Job summary
Assistant Practitioner/Nursing Associate-Health Check Liaison Project
12 months Fixed term
The Trust has close links in education and research with the Institute of Psychiatry and Guy's, King's and St Thomas' School of Medicine, both of which are part of King's College London. This close collaboration involves working to ensure that developments and research feed directly into clinical practice. Its academic links with King's College London, which also include the Nightingale Institute and South Bank University, enables us to ensure that our health care staff receive high quality clinical training at both pre-qualification (or registration) stage and in specialist skills (post qualification).
Main duties of the job
SLaM and South East London Integrated Care Board are committed to improving the physical health of patients with SMI and is therefore creating additional posts to The Health Check Liaison Project. The project team is comprised of Band 4 Assistant Practitioners (APs), a Team Administrator and one Band 8a Health Care Liaison Project Lead. The APs sit under a central governance structure being line managed by the Health Care Liaison Project Lead and will provide assertive outreach support to borough teams in improving the physical health of our community that we serve. This will be done by supporting teams with Physical Health Clinics, outreach to team-bases, GPs or patient's homes to support uptake of physical health checks using evidenced based practice.
The Assistant Practitioners/Nursing Associates will do this by hosting Physical Health Clinics, collating a list of physical health activities and assets in the community, for example community gyms, walking groups and cycling schemes in the differing Boroughs and share with local teams for signposting and resource sharing. Assistant Practitioners/Nursing Associates will need to be able to input data across using our electronic record and share data with our Primary Care colleagues.
Applicants must have the ability to build positive and effective professional relationships across our health system. Applicants must be prepared to receive training in phlebotomy and ECGs, if they do not already have these skills.
About us
The Trust is dedicated to managing and developing a range of mental health services, working closely with service users and carers, our four partner local authorities, CCGs and NHS hospitals. Services are primarily focused on people with severe and enduring mental illness. However, it also promotes good mental health, early intervention to prevent more serious problems and provide support to primary care in dealing with people with less severe problems. The trust has a strong community focus and our services are provided in a wide range of settings including people's own homes, GP practices, day centres, residential and nursing homes, prisons and hospitals. The Trust's core value states that 'everything we do is to improve the experience of people using our services and to promote mental health and wellbeing for all'.
About the location:
Our Trust headquarters is located at Denmark Hill less than 5 minutes from the train station (zone 2). We also provide services and operate across other locations, such as London boroughs of Croydon, Lambeth, Lewisham and Southwark; and substance misuse services for residents of Bexley, Lambeth, Greenwich and Wandsworth.
Job description
Job responsibilities
The post holder will be situated in a Trust wide role within the Physical Health Check Liaison Team in the Nursing Directorate. The purpose of the team is to provide health checks and support to patients with Serious Mental Illness who are under the care of South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust (SLAMFT).
The post holder will be required to use both ePJS and primary care patient record systems to perform investigations and enter health data on patients attending the CMHT and being visited at home.
The employment of the Assistant Practitioners/Nursing Associates working across the secondary care primary care interface will be able to make much better links along the care pathway and allow direct communication between primary and secondary care services.
The Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) physical health checks are the key physical health checks required and include:
- BMI
- Blood pressure and pulse
- Lifestyle, including diet and exercise
- Smoking status
- Substance misuse (drugs and alcohol use)
- Cardio-metabolic risk using tools such as Q-Risk
- Blood lipids including cholesterol
- Blood sugar (HbA1c).
Job description
Job responsibilities
The post holder will be situated in a Trust wide role within the Physical Health Check Liaison Team in the Nursing Directorate. The purpose of the team is to provide health checks and support to patients with Serious Mental Illness who are under the care of South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust (SLAMFT).
The post holder will be required to use both ePJS and primary care patient record systems to perform investigations and enter health data on patients attending the CMHT and being visited at home.
The employment of the Assistant Practitioners/Nursing Associates working across the secondary care primary care interface will be able to make much better links along the care pathway and allow direct communication between primary and secondary care services.
The Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) physical health checks are the key physical health checks required and include:
- BMI
- Blood pressure and pulse
- Lifestyle, including diet and exercise
- Smoking status
- Substance misuse (drugs and alcohol use)
- Cardio-metabolic risk using tools such as Q-Risk
- Blood lipids including cholesterol
- Blood sugar (HbA1c).
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- oNVQ in care level 3 or equivalent level of experience
- ominimum five GCSEs A - C including English and mathematics or equivalent
Desirable
- NMC Registration - Nursing Associate
Experience
Essential
- oSignificant demonstrable experience of clinical working with adults with mental health problems including community work
- oexperience of undertaking physical health checks
Desirable
- Phlebotomy skill
- ECG skill
Skills and Abilities
Essential
- osubstance misuse (drugs and alcohol use)
- ogood written and verbal communication and interpersonal skills particularly in relation to adults with mental health problems
- oto be able to use computer systems i.e. EPJS/Datix
- ogive lifestyle advice including diet and exercise
Knowledge
Essential
- oHave an understanding of the importance of cultural and other differences in caring for service users in a safe and sensitive manner
- odemonstrate knowledge of adults with mental health problems and co-morbid physical health issues
- oknowledge of the social systems and recovery models of care
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- oNVQ in care level 3 or equivalent level of experience
- ominimum five GCSEs A - C including English and mathematics or equivalent
Desirable
- NMC Registration - Nursing Associate
Experience
Essential
- oSignificant demonstrable experience of clinical working with adults with mental health problems including community work
- oexperience of undertaking physical health checks
Desirable
- Phlebotomy skill
- ECG skill
Skills and Abilities
Essential
- osubstance misuse (drugs and alcohol use)
- ogood written and verbal communication and interpersonal skills particularly in relation to adults with mental health problems
- oto be able to use computer systems i.e. EPJS/Datix
- ogive lifestyle advice including diet and exercise
Knowledge
Essential
- oHave an understanding of the importance of cultural and other differences in caring for service users in a safe and sensitive manner
- odemonstrate knowledge of adults with mental health problems and co-morbid physical health issues
- oknowledge of the social systems and recovery models of care
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).
