Do you have expertise in the field of Learning Disability and looking for your next challenge?

Are you passionate about supporting individuals with complex needs?

Are you curious about working as part of a Therapeutic Community + within a prison setting?

If you answered yes to the above, we are keen to hear from you!

This is an exciting opportunity to join the dedicated Therapeutic Community (TC +) team as a Learning Disability Specialist at HMP Dovegate.

TC+ is a 20 bedded unit at HMP Dovegate, a Serco run prison which caters for men with low IQ or learning disability with comorbid personality difficulties. The service is part of the Offender Personality Disorder Pathway and is co-commissioned between NHS England and Her Majesty's Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS).

TC+ provides a comprehensive assessment, treatment and rehabilitation service to male offenders with a low IQ who require treatment within the Prison Service. Offenders with a Learning Disability comprise a heterogeneous population with highly complex needs. Procedures for psychosocial assessment, treatment and rehabilitation require significant adaptation. Given this, the development of high quality, evidence-led interventions require specialist Learning Disability knowledge and skills.

Main duties of the job

The Offender Health Directorate in Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust provides Healthcare in eight Prisons across Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire and Lincolnshire and is commissioned to deliver Offender Personality Disorder (OPD) Services both within the Prison estate and the community. You will be part of a large peer group of 400+ healthcare professionals with access to appropriate peer support, supervision and excellent opportunities for learning and development.You will need to demonstrate a high level of communication as well as the capacity to work flexibility within your role. You will be expected to work as a fully integrated member of the TC+ team which includes a Multi-Disciplinary NHS team and HMPPS staff.

You will have a good understanding of the Learning Disability national agenda and related Legislation and will be able to translate this locally to ensure the Learning Disability needs of residents are appropriately assessed and care is designed accordingly.

You will work in partnership with staff across the TC+ to ensure that programmes of work being delivered are appropriately adapted for the residents and will support in the delivery and evaluation of both individual and group work to ensure residents are able to make sense of their own experiences, reduce the risk that they pose and likelihood of reoffending.

About us

We have a huge variety of opportunities in our expansive Trust covering geographically from South Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire to Leicester, providing mental health inpatient and community services, community health services, forensic mental health services and secure prison healthcare across the East Midlands.

We have more than 100 sites and a huge scope of unique opportunities to develop your career and gain some amazing experiences. We strive to be a great place to work and offer many staff benefits and tailored staff support and wellbeing programmes.

Do you want to make a difference?Do you believe in Trust, Honesty, Respect, Compassion and Teamwork? Then Nottinghamshire Healthcare is the perfect place for you to start, maintain or further your career. Join our team of nearly 9000 who are making a difference every day. We are all about our people - our staff, volunteers, carers, service users and patients.

Follow us on Facebook and Twitter @NottsHealthcare

Job description
Job responsibilities

• To take the lead role in the adaptation of materials and programmes of work/ themed groups for offenders with a Learning Disability resident in TC+
• To conduct and contribute to assessments and evaluations for offenders with a Learning Disability
• To contribute to small therapy groups on TC+ and to train others in ensuring their groups are accessible for men with Learning Disabilities on the community
• To develop and train staff in their roles as facilitators in the therapeutic community, particularly in their awareness of Learning Disability
• To contribute to the wider development of an integrated treatment pathway for Prisoners with Learning Disability
• To develop and deliver specialist education and training packages for staff within TC+ and wider Prison
• To contribute actively to TC+ research relating to Learning Disability, peer reviews and audits within the TC and disseminate research findings as required

We welcome applications from a range of professional backgrounds and whilst previous experience of working as part of a TC would be advantageous a professional curiosity to work in this area for the first time is also very welcome.

Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential

• Registered Learning Disability Nurse/Registered Mental Health Nurse/SLT/OT /Teacher/SENCO Current registration relevant to the profession eg HCPC

Desirable

• Management/leadership qualifications

Experience
Essential

• Experience of delivering Learning Disability interventions in Mental Health/ Learning Disability secure settings including, clinical, leadership and management roles
• Working knowledge/experience of Learning Disability and Mental Health Policy, assessment and Care pathways
• Extensive experience of working with a wide range of professionals and MDT working
• Extensive experience of working with multiple agencies both health and social care
• Child and Adult Safeguarding
• Experience of providing Learning Disability education considering all aspects of Equality and Diversity
• Supervision and appraisal of staff
• Risk Management

Desirable

• Clinical audit
• Project management
• Investigations and report writing

Knowledge
Essential

• Working understanding of policies and procedures of the Trust both clinical and corporate
• Understanding of the interface between the Mental Health Act 1983 and Mental Capacity Act 2005
• Knowledge of the national context and national priorities for Learning Disability, including Transforming Care and Building the Right Support.
• An understanding of Personality Disorder/other co-morbidity in the context of Learning Disability
• Leadership and management approaches including performance management
• Evidence of maintaining CPD

Desirable

• A wider understanding of neurodiversity and the coexistence of intellectual disability/autism and ADHD and how these diagnoses need to be considered when designing therapeutic approaches and supporting people within the TC+.

Skills
Essential

• High level communication skills, verbal and written including an ability to communicate complex information to offenders with a Learning Disability, using a range of means, taking into account the needs of people with impaired language and communication
• Excellent leadership skills
• Sound assessment skills including risk assessment and management.
• Good negotiation skills
• Ability to manage time effectively
• Clinical audit and service development
• Ability to work flexibly and to deadlines
• Supervision and appraisal
• Reliable & Resourceful
• Good interpersonal skills
• Performance management skills
• Management of change
• Good IT skills

Any attachments will be accessible after you click to apply.

186-1005-22-FS