Employer South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust
Employer type NHS
Site Croydon University Hospital
Town Croydon
Salary period Hourly
Closing 06/05/2025 23:59
NHS AfC: Band 6
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 Croydon Mental Health Liaison Service for Older Adults provides a Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm service to Croydon University Hospital. We offer assessment and intervention to patients admitted to the inpatient wards.
The successful candidates will be clinically confident in assessing mental health service users presenting to the Hospital, carrying out short term interventions and making independent decisions. You will thrive in a fast-paced environment, often working under pressure. You will possess excellent assessment, communication skills and interpersonal skills. You will work well with others and enjoy multidisciplinary work whilst maintaining the highest standard in the quality of care.
You will hold a sound working knowledge of common mental health disorders, the Mental Health Act and Mental Capacity Act & DOLs. A sound knowledge of the interface between physical and mental health is essential as well as experience of working with older adults, in any setting.
Main duties of the job
1. Working autonomously within the parameters of the role leading and supporting junior staff and wider care team to implement the delivery of quality nursing care, contributing to the physical, psychological, social, recreational and spiritual care in a recovery-focused way through therapeutic engagement and activities, and taking steps to address any issues that arise.
2. Leading on and undertaking activities to ensure that the fundamentals of care are met - nutrition, hydration, hygiene, comfort, emotional and social support:
* Co-ordinating and evaluating collaborative patient centred care; getting feedback and improving plans with the multi-disciplinary team (MDT).
* Providing accurate information about care in an accessible format to patients and their relatives / carers.
* Liaising and working positively with members of the multi- disciplinary team and partner organisations.
* Administering, and monitoring the side-effects of, medication; monitoring service user compliance.
1. Leading and supporting/teaching junior staff on risk assessment and risk management that involves making decisions based on knowledge of the research evidence, knowledge of the individual service user and their social context, knowledge of the service user’s own experience and clinical judgment.
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. There are very few organisations in the world that have such wide-ranging capabilities working with mental illness. Our scope is unique because it is built on three major foundations: care and treatment, science and research, and training.
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. SLaM delivered more than 14,000 training experiences in 2014; providing an extensive range of learning opportunities for staff at all levels. 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
1. Demonstrating an enhanced understanding of Mental Health signs and symptoms and an understanding of how these may present in practice including recognition of impact on patient presentation and behaviour including risk factors. Supporting and teaching junior staff to develop understanding of mental health signs and symptoms and develop appropriate responses to these in practice.
2. Recognising and responding appropriately to challenging behaviour in line with Trust policies and training. Leading and coordinating junior staff and the wider care team in the management of difficult situations and de-escalation and developing resilience and strategies to manage, including on leading staff and patient ‘de-briefing’ sessions.
3. Demonstrating a depth of knowledge and understanding of the fundamentals of the Mental Health Act, Mental Capacity Act and Deprivation of Liberty and other legislation applicable to the practice area and how they are implemented in practice ensuring adherence to legislation at all times. Teaching junior staff to understand the legal frameworks that support their practice.
Communication:
1. Contributing to an effective communication process with appropriate and accurate information to patients, carers, family, friends and colleagues. Engaging and listening carefully and actively, and responding using appropriate language and accessible communication methods and skills. Developing communication skills to enable and support difficult conversations, acknowledging cultural differences and professional boundaries.
2. Demonstrating effective clinical communication and documentation to internal and external stakeholders ensuring: effective verbal and written handover of relevant and objective information. Demonstrating ability to determine key information, ability to recognise and describe effectively symptoms of mental illness, distress or of a deteriorating patient, and ability to escalate issues of concerns effectively and in a timely manner.
3. Contributing towards the on-going quality of service and care by managing the patient caseload, organising care including delegating tasks and duties appropriately to staff with relevant competency, identifying and mitigating any risk issues in relation to the service users’ health and social care. Informing the relevant Health care professionals if there are any significant:
* Changes in the service user’s physical or mental state
* Factors relevant to the service user
* Incidents related to the service user
2. Maintaining timely and accurate service user written/electronic records in line with Trust policy. Use care plans, pathway documents and Information System progress notes appropriately and in a timely manner.
3. Reporting, without delay, any safety or security concerns to maintain the safety of service users, carers, staff and others in line with Trust policy.
4. Understanding and contributing to the Trust risk assessment policy, including being aware of the need to follow all safeguarding procedures; being aware of the necessity to safeguard and promote the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults at all times when working with service users. Supporting junior staff to respond appropriately if there are any significant factors, or incidents relating to the safeguarding service user.
5. Maintaining confidential information in accordance with Trust Policies.
Person specification
Qualifications
* Registered Adult Nurse and/or Registered Mental Health Nurse and/or Registered Learning Disabilities Nurse
Experience
* Experience of research- based/reflective practice, e.g. understanding and ability to use supervision to reflect on skills, attitude and knowledge and develop these by using evidence based practice
* Significant relevant clinical experience in older adults
* Evidence of continuing professional development
* Experience as a preceptor / mentor
* Experience of teaching. e.g. lecturer practitioner/preceptorship
* Experience of engaging / supporting clinical research projects Experience of supporting practice development in clinical areas
Knowledge / Skills
* Able to provide quality care that is responsive to service user’s needs, without close supervision
* Resilient: able to cope with difficult interpersonal situations.
* Self-aware, self-confident and intrinsically motivated to do a good job and to motivate others
* Advocates for all individuals, particularly those with protected characteristics; promotes equality and diversity
* Problem solving, ability to identify problems, review options and take appropriate action without a predetermined frameworks
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 Personal 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 apps.trac.jobs
* That should you not have heard from us within three weeks from the closing date your application has not 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.
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.
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