Job summary
37.5 hours per week.
Livewell Southwest is excited to
be in a position to further develop the Liaison Psychiatry Service based within
University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust at Derriford Hospital in line with the
NHS England plan for all general hospitals to have mental health liaison
services embedded. Liaison Psychiatry at University Hospital Plymouth (UHP) is a fully
commissioned Core 24 service.
Now is an exciting time to join
the team. We continue to develop the service into a team striving to provide the best possible support to people. Successful candidates joining now, will be
part of further developing our service.
Following investment in the
Derriford Liaison Psychiatry team, we are looking for suitably qualified
practitioners with excellent interpersonal and organisational skills with the
ability to work under pressure. Experience of working with adults of working
age and older people is desirable but not essential. Liaison Psychiatry in
Derriford provides a 24hr, 7 days a week provision and successful applicants
will be expected to work various shift patterns on a rotational basis.
This role may not be eligible for sponsorship under the Skilled Worker route, please refer to the Direct Gov website for more information with regards to eligibility.
Main duties of the job
The specialist function of the
team is to provide bio-psychosocial assessments for individuals aged 18 years
and above within the Derriford Hospital footprint, either attending via the
Emergency Department or being an in-patient within the hospital. Patients seen
may present with mental health difficulties e.g. psychiatric crisis or an
organic presentation such as a dementia /delirium.
Following assessment, patients
may be signposted to services in their local area (be that Plymouth, Cornwall,
Devon or further afield). The Teamwork with hospital staff to develop plans of
care for those who may be staying in hospital for a little longer. The Team
also has developed a triage function within the Emergency Department.
Its a challenging and rewarding
service to work in, and we need the best quality of candidates to help us grow
our service further.
We welcome applications from
Registered Nurses (RMN and RGN), Physiotherapists, Occupational Therapists and
Social Workers who have relevant experience (NMC/HCPC registrations required).
Please demonstrate in your application how you meet the essential criteria in
order to be considered. This is a permanent position.
Applicants will be required to
demonstrate a good understanding of the relationship between the physiology, psychology,
and sociology of ill-health with suitable candidates showing a clear
willingness to develop skills in the areas of both functional and organic mental
health needs.
About us
Livewell Southwest is an independent, award-winning social enterprise providing integrated health & social care services for people across Plymouth, South Hams & West Devon, as well as some specialist services for people living in parts of Devon & Cornwall. With teams in community hospitals, GP practices, sports centres, health & wellbeing hubs.
As an organisation with a strong social conscience, we always value being kind, respectful, inclusive, ambitious, responsible and collaborative. Transforming services to make them sustainable, ensuring that we value, support & empower each other.
We are committed to involving the people we care for, families & carers in everything that we do, working towards co-production where we can. Helping us to deliver the right care for people, in the right place & at the right time. By putting people at the centre of what we do, we ensure to support people to lead, healthy independent lives & be the very best at helping people to live well.
Valuing our employees making an investment in their development a priority. We offer:
Protected CPD time for registered staff
Various development pathways and ongoing regular training packages for all staff
Leadership & mentoring programmes
Access & funding for training including Care Certificate, Assistant Practitioners Course & Scholarship Into Nurse Training
A Robust Preceptorship
A bespoke induction programme
Existing members of the NHS Pension Scheme can continue their membership when they join the organisation.
Job description
Job responsibilities
As a member of the Liaison Psychiatry Team,
you will be assessing patients who are referred from the Emergency Department
and ward areas within the acute general hospital.
The specialist function of the team is
to provide bio-psychosocial assessments for individuals aged 18 yrs. and above
within the Derriford Hospital footprint, either attending via the Emergency
Department or being an in-patient within the hospital. Patients seen may
present with mental health difficulties e.g. psychiatric crisis or an organic
presentation such as a dementia /delirium.
You will be able to make clear clinical
decisions based on the analysis of, often complex, presenting problems. This
can include being the decision maker in terms of discharge of patients
experiencing mental health needs. You will be required at times to make clear
autonomous decisions, based on analysis of complex presenting problems and
clinical judgement.
You will be able to demonstrate a high
level of communication skills in terms of use of verbal, electronic and written
formats.
You will be required to engage with
patients who can be challenging and/or acutely distressed.
You will have freedom to act as a lone
worker. Some autonomous working is expected.
The operational hours of this service,
is currently 24hrs a day, 7 days a week, with different shift patterns to cover
the service delivery. Post holders will be expected to participate in the shift
patterns over a 7 day period including weekends and bank holidays.
Professional
/Clinical Responsibilities
- In conjunction with other team members
screen all referrals received by the team.
- Undertake holistic and comprehensive
bio-psychosocial assessments incorporating assessment of mental state of
patients referred to the service.
- Utilise a range of highly specialised
clinical skills appropriate to the needs of individual patients and the
clinical setting in which they are seen.
- Conduct risk assessments on all patients
presenting to the service in line with CPA policy. The post holder will have
highly developed risk assessment skills to manage complex presentations and
challenging behaviours.
- Advise ward nursing, medical and other
professional staff on the management of patients and contribute to care
planning to meet identified needs.
- Evaluate effectiveness of care
interventions with all disciplines of staff, adjusting care plans where
necessary.
- Provide a consultation-liaison service
to clinicians and clinical teams within the general hospital. This will include
giving specialist advice on care, treatment and patients management issues.
- Work in collaboration with colleagues in
the promotion of care delivery and strategic objectives and taking
responsibility/lead for specific areas of working e.g. liaison with police,
drugs and alcohol, Safeguarding.
- Refer and signpost people to appropriate
mental health services as required both within and outside of the
organisations area.
- Work collaboratively with social care
teams, discharge planning teams, onward care teams, community liaison teams and
community mental health teams in devising appropriate discharge plans.
- Deliver care that is evidenced based and
reflecting current best practice.
- Be accountable for own practice in
accordance with NMC Code of Professional practice or HCPC relevant codes of practice.
- Demonstrate sound understanding of the
ethical and legal issues in caring for all older adults attending the hospital.
This will include Mental Health Act (1983), Mental Capacity Act and Deprivation
of Liberty Safeguarding (2005) issues as required.
- Raise awareness of mental health needs
of older people in acute general hospital setting through discussion and
collaborative working with staff of all levels and disciplines. Raise awareness
of the mental health needs of the general population within the acute general
hospital.
- Provide support and advice for carers
and families of people with mental health needs within the general hospital
setting whenever possible. The Liaison Service is committed to the
implementation of the Triangle of Care as fully as possible.
- Work collaboratively with colleagues in
the development of the Liaison Psychiatry Service.
Communication
- Communicate effectively and sensitively
with patients, families and carers.
- Work positively and sensitively with
challenging and hostile behaviours to enable therapeutic and productive
outcome.
- Have highly developed interpersonal
skills, self-awareness and empathy to engage with others and provide an
effective outcome.
- Demonstrate the ability to negotiate and
problem solve in complex situations where agreement is required or communicate
clear decision making and rationale when agreement cannot be reached.
- Provide comprehensive information based
on assessment to inform the care, treatment, or discharge planning process of
patients within the acute general hospital.
- Demonstrate the ability to develop and maintain
good working relationships with colleagues within the Liaison Psychiatry Team
and across other statutory and non-statutory organisations.
- Maintain confidentiality of the patients
as per policy whilst sharing information when appropriate to do so
- Keep accurate and contemporaneous
electronic/written patient records and comply with professional and Trust
record keeping policies including CPA.
- Comply with Local and National policies
in relation to confidentiality and information sharing protocols.
- Liaise with existing care coordinators
regarding the status and progress of patients who are subject to CPA in the
acute general hospital setting.
- Demonstrate the ability to adapt
communication to take account of others needs.
- Maintain high standards of integrity
when communicating with patients and others.
- Demonstrate ability to use IT systems
effectively including email, clinical systems used by the team.
- Represent the team by attendance at
meetings as delegated by Team Manager.
- Act as a role model in providing a
service for people with mental health problems for all staff within the acute
general hospital.
Analytical
and Judgmental skills
- Demonstrate the ability to analyse,
often large amounts of complex information from a range of other specialists
and assimilate these and their relevance to a persons mental health needs,
formulate a clinical opinion including assessment of risk and advise on
appropriate care plan.
- Possess a good working knowledge of
mental health legislation including Mental Health Act, Mental Capacity Act and
Deprivation of Liberty safeguards and use this in relation to advising and
planning care, independently or with other professionals.
- Assess the patients
risk/psychiatric/psychological and emotional fitness for discharge from the
hospital setting
- Formulate a care pathway following
assessment, with an appropriate onward referral to other NHS professionals,
statutory and non-statutory services if necessary.
Planning and
Organisational skills
- Demonstrate the ability to manage
conflicting demands on time and the ability to prioritise clinical work effectively.
- Demonstrate the ability to organise the
work schedule and appropriate screening of referrals to the team each day in conjunction
with colleagues, including medical staff. Where necessary there will be a focus
on presentations to the ED. The post holder will need to be able to ensure that
the needs of other referrals are not delayed due to ED work.
- Coordinate the appropriate follow up of
patients seen by the service.
- Deliver formal and informal training
sessions on behalf of the team to other professionals with the acute general
hospital setting.
Management
- Take responsibility for agreed clinical,
managerial and strategic projects associated with the provision of the Liaison
Psychiatry service. This will include planning, implementing, reviewing and
revising these projects as necessary.
- In the absence of a Band 7, take
responsibility for the coordination of all activities within the clinical area
or equivalent sphere.
- In the absence of a Band 7, take
responsibility for the management of the Team and patient care provided, to the
agreed local and professional standards.
- Undertake line management supervision
and appraisal of other staff within the team where appropriate.
- As a band 6 practitioner, you will be
viewed as a senior member of the team. Therefore, you will be expected to be a
positive role member to others. You will need to demonstrate flexibility in your
practice, support others and delegate where required.
- You will regularly be shift lead and
will likely also take the lead in the team on certain aspects of team function.
Education/Training & Development
- Participate in the mentoring and
education of a range of students on placement with the Team.
- Participate in the planning, development
and delivery of educational programmes and training sessions for a range of
clinical staff within the working and learning environments.
- Provide clinical supervision to
colleagues and students as required
- You will need to participate in CPD regularly
and keep your mandatory training up to date. The post holder will proactively
ensure they are receiving clinical supervision.
Physical
skills
- Be able to demonstrate IT skills,
including keyboard use.
- Show the ability to concentrate for
sustained periods of time in often noisy environments with frequent
interruption.
- Be required to have ability to travel to
other clinical sites for attendance at meetings.
- Be involved with patients who at times
present with physical and verbal aggression due to ill health, distress and/or
non-concordance with care. Post-holder will need to be aware of how to respond
appropriately and safely, with consideration to the safety of themselves and
others.
- Have the ability to work effectively in
a busy and chaotic working environment of the ED.
- Have an awareness of the Physical
challenges presented by disturbed patients who attend the Ed by their own free
will or via the Police.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Registered Mental Health Nurse/Registered General Nurse or Allied Health Professional such as Physiotherapist, Social Worker or Occupational Therapist (on relevant register e.g. NMC or HCPC).
- Mentorship qualification or equivalent experience.
Desirable
- Post qualification experience/training in mental health and related issues.
- Leadership qualifications.
- Teaching Qualification.
- Non Medical Prescribing.
Disposition
Essential
- Autonomous practitioner with ability to work unsupervised.
- Facilitative and Influencing skills.
- Flexible and adaptable.
- Tact, diplomacy and self-confident.
- Ability to meet deadlines.
- Ability to prioritise and reprioritise work to meet clinical demand.
Knowledge & Skills
Essential
- Up to date knowledge of current practice with emphasis on Liaison Psychiatry.
- Evidence of post registration development.
- Understanding about how a persons physical health can affect their mental state.
- Specialist knowledge of mental disorders and their impact on physical health.
- Understanding of National guidelines and initiatives related to provision of mental health services in an acute general hospital.
- Understanding of services and their role in the provision of mental health care in the community.
- General understanding of Continuing Healthcare and the assessment process for this.
- Sound working knowledge of Mental Health Act (1983), Mental Capacity Act and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (2005).
- Protection of Vulnerable Adults Policies and Procedures.
- Time management.
- Ability to manage environmental stress.
- Ability to work in a changing team.
- Articulate with a high level of communication skills.
- Ability to deal with high levels of emotional stress.
- Ability to sustain high levels of concentration.
- Motivated and committed to developing new ideas and improving patient care.
- Ability to function as an autonomous practitioner.
- IT skills.
Desirable
- Cognitive Behaviour Therapy skills.
- Problem solving skills.
- Solution focussed therapy skills.
- Physical healthcare skills.
- Motivational interviewing skills.
- DBT skills.
- Cognitive assessment skills.
- Experience of working in both acute mental health and in complex care and dementia care
Experience
Essential
- 18 months + recent experience as a Band 5 Nurse or AHP equivalent either working with older adults or within dementia/complex care environments or with functional mental health issues.
- Ability to demonstrate transferable skills.
- Either experience of working with older adults with Depression and older adults with dementia.
- Or experience of working with adults with functional mental health problems.
- Suitable Candidates will show a clear willingness to develop skills in the areas of both functional mental health problems and older peoples/complex care mental health needs.
Desirable
- Previous experience of working in a community mental health setting.
- Evidence of developing and contributing to service development.
- Experience of change in health care.
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.
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 .
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 .
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see
NHS Careers website .
Employer details
Employer name
Livewell Southwest
Address
Derriford Hospital
Derriford Rd
Plymouth
PL68DH