Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust (CHFT) are committed to equal opportunities and welcome applications from all sections of the community, regardless of any protected characteristics.
We are committed to recruiting to our values. Leading One Culture of Care underpins our values by creating an environment, tone and behaviours across all parts of the Trust that are fundamentally rooted in compassionate care.
We are open to considering a wide range of flexible working arrangements. There are opportunities to flex the days of the week, hours and times of work and place of work including: part-time, job-share, flexible working hours and the possibility to work from home when appropriate. Please talk to us during the interview process to discuss any flexibility that you may require.
We received our Silver Award from the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme which is helping actively promote SaBRE - Supporting Britain's Reservists and Employers. This means that we provided its statement of intent to support all Defence personnel and we welcome application to work for us. Find out more - Why Choose CHFT?
Our Future Plans
The Department of Health and Social Care has awarded capital funding to invest in local health services at both Calderdale Royal Hospital and Huddersfield Royal Infirmary. This is a significant investment and an opportunity to enhance services for our populations in Calderdale and Huddersfield and West Yorkshire for generations to come. To find out more, please visit https://future.cht.nhs.uk/
Job overview
We are delighted to offer this new permanent post for a Clinical Psychologist to work into the Bariatric Surgery service. The successful candidate will join a rapidly expanding Clinical Health Psychology Department within Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust (CHFT). This post is full-time at 37.5 hours per week (1.0 WTE).
Clinical and professional supervision will be provided by the Principal Clinical Psychologist who is the clinical lead for the Bariatric Surgery Psychology Service.
The role involves psychological assessment to establish readiness for bariatric surgery, with provision of therapeutic input to facilitate preparation and adjustment. Prior experience of working with adults with complex mental health problems and/or weight management services would be highly desirable. You would be joining a service which is further seeking to expand and develop, within a multidisciplinary team which greatly values and welcomes psychology input.
This post is offered as a preceptorship post with a clear and well-supported pathway to progress from Band 7 to Band 8A after 2 years, within a welcoming and friendly department.
Main duties of the job
The post involves working as part of the Bariatric Surgery team to deliver psychological care to patients seeking and adjusting to bariatric surgery. This post forms part of the ongoing development of our growing Clinical Health Psychology Service. The successful candidate will be an integral part of the Bariatric Surgery multidisciplinary team, who greatly value the input of Clinical Psychology.
The role will involve providing psychological expertise to the Bariatric Surgery MDT. The successful candidate will work closely with specialist dietitians, nurses, surgeons and other medical staff. While the role primarily involves direct clinical work, another key aspect of the role is contribution to decision making with regular MDT meetings and the provision of consultation to the team. There may be opportunities for involvement in supervision, teaching, training, service evaluation, audit and/or research once integrated into the service.
Working for our organisation
We are a growing Clinical Health Psychology Department that has good relationships across CHFT. We are committed to developing excellent quality care that aims to meet psychological needs of patients who are treated within CHFT. We develop services in a patient focused way and compassionate care is at the heart of our department. We actively encourage and support CPD, supervision, service-related audit and research. As a relatively newly established department, there is significant scope to work creatively in the continuation of new trust wide developments and be part of shaping our culture.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
The postholder will be expected to-
To provide specialist clinical psychology assessment, intervention, teaching and training to adult in- and out-patients and services working with patients and or carers with a range of physical health conditions.
• To undertake a range of evidenced-based psychological interventions, drawing on a range of psychological models and employing a range of modalities (individual and family) adapted and tailored to the needs of the individual and the context and the ongoing evaluation of the outcomes of the intervention.
• To formulate and implement plans for the formal psychological treatment and/or management of the patient's condition, based upon an appropriate conceptual framework of their difficulties, and employing methods based upon evidence of efficacy, across the full range of care settings.
• To establish rapport and build effective working relationships with service users and all those involved in their psychological, emotional and behavioural well-being.
• To evaluate and make specialist decisions about psychological treatment options considering both theoretical and therapeutic models and highly complex factors concerning historical and developmental processes that have shaped the individual and/or family.
• To ensure accurate clinical and audit records are maintained.
• To respect diversity. To treat everyone with dignity and respect and act in ways that acknowledge and recognise people's expressed beliefs, preferences and choices.
• To undertake risk assessment and risk management for individual patients and to provide advice to other professions on psychological aspects of risk assessment and risk management.
• To communicate complex and potentially contentious information in a skilled and sensitive manner, in situations with patients who may be highly emotional, requiring the highest level of communication skills.
• To identify, provide and promote appropriate interventions / means of support for parents or carers and staff exposed to highly distressing situations and challenging behaviours
• To carry individual accountability for all clinical decisions and exercise responsibility and autonomy for the treatment and discharge of patients, ensuring appropriate assessment, formulation and treatment, communicating with the referral agent, members of the multidisciplinary team and others involved with the patients' care.
• To follow appropriate local Safeguarding Adults and Children policies in all clinical work, including close liaison with all relevant agencies.
• To maintain up to date knowledge or national and local policies and to work with the relevant physical health networks
• To implement departmental and Trust wide/departmental policies, procedures and guidelines.
• Uphold the privacy and dignity of the patient and respect the equality of patients at all time
• To maintain registration with the Health Professions Council as a Clinical Psychologist
• To work within the Code of Ethics and the relevant professional practice guidelines of the HCPC, the British Psychological Society and the professional guidance framework of the Trust.
• To seek and maintain regular formal supervision as a method of quality assurance on own casework and that of professional colleagues in the Department.
• To seek high quality learning opportunities to meet continuing professional development requirements.
• To work within the framework of the policies and procedures of the Trust.
• To be responsible for relevant data collection on work activities, as required, and to maintain a high standard of clinical record keeping, providing regular and timely information on work undertaken and on service activity to allow accurate reporting of the overall service to their manager.
• To participate fully in supporting the activities of the specialist services within the geographical remit, including attending relevant meetings.
• To participate fully in supporting the activities of the Clinical Psychology profession within the Trust, including attending relevant meetings
• To continue to develop psychological expertise through Continuing Professional Development, including service specific professional development.
• To maintain the highest standards of clinical record keeping including electronic data entry and recording, report writing and the responsible exercise of professional self-governance in accordance with professional codes of practice of the British Psychological Society and Trust policies and procedures.
• To maintain up to date knowledge of legislation, national and local policies and issues in relation to the specific patient group, mental health, clinical psychology and health psychology in general.
• To undertake other duties as required for the effective delivery of the Service.
• To contribute to developing the specialist psychology service; identifying service priorities, working with other agencies and initiating developments in consultation.
• To use theory, evidence-based literature and research to support evidence-based practice in individual work and work with other team members.
• To participate in the evaluation of the service by initiating, designing and implementing service-related audit, research and evaluation projects ensuring the incorporation of psychological frameworks for understanding and provision of high-quality care.
• Contribute to clinical service development and review.
• To participate in the routine collection of patient data for purposes of outcome evaluation
• To remain informed of and critically evaluate current research to support evidence-based practice in own professional work and to contribute this perspective in the multi-disciplinary team.
• To undertake appropriate research and audit and provide research advice to other staff as requested.
• To participate as appropriate in staff recruitment, both in the short-listing process and as a member of interview panels for assistants and graduate clinical psychologists.
• To advise both the service and professional management on those aspects of the service where psychological and/or organisational matters need addressing.
• To play a role in supporting the development of clinical health psychology services, identifying service priorities and developing service provision within existing and across potential clinical areas under the direction of the service lead/head of clinical health psychology.
• To receive regular clinical professional supervision from a more senior Clinical Psychologist and, where appropriate, other senior professional colleagues.
• To continue to gain wider post-qualification experience and skills relevant to clinical psychology, and bariatric surgery.
• To develop skills in the area of professional post-graduate teaching, training and supervision and to provide supervision to other MDT staff's psychological work, as appropriate.
• To provide teaching on the Doctoral Clinical Psychology course, as agreed with clinical lead.
• To provide advice, consultation and training to staff working with patients in the specialist service across a range of agencies and settings, where appropriate.
• To disseminate knowledge and skills on good practice in the psychological aspects of patient care by setting up teaching opportunities for nursing, medical and other health care staff and also parents/carers. Collaboration with local and national professional psychology organisations and speciality specific groups and networks.
This job description is an outline only and is not definitive or restrictive in any way. It will be regularly reviewed and may be amended in the light of changing circumstances following consultation with the post holder.
Person specification
QUALIFICATIONS / TRAINING
Essential criteria
* Post graduate doctoral level training in clinical psychology, including specifically models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics, two or more distinct psychological therapies, as accredited by the British Psychological Society
* Evidence of continuing professional development as recommended by the BPS
Desirable criteria
* Pre-qualification training and qualifications in research methodology, staff training and/or other fields of applied psychology.
KNOWLEDGE, EXPERIENCE & EXPERTISE
Essential criteria
* Experience of specialist psychological assessment and treatment of patients across the full range of care settings, including outpatient, community, primary care and inpatient settings and with difficult to treat groups.
* Doctoral level knowledge of research methodology, research design and complex, multivariate data analysis as practiced within the clinical fields of psychology.
* Skills in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment intervention and management frequently requiring sustained and intense concentration.
* Ability to exercise the full clinical responsibility for patient's psychological care and treatment within the clinical specialty and to co-ordinate the psychological care provided by others.
* Ability to identify and employ mechanisms of clinical governance as appropriate, to support and maintain clinical practice in the face of regular exposure to highly emotive material and challenging behaviour.
Desirable criteria
* Experience of teaching, training and/or supervision.
* Experience of working cohesively in multi-disciplinary teams.
* Experience of working with patients with physical health conditions.
* Knowledge of legislation in relation to the patient group and mental health
COMMUNICATION AND RELATIONSHIPS (INCLUDING MANAGEMENT RESPONSIBILITIES)
Essential criteria
* Well-developed skills in the ability to communicate effectively, orally and in writing, complex, highly technical and/or clinically sensitive information to patients, their families, carers and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS.
* Maintaining a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems.
Desirable criteria
* Ability to provide emotional support, consultation and professional mentorship to multidisciplinary team members
Our vision is to provide One Culture of Care for one another in order that we can provide compassionate care for the people who use our services. We are passionate about creating a workplace where we work together to get results, encouraging colleagues to have their say, in order to co create the change we want to see. We take pride in the diversity of our workforce that's why we encourage applications from all. Reasonable adjustments will be made for disabled applicants.
Please ensure your application is submitted with referees who can verify your employment/education history over the last three years and include valid email addresses for them. We will request electronic Factual Employment References from your previous employers. These references will be requested before you are issued with an unconditional offer of employment letter.
Candidates who require a Skilled Worker visa to work in the United Kingdom can determine the likelihood of obtaining a Certificate of Sponsorship for this position by assessing their circumstances against the criteria specified on the Check if you need a UK visa - GOV.UK website. We encourage all applicants to review these criteria carefully to understand their eligibility for sponsorship.
If you are appointed to a post, information will also be transferred into the NHS Electronic Staff Records system. The Inter-Authority Transfer (IAT) process is a critical and beneficial component of ESR and following interview your previous NHS employment data, if applicable will be transferred from your current / most recent employer.
You may be required to undertake a DBS. The Trust will administer the DBS check on your behalf and will recover the cost (Enhanced £54.40, Standard £26.40 or Basic £26.40) from your salary when you commence in post (including Internal staff). You will also be required to participate in the DBS Update Service and pay the £16 cost per year. This is a condition of your employment.
CHFT is part of the West Yorkshire Association of Acute Trusts (WYAAT), a collaborative of the NHS hospital trusts from across West Yorkshire and Harrogate working together to provide the best possible care for our patients.
If you have any questions please contact ask.recruitment@cht.nhs.uk for assistance.
Employer certification / accreditation badges
Applicant requirements
You must have appropriate UK professional registration.
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.
Documents to download
* Band 7 Clinical Psychologist JDPS (PDF, 352.4KB)
* Job Description Appendix A (PDF, 259.2KB)
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