Job summary
- Main area
- Psychology
- Grade
- NHS AfC: Band 8b
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Part time - 30 hours per week
- Job ref
- 311-O573-24
- Employer
- Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Forest House, Royal Oldham Hospital
- Town
- Oldham
- Salary
- £62,215 - £72,293 pa pro rata
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 30/09/2024 23:59
- Interview date
- 08/10/2024
Employer heading
Principal Practitioner Psychologist
NHS AfC: Band 8b
About the Trust
We are proud to provide high quality mental health and learning disability services, both inpatient and in the community across five boroughs of Greater Manchester - Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport and Tameside and Glossop.
Our vision is for a happier and more hopeful life for everyone in our communities and our staff work hard to deliver the very best care for the people who use our services. We’re really proud of our #PennineCarePeople and do everything we can to make sure we’re a great place to work.
Our ambition is to maximise people’s potential and we aim to promote an inclusive environment and improve the diversity of our workforce so our people truly represent the communities we serve.
All individuals regardless of race, age, disability, ethnicity, nationality, gender, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, religion or belief, marriage and civil partnership are encouraged to apply for this post. We would also encourage applications from individuals with a lived experience of mental illness, either individually or as a carer.
If you come and work for us we will offer a range of benefits and opportunities, including:
- Generous annual leave entitlement for Agenda for Change and Medical and Dental staff.
- Flexible working opportunities to support your work/life balance
- Access to Continued Professional Development
- Involvement in improvement and research activities
- Health and Wellbeing activities and access to an excellent staff wellbeing service
- Access to staff discounts across retail, leisure and travel
If you are Kind, Fair, Ingenious and Determined then we want you to come and join our #PennineCarePeople
Job overview
We are excited to advertise a permanent 0.8 WTE (4 days) Principal Practitioner (Clinical, Counselling, Forensic) Psychologist post (grade 8b) to work in Oldham Mental Health Liaison Team. This marks increased investment in our acute and crisis pathway in Oldham as we are recruiting psychology colleagues both in MHLT and Oldham's Home Treatment Team (HTT).
The MHLT is based at Forest House at Royal Oldham Hospital. The team deliver high quality, safe, effective and evidence based assessments and support for patients in A&E and on medical wards. They also have a frequent attenders, alcohol liaison and police joint car response pathway.
This is a friendly, dynamic team who are keen for a full MDT and are working towards Psychiatric Liaison Accreditation Network (PLAN) accreditation.
You will lead on the provision of psychology input to clients referred to the team via A&E and the wards. The role will draw on psychology skills across mental and physical health and across the lifespan.
There will be opportunities to be part of Trust initiatives (e.g. joining the 'Alternatives to Admissions' steering group) and support the leadership and development of the psychological provision, including embedding trauma informed care, in Oldham's acute and crisis pathway.
The successful post holder will have a network of psychology and non-psychology colleagues around them both in borough and across the Trust.
Main duties of the job
- To provide a high quality, trauma-informed and specialist psychology service for people referred to the MHLT from the acute trust
- Undertaking psychological assessment, formulation, brief intervention and onward care planning of people with a range of complex physical and mental health needs and their families in consultation with the MHLT MDT. This includes both functional and organic illnesses of later life in addition to younger people
- Providing psychological consultation, contributions at team meetings and bringing a psychological perspective/understanding to presenting distress through shared formulations, contributions to risk assessments, risk formulations etc
- Providing specialist training on psychological understandings, formulation and evidence-based practice and improving the quality of service
- To provide psychological leadership to Liaison care and acute pathway
- To work systemically across services to develop a psychological understanding and context for other professionals, service users and carers
- Support the development of individual care planning underpinned by psychological formulation and trauma informed care principles
- Propose and implement evidence-based practice, utilising research skills for audit, outcomes, policy/service developments and research
- Provide clinical supervision, reflective practice and post incident support where appropriate. This will include within the team and making links with local universities and providing placements for Trainees
Working for our organisation
Our acute and crisis pathway is experiencing growth as we move towards providing a comprehensive, high quality and effective service across adult acute wards, Home Treatment Teams and Mental Health Liaison teams covering half of Greater Manchester. An 8c Consultant Psychologist has recently joined to lead the acute pathway and the Trustwide acute psychology team, who meet regularly. There are also clear links with other Psychological Practitioners working within the borough.
We are passionate about staff well-being and compassionate leadership. Our staff survey results support this. In the latest National Survey (2023) Pennine Care was ranked as the best mental health and learning disability trust in the North West.
We support staff to work flexibly and recognise and respect the roles our colleagues hold outside of their working hours. This focus helps us to retain staff and ensure people are happy in their place of work.
Equality, diversity and inclusion is at the top of our agenda. We believe that a diverse, inclusive and engaged culture is vital; that everyone's value should be recognised and respected.
There are also opportunities to link with local higher education providers and the research & innovation (R&I) team to engage with related research projects.
We are committed to staff development and have an extensive psychological therapies training programme. Our psychology colleagues have fedback that this is a particular strength within the Trust.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Please see the attached job description and person specification for further details and to support your application for this post.
Person specification
Education / Qualifications
Essential criteria
- Doctoral level training in clinical psychology (including specific models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics and neuropsychological assessments, two or more distinct psychological therapies and lifespan development psychology as accredited by the BPS or postgraduate training in Forensic Psychology or Counselling Psychology)
- Current registration as a Clinical, Forensic or Counselling Psychologist with the Health and Care Professions Council.
Desirable criteria
- Completion of further post qualification training within psychological therapies (e.g., DBT, CBT, CAT, CFT, MBT etc)
- Completion of further post qualification training in supervision
Experience
Essential criteria
- Demonstrable post-qualification experience of specialist psychological assessment, formulation and treatment of clients experiencing psychological difficulties.
- Experience of working with a wide variety of client groups, across the whole life course presenting problems that reflect the full range of clinical severity including maintaining a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems, verbal abuse and the threat of physical abuse.
- Demonstratable post-qualification experience of working with complex mental health problems, including distressing psychosis, problems associated with complex relational and emotional needs and severe depression, anxiety and trauma.
- Demonstratable experience of working with people experiencing a suicidal crisis
- Demonstratable experience of working with an MDT
- Experience of clinical leadership within a previous role
- Demonstratable experience of providing clinical supervision to psychologists, psychological practitioners or other core health professions
- Demonstratable experience of providing teaching/ training upon clinical interventions.
- Demonstratable experience of managing demand for psychological services within a form of stepped-care framework (i.e., an approach based upon the provision of direct care, and supporting other professionals in their provision of psychosocial work)
- Experience of delivering brief interventions to meet need
Desirable criteria
- Experience of clinical leadership
- Experience of working within an acute service or hospital setting
- Ability to demonstrate further specialist clinical experience and training
- Experience of audit and service evaluation within psychological therapy services
- Research experience within an area relevant to work within an adult service
- Demonstratable experience of the application of psychological therapy in diverse cultural and ethnic contexts.
Knowledge
Essential criteria
- Understanding of the national and regional legislation, guidance and policy directives in relation to the development and delivery of psychological therapies within acute services
- Evidence of post-qualification CPD as recommended by the HCPC and, or BPS, or other professional body
- Up to date knowledge of the needs of people with complex mental health problems, and of psychological approaches to recovery
- Awareness of the principles of a trauma informed care approach.
- Familiarity with computing technology, including keyboard skills and use of word-processing, e-mail and internet software.
Desirable criteria
- Well-developed knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological therapies and approaches for adults with complex physical and mental health needs
- Publication of training, service evaluation, clinical audit and research material
Skills and Abilities
Essential criteria
- Ability to work with service users, carers and families to engage with their needs and provide them with appropriate psychological support and intervention
- Skills in providing consultation to other professional and nonprofessional groups
- Skills in working within an MDT to bring and share a psychological understanding of distress.
- Well developed, effective communication skills, both oral and in writing, enabling complex, highly technical and/or clinically sensitive information to be shared with service users, their families, carers and other professional colleagues within the NMHS and other agencies
- Ability to prioritise work, operate a waiting list, meet short deadlines and an unpredictable work pattern that requires regular revision of plans.
- Ability to sit in a constrained position for service user assessment, formulation and individual and group therapy sessions and for computer work
- Ability to work at a high level of professional autonomy and responsibility, in a collaborative multi-disciplinary environment and also as a lone worker in circumstances where there may be exposure to verbal and sometimes physical aggression
- Able to sustain the intense concentration necessary for service user assessment and formulation, individual and group therapy sessions
- Ability to work and communicate highly sensitive, contentious information effectively in a highly emotive or hostile atmosphere, and to overcome barriers to acceptance/ psychological resistance to potentially threatening information
- Ability to identify, provide and promote appropriate means of support to staff and carers exposed to highly distressing situations
- Ability to identify and employ mechanisms of clinical governance as appropriate, to support and maintain clinical practice in the face of regular exposure to highly emotive material and challenging behaviour.
Desirable criteria
- Ability to teach and train others, using a variety of complex multi-media materials, suitable for presentations within public, professional and academic settings
- Ability to demonstrate an area of special interest/ skill in therapeutic intervention
- Ability to move equipment (including case files, neuropsychological tests, self-help materials, audiovisual equipment) between office base and other work settings.
Work Related Circumstances
Essential criteria
- Use of a car or access to a means of mobility to travel across the Trust footprint in line with service needs
- Willing to carry out all duties and responsibilities of the post in accordance with the Trust’s Equal Opportunities and Equality and Diversity policies
- Appointments to regulated and controlled activities require an enhanced DBS disclosure.
Employer certification / accreditation badges
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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 Sarah McHale
- Job title
- Consultant Clinical Psychologist
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 07517575072
- Additional information
Please get in touch to talk more about the post, to answer any questions you might have or to arrange to come and meet the team.
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