15 Oct
South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust
Croydon
Job description
Job overview
This is an exciting opportunity for a skilled Band 6 practitioner with an interest and / or experience in the criminal justice system to be an integral part of both the Emotional Wellbeing & Mental Health Single Point of Contact (EWMH SPOC) and the Liaison and Diversion care pathway within a police custody assessment suite.
You will be working with young people, within what is a very interesting and rewarding area of care that is continuing to develop further.
As a front-line service, each day can be different in what can be a busy and unpredictable environment.
The Liaison & Diversion service ethos is to proactively intervene at the earliest possible opportunity in the Criminal Justice system pathway,
so that young people in need of support receive appropriate care and treatment in a timely fashion.
Within the EWMH SPOC, the ethos is to ensure that young people can access the right emotional wellbeing and mental health support, at the right time, to meet their needs.
The people we provide services to come from all walks of life and so do we. We hire people from a wide variety of backgrounds, not just because it’s the right thing to do but because it makes us better at what we do.
No matter your age, gender, ethnicity, disability, gender identity, religion or sexual orientation, if you are committed to generating the best possible outcomes for our service users then we want to hear from you.
Main duties of the job
As a Liaison and Diversion Practitioner, some of the responsibilities you can expect will include :
- Proactive screening of cases in police custody or at court.
- On-the-day triaging and assessment - including full mental state examinations,
risk assessment and gathering of background history for individuals presenting with a wide variety of established or suspected needs.
These can include anxiety, challenging behaviour, serious mental illness, personality disorder, learning disorders, social communication and language difficulties, substance misuse and associated social issues within police custody.
- Providing detainees who present with urgent and non-urgent clinical issues with appropriate interventions. This may include onward referrals for a Mental Health Act assessment, advice, signposting or making onward referrals into primary, secondary or voluntary care agencies.
- Providing advice, information and support to custody / court personnel.
- Provision of written assessment summaries to police,
court and other relevant agencies.
- Liaising with professionals, YOT practitioners or other relevant agencies for young people.
- Recording data for regular auditing and evaluation.
- Actively contributing to the management of referrals regarding children and young people through the Emotional Wellbeing and Mental Health referral pathway.
Working for our organisation
Benefits
- Comprehensive pay, pensions and leave package which is dependent on the role and length of service.
- Work life balance, flexible working and support a range of flexible options, such as : part-time working and job sharing.
- Career development, There are plenty of opportunities to progress your career and we support your development through a number of programmes such as mentoring, coaching,
positive people management, collective leadership and other talent programmes
- Car lease, our staff benefits from competitive deals to lease cars
- Accommodation, our staff benefits from keyworker housing available which is available on selected sites
- NHS discounts, with discounts up to 10% from a variety of well-known retail brands though Health Service Discounts website.
- We are committed to get the very best out of our staff and support staff in their career aspirations. We have career pathways available, where you will be able to develop your skills and build on your experience to progress into other roles across different specialties.
For this role, we offer career pathways to Senior clinical Practitioner or Clinical Team Leader.
In addition, we offer ongoing training and development in Leadership and MSC programme.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
We are looking for a skilled and confident individual who has experience of complex mental health assessments (including assessment of risk), decision making and who is adept at building relationships with service users and professional partners alike.
The successful applicant will work across the service in order to help identify individuals who present with vulnerabilities that may include mental health issues, neurodevelopmental disorders, substance misuse and who may present with a degree of risk.
Please see the combined job description and person specification for more details of the role.
Person specification
Knowledge & Skills
Essential criteria
- Knowledge of evidence-based assessments and treatments relevant to MH and neuropsychiatric disorders
- Knowledge of legislation in relation to child and adult protection, and equalities
- Knowledge of mental health legislation and of the practical application of MH law
- Skills and resilience to manage emotionally stressful situations such as working with victims of abuse or trauma, or with children and young people who engage in self-harming or aggressive behaviour
- Well-developed communication and IT skills
Desirable criteria
Knowledge of factors affecting acceptability and accessibility of mental health care
Experience
Essential criteria
- Experience working with CYP with significant emotional and / or behavioural difficulties
- Experience of working therapeutically with children, young people and their families
- Evidence of continuing professional development
- Experience that supports working with, and addressing issues of, diversity within local communities
Desirable criteria
- Experience working in CAMHS and / or Youth Justice
- Experience of assessment, treatment and risk management of CYP with a range of MH and neuropsychiatric presentations
- Experience of working with and contributing to a multi-disciplinary team
- Lived experience of mental health needs
Qualifications
Essential criteria
- Registered Nurse and / or Allied Professional
- Appropriate and recognised professional registration
Desirable criteria
- Mentorship / supervision training
▶️ Community Mental Health Practitioner
🖊️ South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust
📍 Croydon