Senior Clinical Practitioner

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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

An exciting opportunity has arisen to take on a senior Clinical Practitioner role within a pan-London Integrated Community Pathways Service (ICPS), as part of the Offender Personality Disorder (OPD) pathway. This specialist input will focus on supporting the effective management and engagement of people on probation who present with complex personality difficulties and a high risk of harm to others, with the joint aims of reducing offending and improving psychological wellbeing.

Please note, as well as DBS checks you will also be expected to undertake HMPPS security vetting.

Development opportunities:
We are committed to get the very best out of our staff and support staff in their career aspirations. Opportunities for ongoing in-house training and development are offered to all staff on the OPD Pathway, where you will be able to develop your skills and build on your experience.

Main duties of the job

The postholder will work directly with complex, high-risk service users with personality difficulties in the community, providing practical and emotional stabilisation support to assist their effective desistance.

They will provide supervision to ICPS clinical practitioners, and appropriate psychologically informed psychosocial and risk management consultation and advice to involved staff across agencies. They will liaise with probation, third sector and other agencies to address the support and wellbeing needs of service users and workers, working within a framework informed by best practice and the literature on working with personality disorder in a forensic population and effective risk management, with an emphasis on desistance.

The postholder will contribute to the development and implementation of effective governance frameworks, and to the audit and evaluation of developing services. They will work autonomously within professional guidelines, policies and procedures of London Pathways Partnership (LPP)'s services, and overarching objectives of LPP and the OPD Pathway.

Working for our organisation

The London Pathways Partnership (LPP) is a consortium of five NHS Trusts co-delivering a pan-London ICPS for the OPD Pathway. The OPD Pathway provides services to men and women with complex psychological difficulties and serious offending histories, and to multi-agency professionals working with them.

The South West ICPS is a multidisciplinary team made up of psychologists, probation officers, clinical practitioners and specialists from other sectors (e.g. housing). We deliver consultation, training and joint casework to PSL, and stabilisation/therapeutic interventions to people on probation. We have active social inclusion and user involvement programmes developed in partnership with service users and the PSL in line with desistance principles. LPP's social inclusion projects include the development of community 'hubs' in north and south London offering a range of socially inclusive activities and support to service users. We cover the following areas: Hounslow; Kingston & Richmond; Merton & Sutton; Wandsworth; Lambeth; and Croydon.

Blue Star House is based in south London, zone 2 and is close to a vibrant high street with lots of shops and restaurants. It is within walking distance of Brixton rail and tube station, Stockwell tube station and Clapham High Street rail station, offering easy transport links. Please note the postholder will be expected to regularly travel across London to other settings, such as approved premises and probation offices.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Clinical:
• To provide expert advice, consultation, formulation, assessment and treatment for individuals with personality difficulties and for staff working with these individuals.
• To provide specialist psychosocial interventions, risk management and advice for highly complex service users with significant psychological difficulties following their release from prison; integrating highly complex information from a variety of sources addressing both risk and personality difficulties, and requiring analysis, interpretation and comparison of a range of options.
• To formulate and implement plans for service users' effective support and management, based upon an appropriate theoretical and evidence-based framework of the person on probation's problems, and employing methods based upon evidence and practice and professional guidelines.
• To provide specialist advice and consultation on resettlement to probation and prison staff, mental health services, and other relevant criminal justice, health and third sector agencies.
• To plan, organise and implement a range of specialist psychosocial interventions and activities requiring formulation and adjustment in response to service users, and where appropriate carers and involved professionals; co-working with clinical and non-clinical colleagues as appropriate.
• To evaluate and make decisions about interventions and support, taking into account both theoretical and therapeutic models and highly complex factors concerning historical and developmental processes that have shaped the individual, family or group.
• To communicate highly sensitive information and decisions in situations where there may be barriers to acceptance and a hostile, antagonistic or highly emotive atmosphere.
• To exercise autonomous professional responsibility for assessment and interventions with people on probation whose problems are managed by psychosocially informed care/pathway plans within the OPD Pathway.
• To develop specialist desistance and stabilisation programmes for individual service users with highly complex presentations, and highly specialised advice for multi-agency professionals within the OPD Pathway.
• To undertake risk assessment and risk management for people on probation in community settings, and to provide advice to other professions on psychosocial aspects of risk assessment and risk management.
• To take responsibility for initiating planning and review of psychosocial interventions and care/pathway plans including service users, their carers, referring agents and others involved in the network of care.
• To provide specialist psychosocial advice, guidance and consultation to other professionals contributing directly to people on probation's formulations and pathway plans.
• To contribute directly and indirectly to a psychosocially-based framework of understanding and care to the benefit of all users of the service, across all settings and agencies.
• To communicate in a skilled and sensitive manner information concerning the assessment, formulation, intervention and support plans of people on probation within the OPD Pathway and to monitor progress during the course of multi-agency pathway delivery.

Teaching, training and supervision:
• To receive regular supervision and line management from a psychologist.
• To continue to gain post-qualification experience in psychosocial interventions and management, within the principal service area where the post holder is employed.
• To develop skills in teaching, training and supervision and to provide supervision to other multi-agency staff and relevant professional practice as appropriate.
• To provide supervision and line management to clinical practitioners within the team.
• To provide supervision to students on placement from the relevant professional practice area.
• To co-produce and co-deliver workforce development interventions with service users within and beyond the postholder's principal service area.
• To contribute to external and internal training programmes.

Management, recruitment and service development:
• To contribute to the development, evaluation and monitoring of the team's operational policies and services, through the deployment of professional skills in research, service evaluation and audit.
• To contribute to the development of the service's governance and strategy, and to implement and monitor policy and practice initiatives as required.
• To advise both service and professional management on those aspects of the service where psychosocial and/or organisational matters need addressing.
• To implement policy and propose changes to practices and procedures within the service area and the OPD Pathway.
• To help manage the workloads of Band 6 and 5 clinical practitioners and support workers, within the framework of the team/service's policies and procedures.
• To be involved, as appropriate, in the shortlisting and interviewing of multidisciplinary staff.
• To be involved in service development projects as agreed by the professional lead.

IT responsibilities:
• To be proficient in the use of IT for email, intranet and clinical record purposes. To be familiar with word processing and database packages; to use appropriate computer software to develop and create clinical or other service-related reports or documents.

Research and service evaluation:
• To use theory, evidence-based literature and research to support evidence-based practice in individual work and work with other team members.
• To initiate, implement and contribute to the evaluation, monitoring and development of the service, including audit and service evaluation, with colleagues within and across the service, to help develop and improve services to all service users.
• To contribute to the evaluation, monitoring and development of the multi-disciplinary team.
• To contribute to the development, implementation, evaluation and monitoring of the Directorate's and Trust's operational policies and services.

General:
• To contribute to the development and maintenance of the highest professional standards of practice, through active participation in internal and external CPD training and development programmes, in consultation with the post holder's professional and service manager(s).
• To contribute to the development and articulation of best practice across the service, by continuing to develop relevant professional skills taking part in regular professional supervision and appraisal and maintaining an active engagement with current developments in the relevant disciplines.
• 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 and Trust policies and procedures.
• To maintain up to date knowledge of legislation, national and local policies and issues in relation to both the specific client group and mental health.

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential criteria

• First level qualification in social work, occupational therapy, or equivalent core profession
• Professional registration with the relevant regulatory body OR accreditation with a professional body

Desirable criteria

• Received training (either formally or through experience) in risk assessment and/or formulation
• Received training (either formally or through experience) in a therapeutic approach with PD

Experience

Essential criteria

• Experience of working with service users with complex needs and challenging behaviour, including personality difficulties
• Experience of providing supervision

Desirable criteria

• Experience of working within a forensic setting or with a forensic population
• Experience of working in diverse inner-city areas
• Experience of working in a multidisciplinary team

Knowledge

Essential criteria

• Knowledge and understanding of issues relating to information recording and sharing, and confidentiality

Desirable criteria

• Familiarity with therapeutic approaches commonly used with service users with complex personality difficulties
• Knowledge of the Offender Personality Disorder Community Pathway
• Specialist knowledge of the theory and practice of desistance with offenders

Skills

Essential criteria

• Skills in planning, organising and delivering appropriate interventions and activities
• Ability to work well within a team as well as work autonomously
• Ability to work under pressure and to deal with ecrises/highly emotional situations safely and effectively
• Skills in effective management of conflict, anger, rejection and other common difficulties presented by service users with personality disorder
• Ability to communicate effectively, orally and in writing, information to service users and other professionals

Desirable criteria

• Skills in providing low intensity psychological interventions (group or 1:1)

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 apps.trac.jobs
• 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'

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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

• SW ICPS B7 Clinical Practitioner JD (PDF, 536.3KB)
• SW ICPS B7 Clinical Practitioner PS (PDF, 480.6KB)
• SLaM Staff Benefits (PDF, 1.1MB)
• Happy to Talk Flexible Working (PDF, 680.1KB)