We are looking for dedicated Registered Mental Health Nurses, Occupational Therapists or Social Workers to join our Liaison Psychiatry Service. We have vacancies in the three boroughs covered by West London NHS Trust: Ealing (Ealing Hospital), Hounslow (West Middlesex University Hospital) and Hammersmith & Fulham (Charing Cross Hospital).

If you have good clinical skills and are motivated to further develop your knowledge and practice, this role will suit you. You will join a team where learning and professional development are promoted. You will have the opportunity to work autonomously as well as contributing to the team and being supported by the team.

You will offer a person-centred approach to service users' treatment, recovery and well-being and will involve their carers/family members in the care planning where appropriate. You will work closely with colleagues from the acute trust and from other parts of the health and social care system.

Main duties of the job

You will undertake biopsychosocial assessments for service users who attend the Urgent Treatment Centre or Emergency Department or are admitted on medical wards and have mental health needs. They may present with emotional problems, self-harm or in psychiatric crisis. You will work with service users presenting with psychosomatic disorder and a variety of psychological issues related to physical disorders. You will be required to make clear autonomous decisions based on an analysis of complex presenting problems and will have access to clinical support and supervision from more senior colleagues in the team. You will promote carer/family involvement where required and will liaise with colleagues from other areas of health and social care to coordinate and facilitate safe discharge plans.

You will offer formal and informal training to your peers and acute trust colleagues to enhance patient care. You will be encouraged to share your views and ideas to improve service delivery.

About us

West London NHS Trust is one of the most diverse providers of mental health, community and social care in the UK.

Our 3,982 staff care for people in hospital and in the community, helping them to recover and go on to lead full and productive lives. We aim to be the best organisation of our kind in the country.

We provide care and treatment for more than 800,000 people living in the London boroughs of Ealing, Hammersmith & Fulham and Hounslow, delivering services in the community (at home, in GP surgeries and care homes), hospital, specialist clinics and forensic (secure) units.

We'rerated good overall by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

Together, we're committed to promoting hope and wellbeing, working with patients, service users, carers, families and partners across the communities we serve.

We are keen to ensure that our workforce reflects the community it serves, particularly in terms of ethnicity, gender, disability, LGBTQ+ and experience of mental illness.

Job description Job responsibilities

The Liaison Psychiatry Service provide services in Ealing Hospital, West Middlesex University Hospital, Charing Cross Hospital, Hammersmith Hospital and Queen Charlottes & Chelsea Hospital. The teams have a mix of Consultant Liaison Psychiatrists, Band 6 & 7 Liaison Psychiatry Practitioners as well as full time team Administrators. The teams have office spaces within the acute hospitals we serve. Excellent working relationships have already been developed with both acute Trust clinicians and managers.

All three of our teams are members of the Royal College of Psychiatrists and we are committed to maintaining our standards to provide quality care and improve patient experience. Service users commented that they found our services:

Very helpful, informative and left me feeling much more positive about everything

Very professional, non-judgemental and flexible

Clinical:

As a member of the team the post-holder will:

• Provide specialist bio-psycho-social assessment (usually working alone) of patients mental state (including the assessment of deliberate self-harm) and initial risk assessment and from this develop an appropriate immediate plan for care.
• Carry out robust risk assessments and care planning in a non-psychiatric environment.
• Utilise a wide variety of clinical skills appropriate to the needs of individual patients and the clinical setting in which they are required to be seen.
• Provide a broad range of specialist psychosocial interventions for individual patients and a specialist consultation-liaison service to referring clinicians and clinical teams, assisting them in decision making in difficult and complex cases.
• Provide expert advice regarding the pharmacological management of mental health patients to non-mental health professionals, seeking clinical guidance from medical members of the team in relation to any specific prescribing advice.
• Provide advice, support and signposting to telephone callers regarding mental health issues, documenting as required.
• Be required to make clear autonomous decisions, with close support and supervision from more senior clinical staff, based on an analysis of complex presenting problems and judgement about available options. This will include decisions related to discharge of patients.
• Work alongside other Liaison Psychiatry team members and attend/contribute to ward round and team meetings, presenting complex cases for discussion within the team.
• Demonstrate a high standard of record keeping and documentation with adherence to Trust policy and an understanding of professional guidelines and application of confidentiality.
• Work with colleagues to develop and promote the services philosophy, framework of care delivery and strategic objectives, taking responsibility for specific areas of policy and strategy delivery.
• Work with colleagues to develop clinical expertise and high standards of practice, as defined by the relevant Professional Codes of Conduct.
• Deliver care that is evidence based, reflecting current best practice and research, demonstrating clinical excellence and high standards of practice to other staff.
• Participate in structured clinical supervision in accordance with Trust policies and procedures. You will also be expected to take responsibility for the supervision of other clinicians and others in non-mental health settings working with patients with mental health problems.
• Demonstrate sound understanding of the legal and ethical issues in caring for the mentally ill. In particular, demonstrating sound understanding of the Mental Health Act (1983) and Mental Capacity Act and its use in a non-mental health setting.

Communication:

As a member of the team the post-holder will:

• Be able to employ higher level written and oral communication skills.
• Demonstrate the ability to receive and give complex clinical details clearly, with patients, carers and colleagues.
• Demonstrate the ability to communicate clearly and sensitively in all situations, particularly those that are contentious and/or hostile.
• Demonstrate a high level of interpersonal skills, self-awareness and empathy in all communications.
• Demonstrate an ability to negotiate and problem solve in contentious and/or antagonistic situations where agreement is required or communicate clear decisions and rationale when agreement cannot be reached e.g. in situations where the Mental Health Act may be needed to be used.
• Demonstrate the ability to develop and maintain good working relationships with colleagues within the team and Liaison Psychiatry Service, and both the Mental Health and Acute Trusts.

Management:

As a member of the team the post-holder will:

• Prioritise and organise own work effectively. Triage all psychiatric referrals from the general hospital and contribute to the management of the clinical service on a shift-by-shift basis.
• When requested facilitate and support ward staff in identifying the specific psychiatric or behavioural based skills required to care for individual patients in a holistic manner.
• Represent West London Mental Health NHS Trust in the general hospital setting and contribute to the development of collaborative working between the Trusts, playing a vital role in communicating and maintaining good working relationships.
• Take responsibility for agreed clinical, managerial and strategic projects associated with the provision of the Liaison Psychiatric Service. This will include planning, implementing, reviewing and revising these projects as necessary, especially in relation to the service development.
• Ensure the promotion of the health and safety, well-being and interests of the patients, staff and all visitors who come into contact with the team and its service environments.
• At all times follow the relevant professional code of conduct and ensure that all staff within their sphere of responsibility also follows the code as laid down.
• Supervise, monitor and appraise the performance of more junior qualified and unqualified staff within the sphere of responsibility, and report to the team manager and clinical lead when required.
• In the absence of the senior clinicians, take responsibility, on a day to day basis for the co- ordination of all activities within the clinical areas. This will be in accordance with level of experience and prior negotiation.
• Act as change agent to promote innovation and high standards of evidence based practice.
• Meet regularly with Liaison Psychiatry colleagues to evaluate and develop the remit of the service.

Person Specification Qualifications and Training Essential

• Professional Qualification as RMN/RN (Mental Health) or Registered Occupational Therapist or Registered Social Worker with professional registration (HCPC)
• ENB 997 or 998 (Teaching & Assessing in Clinical Practice) or equivalent teaching qualification
• Assisted Year In Practice (ASYE) if social work qualified

Desirable

• Educated to degree or diploma level
• Evidence of recent professional development
• Other qualification in practice teaching or supervision of staff.

Experience Essential

• Adequate post qualifying experience work in psychiatry
• Experience of supervising staff.
• Experience of crisis work and undertaking assessments and formulating care plans, risk plans and risk management
• Safeguarding
• Working in an MDT setting/ Team work

Desirable

• Audit and research experience
• Experience of teaching and training
• Liaison Psychiatry experience

Knowledge and skills Essential

• Knowledge of bio psychosocial interventions
• Assessment and treatment of patients who present with self-harm
• Risk assessment/management and crisis intervention skills
• Excellent communication skills
• Ability to use de-escalation skills
• Ability to make clinically safe autonomous decisions
• Organisational skills and ability to prioritise workload.
• Computer literate

Desirable

• Specialist knowledge of relationship between mental health and physical disorders
• The legal frame works using the MCA.

Any attachments will be accessible after you click to apply.

222-LS-PMS-245