Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The Psychiatric Liaison Team work with patients who will have diverse mental health needs. The Psychology work is very varied, including both brief and longer-term interventions. This includes, but is not limited to:

•          People who have an existing mental health problem and are currently in hospital with a physical illness

•          Those who have been diagnosed with a physical illness and need psychological support to adjust to this

•          Individuals with specific older adult related difficulties including fear of falling or dementia

•          Individuals who have presented with high-risk behaviours (i.e. a suicide attempt or self-harm) who may be seen in the Emergency Department or be admitted for physical healthcare treatment

•          Distress related to a prolonged or difficult intensive care admission

 The successful postholder will contribute to the psychological aspects of patient care for the liaison mental health service and will also help to support the Principal Psychologist on service evaluation and improvement, audit, research and policy development to ensure a psychologically informed framework of care for patients.  The post holder will be supported and clinically supervised by the Principal Psychologist working within the service.

Job Purpose:

·         To provide a specialist psychology service to adult and older adult in-patients referred to the liaison mental health service and to personally provide clinical input including specialist assessment, treatment, planning, implementation and monitoring of outcomes.

·         To provide brief interventions to individuals waiting for a psychiatric admission in our emergency department

·         To work with the Principal Psychologist and other liaison service colleagues to build a more psychologically informed liaison service.

·         To work responsively, flexibly and creatively, in a fast-paced environment and in line with patient and service demands; prioritising the needs of multiple services, including the Emergency Department and inpatient wards.

·         To contribute to enabling other staff, service users and carers from diverse backgrounds to flourish by working to create a psychologically safe environment.

·         To contribute to the design, planning and implementation of programmes of training on psychological issues for colleagues as appropriate.

·         To work collaboratively with other colleagues on developing services to support the Emergency Department to manage the needs of frequent attenders more effectively.

·         To provide clinical supervision and consultation as appropriate.

·         To undertake service evaluation, audit and research as appropriate.

·         To work as an autonomous professional within BPS and HCPC guidelines – or equivalent psychotherapy accreditation body (e.g., BACP, BABCP, UKCP) – and codes of conduct, and guided by principles, policies and procedures of the employing organisation (SLaM) and its partner organisations, taking responsibility for interpreting policies within defined parameters.

·         To agree outcomes and results with clinical and professional leads and to decide how they are best achieved.

Key Responsibilities:

KR 1       Clinical and Client Care

·         To provide specialist psychological assessments, formulations and interventions for clients in the liaison mental health service, including developing and delivering psychological interventions tailored to the needs of people living with complex medical and psychosocial problems.

·         To provide culturally appropriate psychological interventions with carers or families of referred clients when required.

·         To assess and monitor risk and draw up appropriate risk management plans.

·         To offer neuropsychological assessment where appropriate, drawing on specialist supervision.

·         To provide appropriate psychological interventions to patients presenting to the Emergency Department when required or indicated.

·         To communicate skilfully and appropriately, highly complex and sensitive information with patients, carers, colleagues in the multi-disciplinary team and other health professionals, taking account of sensory and cultural barriers to communication.

KR 2       Contributing to team or service clinical functioning

·         To contribute to the effective working of the of liaison services and to a psychologically informed framework for the service.

·         To contribute to the team or service’s delivery of accessible and acceptable services to diverse local communities.

·         To be proactive in challenging discrimination and support the development of culturally competent services.

·         To advise other members of the service on specialist psychological care of clients.

·         To liaise with referrers, GPs and other professionals concerned with clients in order to develop and review care plans.

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

KR 3       Policy and service development

·         To implement policies and procedures in own area of work, and to propose improvements or beneficial changes.

·         To contribute to the consultation and engagement of service users in planning and delivering services which meet the needs of local communities.

·         To participate in the ongoing implementation of new initiatives (e.g. national guidelines) across the liaison mental health service and the adult clinical health psychology speciality.

·         To contribute to service development through undertaking and participating in appropriate projects.

KR 4       Care or management of resources

·         To take care of, and use carefully, the Trust’s equipment and physical resources.

·         To ensure that the post-holder has sufficient resources by estimating future needs and requesting or ordering supplies as needed.

KR 5       Management and supervision

·         To be responsible for the allocation and/or clinical supervision of the work of an assistant psychologist if required, under supervision from a more senior psychologist.

·         To supervise trainee applied psychologists / psychotherapists within own area of specialism after completion of the relevant Training Course’s Supervision Training.

KR 6       Teaching and Training

·         To provide occasional specialist training in psychological approaches to care to other professions as appropriate.

·         To contribute to the development of the knowledge and skills base within the service by maintaining an active awareness of current developments in psychology and the service and by implementing knowledge gained in practice.

·         To disseminate research and service evaluation findings through presentations and published articles.

KR 7       Record-keeping and Information Governance

·         To ensure that all information generated by own work is recorded as required by Trust policies and local procedures.

·         To maintain the highest standards of clinical record keeping and report writing, according to professional and Trust guidelines, including electronic data entry.

KR 8       Research and development

·         To undertake regular complex service evaluation, audits or research relevant to service needs.

·         To contribute to and support the development of outcome measurement and assessment and assist other staff in the implementation of same.

KR 9       Maintaining professional standards and continuing professional development

·         To receive regular clinical and professional supervision from a more senior psychologist / psychotherapist according to HCPC, or equivalent psychotherapy accreditation body (e.g., BACP, BABCP, UKCP) and Trust guidelines.

·         To ensure own Continuing Professional Development in line with BPS and Trust Personal Development Plan requirements and the HCPC ‘Standards for Continuing Professional Development’ or equivalent psychotherapy accreditation body (e.g., BACP, BABCP, UKCP)

·         To maintain an up-to-date knowledge of current developments in professional and clinical practice and of relevant legislation and policies.

·         To comply with the HCPC ‘Standards of Conduct, Performance and Ethics’ and ‘Standards of Proficiency’, and ensure professional development in line with these and, or that of the equivalent psychotherapy accreditation body (e.g., the BACP ‘Ethical Framework for the Counselling Professions’).

·         To adhere to the BPS’s Professional Practice Guidelines and Trust policies and procedures.

KR10      General

·         To travel to sites across the Trust and the area it serves as appropriate and when required.

·         To be aware of risk relating to aggressive and challenging behaviour amongst the client group, and follow trust policies relating to its management.

·         To respond appropriately and professionally to emotionally distressing situations – including those associated with physically unwell patients approaching end of life care – and to support others involved in such situations.

·         The post holder has a duty of care for their own health, safety and wellbeing and that of work colleagues within the hospital, in addition to any specific risk management or clinical governance accountabilities associated with this post.