Come join a passionate team, dedicated to providing outstanding

care to service users, their families & carers.

To ensure we deliver the outstanding care we believe our service users deserve, we are recruiting motivated and dynamic Senior liaison practitioners

who can lead and inspire the nursing team, by demonstrating sound clinical skills and being able to remain calm and compassionate.

You will take a lead role in planning clinical care, employing your pre-existing skills to provide a therapeutic and safe environment. You will

develop confidence in assessing risk on a formal and informal basis and be able to balance this effectively with acting in the least restrictive way,

fostering a safe yet therapeutic service. You will have a solid working knowledge of relevant legal frameworks i.e. MHA (1983), and Capacity Act

(2005) .

You must be a registered nurse with experience of working in a crisis mental health setting. It is essential you have an understanding of the

challenges that face nurses caring for individual's with mental health difficulties today and be able to demonstrate resilience and empathy. Most

important to us is that you have a commitment and passion to want to be part of an excellent service.

Main duties of the job

The primary function of this role is to work as a highly experienced mental health practitioner carryingout first line specialist assessments and crisis risk management plans within the EmergencyDepartment (ED) as part of the Mental Health Liaison Team (MHLT). The work will include responseto referrals and effective triage assessments and advising the referring acute trust team on expert,evidence based, safe and effective models of care and treatment for people presenting with mentalhealth problems. The other key role is to provide evidence-based interventions for the care pathwayin University Hospital Lewisham with the aim of reducing length of stay and frequent attendances tothe hospital. The work will also involve setting up collaborations and interventions throughout thecare pathway, from acute presentation onward, to promote timely discharge of patients, reduceprolonged lengths of stay, and to reduce the risk of inappropriate readmission following discharge.To post holder will actively identify and triage patients presenting to the Emergency Department ofUniversity Hospital Lewisham with emergency or urgent need for management of mental health,psychological and substance misuse problems, including those who have deliberately self-harmed.The post holder will liaise with ED regarding appropriate medical clearance of patients being referredThe post holder will work 37.5 hours a week providing 24 hour cover.

About us

The post holder will function as a fully integrated member of the service's multi-disciplinary team,supporting consistent achievement of the service's standards and aims through their own individualpractice and participation in service development and quality improvement processes. The postholder will actively contribute to the service development agenda and in collaboration with the leadconsultant, the post holder will lead the development and coordination of a training programme offerto the acute trust partner and practitioners within the service

Job description

Job responsibilities

Key Responsibilities:Clinical Service Provision Lead as a senior psychiatric liaison practitioner in A& E in triage decision making for the service andwithin the MDT and acting as a specialist clinical resource for the ED To be located in an office at ED and serve as the first point of contact from ED referrals and toproactively screen and receive referrals from ED and respond in a timely manner To work autonomously using sound decision-making skills within the clinical setting in relation tothe assessment of mental health and physical health needs of designated patients in A& E

Management Responsibilities Deputise for the Team Leader and participate in the management of the service. These may includeE-Rostering, investigations, investigating complaints, recruitment, supervising junior staff,performance management, budgeting, organising and attending external meetings etc. To send daily and regular reports to ED and CCG and to monitor the teams performance using theIntegrated Reporting System (Insight) and to ensure that data entry is accurate and that the teammeets the required performance targets. Ensure effective working relationships and the regular review of working practices with ED, AMHPs,ARC/HTT, Security staff and other professionals and all the relevant agencies the team works incollaboration with at ED

Liaison and Partnership Working To be responsible for the effective interface of the Liaison service with the A& E Department,Community Mental Health Teams, Social Services, Hospital Wards, NHSDirect, the Police, the Emergency Duty Team, the PCT, GPs and Service User and Carers groups. To attend and participate in meetings, forums and working groups to represent the Liaison serviceboth within the Trust and external

Person Specification

Essential

Essential

• Registered Mental Health Nurse / Social Worker
• Significant post qualifying experience in mental health crisis services with a sound knowledge of the full range of mental health services, both inpatient, liaison and community based.
• A sound understanding and experience of how to assess and manage crisis within acute mental illness.
• Demonstrate skills in autonomous, senior decision making regarding discharge, sign posting and admission of service users following a comprehensive assessment and evaluation of risk
• Ability to manage and prioritise clinical demands, supervision and support and Emergency Department pathways. Excellent communication skills

Desirable

• Evidence of continued professional development.
• Experience of presenting Data for service development
• Experience of service development, Triaging, Quality Improvement and leading change within psychiatric liaison service
• Experience of working with specific diagnosis of Personality Disorder, both in assessment and treatment.
• Experience of assessing risk and managing violent self-harm.

Employer details

Employer name

South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Ladywell Unit, University Hospital Lewisham

Lewisham

SE13 6LW

Any attachments will be accessible after you click to apply.

334-NUR-6507832-LF