South West London and St Georges Mental Health NHS Trust

Liaison Psychiatry Team Manager

The closing date is 06 March 2026

Job summary

We are looking for a highly dedicated nurse to join our Liaison Psychiatry Service at Kingston Hospital in Kingston. Our team provides a comprehensive specialist service to patients in the general hospital setting including A and E. The team are yet to apply for their Psychiatric Liaison Accreditation Network (PLAN)You will be expected to work a shift system across a 24hr period seven days a week, primarily assessing patients that present with mental health problems, self-harm or as a psychiatric crisis.

We have a very strong commitment to education, research and staffdevelopment. As well as promoting your own professional development, we will expect you to participate in the teaching and training of nurses and other health professionals.

This is a challenging but rewarding role, offering an exciting opportunity to nurses who have strong assessment and therapeutic skills. You will need the ability to work autonomously whilst still contributing to the team as a whole. Previous experience of working in Liaison Psychiatry is desirable, although not essential. We offer excellent staff support through clinical supervision and teamwork

Main duties of the job

o The post holder will provide a specialist consultation liaison service to referring clinicians and clinical teams, assisting them in decision making in difficult and complex cases in order to help reduce the number of patients awaiting mental health assessment and to provide short term inputincluding assessing and treating inpatients working intensively to support early discharge.

o The post holder will promote choice and hopefulness and ensure a recovery orientated approach.

o The post holder will promote and initiate any actions to safeguard vulnerable adults.o The post holder will be responsible for the full assessment of care needs of patients presenting

with a wide variety of clinical conditions without direct supervision. Following this, the post-holder will be responsible for planning and referring on for appropriate follow up where necessary.

o The post holder will provide a comprehensive consultation liaison service to the ED and individual inpatient areas/clinicians, particularly in assisting them develop emergency/longer term plans of care and make difficult decisions in cases where patients are exhibiting complex psychosocial needs and/or challenging behaviours.

o The post holder will be required to teach other nursing and non-nursing staff, both in formal and informal settings. Teaching will also be provided to pre-registration students.

About us

We are Proud to Belong at South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust.

We have expert services, a rich history and a clear commitment to providing the best quality care for those with mental ill-health. The Care Quality Commission already rates our services as 'good' - we aspire to be 'outstanding'.

This is a great time to join us. We are transforming the way we care for our communities to support our mission of Making Life Better Together. We have built two brand new mental health facilities at Springfield University Hospital, which are amongst the best in the world. More developments are planned across our sites and services as we invest a further £120m to upgrade and modernise our estate by 2027.

We are inclusive and diverse and strive to be actively anti racist. We want to attract people from all backgrounds and experiences to enrich the work we do together. We are proud to co-produce and involve our local communities in all that we do.

We offer flexible working, career development and a variety ofbenefits to enable a positive, welcoming environment in which our people and their careers can thrive.

Come and join our inclusive teams and help our patients on their recovery journey.

About our location:

This post will be based at Kingston Hospital

Unless expressly stated in the job advert this role is not subject to sponsorship, please be advised that all offers of employment are subject to evidence of right to work in the UK.

Details

Date posted

20 February 2026

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 7

Salary

£47,810 to £54,710 a year per annum inclusive of inner London HCAs

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time

Reference number

294-AAUC-7822946-AZ

Job locations

Kingston Hospital

Galsworthy Road

Kingston upon Thames

KT2 7QB


Job description

Job responsibilities

To be responsible for carrying out robust specialist assessments ensuring discharge from theED/ward areas is clinically sound and timely with the ability to engage challenging and/or acutely distressed patients in potentially hostile and/or antagonistic situations.

To be responsible for making clear autonomous decisions based on an analysis of complex presenting problems and judgement about available options which will include those related to the admission and discharge of patients.

To utilise a wide variety of clinical skills appropriate to the needs of individual patients and the clinical setting in which they are required to be seen.

To provide a broad range of specialist psychosocial treatments for individual patients and a specialist consultation-liaison service to referring clinicians and clinical teams, assisting them in decision making in difficult and complex cases.

To work with colleagues to develop and promote the services philosophy, framework of care delivery and strategic objectives, taking responsibility for specific areas of policy and strategy delivery.

To work with colleagues to develop clinical expertise and high standards of nursing practice, as defined by the Nursing and Midwifery code of professional conduct (2015).

To deliver care that is evidence based, reflecting current best practice and research.

To participate in structured clinical supervision in accordance with Trust policies and procedures and to take responsibility for the supervision of nurses and others in non mental health settings working with patients with mental health problems.

To demonstrate clinical excellence and high standards of nursing practice to other staff.

To demonstrate sound understanding of the legal and ethical issues in caring for the mentally ill. In particular, demonstrating sound understanding of the Mental Health Act (1983)/MentalCapacity Act and its use in a non mental health setting.

To provide clients and carers with verbal and written up to date information on the services offered by the Trust, how to express their views, complaints procedure and what they can expectfrom the service.

To provide an effective link between the specialist community mental health teams and general hospital services.

To provide highly specialist knowledge and expert advice to health and social care professionals providing specialist support and intervention to patients, families and carers.

To communicate clearly and sensitively in situations that are contentious and/or hostile, demonstrating a high level of interpersonal skills, self awareness and empathy in all communications.

To negotiate and problem solve in contentious and/or antagonistic situations where agreement is required or communicate clear decisions and rationale when agreement cannot be reachede.g. in situations where the Mental Health Act may be needed to be used.

Job description

Job responsibilities

To be responsible for carrying out robust specialist assessments ensuring discharge from theED/ward areas is clinically sound and timely with the ability to engage challenging and/or acutely distressed patients in potentially hostile and/or antagonistic situations.

To be responsible for making clear autonomous decisions based on an analysis of complex presenting problems and judgement about available options which will include those related to the admission and discharge of patients.

To utilise a wide variety of clinical skills appropriate to the needs of individual patients and the clinical setting in which they are required to be seen.

To provide a broad range of specialist psychosocial treatments for individual patients and a specialist consultation-liaison service to referring clinicians and clinical teams, assisting them in decision making in difficult and complex cases.

To work with colleagues to develop and promote the services philosophy, framework of care delivery and strategic objectives, taking responsibility for specific areas of policy and strategy delivery.

To work with colleagues to develop clinical expertise and high standards of nursing practice, as defined by the Nursing and Midwifery code of professional conduct (2015).

To deliver care that is evidence based, reflecting current best practice and research.

To participate in structured clinical supervision in accordance with Trust policies and procedures and to take responsibility for the supervision of nurses and others in non mental health settings working with patients with mental health problems.

To demonstrate clinical excellence and high standards of nursing practice to other staff.

To demonstrate sound understanding of the legal and ethical issues in caring for the mentally ill. In particular, demonstrating sound understanding of the Mental Health Act (1983)/MentalCapacity Act and its use in a non mental health setting.

To provide clients and carers with verbal and written up to date information on the services offered by the Trust, how to express their views, complaints procedure and what they can expectfrom the service.

To provide an effective link between the specialist community mental health teams and general hospital services.

To provide highly specialist knowledge and expert advice to health and social care professionals providing specialist support and intervention to patients, families and carers.

To communicate clearly and sensitively in situations that are contentious and/or hostile, demonstrating a high level of interpersonal skills, self awareness and empathy in all communications.

To negotiate and problem solve in contentious and/or antagonistic situations where agreement is required or communicate clear decisions and rationale when agreement cannot be reachede.g. in situations where the Mental Health Act may be needed to be used.

Person Specification

Experience

Essential

  • Demonstrable experience of post qualifying work in psychiatry, with evidence of experience at Band 6
  • Experience of working with people who have experienced serious ongoing mental health problems
  • Experience of assessing and managing crisis with those with a severe mental illness
  • Experience of recruitment and selection of staff
  • Experience of managing and monitoring budgets
  • Experience of working as a Clinical Supervisor
  • Experience of implementing and monitoring standards of care
  • Experience of working within a multidisciplinary team
  • Experience of supervising junior staff within own and/or other disciplines

Desirable

  • Other relevant post registration experience
  • Audit and research experience
  • Experience of teaching/training in a formal or informal setting
  • Experience of working in a Liaison Psychiatry/ Crisis settings

Training & Qualifications

Essential

  • RMN with current NMC registration
  • ENB 998 or equivalent
  • Evidence of continuing professional and personal development

Desirable

  • Educated to degree or diploma level nursing or other courses relevant to Liaison Psychiatry e.g. brief solution focussed therapy etc
  • RGN
Person Specification

Experience

Essential

  • Demonstrable experience of post qualifying work in psychiatry, with evidence of experience at Band 6
  • Experience of working with people who have experienced serious ongoing mental health problems
  • Experience of assessing and managing crisis with those with a severe mental illness
  • Experience of recruitment and selection of staff
  • Experience of managing and monitoring budgets
  • Experience of working as a Clinical Supervisor
  • Experience of implementing and monitoring standards of care
  • Experience of working within a multidisciplinary team
  • Experience of supervising junior staff within own and/or other disciplines

Desirable

  • Other relevant post registration experience
  • Audit and research experience
  • Experience of teaching/training in a formal or informal setting
  • Experience of working in a Liaison Psychiatry/ Crisis settings

Training & Qualifications

Essential

  • RMN with current NMC registration
  • ENB 998 or equivalent
  • Evidence of continuing professional and personal development

Desirable

  • Educated to degree or diploma level nursing or other courses relevant to Liaison Psychiatry e.g. brief solution focussed therapy etc
  • RGN

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.

Certificate of Sponsorship

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).

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).

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.

Certificate of Sponsorship

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).

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).

Employer details

Employer name

South West London and St Georges Mental Health NHS Trust

Address

Kingston Hospital

Galsworthy Road

Kingston upon Thames

KT2 7QB


Employer's website

https://www.swlstg.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)


Employer details

Employer name

South West London and St Georges Mental Health NHS Trust

Address

Kingston Hospital

Galsworthy Road

Kingston upon Thames

KT2 7QB


Employer's website

https://www.swlstg.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)


Employer contact details

For questions about the job, contact:

Clinical Service Lead

Caroline Lekuru

caroline.lekuru@swlstg.nhs.uk

Details

Date posted

20 February 2026

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 7

Salary

£47,810 to £54,710 a year per annum inclusive of inner London HCAs

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time

Reference number

294-AAUC-7822946-AZ

Job locations

Kingston Hospital

Galsworthy Road

Kingston upon Thames

KT2 7QB


Supporting documents

Privacy notice

South West London and St Georges Mental Health NHS Trust's privacy notice (opens in a new tab)