Mersey Care NHS Trust are delighted to announce we have an exciting opportunity for a clinical psychologist to join one of our busy Community Learning Disability Teams, based in Southport. The Learning Disability Service prides itself on the provision of high quality services to individuals and their carers, informed by person centred rights based approaches, underpinned by positive behaviour support. This is an ideal opportunity to join an innovative and transformative service.

The role will involve conducting detailed assessments, formulation, delivery of direct and indirect therapeutic interventions and systematic consultation. Ideally candidates will have extensive knowledge and experience of delivering services within a positive behavioural framework, rights based approaches, service user consultation and engagement and experience of providing adapted therapies.

The successful candidate will work within a highly skilled multi-disciplinary team, where psychology is integral to everyday practice. The candidate will have access to a number of support systems including regular supervision and CPD opportunities.

Posts are suitable for newly qualified and current Band 7/8as clinicians; relevant training, support and experience will be provided to ensure successful applicants are eligible for preceptorship to an 8a clinical psychology post after 2 years of direct clinical experience.

Main duties of the job

We are looking for someone with the clinical skills to work with service users with a Learning Disability, providing assessment, formulation and therapeutic interventions to people referred to our services, both individually and in group format.

The role will include working with adults with complex physical and/or psychological health needs alongside their Learning Disability. The post also involves enabling and supporting people with Learning Disabilities to access mainstream services. Experience of working within Learning Disabilities services is desirable.

The successful applicant will be a confident individual who is able to hold a caseload and contribute to a psychologically minded team approach through joint working, training, formulation and consultation with the MDT.

You will have access to regular clinical supervision and clinical leadership guidance and will receive managerial supervision from the Team manager. We are also committed to supporting personal and professional development and you will be offered a yearly Personal development review and planning work objectives. Additional CPD activities/seeking further training is encouraged and supported within the team. Areas for development will be agreed at the onset of the post and progress will be reviewed regularly. Once agreed competencies have been met, the post holder will be uplifted to Band 8a.

About us

Mersey Care is one of the largest trusts providing physical health and mental health services in the North West, serving more than 11 million people.

We offer specialist inpatient and community services that support physical and mental health and specialist inpatient mental health, learning disability, addiction and brain injury services. Mersey Care is one of only three trusts in the UK that offer high secure mental health facilities.

At the heart of all we do is our commitment to 'perfect care' - care that is safe, effective, positively experienced, timely, equitable and efficient. We support our staff to do the best job they can and work alongside service users, their families, and carers to design and develop future services together. We're currently delivering a programme of organisational and service transformation to significantly improve the quality of the services we provide and safely reduce cost as we do so.

Job description Job responsibilities

CLINICAL

To be a member of the service team and to contribute to, participate in and adhere to the routines and policies of that service.

To be responsible for the systematic provision of psychological services at a highly specialist level. To adhere to the organisation of the service particularly with regard to membership of the multidisciplinary teams.

Services will be based upon the appropriate use, interpretation and integration of complex data from a variety of sources including psychological and neuropsychological tests, self-report measures, rating scales, direct and indirect structured observations, and interviews with clients, family members and others involved in the clients care. Services will include the following:

Highly specialist one-to-one clinical consultations.

Highly specialist psychological assessment including issues of risk.

Psychological interventions for individuals, families and groups, adjusting and refining psychological formulations drawing upon different explanatory models and maintaining a number of provisional hypotheses.

Decision making for and evaluating treatment options, taking into account both theoretical and therapeutic models and highly complex factors concerning historical and developmental processes that have shaped the individual, family or group.

Exercising autonomous professional responsibility for the assessment, treatment and discharge of clients whose problems are managed by psychologically based intervention plans.

Staff consultation contributing directly to clients formulation, diagnosis and intervention plan.

Staff consultation on the use of psychological techniques.

Staff supervision in the use of psychological techniques.

In particular, as part of multidisciplinary team working, to provide casework for people experiencing severe psychological difficulties. To prioritise workload to ensure that skills are used to address the more severe and complex psychological presentations within this area of work.

To supply services within the context of existing multi professional teamwork. To negotiate appropriate professional relationships with both statutory and voluntary agencies to both ensure the referral of appropriate casework and communicate highly complex clinical information.

To maintain the records of service in line with the information needs of the Trust.

To provide input to health, social care and community-based services to enable best practice and service user choice in line with local service accessibility. This may include inpatient environments, specialist departments, general practices, health centres, local day centres, and residential and nursing homes.

To manage frequent exposure to highly distressing and emotional circumstances and maintain substantial mental effort through frequent and intense levels of concentration and attention.

MANAGERIAL

To support the formulation and implementation of clinical and operational practices and procedures as appropriate.

Support the implementation, monitoring and updating of an operational policy and philosophy for the clinical area.

To prioritise workload to ensure that skills are used to address the more severe and complex psychological presentations within this area of work.

To ensure awareness of the needs for service development and assist in the planning and advocacy of future service provision.

Ensure the principles of clinical governance are incorporated in service delivery by maintaining a high-quality service based on agreed clinical standards.

Participate in managerial supervision.

EDUCATION AND DEVELOPMENT

To assist the supervision of other psychologists, psychological therapists, nurses, occupational therapists, psychiatrists, assistant psychologists and trainee clinical psychologists within the service.

To undertake supervision of other psychologists, psychological therapists, nurses, occupational therapists and psychiatrists qualified clinical/counselling psychologists, assistant psychologists and graduate mental health workers delegated by the service manager/clinical and strategic lead.

To prepare for and implement a training placement for a clinical psychology trainee.

To receive appropriate clinical supervision to ensure quality of professional practice.

Through the personal appraisal process, to engage in professional development that ensures that Continuing Professional Development requirements are met and that eligibility for Chartering and licensed practice is both achieved and maintained.

To have access to up to one session per week (pro rata full time) for pursuing professional development following agreement with service manager/professional lead.

Provide evidence to support development around the Trust Appraisal system which may include the KSF or other competency profiles.

Participate in regular supervision, engage in reflective practice and be committed to continued development.

Develop own skills and knowledge and contribute to the development of others.

RESEARCH AND AUDIT

To undertake appropriate service audits and assist the research and development agenda by proposing areas of study appropriate to advancing the nature of psychological work within this service specialty.

To undertake doctoral research projects with trainee clinical psychologists as required.

To undertake regular audit and evaluation of the teams activity by the derivation, collection and analysis of appropriate data.

Undertake and participate in appropriate audit, quality assurance programmes and research as directed.

GENERIC RESPONSIBILITIES FOR ALL STAFF

All post holders will agree to:

Commit to the vision of supporting Mersey Care in becoming a leading organisation in the provision of community services, mental health care, addiction services and learning disability care, and in doing so fully utilise their skills and experience to support the objectives of the Trust.

Role model the values of the Trust Continuous Improvement, Accountability, Respectfulness, Enthusiasm and Support in all activities and interactions with employees, service users and other stakeholders

Challenge the stigma associated with mental health and learning difficulties.

Comply with the Duty of Candour, defined by Francis as: 'The volunteering of all relevant information to persons who have or may have been harmed by the provision of services, whether or not the information has been requested and whether or not a complaint or a report about that provision has been made.

Work across professional and organisational boundaries to improve services for all.

Maintain their specific knowledge base and develop new skills.

Value the contribution of the patient / service user voice.

Operate within any organisational codes of practice or those from a relevant professional body.

Respect equality and diversity across all areas of working practice and communications with staff, service users and other stakeholders.

Take responsibility for the accurate and timely collection and recording of data and ensuring all personally identifiable information is protected and used only for the purposes for which it was intended.

Comply with all health and safety legislation and local policies and procedures.

Adhere to all organisational policies.

Have knowledge and understanding of technology in the workplace which is sufficient to maintain their efficiency and also how technology can empower service users in a digital environment

Comply with the NHS Constitution in relation to the staff responsibilities that it sets out for NHS employees.

Attend a one day Just and Learning & Civility and Respect training workshop

Be an ambassador for Just & Learning and Civility & Respect following the training

Positively advocate the just and learning culture within your team

Be a confident supporter and implementer of the Trust CARES Values including Civility & Respect within your team.

Support their team/services to create a positive environment for Just and Learning Culture

Participate in Just and Learning Culture events.

Bring Just and Learning Culture updates/information to the attention of team members and other MCT colleagues they work with.

Support and encourage the sharing of concerns about the safety and quality of care with senior leaders with the aim of improving safety and quality.

Actively participate in creating an open culture within your team so that concerns and difficulties can be discussed safely and respectfully.

Speaking up in the event that they are exposed to incivility between colleagues in the workplace #iwillspeakup.

Listening and understanding others who have concerns and taking a collaborative approach to work towards a solution to improve civility and respect.

Shortlisting is planned for: 5th December 2022.

Interviews are planned for: 15th December 2022.

Person Specification Qualifications Essential

• Doctoral level training (or equivalent) in a professional area of psychology conferring HCPC registration as a practitioner psychologist
• Current HCPC registration

Desirable

• Post-doctoral training in one or more additional specialised areas of psychological practice
• Chartered registration with the BPS

Knowledge Essential

• Knowledge and skills development to meet factor 2 level 8 requirements.
• Demonstrated clinical experience of working as a registere
  
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