Job summary
The transformation of community forensic services at West London NHS Trust has seen the development of the new Specialist Community Forensic Team. Following a successful pilot programme beginning in 2020 the SCFT has now expanded across all 8 North West London Boroughs.
The Specialist Community Forensic Team works to transition service users out of secure settings, and support their ongoing recovery in the community. This can improve quality of life, reduce inequality, and give hope to people who may have been detained for many years.
We are looking for a Forensic Social Worker committed to working collaboratively with individuals and providers in the community to find positive and safe ways of working with people who use these services.
You will work as part of the ground-breaking new team that will improve the lives of forensic mental health service users and their carers. This is a rare chance to be part of shaping a new service, providing opportunities to develop your skills and your career.
Main duties of the job
Your responsibilities will include working collaboratively with service users as a Social Supervisor to promote good quality care and recovery including:
Working closely and assertively with inpatient services to identify service users who are able to transition into the community, and co-produce plans to facilitate this transition.
Working collaboratively with service users in a recovery-focused, strengths-based way, identifying appropriate goals to promote their recovery.
Ensure that the views and wishes of service users and carers are central to the care planning process and that their participation is maximised.
Undertake care coordination duties in line with the Care Programme Approach to manage a caseload, working effectively with other members of the multi-disciplinary team.
Ensure that specialist forensic risk assessments are undertaken collaboratively with service users and colleagues.
Providing effective, outcome and evidence-based support and interventions to support recovery, including: -
Deliver and evaluate effective interventions in line with your professional expertise - potentially including medication management, physical health checks, psychological and/or social interventions, and supporting service users to find community engagement and meaningful occupation.
Deliver interventions to support service users with complex needs, including substance misuse/dual diagnosis, directly and through close working with other services and treatment agencies.
About us
West London NHS Trust is one of the most diverse providers of mental health, community and social care in the UK.
Our 3,982 staff care for people in hospital and in the community, helping them to recover and go on to lead full and productive lives. We aim to be the best organisation of our kind in the country.
We provide care and treatment for more than 800,000 people living in the London boroughs of Ealing, Hammersmith & Fulham and Hounslow, delivering services in the community (at home, in GP surgeries and care homes), hospital, specialist clinics and forensic (secure) units.
We'rerated good overall by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
Together, we're committed to promoting hope and wellbeing, working with patients, service users, carers, families and partners across the communities we serve.
We are keen to ensure that our workforce reflects the community it serves, particularly in terms of ethnicity, gender, disability, LGBTQ+ and experience of mental illness.
Job description
Job responsibilities
To work effectively with other services, including: -
Work collaboratively with third sector organisations to identify suitable placements in the community to support transition from secure settings.
Work closely with out-of-hours services to ensure that appropriate support plans are available to service users 24/7.
Ensure that effective links are developed with relevant partners including statutory, voluntary, and private providers as well as community groups and networks to support ongoing recovery.
Taking an active role in building the team and ensuring its success, including:
Work collaboratively with fellow team members (of all backgrounds) to create a positive, reflective culture that supports recovery-focused working and continuous improvement.
Maintain a sustained focus on the teams goals and values, pushing the boundaries of best practice and challenging practice that is not in line with the SCFT mission.
Assertively promote the team and its approach to partners, building understanding and cooperation from colleagues across the organisation and other local services.
Maintain a reflective focus on your own learning and development, and pursue continuous improvement in your practice and wider work including through taking up SCFT-specific training opportunities.
Work positively and openly with peer supporters within the team, to promote social inclusion for service users
To ensure that practice is in accordance with the Professional Standards of Conduct and relevant Mental Health Legislation, which incorporates and respects differences in respect of gender, sexuality, ethnicity, religion, culture or disability.
To work with the SCFT management team to develop networks and relationships with inpatient secure services to ensure best practise in relation to discharge planning.
To manage a caseload of clients, in close collaboration with other members of the Multi-disciplinary team, within the CPA framework and to agreed local and national standards.
Job description
Job responsibilities
To work effectively with other services, including: -
Work collaboratively with third sector organisations to identify suitable placements in the community to support transition from secure settings.
Work closely with out-of-hours services to ensure that appropriate support plans are available to service users 24/7.
Ensure that effective links are developed with relevant partners including statutory, voluntary, and private providers as well as community groups and networks to support ongoing recovery.
Taking an active role in building the team and ensuring its success, including:
Work collaboratively with fellow team members (of all backgrounds) to create a positive, reflective culture that supports recovery-focused working and continuous improvement.
Maintain a sustained focus on the teams goals and values, pushing the boundaries of best practice and challenging practice that is not in line with the SCFT mission.
Assertively promote the team and its approach to partners, building understanding and cooperation from colleagues across the organisation and other local services.
Maintain a reflective focus on your own learning and development, and pursue continuous improvement in your practice and wider work including through taking up SCFT-specific training opportunities.
Work positively and openly with peer supporters within the team, to promote social inclusion for service users
To ensure that practice is in accordance with the Professional Standards of Conduct and relevant Mental Health Legislation, which incorporates and respects differences in respect of gender, sexuality, ethnicity, religion, culture or disability.
To work with the SCFT management team to develop networks and relationships with inpatient secure services to ensure best practise in relation to discharge planning.
To manage a caseload of clients, in close collaboration with other members of the Multi-disciplinary team, within the CPA framework and to agreed local and national standards.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Professional qualification in one of the core mental health professions (Social Worker).
- Evidence of post registration development.
Desirable
- Postgraduate qualifications in CBT/Psychosocial Interventions. Specialist Risk Assessment(e.g. HCR20) or the Care of the Mentally Disordered Offender
Experience
Essential
- The applicant must have a minimum of two years post graduate experience.
- The applicant must have two years post qualification experience in a mental health setting.
- The applicant must have experience of autonomous working.
Desirable
- Experience of community forensic working practises
Knowledge and Skills
Essential
- Demonstrate an ability to undertake assessments of risk using specific risk assessment tools.
- Demonstrate an ability to formulate implement and evaluate programmes of care for those individuals in the Community Forensic Service and those being referred.
- Demonstrate an ability to use a range of therapeutic interventions with clients who have a range of disorders that will include personality disorder dual diagnosis.
- Demonstrate knowledge of Part 3 of the Mental Health Act and its application to Mentally Disordered Offenders.
- Demonstrate knowledge of the Criminal Justice Act and its implication for the management of Forensic clients.
- Demonstrate a good understanding of CPA and its application.
- Demonstrate an ability to work with a range of organisations including Courts, Police and Probation, ministry of Justice.
- Demonstrate good communication skills, especially listening, empathy, facilitation, persuasion, motivation, negotiation, education, and reassurance.
- Demonstrate an ability to manage stress and competing demands prioritising appropriately.
- Demonstrate skills associated with good documentation.
- An ability to work as part of a team.
- Ability to wok in an autonomous manner.
Desirable
- Demonstrate knowledge of actuarial and clinical risk assessment and how this might be applied to the management of clients.
- Demonstrate ability to supervise staff
- Demonstrate ability to lead on projects and audits.
- Demonstrate an ability to teach.
- Demonstrate ability to lead projects and development of services
- Demonstrate an ability to communicate complex issues to users and carers.
- Demonstrate the ability to understand the role of the Community Forensic Service.
- Demonstrate ability for cross cultural working ensuring whatever the cultural background of clients they are treated holistically.
Other Requirements
Essential
- Ability to effectively manage, prioritize and organize workload, and work under pressure to meet competing deadline.
- Willingness to assertively promote new models and challenge practice not in line with the team's goals and values.
- Self-motivated with the ability to enthuse and motivate others High levels of commitment, motivation and innovation Enthusiasm for developing and using new and better ways of working.
- Ability to deal with challenging situations and communicate effectively with patients.
- "Can do" positive attitude.
- Ability to maintain a supportive and non-judgmental approach
- Resilience to take constructive action in the face of resistance.
- Ability to demonstrate an understanding of, and commitment to, equal opportunities.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Professional qualification in one of the core mental health professions (Social Worker).
- Evidence of post registration development.
Desirable
- Postgraduate qualifications in CBT/Psychosocial Interventions. Specialist Risk Assessment(e.g. HCR20) or the Care of the Mentally Disordered Offender
Experience
Essential
- The applicant must have a minimum of two years post graduate experience.
- The applicant must have two years post qualification experience in a mental health setting.
- The applicant must have experience of autonomous working.
Desirable
- Experience of community forensic working practises
Knowledge and Skills
Essential
- Demonstrate an ability to undertake assessments of risk using specific risk assessment tools.
- Demonstrate an ability to formulate implement and evaluate programmes of care for those individuals in the Community Forensic Service and those being referred.
- Demonstrate an ability to use a range of therapeutic interventions with clients who have a range of disorders that will include personality disorder dual diagnosis.
- Demonstrate knowledge of Part 3 of the Mental Health Act and its application to Mentally Disordered Offenders.
- Demonstrate knowledge of the Criminal Justice Act and its implication for the management of Forensic clients.
- Demonstrate a good understanding of CPA and its application.
- Demonstrate an ability to work with a range of organisations including Courts, Police and Probation, ministry of Justice.
- Demonstrate good communication skills, especially listening, empathy, facilitation, persuasion, motivation, negotiation, education, and reassurance.
- Demonstrate an ability to manage stress and competing demands prioritising appropriately.
- Demonstrate skills associated with good documentation.
- An ability to work as part of a team.
- Ability to wok in an autonomous manner.
Desirable
- Demonstrate knowledge of actuarial and clinical risk assessment and how this might be applied to the management of clients.
- Demonstrate ability to supervise staff
- Demonstrate ability to lead on projects and audits.
- Demonstrate an ability to teach.
- Demonstrate ability to lead projects and development of services
- Demonstrate an ability to communicate complex issues to users and carers.
- Demonstrate the ability to understand the role of the Community Forensic Service.
- Demonstrate ability for cross cultural working ensuring whatever the cultural background of clients they are treated holistically.
Other Requirements
Essential
- Ability to effectively manage, prioritize and organize workload, and work under pressure to meet competing deadline.
- Willingness to assertively promote new models and challenge practice not in line with the team's goals and values.
- Self-motivated with the ability to enthuse and motivate others High levels of commitment, motivation and innovation Enthusiasm for developing and using new and better ways of working.
- Ability to deal with challenging situations and communicate effectively with patients.
- "Can do" positive attitude.
- Ability to maintain a supportive and non-judgmental approach
- Resilience to take constructive action in the face of resistance.
- Ability to demonstrate an understanding of, and commitment to, equal opportunities.
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
Additional information
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
