Liaison Psychologist

We are looking to recruit a motivated clinical psychologist to join the Clinical Health Psychology service. This is a new post in Liaison Psychology, joining a team of over 20 psychologists specialising in physical health psychology including specialities in Bariatric Surgery, Burns, HIV & Sexual Health, Intensive Care, Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Pain and Staff Psychology. The Liaison Psychology post represents an opportunity to work in Chelsea & Westminster Hospital, with people with complex mental health needs. There is a supportive Liaison Psychiatry service, who very much welcome this role. There will be a psychoeducation aspect to the role, fostering a psychologically informed approach for staff working with people in the hospital. We intend to develop a follow-up clinic for outpatient therapy. The Clinical Health Psychology service has a strong commitment to embedding core values of equity, diversity and inclusion at the core of our work. We are committed to improving access to services for all. CNWL has a wide range of CPD options, including with Contextual Consulting amongst other providers. The team regularly hosts trainees from the North Thames Doctoral courses. The postholder will be supported to develop their career and flourish as a valued member of the psychology staff group., This is a newly created post, welcomed by the Liaison Psychiatry team, as well as the wider Clinical Health Psychology service. The role will be on site at Chelsea & Westminster Hospital and the South Kensington Mental Health Centre. Hybrid models of working could be explored. The postholder will provide specialist psychological assessment and brief therapeutic interventions in the acute setting. The postholder will offer advice and consultation on service users' psychological care. Clinical responsibilities include provision of highly specialised psychological assessments and interventions for service users and specialist consultation for psychiatric and hospital based staff. The postholder will be responsible for systematic governance of psychological practice within Liaison Psychology, with support from the Senior Leadership Team. Psychoeducation will be a key component, including leading on engaging hospital based staff with education of how to deliver psychologically informed care in the acute setting. The postholder will contribute to enabling other staff, service users and carers from diverse backgrounds to flourish by working to create a psychologically safe environment. The postholder will utilise research skills for audit, policy and service development and research within the areas served by the team/service. The post holder will work autonomously within BPS and HCPC guidelines and codes of conduct, and Trust policies.Working for our organisation Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust (CNWL) is a great place to work for Psychological Professions. As a Trust, we are committed to investing in our staff through a range of initiatives, both profession-specific and organisation wide. We have partnered with Bespoke and Contextual Consulting to provide some of the profession specific CPD, alongside additional CPD sessions we commission as part of CNWL CPD programme for Psychological Professions. CNWL also has seven established staff networks supporting a range of individual needs. The successful applicant may have contact with patients or service users. As an NHS Trust we strongly encourage and support vaccination as this remains the best way to protect yourself, your family, your colleagues and of course patients and service users when working on our healthcare settings.,

• To provide highly specialist psychological assessments, formulations and interventions for clients under the care of the Liaison Psychiatry service, often in busy departments, such as Accident and Emergency.
• To provide brief psychological interventions with distressed service users, whilst waiting for allocation of an admission bed.
• 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, including supporting the ward based team to implement effective safety planning.
• To provide limited outpatient follow-up for service users attending Accident and Emergency, who might benefit from a more detailed psychological assessment and brief therapeutic interventions.
• To communicate in a skilled and sensitive manner, information concerning the assessment, formulation and treatment plans of clients under their care and to monitor progress during the course of both uni- and multi-disciplinary care.
Contributing to team or service clinical functioning
• To contribute to the effective working of the team or service 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, including drawing on formulation skills.
• 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.
Policy and service development
• To implement policies and procedures in own area of work, and to propose improvements or beneficial changes.
• To contribute to service development through undertaking and participating in appropriate projects.
• To contribute to the consultation and engagement of service users in planning and delivering services which meet the needs of local communities.
Management and supervision
• To potentially supervise trainee psychologists within own area of specialism.
• To provide supervision for the psychological work of other multi-disciplinary staff as appropriate.
Teaching and Training
• To co-design with inpatient teams a psychoeducation package for ward based teams, on how to embed psychologically informed and trauma informed care. This could include a range of psychological areas, according to clinical need.
• To contribute to the development of the knowledge and skills base within the Liaison Psychiatry service by maintaining an active awareness of current developments in psychology and acute mental health, and by implementing knowledge gained in practice.
• To disseminate research and service evaluation findings through presentations and published articles.
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.
Research and development
• To initiate, undertake, support and supervise regular complex service evaluation and audits.
• To develop a highly specialist follow-up clinic for service users presenting to Accident & Emergency.
• To provide expertise in a specialist research area which will contribute to the Liaison Psychiatry service.
• To initiate and implement the development of outcome measurement and assessment and assist other staff in the implementation of same.
Maintaining professional standards and continuing professional development
• To receive regular clinical and professional supervision from a more senior psychologist according to HCPC 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'.
• 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.
• To adhere to the BPS's Professional Practice Guidelines and Trust policies and procedures.
Full Job Description and Person Specification are available in the advert. CNWL (Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust) has almost 8,000 staff providing integrated healthcare to a third of London's population, Milton Keynes and areas beyond. We involve service users, carers, the public, staff and partner organisations in the way that we are run. Our catchment area spans diverse communities, with over 100 first languages spoken. It contains areas of great affluence as well as areas of much deprivation. We are committed to providing services that meet the needs of the people who use them, and we actively encourage involvement from local people who can help make a difference. We're proud of our diversity and we continue to undertake new initiatives to advance equality for LGBT+, BME and people with disabilities to promote good relations and understanding between our staff. We are recognised locally, nationally and internationally for providing high quality, innovative healthcare. We aim to employ only the best people, and our experts are frequently called upon to contribute to national health strategy and policy, and many models of our care have been adapted for use in other countries.

We offer a generous relocation package (subject to eligibility assessment) and flexible working options, including bank assignments for most roles. For more information on these and other benefits of working for us, see our Benefits, Reward and Wellbeing page Become part of our team. We care for you as much as you care for others. CNWL NHS Foundation Trust are committed to safeguarding all children and vulnerable adults and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. We follow safe recruitment practices to protect children and vulnerable adults. Due to the high response levels we receive for some vacancies, we may expire any of them prior to the advertised closing date and advise you to submit your application as soon as possible. Our Agenda for Change employment contracts are subject to a contractual 13 week probationary period. If you are offered a job, information will be transferred into the national NHS Electronic Staff Records system.