Job responsibilities
Ensuring more junior colleagues in the pathway (such as Assistant Psychologists, Senior Clinical Psychologists) are working to a clear job plan and are receiving the operational and clinical supervision they require.
Working in close collaboration with other psychology services to ensure a smooth pathway for service-users and their families, under the direction of the Psychological Professions Lead (PPL)
Conducting high quality assessments, treatments and systematic outcome measurement in the specialist care pathway.
Ensuring that a high quality, timely, accessible and evidence-based psychological service is available to all service users who need it, under the direction of the Care Pathway Lead.
Supporting the PP Leads to establish and maintain excellent working relationships with wider mental health services (e.g. Community Recovery Teams, Community Clinics) and services of all inpatient wards and home treatment teams.
Supporting the PP Lead to ensure adherence to evidence based psychological treatments by clinical staff within the specialist care pathway.
Supporting consultation, supervision, teaching and training of staff working within the specialist care pathway and playing a key role in audit and evaluation.
Supporting the PP Lead to ensure the pathway offer is in line with NICE guidance and in line with expectations from professionals across the Trust and other agencies (including the Integrated Care System).
Supporting the PP Lead to evaluate the impact of any investment in the psychology service and providing relevant outcomes with regards to this investment (in collaboration with the Integrated Care Director for the Directorate).
Supporting the PP Lead on the delivery of specialist psychological assessment, intervention and support service for service users referred within the specialist care pathway.
Auditing and evaluating within the specialist care pathway, under the direction of the Care Pathway Lead. This will include reviewing people who do not engage with the service, and those who drop out, to identify ways of ensuring that the service is accessible and responsive to diverse needs.
Supporting the provision of expert advice, consultation and support to the directorate and to community recovery and wider psychological services, who are referring clients within the specialist care pathway.
Participating in directorate meetings as delegated by the Integrated Care Director, when deputising for the Psychological Professions Lead
Working autonomously within professional guidelines and within the overall framework of policies and procedures of the Trust.
Providing specialist psychological assessments of service users, using interview, formal psychometric and other assessment methods as appropriate.
Exercising autonomous professional responsibility for the psychological assessment and treatment of service users in accordance with the policies of the services.
Providing specialist psychological advice, guidance and consultation to other professionals, to assist in the formulation, diagnosis and treatment of service users.
Producing professional communications in a skilled and sensitive manner concerning the assessment, formulation and treatment plans of service users and their carers.
Communicating with other health and social care staff, from a range of agencies, in the care provided to service users as necessary.
Developing and maintaining relationships including consultation to relevant user groups and other organisations.
Attending key directorate meetings to support the development of the pathway, to ensure there is a robust interface with other pathways within psychology and more broadly, to input into community transformation and to support the development of the whole pathway and patient journey from inpatient and crisis, through to community services and to primary care.
Using a broad theoretical knowledge base and specialist clinical skills to develop and support the psychological skills of practitioners via the development and delivery of teaching, training, supervision, support and consultation.
Developing and maintaining a knowledge of local resources, and developing working relations with relevant statutory, voluntary and community groups, and organisations.
Managing staff within the designated specialist care pathway. This will include day-to day operational management guidance and support to the team including; supervision, performance management, monitoring service delivery and providing clinical leadership.
Managing clinical resources within the specialist care pathway, highlighting solutions to capacity and proactively advising the assistant director where there are capacity problems, all under the guidance of the Care Pathway Lead.
Supporting the Care Pathway Lead in advising the Assistant Director in the directorate and the Head of Adult Psychological Services on those aspects of the service where psychological and/or organisational matters need addressing.
Recruiting qualified staff, trainees and / or assistant psychologists and managing their workloads within the framework of the Trusts policies and procedures.
Ensuring that staff within the specialist care pathway work towards and maintain the Trusts key performance indicators, agreed commissioner targets and other local and national guidance.
Ensuring that best practice in assessment, risk assessment and care planning is adhered to at all times by staff within the specialist care pathway.
Ensuring the development and maintenance of the highest personal standards of practice, through active participation in internal and external CPD training and development programmes, in consultation with the post holders professional and service manager.
Maintaining the highest standards of clinical record keeping including electronic data entry and recording, report writing and the responsible exercise of professional self-governance.
To be responsible for organising and prioritising own and others workload in the day to day allocation of work.
To deputise when required in the Care Pathway Leads absence and delegate appropriately.
To have organisational knowledge relating to Trust protocols and procedures and adhere to them, particularly administration of medicine and moving and handling.
To be responsible for providing accurate records of information required by the Trust for audit purposes.
To ensure effective risk management at team level by accident/incident reporting, assessing and controlling risk and ensuring residual risks are added to the Trust register.
Clinical Skills
To act as an autonomous, registered practitioner who is legally and professionally accountable for own unsupervised actions guided by the professional code of conduct and Trust guidelines and protocols.
The post holder will have professional HCPC registration as a Practitioner Psychologist or equivalent Psychotherapy registration body.
Further professional knowledge will have been gained through accredited courses workshops, study and in house training programmes.
To be responsible, and accountable, for service delivery to clients/patients and their carers.
To be able to assess and develop plans of care to meet the complex needs of patients with psychosis. This includes chronic, acute and palliative care within own competencies, recognising own limitations and seeking advice when necessary. This will include continuously evaluating and acting on outcomes.
To be able to initiate referrals to other health professional specialist services and agencies.
To provide patients and relatives with information and education thus ensuring they have meaningful choices that promote dignity, independence and quality of life.
To ensure practice is supported by research, evidence based practice, literature and peer review.
Leadership
To participate in the development of an effective team and the development of productive working relationships throughout the Trust.
To actively promote integrated health professional working internally and externally.
To facilitate the development of a positive and supportive team culture by taking responsibility for dealing effectively with potential conflict.
To take an active interest in working parties and groups within the Trust to develop and improve on service delivery, protocols and guidelines.
To participate in the audit process, linking in with the clinical governance agenda.
To advise, encourage and share knowledge utilising the latest research and practice development, through literature and peer reviews.
To lead on service development initiatives within the team with the aim of improving service delivery for the benefit of service users
