Sheffield Health Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust
Multi Professional Approved Clinician
The closing date is 22 March 2026
This role requires a registered mental health professional (from either a clinical psychology, mental health nursing, social work, or occupational therapy professional background) with extensive clinical experience of working with detained patients to manage, lead and motivate multi-disciplinary acute inpatient teams and set the direction for therapeutic assessment, treatment, and strategies for all patients under their care. They will have extensive experience in their professional field and have recognised expertise in a number of related specialist areas, including learning disabilities and neurodiversity.
Main duties of the job
This consultant Multi-professional Approved Clinician (MPAC) post is an exciting new role within the Trust. It is an opportunity to embed new ways of working and shape the way we work with females on our acute ward as we develop a new model of working. The MPAC will take a key leadership role supporting people with an acute mental health conditions within the acute ward service With a particular focus on providing consultation and support for people with acute mental health problems in the acute pathway including offering consultation and advice for the acute inpatient wards.
The Multi-professional Consultant Approved Clinician will provide strong, visible clinical leadership within the Acute Care pathway providing care and treatment for the most complex and vulnerable service users.
The Multi-professional Consultant AC/RC will:
* Assess and treat complex caseload of patients/clients- mental health diagnosiso Provide expert professional advice to patients, carers and colleagues
* Work closely with the community teams and across the system to ensure safe and effective care
* Provide assessment of needs, formulation and intervention plans, including direct intervention or support work and outcome evaluation.
* Ensure the maintenance of clinical excellence.
* Be responsible for clinical governance, policy, service development; provides expert advice on practice.
* Demonstrate the eight core competencies of an Approved Clinician (AC).
About us
We are passionate about providing the very best care to the people we support, and we're looking for amazing people who share this passion to join us.
What is it that makes our Trust such a special place to work? Well, it's all about the people. Our staff, service users, carers and families all come from such diverse backgrounds and all have expertise and stories to share.
It's important that you feel supported in your role, that the people who you work with are as passionate as you are and that your health and wellbeing is taken care of.
If you're interested in developing your career, you'll have access to a range of training and education opportunities, including apprenticeships, work experience and placements, as well as the chance to get involved in research.
We are very proud of the difference we make to people's lives each and every day and if that's something that you'd like to be part of we'd love to have you with us.
Job responsibilities
Clinical and service-user care:
To provide a high quality, equitable and needs led Responsible Clinician service for patients within the service and service line by:
* Providing an evidence-based treatment pathway to address a complex set of mental health, Learning Disability and Neurodiversity needs, including autism.
* Ensuring an equitable service which meets patients needs and develop additional treatment packages within the treatment strategy to meet those needs.
* Ensure and provide oversight of the formulation of effective plans for formal treatment and/or management of a clients mental health problems based upon an appropriate conceptual framework of the clients problems, and employing methods based upon evidence of efficacy.
* Making highly skilled evaluations and decisions about treatment options taking into account MDT expertise on theoretical and therapeutic models, and highly complex factors concerning historical and developmental processes that have shaped the individual, family or group.
* Ensuring where possible, that clinical staff in the Responsible Clinicianss team receive regular clinical supervision in accordance with good practice guidelines.
* Providing a comprehensive and high quality clinical and risk assessment service including appropriate psychometric and other standardised tests where needed.
* Provision of statutory reports as and when required.
* Setting and monitoring annual improvement targets for therapeutic activity.
* Providing expertise and specialist profession-based advice, guidance and consultation to other professionals leading the patients formulation, diagnosis, and treatment plan.
* Provide professional clinical leadership / direct support to Psychological therapies, Nursing, Occupational Therapists, Social workers, Psychiatrists, named supervisees within the Trust and will work with the Managers and Senior Clinicians in the Trust to ensure development and delivery of a robust quality service.
* Demonstrate the eight core competencies of an Approved Clinician (AC) and fulfil the responsibilities of the Responsible Clinician (RC).
* Provide assessment of needs, formulation and intervention plans, including direct intervention or support work and outcome evaluation.
* To formulate plans for treatment and/or management of a service-users mental health problems based upon an appropriate conceptual framework of the clients problems, considering physical, psychological, and social interventions and employing methods based upon evidence of efficacy, across the full range of care settings.
* Apply knowledge of other relevant legislation, the Code of Practice and in particular, relevant parts of the Human Rights Act 1998, the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and the Equalities Act 2010.
* Apply knowledge of relevant guidance issued by NICE or other bodies to the care and treatment of patients.
* Compile and complete statutory documentation as an RC including, Hospital Managers / Mental Health Tribunal /Ministry of Justice reports.
* Present evidence to Courts, Tribunals and Hospital Managers Hearings.
* Provide expert professional advice to service-users, carers and colleagues.
* Communicate complex and sensitive information to clients during the course of treatment where there may be barriers to understanding and a need to achieve positive therapeutic engagement.
* Assess and monitor risk and draw up appropriate risk management plans, including specialist risk assessments relevant to the service area.
* Review and monitor clinical decisions made concerning restrictive practices, and reconcile inter- and intra-professional differences of opinion, judgements on complex clinical issues.
* Ensure that all services provided are acceptable and accessible to the diverse communities which make up the clients of this service.
* To provide expert consultation about the care of the client group to staff and agencies outside the Directorate and Trust.
Policy and service-development
To initiate and implement service developments and projects within the service and across the Trust as agreed with managers, including developing business cases for service expansion.
Contribute to the strategic development of expert practice within this specialist area through leading and participation in special interest groups.
Influence the development of integrated care pathways across the Trust and partner agencies, and lead on these developments as required.
Care of management of resources
To ensure that the service delivers evidence-based practice interventions within budget, and to support operational managers to ensure effective management of resources.
Leadership and supervision
To clinically lead the multi-disciplinary team in the care of service-users in the service area as Responsible Clinician or Supervising Consultant.
Actively participate in the performance and development planning for clinical practitioners within the post holders area of specialist practice.
To ensure appropriate systems for the clinical and professional supervision of clinical staff across the service.
Lead and participate in training, development, presentation and facilitation in order to disseminate evidence-based practice and impact on learning and development of others.
To advise and participate in appropriate multi-professional recruitment within the service.
To contribute with other consultant practitioners and Directorate Heads of Service to the development and articulation of best practice across the Directorate.
To represent the profession and/or Approved Clinician perspective on relevant working groups within the service and across the Trust as agreed with manager.
To take opportunities to influence beyond the trust at regional and national forums relevant to MPACs and/or professional discipline.
To provide specialist advice, consultation and training and (where agreed locally) clinical supervision to other members of the multi-professional team.
Teaching and training
To provide specialist training and supervision for MDT staff taking a lead in promoting evidenced-based practice.
Record-keeping and Information Governance
To ensure that all information generated by own work is recorded as required by Trust policies and local procedures.
To ensure the highest standards of clinical record keeping and report writing, according to professional body and Trust guidelines, including electronic data entry, in those parts of the service for which the post-holder has management or leadership responsibility.
Maintaining professional standards and continuing professional development
Research and development
To utilise theory, evidence-based literature and research to support evidence based practice in clinical work, work with other team members and across the service.
To undertake appropriate research and provide research advice to other staff undertaking research within the inpatient forensic service.
To initiate and implement project management, including complex audit and service evaluation, with colleagues within and across the service to help develop and improve services to clients and their families.
Maintaining professional standards and continuing professional development
To receive regular clinical and professional supervision from a more senior Responsible Clinician and professional practitioner according to professional and Trust guidelines.
To maintain own Continuing Professional Development in line with registered body and Trust Personal Development Plan requirements and the Standards for Continuing Professional Development for AC/RC roles.
To maintain an up-to-date knowledge of current developments in professional and clinical practice and of relevant legislation and policies.
To comply with the registered body Standards of Conduct, Performance and Ethics/Standards of Proficiency.
To ensure that all practitioners for whom the post-holder has leadership or management responsibility, maintain professional standards and continuing professional development.
To ensure the development and articulation of best practice within the service area and contribute across the service by exercising the skills of a reflexive and reflective scientist practitioner, taking part in regular professional supervision and appraisal and maintaining an active engagement with current developments in terms of evidence-base and/or relevant guidelines.
GENERAL
To be aware of risk relating to aggressive and challenging behaviour amongst the client group and follow Trust policies relating to its management.
To respond appropriately and professionally to emotionally distressing situations and to support others involved in such situations.
To work flexibly, including adjusting usual job plan to attend to urgent clinical matters.
To ensure that in all aspects of professional activity (e.g. communication with patients, relatives, colleagues as well as in the assessment, development/ delivery of interventions) issues of diversity such as race, culture, identity, gender and sexuality are sensitively considered and incorporated to reflect individual differences appropriately.
Person Specification
Technical skills
* Experience of discharging full AC statutory responsibilities – Demonstrate the eight core competencies of an Approved Clinician (AC).
* High level of assessment and therapeutic skills related to complex, severe and enduring mental health problems experienced by adults, including dual diagnosis/substance misuse and those with Learning Disability.
* Ability to demonstrate leadership and service development skills.
* Contribute to the development of others, ability to teach and train others, using a variety of complex multi-media materials suitable for presentations within public, professional and academic sessions.
* Experience of leading organisational change and fostering a culture of patient safety.
Training and qualifications
* Portfolio submitted to meet registration criteria for Approved/Responsible Clinician.
* AC status and registered on national database of Approved Clinicians.
* Certificate / diploma in mental health law.
* Post qualification training in a specialist area of expertise eg Complex trauma/Personality disorder (e.g. KUF training, SCM training) related to the management and treatment of Complex MH difficulties.
* Registered mental health professional (e.g., MH/LD Nurse, Occupational Therapist, Practitioner Psychologist, Social Worker).
* Masters-level qualification in a relevant clinical field or demonstrable equivalent experience.
* A leadership qualification or certificate.
Experience
* Substantial Experience of working as an autonomous qualified AC / professional at a senior level across a range of mental heath and Learning disability services.
* Experience of specialist assessments, formulation and treatment of patients.
* Experience of working with a wide variety of patients/service users presenting problems that reflect the full range of clinical severity, including maintaining a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems, verbal abuse and the threat of physical abuse.
* Experience of leading and managing short term admissions on an acute ward.
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Sheffield Health Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust
#J-18808-Ljbffr