Senior Placement Reviewing Officer

Job responsibilities

Key Result Areas

• To be responsible for carrying out detailed reviews of mental health residential, nursing, hospital, Rehabilitation , Private and Block placements placements made, in the first instance high cost placements, to ensure that all relevant professionals, carers, friends, and families are consulted and all relevant issues, for example, the service users capacity are taken into account.
• To provide a key role in working in collaboration with the in-patient Service to review length of stay in treatment, supported living placements, transition focussed for hospital cases andwhere appropriate identify suitable placements in the Community.
• To challenge placements which do not meet service users needs, to enforce the use of outcome focussed care plans in order to provide clear guidelines for resource providers to deliver and be measured against. Care plans should always focus on promoting service-usersindependence, stepping down or increasing care provision as appropriate, and supporting service-users to build social capital. In this respect the post holder will be required to write accurate and succinct placement reports to the Continuing Care and/or borough Placement Panel.
• To make plans for future care of service users in placements, which may involve an early transfer to alternative care.
• To ensure that changes to the care plan, or transfers from residential care, are affected smoothly and effectively.
• To research alternative residential placements, including placements of a specialist nature e.g. for people with Aspergers Syndrome or forensic backgrounds.
• To help to establish and maintain a directory of placements.
• To contribute to the development of policy and processes around health and social care purchasing, particularly as it relates to residential care.
• To be responsible for implementing safe guarding, housing, Dialogue Plus and carers policies which are used to ensure that Service Users who are vulnerable are adequately cared for and appropriately placed and Named workers have a clear pathway for stepping down care.
• To ensure that all work is appropriately recorded on both Trust and borough IT systems.
• To adhere to the principles of equal opportunity to services in accordance with the Boroughs and Trusts Equal opportunities policy

• To be responsible for analysing complex care plans and deciding what constitutes outcome focused quality care ensuring that resource providers deliver it, while also being able to use the Care Funding Calculator to ensure value for money and competitive prices for care in the community. All this complex information will need to be shared with service-users, their friends families and carers, and this may at times prove challenging
• To be responsible for planning and arranging visits with service-users and their friends, families, and carers to a range of placements and community resources both in and outside the borough.
• To be responsible for planning workload months ahead to ensure engagement with service-users, their friends, family and carers, in order to plan with them timely reviews of new placements where appropriate.

Experience

Essential

• Demonstrable post qualification experience of working in a Health or Local authority setting , voluntary or multidisciplinary health and social care setting, including experience of working at a senior level or above
• Experience of community Care Act assessment for people with mental health needs
• Experience of working with people with mental health needs, their carers, other relations and advocates
• Experience of negotiating and liaison with statutory, voluntary and private organisations

Desirable

• Experience of supervising and/or managing staff
• Experience of developing staff in their roles and enabling practices to change and improve
• Experience of developing and implementing new operational and strategic policies
• Experience of practice within safeguarding adults and children legislation and policies

Training & Qualifications

Essential

• Diploma or degree in relevant clinical subject e.g. RMN, OT, Social Work
• Current professional registration in relevant clinical subject/practice e.g. RMN, OT, Social Work
• Postgraduate training in community mental health practice and/or management
• Evidence of continuing professional and personal development

Desirable

• Formal management or Leadership Development or advanced professional practice qualification

Knowledge & Skills

Essential

• Advanced knowledge of community care and other legislation having a bearing on placement issues (Disability Discrimination Act, Human Rights Act, Mental Capacity Act etc)
• Knowledge and understanding of what constitutes high quality mental health and social care practice
• Knowledge and understanding of outcome measures suitable for use in mental health services
• Knowledge and understanding of legislation and policy relating to health and social care provision in mental health and related fields
• Knowledge and understanding of social care budgets, commissioning and eligibility processes
• Knowledge and understanding of the needs of relevant user groups and their carers
• Knowledge of Safeguarding Adults issues and policies
• Understanding of Diversity and Equalities policies and the ability to deliver services within this framework
• Leadership skills and abilities within professional field and in a multidisciplinary context
• Well developed influencing and negotiating skills in situations of disagreement, conflicting views and high risk concerns
• Ability to work effectively in partnership with other agencies and departments
• Ability and skills to work effectively and tactfully with conflict or anxiety (e.g. family members anxious about the prospect of a move from a long established placement) whilst retaining a focus on goals of recovery and promotion of independence
• Ability to challenge placements which do not appear to be meeting the service user's needs or to be promoting their independence
• Ability to negotiate packages of care/services with external providers
• Ability to make comprehensive needs assessments, guided by principles of recovery and promotion of independence
• Ability to create detailed action plans from assessments and implement accordingly
• Excellent written and verbal skills and confidence to use these in senior management contexts
• Intermediate IT skills
• Ability to develop and maintain effective working partnerships with local statutory and voluntary sector agencies, other organisations as well as users and carers
• Ability to set appropriate standards and to monitor performance against these
• Ability to arrange and use systems for the provision of information for statistical returns and managerial purposes
• Ability to work independently, managing pressure and time with the ability to recognise when to seek specialist/more senior advice

Desirable

• Understanding of forensic issues in mental health e.g. some of the service users to be reviewed will be subject to restriction orders
• Knowledge of clinical issues falling outside the adult mental health mainstream (e.g. autistic spectrum disorders, learning disability, hearing impairment) and ability to work with dual diagnosis

Other

Essential

• Commitment to implement and promote Equal Opportunities, Health and Safety and environmental policies together with any other relevant Borough/Trust policies and procedures
• Willingness to participate in training and staff development and supervision

Desirable

• Personal experience of mental health problems

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).