AMHP - Mental Health Social Worker

Location Dunstable
Salary £28 - £29 per hour
Discipline
AMHPs have to undergo extensive specialist training, and therefore have an in depth
knowledge of law and have the responsibility for upholding the law when conducting
assessments under the MHA.

They can use that knowledge to ensure that the rights
of those being assessed are protected, and can provide a counter to the medical
model of mental health, introducing a more rounded social perspective to the
process.

They need to use their knowledge not just of mental health legislation but
also the Human Rights Act and other legislation, such as the Mental Capacity Act.
This can give them the confidence to disagree with the doctors, and to seek out and
suggest alternatives to hospital admission.

The AMHP will draw on all the information available on that individual, not just the
medical and clinical factors.

This includes their individual social and cultural
circumstances, the possible risks and protective factors, as well as their knowledge
of mental illness and the legal process, in order to try and reach a just and equitable
conclusion which will balance the rights of the patient with their possible need for
protection and treatment.