Liaison and Diversion Practitioner | Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust
| Posting date: | 27 May 2026 |
|---|---|
| Salary: | Not specified |
| Additional salary information: | £32,073 - £39,043 per annum |
| Hours: | Full time |
| Closing date: | 26 June 2026 |
| Location: | Preston, PR1 2RJ |
| Company: | Lancashire Care Foundation Trust |
| Job type: | Permanent |
| Job reference: | 8040851/351-BAY995-MF |
Summary
Opportunity has arisen within Liaison and Diversion Team (L&D) for the role of an L&D Practitioner (Preston). Permanent position.
Essential Criteria: A minimum of NVQ Level 3 in relevant subject OR Diploma in Health and Social Care AND/OR Experience of working with people with complex needs for a minimum of 2 years. Professional recognised qualification will be considered, Substance Misuse Diploma, RMN, Learning Disability Nurse.
L&D is not a mental health team it offers a triage to identify people who have vulnerabilities such as, learning disability, substance misuse, homelessness, debt, or non-acute mental health issues when they first come into contact with the criminal justice system as an alleged offender.
This is an ‘all age’ service and so you will be required to work with people from the age of 10 years upwards. You will be required to assess children and adults.
The main issues that L&D are asked to complete by the police whilst in custody for the people we see are identification, screening, assessment and referral to other services.
• We work in Police Custody Suites and Courts and offer assessments to individuals within the Criminal Justice system including Voluntary Attendees
• We look to identify unmet need and vulnerabilities that often lead to or exacerbate offending behaviour
• We liaise across agencies to support onward planning and intervention to address needs
• We offer brief community-based intervention to maximise service user access & engagement with those appropriate services through our community engagement team
• We help to inform decision makers with relevant and timely information to support sentencing and disposal outcomes.
Important: This post requires successful vetting from the Police. Candidates are required to undergo Level 2 (full) Vetting from Lancashire Constabulary; clearance is essential in order to fulfil the role.
A Planned Visit to Preston Police Station Custody Suite is highly recommended following submission of application and prior to interview.
For further information about the post or plan your visit please contact
Deborah Hutchins Manager - Deborah.hutchins@lscft.nhs.uk
Linda Baker Deputy Manager - Linda.baker@lscft.nhs.uk
LSCFT values diversity and inclusion, recognising that talent from varied backgrounds creates a flexible, creative, and effective workforce. We actively challenge discrimination and welcome applications from all, regardless of age, disability (including those with experience of accessing or caring for someone who has accessed mental health or learning disability services), ethnicity, gender, religion, belief, or sexual orientation.
Our aim is to reflect the communities we serve, so we particularly encourage applications from under-represented groups. If you’d like to discuss your application, please ask.
We also welcome individuals with lived experience relevant to the role or service area, as your insight brings authenticity to our services.
LSCFT support flexible working, we believe that a positive work/life balance benefits NHS employees through improved health and wellbeing. We would consider working patterns such as term time, part time, compressed hours and flexi-time.
The wellbeing of our people is at the heart of everything we do. We offer a wide range of resources, tools and support to help you thrive both in and out of work.
Explore our full wellbeing offer here:Keeping our workforce well
For more details on this vacancy please review the attached job description and person specification.
This advert closes on Wednesday 10 Jun 2026