To provide and contribute to the development of a specialist dementia service in a defined area. This will involve providing initial specialist assessment, a range of interventions and regular review either in memory clinics or in service users' homes and care homes.

To liaise with other members of the multidisciplinary team and other agencies involved in the care of individual service users. Signposting service users and carers to other services as appropriate.

To provide support and advice to Carers through individual and/or group work.

To contribute to integrated governance processes, including the continuing development, improvement and monitoring of service provision and performance, and monitoring standards of care, through data collection and audit processes.

To work in partnership with other local statutory and voluntary organisations in the provision of a range of interventions and support for service users and carers.

To provide support, advice and training as appropriate to other services and agencies involved in the provision of services to people with memory problems.

To be responsible for the supervision of identified staff and provision of training for students of various disciplines as appropriate.

Main duties of the job

To provide comprehensive memory assessments, utilising excellent communication skills, history taking and evidence based cognitive assessment tools.

Contribution to MDT discussions around service user care.

Liaison with other services as appropriate, to include social work, third party support services, primary care etc.

The North Wiltshire Dementia Service provides comprehensive memory assessment and review for people living in North Wiltshire. The post requires lone working as well as multidisciplinary working to ensure the best outcome for service users.

About us

We are AWP (Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust) a diverse organisation with over 5,000 dedicated staff providing inpatient and community-based mental health care. We provide services from a range of locations to approximately 1.8 million people living in Bath and North East Somerset (B&NES), Bristol, North Somerset, South Gloucestershire, Swindon, across the county of Wiltshire and in parts of Dorset. Our outstanding people promote mental health and wellbeing. The expertise and resources within AWP are dedicated to a person-centred approach for those who use our services and for all employees. We recognise that happy and fulfilled employees give better care.

Job description Job responsibilities

• Provide specialist memory assessment for referred service users using specified assessment tools to an agreed standard.
• Develop and maintain effective therapeutic relationships with service users and significant others.
• To work in partnership with service users and carers providing them with relevant information, signposting them to relevant agencies and assisting service users to make choices and plans for their future care.
• Provide a specialist service in a variety of settings having responsibility for managing your own caseload, providing interventions as appropriate and based on best available practice.
• Review of patients taking both memory enhancing medication, and medications prescribed to treat behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia
• In conjunction with colleagues or other providers participate in the provision of post diagnostic groups for service users and/or carers helping to develop a network of community support for service users and their carers.
• Maintain accurate and up to date records of casework with individual clients, ensuring that your practice & record keeping complies with all relevant standards and Good Practice Guidelines.
• Ensure the monitoring and evaluation of the service by collecting and recording high quality and timely data using electronic and paper systems as required.
• To attend clinical and team business meetings as necessary.
• Participate in your own supervision and appraisal working with your line manager to set and review your objectives, and to identify and meet your training and professional development needs as outlined in the KSF profile for your post.
• Maintain professional registration and abide by the NMC code of conduct or other professional body
• Ensure that you keep up to date with developments in dementia care, ensuring that your practice is based on best available evidence and meets all relevant standards and requirements.
• Have responsibility for the supervision of other staff as required.
• Contribute to the provision of training for students, working with colleagues to ensure that the service meets relevant standards in this respect.
• Participate in providing support, advice and training to staff of other services as appropriate.
• Have responsibility for other duties as agreed with line manager.

Most challenging part of this role

The job will involve assessing and reviewing a large number of service users this requires great organisational skill, the ability to prioritise and the maintenance of boundaries and focus. The Team Leader will provide ongoing support and advice on this.

This role will involve working with all service users with dementia, from early onset to late stage/ advanced cognitive impairment. You will be supported work with a range of presentations and varying levels of needs across different care settings by the team leader and the MDT.

This role will also involve supporting service users and cares who have recently received a diagnosis of dementia. It is recognised this can have an emotional impact on staff and the post holder will be supported through regular supervision, training and clinical team meetings to undertake this work.

Person specification:

Essential knowledge, skills and experience

• Nursing qualification and current registration or AHP registration
• Substantial post-registration experience as a practitioner working with older people experiencing memory problems.
• Experience and knowledge of using memory assessment tools.
• Up to date working knowledge of memory enhancing medication.
• Up to date working knowledge of current developments in dementia care.
• Ability to prioritise and manage own workload when faced with competing demands.
• Able to develop and deliver therapeutically effective relationships with service users and carers, working effectively with diverse groups.
• Experience of working in partnership with other statutory or voluntary organisations.
• Good written and verbal communication, presentation, interpersonal and liaison skills.
• Ability to travel around the geographical area covered by this post.
• Sound IT literacy, including word processing, e-mail, internet use

Desirable knowledge, skills and experience

• Experience of setting up and running groups.
• Experience of providing training in issues related to memory services.
• Experience of providing supervision to delegated staff.

Person Specification Essential Essential

• To have undertaken / desire to undertake the non medical prescribing course
• Substantial post-registration experience as a practitioner working with older people experiencing memory problems.
• Experience and knowledge of using memory assessment tools.
• Up to date working knowledge of memory enhancing medication.
• Up to date working knowledge of current developments in dementia care.
• Ability to prioritise and manage own workload when faced with competing demands
• Good written and verbal communication, presentation, interpersonal and liaison skills
• Ability to travel around the geographical area covered by this post
• Sound IT literacy, including word processing, e-mail, internet use

Application form Essential

• Professional registration

Desirable

• years experience

Any attachments will be accessible after you click to apply.

342-WTS035-0123