carers

Daily

Clinical Governance staff

As required

Personal and professional development

· Keep informed of the latest evidence-based practices in alcohol treatment, trauma-informed care, harm reduction, and assertive outreach, including relevant NICE guidance and public health strategies.

· Participate in regular training, supervision, and development opportunities to enhance knowledge and practice, including team-based and individual learning sessions.

· Apply learning from research, policy, and clinical developments to improve the quality of engagement and interventions offered to service users.

· Comply with SLaM’s code of ethics, national guidance, and Trust procedures, maintaining professional standards and accountability in all areas of work.

· Respect and respond to the individuality, values, cultural backgrounds, and spiritual needs of service users, carers, and colleagues, ensuring inclusive and non-discriminatory care.

This advert closes on Wednesday 20 May 2026