South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust has a rich history, well-established community links and an international reputation. We deliver specialist services in the London boroughs of Croydon, Lambeth, Lewisham and Southwark, Bexley, Bromley, Greenwich, Wandsworth and Richmond.
We are committed to provide a high quality and specialist care to our service users and we are recognised for our care and treatment we provide. The Care Quality Commission already rates our services as 'good'.
We launched our five-year strategy, Aiming High; Changing Lives in 2021 together with Our Care Improvement System as our quality management system methodology to make a positive impact on patient care, outcomes and staff experience. By joining SLaM, all staff will get the opportunity to be part of this exciting improvement journey supported with learning and development to harness everyone's potential as change makers.
The trust recognises the unique and valuable contribution that people with lived experience of mental illness can bring to a role. We therefore welcome applications from people with lived experience and consider them as an asset to the Trust.
Our Values
We take pride in providing specialist care to our service users where our Trust values and our promise to be caring, kind, polite, prompt, honest, listen and do what I say I'm going to do is at the heart of everything we do. When you join us, you'll be part of something special.
As a Trust we are happy to talk flexible working.
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.
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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.
* To work with colleagues to co-ordinate the delivery of liaison services.
* 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.
* To contribute to the consultation and engagement of service users in planning and delivering services which meet the needs of local communities.
* 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.
The Trust is committed to providing services which embrace diversity and that promote equality of opportunity. We are a Disability Confident Employer, we welcome applicants from all sections of the community and people of all protected characteristics. We provide reasonable adjustments for candidates with a disability and are committed to treating people fairly with compassion, respect and dignity and in promoting equality and human rights. We aim to put this commitment into practice by:
* Embedding our commitment to tackling inequality, eliminating discrimination and harassment; promoting equality of opportunity and fostering good relations in our everyday practice
* Ensuring that all our services and all staff understand and support our commitment
* We believe that people who use our services, their carers and our staff, should be treated with compassion, respect and dignity
Please note:
* That all applications for this post will need to be made online
* That you read and understand the Job Description and Person Specification attached to the role. Your Statement in Support should reflect the requirements specified as your application will be judged against these criteria
* That the closing date listed is a guide only and that the vacancy may close earlier should sufficient number of applicants have been received. We advise that you submit your application as early as possible
* That once you have submitted your application you agree to your application being transferred to a 3rd party e-recruitment system. All subsequent information regarding your application will be generated from
* That should you not have heard from us within three weeks from the closing date your application has not been successful
* That priority consideration for applications may be given to at-risk NHS employees
* That should you be successful and appointed, you authorise South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust to confirm your previous NHS service via an Inter Authority Transfer (IAT) process
* That we are a smoke-free Trust
SLaM is a Stonewall Diversity Champion, Stonewall is the largest Lesbian, Gay, Bi and Trans (LGBT) rights charity in Europe'
Helpful Resource: How to Use TRAC for Job Applications
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