Senior 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

Are you ready to elevate your career in a nurturing and dynamic environment? Join a team that values continuous learning and professional growth! We are committed to fostering the career advancement of our staff and are seeking passionate and dedicated community practitioners to become part of our community service.

This is a pivotal moment to join our team as we embark on a journey of ongoing improvement, aligned with the Trust's vision of "Aiming High, Changing Lives," and the NHS Long Term Plan.

The Croydon Assessment & Liaison (A&L) Service is based at Jeanette Wallace House in Croydon. We provide advice on the best treatment and care options available to people between the ages of 18-65 living in the London Borough of Croydon who have moderate to severe mental illness, such as anxiety, depression or personality disorder. We work with a team of health and social care professionals including nurses, doctors, social workers, psychologists We also work closely with the patients, their carers and GPs

Main duties of the job

A&L is often the first point of contact for many service users and we aim to provide a service which is tailored to individual needs, ensuring that the people we work with receive the right care at the right time and in the right setting.

The Aim of the Assessment & Liaison Team is:

• To make sure people who are referred to the service are seen by the most appropriate member of the multi-professional team
• To offer education, consultation and guidance to colleagues to support them in successfully treating more people in primary care.
• The service will be sensitive to the needs of the local population and will ensure equity of access and service delivery for all service users regardless of ethnic background, gender, culture, marital status, sexual orientation or physical disability.
• The A&L teams provide a range of medical, psychosocial and psychological evidence-based interventions in line with NICE guidelines and the Engagement Assessment and Stabilisation (EAS) pathway. These include:
• Advice and consultation to colleagues in primary care to help them look after people in primary care in line with NICE guidelines.
• Advice and signposting people to services in primary care, and the voluntary and independent sectors.
• Care Act compliant Assessments.
• Safeguarding Adults investigations.
• Support, signposting and advice for carers, including more formal Carers' Needs Assessments.

Working for our organisation

Some of our benefits are highlighted here:
• Generous pay, pensions and leave, we offer a comprehensive pay, pensions and leave package which is dependent on the role and length of service.
• Work life balance, flexible working and support a range of flexible options, such as: part-time working and job sharing.
• Career development, There are plenty of opportunities to progress your career and we support your development through a number of programmes such as mentoring, coaching, positive people management, collective leadership and other talent programmes
• NHS discounts, with discounts up to 10% from a variety of well-known retail brands though Health Service Discounts website.

Other benefits include:
• Croydon Carers parking permit
• Counselling services
• Wellbeing events
• Long service awards
• Cycle to work scheme
• Season ticket loan
• Childcare vouchers

We look forward to receiving your application.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Qualifications Essential Requirements Registered Mental Health Nurse/ Occupational Therapist or Social Worker (A/I)

Evidence of recent continued professional development (A/I)

Mentorship or equivalent (A/I)

Desirable Requirements

A recognised management qualification (e.g. MSc) or evidence of other advanced education (A/I)

Experience Essential Requirements Demonstrable experience of working with service users with depression, anxiety and personality difficulties using evidence based interventions - NICE guidelines. (A/I/T)

Experience of working in an MDT setting. (A/I)

Experience of working with and addressing issues of diversity including experience of working within a multicultural framework. (A/I)

Experience of using and delivering clinical and managerial supervision to effectively provide safe, evidence based psychological interventions across a range of client needs. (A/I)

Experience of developing and facilitating teaching programme for staff (A/I)

Experience of psychological assessment and treatment of clients with a range of psychological needs of a complex nature in adult mental health. (A/I) Experience of conducting audits (A/I)

Desirable Requirements Experience of working in a community mental health setting. (A/I)

Experience of managing conflicts. (A/I) Understanding of Clinical Governance (A/I)

Experience of supervising other disciplines. (A/I) Experience of team management A/I).

Knowledge Essential Requirements Knowledge of the theory of psychological models, such as CBT, DBT, or MBT (A/I)

An understanding of the relationship between primary and secondary care services. (A/I)

Awareness of racial and diversity issues and factors affecting access to mental health care. (A/I)

Knowledge of key legislation and guidelines in relation to statutory mental health responsibilities, including Safeguarding Adults, Young people and children. (I)

An understanding of the stepped care model of delivery of psychological therapies for depression, anxiety and personality disorder. (A/I)

Knowledge and expertise in the management of complex risk and crisis (A/I).

Desirable Requirements Theoretical knowledge of psychopathology and the evidence base for the relevant treatment. (A/I)

Skills/Abilities Essential Requirements Transferable psychological skills and knowledge relevant to work with working age adults with severe and enduring disorders in secondary care. (A/I)

Highly developed verbal and written communication skills including communicating complex, highly technical and sensitive information to clients, families and colleagues. (A/I)

Ability to identify and employ mechanisms of clinical governance as appropriate and to support

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential criteria

• Registered Mental Health Nurse/ Occupational Therapist or Social Worker

Desirable criteria

• A recognised management qualification (e.g. MSc) or evidence of other advanced education

Experience

Essential criteria

• Experience of working in an MDT setting
• Experience of psychological assessment and treatment of clients with a range of psychological needs of a complex nature in adult mental health
• Experience of using and delivering clinical and managerial supervision to effectively provide safe, evidence based psychological interventions across a range of client needs
• Experience of working in community or inpatient mental health settings
• Demonstrable experience of working with service users with depression, anxiety and personality difficulties using evidence based interventions - NICE guidelines.

Desirable criteria

• Experience of managing conflicts.
• Experience of supervising other disciplines.

Knowledge

Essential criteria

• An understanding of the relationship between primary and secondary care services
• Knowledge of key legislation and guidelines in relation to statutory mental health responsibilities, including Safeguarding Adults, Young people and children.
• An understanding of the stepped care model of delivery of psychological therapies for depression, anxiety and personality disorder.
• Knowledge and expertise in the management of complex risk and crisis (

Desirable criteria

• Theoretical knowledge of psychopathology and the evidence base for the relevant treatment.

Skills/Abilities

Essential criteria

• Highly developed verbal and written communication skills including communicating complex, highly technical and sensitive information to clients, families and colleagues
• Ability to identify and employ mechanisms of clinical governance as appropriate and to support and maintain clinical practice in the face of Desirable Requirements Accredited practitioner skills in at least one model of psychological therapy. (A/I) Accredited nurse prescriber (A/I). regular exposure to highly emotive and/or challenging behaviour.

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'

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

• JD and PS (PDF, 400.9KB)
• SLaM Staff Benefits (PDF, 1.1MB)
• Happy to Talk Flexible Working (PDF, 680.1KB)