Senior Practitioner Social Work

Job summary

Forensic Senior Practitioner: Social Work (Band 7)

£44,202 to £49,984 Inclusive of Allowances and RRP

An Amazing Recruitment & Retention Premia (RRP) of £2300 is included in this post.

We are seeking an experienced Forensic Social Worker to apply to work at Broadmoor Hospital (Crowthorne, Berkshire). A new state of the art high secure hospital opened in December 2019 and we are now looking for a Forensic Senior Practitioner, acting as a practice and development lead for the team, with supervisory responsibilities.

Broadmoor Hospital is one of three High Secure Hospitals within England. The Hospital is responsible for the care and treatment of adult males detained under the Mental Health Act, who require a high level of security to protect others and themselves. The Social Work department is well integrated and established within the Hospital, working closely with patients, their families, other disciplines and external stakeholders.

The post will cover casework, staff supervision and some deputising opportunities, as agreed with the Team Manager. There will also be the opportunity for some project work and training delivery.

The role would suit an experienced Social Worker with some supervisory experience, who can contribute to the promotion of high quality practice within a complex multi-disciplinary setting, whilst providing high quality support and guidance to less experienced Social Workers, including those who may be on an ASYE programme.

Main duties of the job

West London NHS Trust, delivers a forensic social work service within Broadmoor Hospital. We work within well-resourced multi-disciplinary teams, contributing to risk assessments and care planning for patients who require a high level of security. We address the social care needs of patients within our service. Social Workers operate to the recently devised Forensic Capability Framework (2016) and The National Standards for the Provision of Social Care in High Secure Hospitals (2001).

The post holder will have responsibilities for managing a small complex caseload across the service, with a large part of the role involving the supervision, support and practice guidance to other members of the team. The post holder will be responsible for representing the service at various forums across the service and will take on relevant project and service development work. The role will further involve taking a department lead function on Safeguarding, Carers and practice developments as agreed with the Team Manager or Head of Service. Additionally, there will be opportunities for delivering relevant training across the hospital.

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.

Covid-19 vaccination is a condition of employment for this role, unless an exemption applies. The successful applicant may have contact with vulnerable service users and we will therefore seek proof of being fully vaccinated during the recruitment process.