Job overview
We have an exciting opportunity for a full time, permanent, band 7 clinical or counselling psychologist to join Barts Heart and Thorax Centre Psychological Services based at St Bartholomew’s Hospital.
The successful applicant will join a friendly and supportive group of psychological professionals at St Bartholomew’s Hospital including practitioner psychologists and an art therapist. You will be able to access funded CPD and receive specialist group supervision (e.g. ACT, CFT, Narrative therapy and EMDR) alongside individual supervision.
We operate within a mixed model, i.e. embedded within medical teams with centralised referral allocation and discussion so that workload can be shared evenly between clinicians and allocated according to skill mix and case complexity. The band 7 postholder will pick up referrals from specialist teams across the Barts Heart Centre and will work closely with the clinical pathway leads as well as the consultant service lead, allowing for a good balance of autonomy and support in line with their stage in career development. These posts are varied and exciting roles with lots of opportunity for service development and research as well as providing specialist psychological input through direct work (with inpatients and outpatients) and indirect work through consultation to the wider multidisciplinary team.
Main duties of the job
Barts Heart and Thorax Centre (BHTC) Psychological Services is for with adult patients and their families who live with an acute or chronic cardiac or respiratory condition and those who require a critical care admission (predominantly cardio-thoracic and cancer related). Specifically these patients are under the care of specialist multidisciplinary teams within the Barts Heart and Thorax Centre, including the Congenital Cardiology Service, the Heart Attack Centre (HAC); the Adult Critical Care Unit (ACCU); Heart Failure, Electrophysiology, and Inherited Cardiovascular Conditions. Although the post holder will not be directly working with the following teams these are also covered by the broader service: Difficult Asthma and Cystic Fibrosis. The post holder will be working with adults who have life limiting and life-threatening conditions.
As a service we are actively working to increase diversity within our workforce, as well as to improve equity of access and outcomes for all patients within cardio-respiratory services. We are therefore eager to receive applications from people who represent our local North East London population
Working for our organisation
Barts Health is one of the largest NHS trusts in the country, and one of Britain’s leading healthcare providers.
The Barts Health group of NHS hospitals is entering an exciting new era on our improvement journey to becoming an outstanding organisation with a world-class clinical reputation. Having lifted ourselves out of special measures, we now have the impetus and breathing space to chart a fresh course in which we are continually striving to improve all our services for patients.
Our vision is to be a high-performing group of NHS hospitals, renowned for excellence and innovation, and providing safe and compassionate care to our patients in east London and beyond. That means being a provider of excellent patient safety, known for delivering consistently high standards of harm-free care and always caring for patients in the right place at the right time. It also means being an outstanding place to work, in which our WeCare values and behaviours are visible to all and guide us in how we work together.
We strive to live by our WeCare values and are committed to promoting inclusion, where every staff member has a sense of belonging. We value our differences and fully advocate, cultivate and support an inclusive working environment.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
The full job description provides an overview of the key tasks and responsibilities of the role, and the person specification outlines the qualifications, skills, experience, and knowledge required. For both documents, please view the attachment
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
1. Good honours degree in Psychology or equivalent
2. Completion of a Health and Care Professions Council/British Psychological Society accredited postgraduate professional training course in either clinical or counselling psychology, including clinical psychometrics and lifespan developmental psychology
3. Registration with the Health and Care Professionals Council as Practitioner Psychologist.
Desirable criteria
4. Post-doctoral training in one or more additional specialised areas of psychological practice
Experience
Essential criteria
5. Experience of working with a wide variety of client groups, across the whole life course and presenting with the full range of clinical severity
6. Experience of representing psychology within the context of multi-disciplinary care.
7. Experience of the application of psychology in different cultural contexts and of working in a multicultural framework
8. Experience of delivering teaching or training
Desirable criteria
9. Experience of working within related Clinical Health Psychology settings
10. Experience of working in cardiac or critical care services
11. Experience and expertise in working with adults who have life limiting and life-threatening conditions, including experience of bereavement work
12. Experience (however limited) of providing staff support in a healthcare setting
13. Experience of supervising assistant psychologists and/or other professionals
14. Experience of presenting psychology to multidisciplinary audiences at conferences or other educational settings.
Knowledge
Essential criteria
15. Knowledge of legislation / health care guidelines and their implications for both clinical practice and professional management in relation to the patient group and mental health.
16. Evidence of continuing professional development as recommended by the HCPC and BPS.
Skills
Essential criteria
17. Skills in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment, intervention and management, including neuropsychological assessment and interpretation, frequently requiring sustained and intense concentration
18. Highly developed skills in the ability to communicate effectively, orally and in writing, complex, highly technical and clinically sensitive information to clients, their families, carers and a wide range of lay and professional persons within and outside the NHS.
19. Skills in providing consultation to other professional and non-professional groups.
20. Ability to identify, provide and promote appropriate means of support to carers and staff exposed to distressing situations and challenging behaviours
21. Ability to maintain a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems, including verbal abuse
22. Familiar with information technology and able to develop and use complex multi-media materials for presentations in public, professional and academic settings.
23. Evidence of skilled multidisciplinary team working
**Visa Sponsorship Information**
Recent changes to UK immigration policy on the Health and Care Visa and Skilled Worker Visa could mean that this role is not eligible for sponsorship or that you may not meet the eligibility criteria.
Sponsorship can only be offered if this post and any individual offered employment meet all the Home Office’s requirements under the UK Skilled Worker visa scheme.
If you are applying from outside the UK or will require sponsorship, please mention this clearly in your application.
To be eligible for sponsorship, the following conditions must be met:
24. Eligible role: The position must be on the UK Skilled Worker visa list. You can check your eligibility here: -.
25. Salary threshold: The role must meet the minimum salary set by the Home Office. Please note that for roles employed under Agenda for Change Terms and Conditions, the High-Cost Area Supplement (HCAS) is not included when calculating the basic salary for the purposes of sponsorship.
26. Skill level: The role must meet the minimum skill requirement of RQF Level 6 or above (graduate level).
27. English language: Applicants must demonstrate English proficiency at CEFR level B1 or higher.
28. Other criteria: Applicants must meet all other criteria as set out by the UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI)