Joining #TeamNELFT means you’ll become part of a welcoming and supportive working environment. We’re CQC rated Good, and we want you to join us on the journey towards an Outstanding rating. NELFT has sites across North East London, Essex, Kent and Medway. We provide community and mental healthcare services to adults and children within these areas.
The Trust has award winning equality and diversity initiatives and staff health and wellbeing activities. We invest heavily in your development, because when you are valued and supported, we provide the best care to our patients. We are a Level 3 Disability Confident Leader, have been featured in the Working Families Top 10 Employers benchmark for five consecutive years, and we have achieved a Carers UK Level 1 Accreditation. Along with our staff networks and training opportunities, we work hard to embed a just and compassionate culture here at NELFT.
Find out more about NELFT careers and what makes our Trust a great place to work, in this video
Job overview
Aim of the role:
The expectation of this post holder will be to support their team, department and organisation to achieve the Trust’s Values in their day-to-day work.
The post holder will achieve this by:
1. Participating in the development and implementation of high standards of clinical care, ensuring the service provided is needs-led, compliant with national guidance and is viewed positively by service users.
2. Supporting the team in understanding and valuing others’ roles and contributions.
3. Enabling others to contribute effectively, acknowledging the nature of and context of their work, sharing and taking account of own and others’ knowledge and skills, and differences in working and professional practice.
4. Leading on clinical risk management within the adult autism service
Main duties of the job
5. Provide specialist assessment services to individuals referred to the adult autism service, taking into consideration the individual’s physical, cognitive, sensory and psychological abilities and needs.
6. To be responsible for organising and prioritising own caseload in the day-to-day allocation of work, whilst being able to work flexibly to meet the needs of clients, their relatives and carers and the service.
Working for our organisation
Our Values 2025 - 2030
Working with our colleagues, patients and carers we have co-produced three new values that we aim to embed within our culture here at NELFT.
They are:
We are kind.
We are respectful.
We work together with our communities.
These three values help us to strive to provide the best care by the best people.
Probationary Period
This post will be subject to a probationary period.
High Cost Area Supplement - Outer London
This post also attracts payment for High Cost Area Supplement of 15%of the basic salary (minimum payment of £4,714 and a maximum payment of £5,941 - per annum, pro rata for part time).
Use of AI
Please see attached document regarding acceptable use of AI
during the recruitment process.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
7. The post holder will be a mental health nurse responsible for clients allocated to them and will assess, manage, plan and deliver care while being professionally and legally accountable for their work.
8. The post holder will support their peers and team leader and be an effective team member, whilst working on their own initiative.
9. The post holder will supervise nursing students on clinical placement within the service and provide clinical guidance and support to junior colleagues.
10. The post-holder will have a commitment to collaborative working and actively supporting and liaising with other health and social professionals and agencies
Key Responsibilities:
11. To promote the empowerment and education of clients in relation to their holistic health, focusing on the promotion of social inclusion, health promotion and relapse prevention.
12. To have organisational knowledge relating to Trust protocols and procedures and adhere to them.
13. To be responsible for providing accurate records of information required by the Trust for audit purposes.
14. To ensure effective risk management at team level by accident/incident reporting, assessing and controlling risk and ensuring residual risks are added to the Trust register.
15. Provide specialist clinical advice to other team members, particularly in relation to risk management.
16. To take a lead role in the education, supervision and training of more junior members of staff, support workers and nursing students,
17. Act as a role model for mental health nursing, raising the profile and value of the role within the service.
Leadership
18. To participate in the development of an effective team and the development of productive working relationships throughout the Trust.
19. To actively promote integrated health professional working internally and externally.
20. To facilitate the development of a positive and ‘supportive’ team culture by taking responsibility for dealing effectively with potential conflict.
21. To take an active interest in working parties and groups within the team or the Trust to develop and improve on service delivery, protocols and guidelines.
22. To participate in the audit process, linking in with the clinical governance agenda.
23. To advise, encourage and share knowledge utilising the latest research and practice development, through literature and peer reviews.
24. To support junior staff carrying out clinical harm reviews.
25. To assist in induction of staff new to the area.
26. To share specialist knowledge and skills with other professions within the team.
27. To network with other multi-disciplinary, statutory, private and voluntary organisations, users and carers.
28. To manage own caseload and review treatment and discharge plans in accordance with the service policies.
29. To ensure responsiveness to urgent priorities and fulfil treatment targets.
30. To be responsible for effective management of resources and equipment.
31. To lead by example and display a leadership style that empowers staff through encouragement, development and innovative problem solving.
32. To contribute to designated projects, as delegated by the lead professionals within the team, across areas of clinical responsibility to ensure effective communication and standardisation of practice.
33. To plan, implement and evaluate care delivery, using evidence based best practice.
34. To liaise closely with the service user, carers, other mental health services and other professionals involved in care provision.
35. To collect, collate and evaluate a range of information to support clinical and service audit.
36. To participate in the review and development of clinical policies and improvements to service provision.
Clinical Skills
37. To be responsible and accountable for own service delivery to clients.
38. To undertake diagnostic assessment, ADOS-2, for referred individuals, developing skills as required, and support the team in diagnostic decision making.
39. To lead on clinical risk management within the adult autism service, escalating concerns as required and providing guidance and education to colleagues.
40. To provide junior staff with appropriate support and supervision to undertake clinical harm reviews.
41. To take responsibility for the management of a defined caseload of clients who are referred to the adult autism service.
42. To provide signposting to referred clients and their families.
43. To liaise with professionals in locality mental health and learning disabilities teams involved with referred individuals /families.
44. To make a full assessment of a person’s mental health needs and current risk factors utilising appropriate assessment tools.
45. Collaborate with the client to set goals that are appropriate to their needs, circumstances and wishes.
46. Maintain dynamic caseload management with effective discharge planning and onward referral to other services if required.
47. In line with Trust guidelines and RCN standards of practice, to ensure that assessments and care plans reflect the psychological, emotional, sensory, social care, treatment, intervention and risk management needs appropriate to adults with autism.
48. To initiate referrals to other health professional specialist services and agencies.
49. To provide clients and their relatives with information and education thus ensuring they have meaningful choices that promote dignity, independence and quality of life.
50. To ensure practice is supported by research, evidence-based practice, literature and peer review.
51. Work within Trust clinical guidelines and RCN professional guidelines to monitor own and others quality of practice
Computer/Administration
To be computer literate and encourage implementation of the Trust’s IM&T Strategy.
·To be responsible for recording, monitoring and reporting on clinical work at the time of referral, during on-going work and for evaluation purposes, as is consistent with the policies and protocols of the Trust.
·To ensure client electronic clinical records are up to date in accordance with Trust and Local policies.
·To communicate clearly and concisely in both written and verbal forms, taking into account the ethical professional and legal aspects of care including provision and communication with relevant others
·To prepare clinical reports and letters.
·To provide and collate statistical returns as required.
Communication
52. To have a range of knowledge in approaches to communicating and managing service user care.
53. To develop specialist knowledge and understanding of the specific communication difficulties experienced by autistic people, including skills to communicate effectively and overcome the complex communication barriers caused by autism.
54. To utilise a neuro-affirmative approach.
55. To be able to effectively communicate with colleagues, peers, senior managers and clinical leads within the Trust.
56. To be able to communicate complex service user related information facilitating positive outcomes and ensuring collaborative working.
57. To present and promote a positive image to service users, public, other health and social care providers, commissioners and relevant external agencies.
58. To anticipate barriers to communications and resistance to change and to be able to manage these effectively, liaising and seeking appropriate support as required
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
59. Degree in mental health nursing
60. Current registration with professional body
Desirable criteria
61. Evidence of CPD (with recent learning relevant to clinical field).
62. Willingness to undertake training in autism diagnostic assessment, ADOS-2
Experience
Essential criteria
63. Experience of working as a mental health nurse in a range of clinical settings
64. Experience of multi- disciplinary working
Desirable criteria
65. Experience of working with autistic adults or other relevant service area
66. Experience of involvement in service development projects; audit, research, evidence appraisal.
Knowledge
Essential criteria
67. Good understanding of the nursing role, models of practice and evidence-based practice
68. Good knowledge and understanding of clinical risk assessment and management
Desirable criteria
69. Understanding of the needs and difficulties experienced by autistic adults
70. Knowledge, understanding and experience of working with families from diverse ethnic, economic and cultural backgrounds.
Benefits
We believe in bringing your authentic and best self to work, in order to deliver the best care to our patients. We are committed to supporting our employees holistically. Here is a snapshot of what is on offer at NELFT:
71. A long-standing and award-winning approach to equality and diversity with supportive networks for ethnic minority staff, staff with disabilities or long term/chronic conditions and LGBT staff.
72. A commitment to supporting colleagues to achieve a work life balance, through flexible working opportunities and our effortsto support our working parents and carers. This has resulted in us being recognised as a ‘Top 10 Family Friendly Employer’ from the Working Families Charity.
73. Proactive health and wellbeing support, including access to our employee assistance programme, staff psychological support, individual wellbeing conversations and a network of health and wellbeing ambassadors.
74. Detailed information about our wellbeing and benefits offer can be found in this link.
As a flexible working friendly organisation, we want to be sure that you can work in a way that is best for us and for our patients, and for you. Speak to us about how we might be able to accommodate a flexible working arrangement whether that’s a job share, part time hours or another flexible pattern.