Job summary
- Main area
- Mental Health
- Grade
- NHS AfC: Band 8a
- Contract
- Fixed term: 1 year (Other)
- Hours
- Full time
- Part time
- Job ref
- 334-CLI-6697540
- Employer
- South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- River House, Bethlem Royal Hospital
- Town
- Beckenham
- Salary
- £59,490 - £66,239 per annum incl of HCAs
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 25/02/2025 23:59
Employer heading
Highly Specialist Psychologist/Psychological Therapist/Psychotherapist
NHS AfC: Band 8a
South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust has a rich history, well-established community links and an international reputation. We deliver specialist services in the London boroughs of Croydon, Lambeth, Lewisham and Southwark, Bexley, Bromley, Greenwich, Wandsworth and Richmond.
We are committed to provide a high quality and specialist care to our service users and we are recognised for our care and treatment we provide. The Care Quality Commission already rates our services as ‘good’.
We launched our five-year strategy, Aiming High; Changing Lives in 2021 together with Our Care Improvement System as our quality management system methodology to make a positive impact on patient care, outcomes and staff experience. By joining SLaM, all staff will get the opportunity to be part of this exciting improvement journey supported with learning and development to harness everyone’s potential as change makers.
The trust recognises the unique and valuable contribution that people with lived experience of mental illness can bring to a role. We therefore welcome applications from people with lived experience and consider them as an asset to the Trust.
Our Values
We take pride in providing specialist care to our service users where our Trust values and our promise to be caring, kind, polite, prompt, honest, listen and do what I say I’m going to do is at the heart of everything we do. When you join us, you’ll be part of something special.
As a Trust we are happy to talk flexible working.
Job overview
An exciting opportunity to join the psychology & psychotherapy forensic mental health team at Bethlem Royal Hospital. We have a vacancy for a Band 8a maternity cover, based on the male admission and intensive care ward at River House, Medium Secure Unit.
Main duties of the job
The postholder will lead the provision of psychological services on Norbury Ward within River House. Norbury has a dual-function in offering both an intensive care service for the wider unit and being a Clinical Decisions Unit (CDU) responsible for the forensic assessment of men admitted to medium-security. It looks after a diverse group of high-risk, high-need service users transferred from prison, other secure hospitals, and general adult wards.
The CDU aims to reduce overall length of stay in forensic services through the delivery of a pathway planning service. This prioritises comprehensive assessment and formulation over a three month period, and provides recommendations that underpin future care within mental health and criminal justice services.
The postholder will lead on the completion of complex and specialist clinical psychological assessments for the CDU, and individual and group interventions to support intensive care patients step-down in security. Strong experience in psychological assessment is essential for the role, and experience working with complex clinical and/or forensic need desirable.
Working for our organisation
The service is part of the South London & Maudsley Forensic & Offender Health Pathway within the Behavioural & Developmental Psychiatry Operational Directorate. The male wards in the relevant pathway include two admission and two rehabilitation wards. Each ward has a multi-professional team that includes dedicated qualified and assistant psychology provision. The postholder will be aligned for direct clinical service provision to Norbury Ward. They will join a forensic clinical psychology & psychotherapy team that provides inpatient and community-based services in SLAM.
The male medium secure inpatient provision at River House is an integral part of the South London Partnership (SLP) acute pathway and rehabilitation pathway. There are close links with low secure provision and community forensic mental health teams, as well as other mental health services, prisons and criminal justice agencies.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
The postholder will join a team of psychologists, assistant psychologists and therapists, who work closely with the multi-professional inpatient teams, under the leadership of an MSU inpatient lead psychologist. They will be expected to lead on psychological provision to Norbury Ward and clinically supervise the work of Assistant and Trainee Psychologists. With the support of the MSU Lead Psychologist, they will also be expected to implement psychologically-informed consultative interventions, and other service developments, that support the multidisciplinary team.
The postholder will contribute to leadership of the wider forensic psychology and psychological therapies programme across inpatient secure services. They will be required to work as an autonomous professional within BPS / HCPC / APC / BPC / UKCP / BACP / BABCP / ADMP-UK guidelines and codes of conduct, and local policies and procedures, taking responsibility for decisions about psychological care with the support of supervision.
Person specification
Professional training and registration
Essential criteria
- Appropriate professional qualification with current registration
- Additional post-qualification training in relevant area of psychological practice
- Supervision training and experience
Desirable criteria
- Training specific to practice with mentally disordered offenders
Knowledge and experience
Essential criteria
- Evidence of working therapeutically with complex psychological need
- Knowledge and experience of specialist psychological assessment
Desirable criteria
- Knowledge and experience of forensic inpatient or equivalent settings
- Knowledge of key issues relevant to working with mentally disordered offenders
Skills and abilities
Essential criteria
- Evidence of psychometric and neuropsychological testing skills
- Evidence of skills in risk assessment and de-escalation
Desirable criteria
- Ability to work effectively in multi-disciplinary teams
- Evidence of skill in implementing consultative interventions
Employer certification / accreditation badges
Applicant requirements
You must have appropriate UK professional registration.
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Dr Nathan Kitchenham
- Job title
- Principal Clinical Psychologist
- Email address
- [email protected]
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