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Principal Psychologist for Waltham Forest Psychiatric Liaison Service

Employer
North East London NHS Foundation Trust
Location
London
Salary
£62,215 to £72,293 a year pa pro rata (plus HCAS)
Closing date
1 Oct 2024
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An exciting secondment opportunity has arisen to join the Psychiatric Liaison Service in Waltham Forest, within the Acute and Rehabilitation Directorate of NELFT. We are looking for a dynamic Principal Clinical or Counselling Psychologist to take up an innovative and exciting leadership post with the Psychiatric Liaison Service, based at Whipps Cross University Hospital. This will involve working with inpatients across the medical wards, ICU and A& E among other areas.

Applicants should have:
  • Doctoral level training in clinical/counselling psychology and registration with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC).
  • Experience of working in a trauma-informed evidence-based way with clients presenting with severe mental health difficulties, people in crisis and carers, with significant levels of risk.
  • Experience of working in a multi-disciplinary service context.


Main duties of the job

The post holder will lead the Psychiatric Liaison (PLS) team's psychology service, facilitating trauma-informed evidence-based psychological assessment, formulation and treatment with adults and older adults presenting in crisis with a range of mental health difficulties within the context of a physical health environment. The successful applicant will be comfortable working across the acute pathway, including working with carers and specialist services, consulting with multidisciplinary teams both within the medical wards and A& E as well as mental health teams, liaising with services post-discharge. The candidate will use psychological interventions to help reduce levels of risk in service users, to assist with successful discharge and/ or access to further treatment, including frequent attenders to A& E in crisis. Liaison across multiple organisations and agencies is central to the role, as is developing innovative ways to meet the complex needs of service-users and their families.

This post would suit someone with a strong interest in multidisciplinary working with service-users who present with complexity and significant levels of risk. Experience of working with service users in mental health crisis such as psychiatric liaison, home treatment teams or inpatient units is essential. Knowledge and experience in the field of clinical health psychology, medically unexplained symptoms, functional neurological disorder, dementia and delirium is desirable.

About us

Probationary Period

This post will be subject to a probationary period. Internal applicants are exempt from the probationary period (unless you are an internal applicant currently part way through a probationary period or currently a bank member of staff).

Starting with NELFT

NELFT place a great deal of importance on new starters being properly welcomed and inducted into the Trust. All new starters will join the Trust on the first Monday of each month and will undertake a comprehensive induction of up to two weeks which will include mandatory training, systems training and the allocation of equipment. As part of the process new starters will have the opportunity to also meet the executive team, senior managers and attend a number of drop in sessions focussing in engagement, health and wellbeing and key processes. The induction will be held at our head office in Rainham, Essex.

High Cost Area Supplement - Outer London

This post also attracts payment for High Cost Area Supplement of 15% of the basic salary (with a minimum of �4,313 to a maximum of �5,436 p.a. pro rata for part time).

High Cost Area Supplement - Fringe

This post also attracts payment for High Cost Area Supplement of 5% of the basic salary (with a minimum of �1,192 to a maximum of �2,011 p.a. pro rata for part time).

Job description

Job responsibilities

Aim of the role:

The expectation of this post holder will be to support their team, department and organisation to achieve the Trusts Values in their day-to-day work. These are the 5Ps:

Putting people first

Prioritising quality

Being progressive, innovative and continually improve

Being professional and honest

Promoting what is possible independence, opportunity and choice

The post holder will achieve this by:

Leading a high-quality psychology service within Whipps Cross University Hospital, in line with Psychiatric Liaison Accreditation Network (PLAN) and CORE 24 guidelines, under the guidance of the Strategic Lead.

Providing operational management and high-quality clinical supervision to qualified psychologists in Psychiatric Liaison, under the guidance of the Strategic Lead.

To provide specialist consultation, assessment and formulation for priority cases identified by psychiatric team colleagues.

Lead on, design and provide brief and longer-term psychological interventions, in line with PLAN, CORE 24 and BPS guidelines.

Work with the SIM panel to reduce urgent care service use for those identified, using psychological formulation, treatment and care planning interventions.

Working in close collaboration with the community and mental health and inpatient and crisis psychology services to ensure a smooth pathway for service-users and their families.

Lead on the development of clear guidelines for working with patients in acute beds who have been identified as benefitting from psychiatric team input.

Work alongside the senior manager and senior leaders in the psychiatric liaison teams to develop clear pathways and processes for psychology involvement with service-users, families and systems and teams.

Lead on and develop specialist psychological interventions for clinical health patients with physical and psychological co-morbidities who are identified as priority cases by Acute Trust colleagues and the psychiatric liaison team.

Take a senior and specialist role in assessment, treatment and systematic outcomemeasurement in the psychiatric liaison specialist care pathway, as deemed appropriate by the Strategic Lead and psychiatric liaison team manager and senior staff.

Ensuring that a high quality, timely, accessible andevidence-based psychological service is available to all service users who need it.

Maintaining excellent working relationships with wider mental health services (e.g. Mental Health and Wellness Teams, Community Recovery Teams, Community Clinics, Inpatient and Crisis services).

Maintaining excellent working relationships with wider Acute Trust service at Whipps Cross Hospital (e.g. Accident and Emergency and acute wards).

Ensuring adherence to evidence based psychologicaltreatments by all clinical staff within the specialist care pathway, focussing on treatmentsto reduce risk and stabilise a crisis, and to reduce crisis service use.

Contributing to consultation, supervision, teaching and training of MDT staff working within Psychiatric Liaison and playing a key role in audit and evaluation.

Leading reflective practice and case formulation sessions for staff in Psychiatric Liaison at Whipps Cross Hospital, to aid learning and support with complex cases.

Working autonomously within professional guidelines and within the overall framework ofpolicies and procedures of the Trust. Ensuring other psychological professional staff also work within these parameters.

Supporting the Strategic Lead with recruitment of qualified and unqualified staff and trainees, and managing their workloads within the framework of the Trusts policies and procedures.

Supporting the Strategic Lead to ensure that staff within the specialist care pathway work towards and maintain the Trusts key performance indicators, agreed commissioner targets and other local and national guidance.

Ensuring that best practice in assessment, risk assessment and care planning is adheredto at all times by staff within the specialist care pathway.

Ensuring the maintenance of the highest personal standards of practice, through activeparticipation in internal and external CPD training and development programmes.

Maintaining the highest standards of clinical record keeping including electronic dataentry and recording, report writing and the responsible exercise of professional self-governance

Key Responsibilities:

Clinical Skills

To act as an autonomous, registered psychologist who is legally and professionallyaccountable for own unsupervised actions guided by the professional code of conductand Trust guidelines and protocols.

The post holder will have professional HCPC registration.

To deliver clinical input to high risk cases, that is of a high quality and is evidence-based,utilising psychological theory.

To be responsible, and accountable, for service delivery to clients/ patients.

To be able to assess and develop plans of care to meet the complex needs of patientswith a variety of presentations but all of whom present with high levels of risk.

To ensure practice is supported by research, evidence based practice, literature andpeer review.

To cover other tasks as necessary which are consistent with the role of a Principal Psychologist.

Leadership

To participate in the development of an effective team and the development of productiveworking relationships throughout the Trust.

To facilitate the development of a positive and supportive team culture by takingresponsibility for dealing effectively with potential conflict.

To participate in the audit process, linking in with the clinical governance agenda.

To advise, encourage and share knowledge utilising the latest research and practicedevelopment, through literature and peer reviews.

To lead on research projects as relevant for the post and in agreement with senior professional leads.

Computer/ Administration

To be computer literate and encourage implementation of the Trusts IM& T Strategy.

To ensure accurate recording of actions, and updating patients records, maintaining confidentiality at all times.

To take part, and assist, in the planning and administration relating to day to day running of the caseload.

Communication

To have a wide range of knowledge in approaches to communicating and managing patient care.

To be able to effectively communicate with colleagues, peers, senior managers and clinical leads within the Trust.

To be able to communicate complex service user related information facilitating positive outcomes and ensuring collaborative working.

Participate in the review and development of clinical policies and identifies improvements to service provision.

To provide and receive highly complex, sensitive or contentious information where there might be barriers to acceptance from the service user, carers and families or other professionals resulting in a hostile or highly emotive atmosphere. This might be working with interpreters or advocates and so requires ensuring the safe management of everyone within the system.

Teaching, Training and Supervision

To act as mentor to qualified psychologists and trainees, providing effective education,facilitating their development and promoting high standards of care.

To ensure own continued professional development and support a culture of lifelonglearning in self and others.

To undertake, and assist, in the planning of own mandatory training and workshops and those for others in the team.

To undertake a regular appraisal, developing a personal development plan that includesclinical competencies reflecting the health needs of the local population and relates toTrust strategy.

To support new staff and their integration within the team.

To support training as part of the role including changes to professional development andimplementation of new policies and guidelines.

Person Specification

Experience

Essential

  • Thorough knowledge of evidence-based clinical practice
  • Experience of working with high levels of risk and severe mental health difficulties
  • Experience of working in health psychology and with medically unexplained symptoms/ FND
  • Ability to represent psychological perspective within MDT and ARD
  • Experience of applying NICE compliant therapies to in-patient population
  • Ability to communicate complex and difficult information with empathy
  • Knowledge, understanding and experience of working with service users from diverse backgrounds
  • Ability to use wide range of analytical and judgemental skills to manage complex situations
  • Extensive experience of managing highly complex risk and safeguarding
  • Up to date knowledge of relevant legislation and ethical issues, and implication for clinical practice and professional management
  • Experience of applying clinical supervision and/or operational management


Desirable

  • Experience of working in psychiatric liaison and acute hospital settings


Qualifications

Essential

  • NVQ level 2 or equivalent standard of literacy and numeracy
  • Post-graduate qualification in Clinical or Counselling Psychology
  • Specialist post-graduate training in area relevant to psychiatric liaison
  • Professional registration with appropriate body e.g. HCPC


Knowledge

Essential

  • Awareness of NHS Plan, NSF and clinical governance priorities
  • Expert knowledge of inpatient/ acute psychology and evidence based treatments
  • Expertise in use of complex psychological assessment, intervention and management
  • Knowledge of research design and methodology
  • Well developed communication skills- oral and written- to share complex and highly sensitive information with service users, families, carers and colleagues
  • Preparation of highly complex clinical reports and assessments
  • Skills in providing consultation to other professional and non-professional groups
  • Ability to use IT systems effectively
  • Ability to work autonomously in accordance with professional ethical guidelines and Trust policies
  • Ability to work in potentially abusive/ aggressive/ hostile environments
  • Ability to work in frequently emotionally distressing circumstances


Any attachments will be accessible after you click to apply.

395-PP164-24-A

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