Principal Psychologist for Waltham Forest Psychiatric Liaison Service

Job description

Job responsibilities

Aim of the role:

The expectation of this post holder will be to support their team, department and organisation to achieve the Trusts Values in their day-to-day work. These are the 5Ps:

Putting people first

Prioritising quality

Being progressive, innovative and continually improve

Being professional and honest

Promoting what is possible independence, opportunity and choice

The post holder will achieve this by:

Leading a high-quality psychology service within Whipps Cross University Hospital, in line with Psychiatric Liaison Accreditation Network (PLAN) and CORE 24 guidelines, under the guidance of the Strategic Lead.

Providing operational management and high-quality clinical supervision to qualified psychologists in Psychiatric Liaison, under the guidance of the Strategic Lead.

To provide specialist consultation, assessment and formulation for priority cases identified by psychiatric team colleagues.

Lead on, design and provide brief and longer-term psychological interventions, in line with PLAN, CORE 24 and BPS guidelines.

Work with the SIM panel to reduce urgent care service use for those identified, using psychological formulation, treatment and care planning interventions.

Working in close collaboration with the community and mental health and inpatient and crisis psychology services to ensure a smooth pathway for service-users and their families.

Lead on the development of clear guidelines for working with patients in acute beds who have been identified as benefitting from psychiatric team input.

Work alongside the senior manager and senior leaders in the psychiatric liaison teams to develop clear pathways and processes for psychology involvement with service-users, families and systems and teams.

Lead on and develop specialist psychological interventions for clinical health patients with physical and psychological co-morbidities who are identified as priority cases by Acute Trust colleagues and the psychiatric liaison team.

Take a senior and specialist role in assessment, treatment and systematic outcomemeasurement in the psychiatric liaison specialist care pathway, as deemed appropriate by the Strategic Lead and psychiatric liaison team manager and senior staff.

Ensuring that a high quality, timely, accessible andevidence-based psychological service is available to all service users who need it.

Maintaining excellent working relationships with wider mental health services (e.g. Mental Health and Wellness Teams, Community Recovery Teams, Community Clinics, Inpatient and Crisis services).

Maintaining excellent working relationships with wider Acute Trust service at Whipps Cross Hospital (e.g. Accident and Emergency and acute wards).

Ensuring adherence to evidence based psychologicaltreatments by all clinical staff within the specialist care pathway, focussing on treatmentsto reduce risk and stabilise a crisis, and to reduce crisis service use.

Contributing to consultation, supervision, teaching and training of MDT staff working within Psychiatric Liaison and playing a key role in audit and evaluation.

Leading reflective practice and case formulation sessions for staff in Psychiatric Liaison at Whipps Cross Hospital, to aid learning and support with complex cases.

Working autonomously within professional guidelines and within the overall framework ofpolicies and procedures of the Trust. Ensuring other psychological professional staff also work within these parameters.

Supporting the Strategic Lead with recruitment of qualified and unqualified staff and trainees, and managing their workloads within the framework of the Trusts policies and procedures.

Supporting the Strategic Lead to ensure 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 adheredto at all times by staff within the specialist care pathway.

Ensuring the maintenance of the highest personal standards of practice, through activeparticipation in internal and external CPD training and development programmes.

Maintaining the highest standards of clinical record keeping including electronic dataentry and recording, report writing and the responsible exercise of professional self-governance

Key Responsibilities:

Clinical Skills

To act as an autonomous, registered psychologist who is legally and professionallyaccountable for own unsupervised actions guided by the professional code of conductand Trust guidelines and protocols.

The post holder will have professional HCPC registration.

To deliver clinical input to high risk cases, that is of a high quality and is evidence-based,utilising psychological theory.

To be responsible, and accountable, for service delivery to clients/ patients.

To be able to assess and develop plans of care to meet the complex needs of patientswith a variety of presentations but all of whom present with high levels of risk.

To ensure practice is supported by research, evidence based practice, literature andpeer review.

To cover other tasks as necessary which are consistent with the role of a Principal Psychologist.

Leadership

To participate in the development of an effective team and the development of productiveworking relationships throughout the Trust.

To facilitate the development of a positive and supportive team culture by takingresponsibility for dealing effectively with potential conflict.

To participate in the audit process, linking in with the clinical governance agenda.

To advise, encourage and share knowledge utilising the latest research and practicedevelopment, through literature and peer reviews.

To lead on research projects as relevant for the post and in agreement with senior professional leads.

Computer/ Administration

To be computer literate and encourage implementation of the Trusts IM&T Strategy.

To ensure accurate recording of actions, and updating patients records, maintaining confidentiality at all times.

To take part, and assist, in the planning and administration relating to day to day running of the caseload.

Communication

To have a wide range of knowledge in approaches to communicating and managing patient care.

To be able to effectively communicate with colleagues, peers, senior managers and clinical leads within the Trust.

To be able to communicate complex service user related information facilitating positive outcomes and ensuring collaborative working.

Participate in the review and development of clinical policies and identifies improvements to service provision.

To provide and receive highly complex, sensitive or contentious information where there might be barriers to acceptance from the service user, carers and families or other professionals resulting in a hostile or highly emotive atmosphere. This might be working with interpreters or advocates and so requires ensuring the safe management of everyone within the system.

Teaching, Training and Supervision

To act as mentor to qualified psychologists and trainees, providing effective education,facilitating their development and promoting high standards of care.

To ensure own continued professional development and support a culture of lifelonglearning in self and others.

To undertake, and assist, in the planning of own mandatory training and workshops and those for others in the team.

To undertake a regular appraisal, developing a personal development plan that includesclinical competencies reflecting the health needs of the local population and relates toTrust strategy.

To support new staff and their integration within the team.

To support training as part of the role including changes to professional development andimplementation of new policies and guidelines.

Person Specification

Experience

Essential

• Thorough knowledge of evidence-based clinical practice
• Experience of working with high levels of risk and severe mental health difficulties
• Experience of working in health psychology and with medically unexplained symptoms/ FND
• Ability to represent psychological perspective within MDT and ARD
• Experience of applying NICE compliant therapies to in-patient population
• Ability to communicate complex and difficult information with empathy
• Knowledge, understanding and experience of working with service users from diverse backgrounds
• Ability to use wide range of analytical and judgemental skills to manage complex situations
• Extensive experience of managing highly complex risk and safeguarding
• Up to date knowledge of relevant legislation and ethical issues, and implication for clinical practice and professional management
• Experience of applying clinical supervision and/or operational management

Desirable

• Experience of working in psychiatric liaison and acute hospital settings

Qualifications

Essential

• NVQ level 2 or equivalent standard of literacy and numeracy
• Post-graduate qualification in Clinical or Counselling Psychology
• Specialist post-graduate training in area relevant to psychiatric liaison
• Professional registration with appropriate body e.g. HCPC

Knowledge

Essential

• Awareness of NHS Plan, NSF and clinical governance priorities
• Expert knowledge of inpatient/ acute psychology and evidence based treatments
• Expertise in use of complex psychological assessment, intervention and management
• Knowledge of research design and methodology
• Well developed communication skills- oral and written- to share complex and highly sensitive information with service users, families, carers and colleagues
• Preparation of highly complex clinical reports and assessments
• Skills in providing consultation to other professional and non-professional groups
• Ability to use IT systems effectively
• Ability to work autonomously in accordance with professional ethical guidelines and Trust policies
• Ability to work in potentially abusive/ aggressive/ hostile environments
• Ability to work in frequently emotionally distressing circumstances

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

NELFT North East London Foundation Trust

Address

Whipps Cross University Hospital

Whipps Cross Road

London

E11 1NR

Employer's website

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