Job overview
The post will work with the team dividing time between the Emergency Department and the physical health care wards at Lewisham University Hospital. The post holder will take the lead on developing services to support the Emergency Department to manage the needs of frequent attenders more effectively.
There is considerable scope for autonomy and careers development with support from senior colleagues in liaison services, the post-holder will develop a psychology service integrated with acute medical care, thus supporting rapid access to direct psychological intervention, and to staff training, consultation and case discussion. The post is supported by a growing 'ageless' multidisciplinary liaison psychiatry team, with specialisms in general adult and older adult liaison psychiatry.
· To provide a highly specialist psychology service to Lewisham Psychiatric Liaison Service including specialist assessment, treatment, planning, implementation and monitoring of outcomes.
· To contribute to enabling other staff, service users and carers from diverse backgrounds to flourish by working to create a psychologically safe environment.
· To work as an autonomous professional within BPS and HCPC guidelines and codes of conduct, and guided by principles and policies or procedures of the service, taking responsibility for interpreting policies within defined parameters.
· To agree outcomes/results with clinical/professional lead and to decide how they are best achieved.
Main duties of the job
-To provide highly specialist psychological assessments, formulations and interventions for clients in the service, including developing and delivering psychological interventions tailored to the needs of people living with complex medical and psychosocial problems .
-To provide culturally appropriate psychological interventions with carers or families of referred clients when required.
-To assess and monitor risk and draw up appropriate risk management plans.
1. To work with colleagues to co-ordinate the delivery of liaison services.
2. As the team’s Clinical Psychologist, you will focus on the most high risk and complex patients who present to both the Emergency Department and Acute Trust wards. You will be expected to support the multidisciplinary team with case formulation and care planning for patients who frequently attend the hospital and to promote a culture of positive risk taking by all practitioners working within the team.
You will also be required to support the team in terms of reflective practice and delivery evidenced-based care. Experience of working with patients in crisis would be advantageous as well as of delivering brief psychological interventions in an emergency setting
Working for our organisation
South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust (SLaM) provide the widest range of NHS mental health services in the UK as well as substance misuse services for people who are addicted to drugs and alcohol. We work closely with the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience (IoPPN), King's College London and are part of King's Health Partners Academic Health Sciences Centre. Our scope is unique because it is built on three major foundations: care and treatment, science and research, and training.
SLaM employ around 5000 staff and serve a local population of 1.1 million people. We have more than 230 services including inpatient wards, outpatient and community services. Currently, provide inpatient care for approximately 5,300 people each year and treat more than 45,000 patients in the community in Croydon, Lambeth, Lewisham and Southwark; as well as substance misuse services for residents of Bexley, Bromley and Greenwich.
By coming to work at SLaM, you will gain experience of being part of an organisation with a rich history and international reputation in mental health care. You will have access to professional development and learning opportunities, and have the chance to work alongside people who are world leaders in their field. In addition, our working relationship with King's Health Partners allows those working at the Trust to get involved in academic research.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Responsibilities for team or service clinical functioning
-To contribute to the effective working of liaison services and to a psychologically informed framework for the service.
-To contribute to the delivery of accessible and acceptable services to diverse local communities.
-To be proactive in challenging discrimination and support the development of culturally competent services.
-To advise other members of the service on specialist psychological care of clients.
-To liaise with referrers, GPs and other professionals concerned with clients in order to develop and review care plans.
-To utilise theory, evidence-based literature and research to support evidence based practice in individual work and work with other team members.
Policy and service development
-To implement policies and procedures in own area of work.
-To contribute to service development through undertaking and participating in appropriate projects.
-To participate in the ongoing implementation of new initiatives (e.g. national guidelines) across the service.
3. To contribute to the consultation and engagement of service users in planning and delivering services which meet the needs of local communities.
4. Care or management of resources
-To take care of, and use carefully, the Trust’s equipment and physical resources.
-To ensure that the post-holder has sufficient resources by estimating future needs and requesting or ordering supplies as needed.
Management and supervision
-To be responsible for the allocation and clinical supervision of the work of more junior psychologists with support from a more senior psychologist.
-To supervise trainee applied psychologists within own area of specialism.
-To contribute to the appraisal of more junior colleagues, as appropriate.
-To contribute to the recruitment of more junior colleagues, as appropriate.
Teaching and Training
-To undertake teaching and training of pre- and post-qualification psychologists and specialised training to other professions as appropriate.
-To contribute to the development of the knowledge and skills base within the service by maintaining an active awareness of current developments in psychology and the service and by implementing knowledge gained in practice.
-To disseminate research and service evaluation findings through presentations and published articles.
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 maintain the highest standards of clinical record keeping and report writing, according to professional and Trust guidelines, including electronic data entry.
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
5. Entry-level qualification in applied psychological therapy/mental health/social welfare profession or equivalent AND demonstrable practice in this field (professional Doctorate, or combination of MSc plus PG Diploma level/supervised practice/additional training) that has been accepted by HCPC for the purposes of professional registration. (A/I)
6. Completed training course in clinical supervision and/or accredited to supervised qualified psychological practitioners in relevant discipline. (A/I/R)
7. Registered with professional body as appropriate to discipline HCPC/APC/BPC/UKCP/BACP/BABCP/ADMPUK. (A/I)
8. Evidence of continuing professional development as required by the professional body. (A/I)
Desirable criteria
9. Substantial post-qualification experience/training and/or accreditation in a relevant therapy model (e.g. CBT/DBT/EMDR/ACT).
10. BABPC Accreditation
Experience
Essential criteria
11. Evidence of having worked in an acute hospital setting as a clinical Specialist or near equivalent.
12. Experience of specialist psychological assessment and treatment of clients with a range of complex psychological and physical health needs
13. Experience of supervising assistants and trainees having completed the relevant training.
14. Post-qualification experience that supports working with, and addressing issues of, diversity within local communities.
15. Experience in the delivery of a range of psychological therapies such as behavioural therapy, cognitive behavioural therapy, third wave cognitive therapy, systemic therapies
Desirable criteria
16. Experience of working in acute mental health wards
17. Experience of delivering short interventions
Knowledge/Skills
Essential criteria
18. Theoretical knowledge of psychopathology and the evidence base for the treatment of commonly presenting problems in acute adult mental health (psychosis, substance misuse, trauma, personality disorder, mood disorders).
19. Advanced knowledge of the theory of psychological therapy and it’s therapeutic application. Associated awareness of assessment and clinical psychometrics.
20. Knowledge of legislation in relation to the client group and mental health issues, child and adult protection, and equalities.
21. To deliver psychological/psychotherapeutic therapy across cultural and other differences.
22. To select and administer specialist psychological assessments, interpreting and integrating complex data that require analysis, interpretation and comparison, drawn from several sources. (A/I/R)
Desirable criteria
23. To plan and schedule assessment and interventions for individual clients and groups and carers, and to organise meetings and joint activities with staff of partner agencies
24. To be aware of risk relating to aggressive, challenging and extremist behaviour amongst the patient group and follow trust policies relating to the management of those behaviours.