Specialist Psychologist Palliative Care

Job description

Job responsibilities

Key responsibilities

Clinical:

1. To provide highly developed specialist psychological assessments of patients, relatives & carers referred to Psychological Support Service at Meadow House Hospice (on an inpatient, outpatient and as appropriate home visit basis) based upon the appropriate use, interpretation and integration of complex data from a variety of sources including psychological tests, self-report measures, rating scales direct and indirect structured observations and semi-structured interviews with patients, family members and other professionals involved in the patients

1. To formulate plans for psychological treatment and/or management, drawing upon an appropriate conceptual framework and employing methods based upon evidence of efficacy, across the full range of care settings. Adjusting and refining psychological formulations drawing upon different explanatory models and maintaining a number of provisional

1. To make highly skilled evaluations and decisions about treatment options taking into account both theoretical and therapeutic models and highly complex factors concerning historical and developmental processes that have shaped the individual, family or

1. To be responsible for implementing a range of evidence based psychological interventions for individuals, carers, families and groups

1. When necessary, provide crisis intervention for those suffering severe psychological reactions

1. To contribute across services to ensure that psychological interventions / management strategies contribute to a coherent and optimal package of

1. To exercise full responsibility and autonomy for the treatment and discharge of patients from the service, ensuring appropriate assessment, formulation and interventions, communicating with the referral agent and others involved with the care on a regular

1. To provide expertise and specialist psychological advice, guidance and consultation to other professionals contributing directly to patients formulation, diagnosis and treatment

1. To ensure that all professionals within the Palliative Care Services at Meadow House Hospice have access to a psychologically based framework for the understanding and care of patients of the service, through the provision of advice, consultation, supervision and the dissemination of psychological knowledge, research and

1. To provide expertise and advice to MDTs to facilitate the effective and appropriate provision of psychological

1. To undertake risk assessment and risk management for relevant individual patients and to provide both general and specialist advice on psychological aspects of risk assessment and management

1. With support from the Lead Psychologist, ensure that referrals to the service are appropriately screened and

1. To communicate in a highly skilled and sensitive manner, information concerning the assessment, formulation and treatment plans of patients and to monitor and evaluate progress.

1. To work closely with the Specialist Palliative Care team and as required, contribute to the psychological service provided for patients (and their families) with non-malignant conditions.

1. To provide expert consultation about the psychological care to staff and agencies outside the

1. To work closely with other services providing psychological care in North West London to ensure that patients, families and other professionals experience a well-co-ordinated and coherent clinical

1. To adhere to professional practice guidelines of clinical

1. To provide, after appropriate training and experience, post-qualification training and clinical and professional supervision to assistant and/or trainee clinical psychologists attached to the Macmillan Psycho-oncology Team, and to other health disciplines (where agreed locally), e.g. physicians, physiotherapists, nurse, as

1. To provide specialist advice, consultation and training to MDTs for their provision of psychologically based interventions to help improve patient functioning and quality of

1. To contribute to the psychological components of recognised teaching and training courses. Including medical students, Clinical Psychology trainees, and other professionals within training posts

1. To maintain and develop expertise in the area of professional pre and post-graduate training and clinical

1. To establish joint initiatives (relating to service development, teaching, training and supervision) with other services providing psychological care across North West London

1. To contribute to the development and implementation of multi-disciplinary healthcare policy and

1. To contribute to the development of the clinical psychology services within the Trust. Implementing internal evaluation and monitoring work, service developments. Attending planning meetings as necessary and to take on the responsibility of specific projects under supervision of the Consultant

1. To provide support to developments and inter-agency working within NW London

1. To utilise theory, evidence-based literature and research to support evidence based practice in individual work and work with other team members.

1. To initiate and develop research programmes within the fields of palliative care services and to facilitate and advise on psychological components of other research programmes within the

1. To utilise theory, evidence-based literature and research to support evidence-based practice in individual work, work with other team members and across the

1. To participate in project management, including complex audit and service evaluation, with colleagues within and across the service to help develop and improve services to patients and their

1. To ensure the development, maintenance and dissemination of the highest professional standards of practice, through active participation in internal and external CPD training and development

1. To ensure the development and articulation of best practice in psychology within the service area and contribute across the service by exercising the skills of a reflexive and reflective scientist practitioner, taking part in regular professional supervision and appraisal and maintaining an active engagement with current developments in the field of clinical psychology and related

1. To ensure the highest standards of clinical record keeping including electronic data entry and recording, report writing and the responsible exercise of professional self-governance in accordance with professional codes of practice of the Health and Care Professions Council, the British Psychological Society and any other statutory regulatory bodies and Trust policies and

1. To maintain up to date knowledge of legislation, national and local policies and issues in relation to both the specific patient groups, clinical/counselling psychology and mental

1. To work with the Lead Psychologist in prioritising aspects of the role relative to the working hours

1. The post holder must maintain the confidentiality about patients, staff and other health service business in accordance with the Code of Confidentiality or Personal Health Data, the Korner Report on Confidentiality, the Data Protection Act 1984, Health and Care Professions Council requirements, the BPS Code of Conduct and the DCP Guidelines for Professional Practice

Person Specification

Education / Qualifications

Essential

• 1.Post-graduate doctoral level training in clinical or counselling psychology (or its equivalent for those trained prior to 1996) as accredited by the BPS.

Knowledge and experience

Essential

• oExperience of working with a wide variety of client groups, across the whole life course and presenting with the full range of clinical severity across the full range of care settings including maintaining a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing 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.

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

London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust

Address

Ealing Hospital

601 Uxbridge Rd, Southall UB1 3HW

London

UB1 3HW

Employer's website

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