Parent Infant Therapist -Recruit to train

We have three main hospitals providing acute services to around 330,000 local residents. The organisation also provides specialist tertiary care for cardiac and haematology services, delivers community health services to over 445,000 residents including those in North Lancashire and hosts the National Artificial Eye Service across England. Plus, we provide urgent and emergency care services to an estimated 18 million people who visit the seaside resort each year. We employ over 7000 people from 68 different countries.
We welcome and encourage application from anyone with protected characteristics, as well as supporting reservists and Veterans who are looking for a rewarding and challenging career within the NHS.
Blackpool Teaching Hospitals encourages flexible working in all our roles to support staff in maintaining healthy home-life balance. Working patterns such as: part time working, self-rostering, compressed hours, annualised hours, term time, reverse term time and flexitime working can be explored., As part of the service Hub and Spoke model, the successful applicants will work with families predominately in the Blackburn with Darwen area. However, you may be required to work in any other locations across the ICB footprint., This intensive training post will equip the post holder to provide interventions based on CYP Psychological Trainings core principles and evidence-based approaches for parents and their infants who are experiencing common mental health and relationship difficulties. You will receive regular workplace clinical supervision.
Successful applicants will attend the course teaching 1 day a week and 1/2 day Video Interaction Guidance (VIG) supervision, and will work in the service for the remaining days of the week using your newly developed skills to ensure you gain the necessary clinical practice hours to fulfil the academic programme.
The course provides high quality training in the key skills required to be an evidence-based practitioner working with 0 - 2s. There will be opportunity to gain clinical experience in VIG as an attachment-based intervention when working with infants and children aged 0 - 2 years and their parents/carers. Successful applicants will work towards becoming a VIG Accredited Practitioner by the end of the course. The course will provide model specific supervision in VIG as well as teaching on both VIG skills-based workshops and evidence-based theory and literature relating to supporting the emotional wellbeing and mental health of 0-2s and their parents/carers. There will also be regular workplace clinical supervision.

Working for our organisation
Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is part of the Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care System (LSCICS) supporting a population of around 1.6 million people.
Blackpool Parent-Infant relationship team are excited to be expanding their team and inviting applications from passionate and enthusiastic people who want to make a real difference to families lives. We want to appoint someone who has the passion and drive to keep the voice of the infant at the heart of the early years provision. The team is multi disciplinary and led by a Clinical Consultant Psychologist, the posts with be based in Blackburn with Darwen Family Hubs and will work in an integrated way with other local professionals.
Following successful completion of the course, the fixed term training contract will end. However, applicants will be encouraged to apply for suitable Band 7 vacant posts within the service and will be provided with support and advice in job applications., 1. To ensure high quality specialist parent infant relationship mental health assessment and interventions of babies, preschool children and their families.
2. To provide or provide access to a range of quality psychotherapeutic interventions in accordance with individual assessed need. This will include the planning implementation and evaluation of a variety of therapeutic approaches either alone or as a member of the MDT.
3. To deliver therapeutic input to parents and infants referred to the team.
4. To work as a co-therapist where appropriate with other members of the team
5. To be responsible for and manage a defined caseload and undertake case management responsibilities within the caseload.
6. To identify and develop strategies to manage risk to the infant and others in line with Blackpool Teaching Hospitals and perinatal and infant mental health procedures and protocols.
7. To initiate and build working relationships with infants, children, parents, carers and families who are referred to the service from across Blackburn with Darwen area.
8. To liaise closely with a wide range of agencies regarding individual care packages and to promote awareness of parent-infant mental health issues with these agencies.
9. To undertake liaison and joint work with professionals outside the MDT.
10. To provide consultation and training on a wide range of parent-infant emotional health and well-being issues to professionals from a range of services including GPs, Early Help and Primary Care services, adult mental health services, and perinatal services.
11. You will be trained to deliver VIG (Video Interaction Guidance to promote Positive Sensitive Parenting) with parents and infants showing signs of attachment difficulties. This intervention is for supporting parents to develop more attuned parenting in the context of difficulties in the parent-infant relationship. You will be assessed through written case reports, keeping a log of your clinical practice and submitting recordings of your practice with written reflections based on these.
12. To attend multi-disciplinary meetings relating to referrals or clients in treatment, where appropriate.
13. To complete all requirements relating to data collection within the service.
14. To routinely monitor effectiveness of clinical work by use of Routine Outcome Measures and where outcomes are not improving for children and families to engage in peer review meetings and supervision.
15. To take part in the PaIRS service duty rota in order to provide urgent triage of parents and infants in line with Blackpool Teaching Hospitals Trust care protocols to advise other professionals regarding risk and work with them to develop a plan of care for the parent and infant.
16. To engage in/ deliver managerial and clinical supervision, including with appropriate consent, recording and reviewing of live clinical work.
17. To keep coherent records of all clinical activity in line with service protocols and use these records and clinical outcome data in clinical decision making.
Personal
1. To identify own Continuing Professional and Personal Development needs with the Clinical Lead and/or Clinical Supervisor.
2. To maintain a current professional portfolio and participate on programmes of personal development and training, which will be identified as part of the individual performance and development review.
3. To maintain all professional registration requirements.

General
1. To contribute to the development of best practice within the service.
2. To maintain up-to-date knowledge of legislation, national and local policies and procedures in relation to Mental Health and Primary Care Services.
3. All employees have a duty and responsibility for their own health and safety and the health of safety of colleagues, patients and the general public.
4. It is the responsibility of all staff that they do not abuse their official position for personal gain, to seek advantage of further private business or other interests in the course of their official duties.
5. To attend team, clinical, business and other meetings as required
6. To manage own workload and time effectively.
7. To undertake accurate record keeping.
8. To participate in the development of education and training programmes.
9. To undertake any other reasonable duty, which is appropriate to the band, when requested by Senior staff.
Additional information
1. Attend and fulfil all the requirements of the training element of the post including practical, academic and practice-based assessments.
2. Apply learning from the training programme in practice
3. Prepare and present clinical information for all patients on their caseload to clinical case management supervisors within the service on an agreed and scheduled basis, to ensure safe practice and the clinical governance obligations of the worker, supervisor and service are delivered.
4. Receive supervision from educational providers in relation to course work to meet the required standards.
5. Respond to and implement supervision suggestions by supervisors in clinical practice.
6. Engage in and respond to personal development supervision to improve competences and clinical practice.
8. Engage in service user participation as appropriate
This job description is not exhaustive but is intended to give an overall picture of the role. Other duties within the general scope of the post may be required from time to time.
GENERAL REQUIREMENTS
1. Quality
Each member of staff is required to ensure that:
a) The patient and customer are always put first;
b) That in all issues, the patient/customer requirements are met and all staff contribute fully to achieving the Trust's corporate goals and objectives;
c) That all staff hold themselves personally responsible for the quality of their work and therefore seek to attain the highest standards achievable within their knowledge, skills and resources available to them in furtherance of the Trust's Vision and in embedding the organisation's Values.
2. Confidentiality
Each member of the Trust's staff is responsible for ensuring the confidentiality of any information relating to patients and for complying with all the requirements of the Data Protection Act whilst carrying out the duties of the post. Any breaches in confidentiality will be dealt with by the Trust Disciplinary Procedure and may result in dismissal.
3. Data Protection/Freedom of Information Acts
Carry out any requirements within the duties applicable to the Data Protection Act, 1998 and the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
4. Health and Safety
Each member of the Trust's staff is responsible for ensuring that they carry out the duties of their post in accordance with all appropriate Health and Safety legislation (Health & Safety at Work Act 1974), guidance and procedures and they do not, by any act or omission on their part, create a threat to the Health and Safety of any other person.
5. Equality & Diversity
It is the responsibility of all employees to support the Trust's vision of promoting a positive approach to diversity and equality of opportunity, to eliminate discrimination and disadvantage in service delivery and employment, and to manage, support or comply through the implementation of the Trust's Equality and Diversity Strategies and Policies.
6. Working Time Directive
You are required to comply with the regulations governing working time and to any locally agreed associated arrangements.
7. Harassment & Bullying
The Trust condemns all forms of harassment and bullying and is actively seeking to promote a work place where employees are treated with dignity, respect and without bias.
8. External Interests
Each member of the Trust's staff is responsible for ensuring that any external interest they have does not conflict with the duties of their posts and they must disclose the external interest if this is likely to occur, or if they are in any doubt about a possible conflict of interest
9. Mandatory Training
Each member of the Trust's staff has a statutory obligation to attend mandatory training. It is the responsibility of each member of staff to ensure that they comply with this legal requirement.
10. Flexibility
This job description is intended to act as a flexible guide to the duties of the post and therefore will require revision in consultation with the post holder to reflect the changing requirements of the post, to enable the Trust to achieve its corporate goals and objectives.
11. Smoke-free Policy
In line with the Department of Health guidelines, the Trust operates a strict smoke-free policy.
12. Safeguarding
The Trust are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expect all staff and volunteers to share its commitment.
Rigorous recruitment checks are carried out on successful applicants who will be required to undertake Enhanced Disclosure via the DBS.
13. Sustainability
The Trust will have positive and engaged staff who believe in the value of sustainability and are enabled to deliver it. We will be recognised as delivering excellent social value by our place-based partners. We will reduce our environmental impact, protect our natural environment, and ensure we deliver compassionate and sustainable healthcare. We will improve the health and wellbeing of all who live and work within the Fylde Coast communities we serve.

Applicants must be able to start the Post Graduate training programme taught academic dates in January 2025 and commit to attendance at all university based taught and self-study days required by Manchester University - for more information please visit Postgraduate Certificate in Working With the 0-2 Age Group Pathway | Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS FT (gmmh.nhs.uk).
Applicants should have a minimum of 2 years of working in a core profession in Infant Mental Health/Early Years/Family work and should have an undergraduate degree or equivalent (Level 6). The teaching offer will be a blended approach with teaching consisting of both face-to-face delivery and online teaching.

Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is situated on the west coast of Lancashire, with services covering the local authority areas of Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre. The Trust is part of the Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care System (ICS) supporting a population of around 1.6 million people.

If the role you have applied for requires a Disclosure and Barring Services (DBS) check we will administer this as part of your pre-employment checks. Please note, you will be required to repay the cost on appointment. This will be collected via a salary deduction. You can choose whether to pay this over 1-3 months from your salary or as a one-off payment on commencement in post. The level of check required depends on the role that you have been offered. Currently the charges are - Basic DBS check £22.00, Standard DBS check £22.00 and Enhanced DBS check £42.00.
You are encouraged where possible, to register for the DBS update service. This is an annual registration fee of £13. By registering for the update service you will not have the additional cost of repeated disclosures.
Should you withdraw your application, you may be required to reimburse the cost of the DBS check.
DBS checks remain free of charge for volunteer positions.
By submitting an application for this vacancy you are confirming your agreement to the above in the event you are successfully appointed.
The DBS Code of Practice can be accessed here.
Please ensure that you read the Person Specification attached below as your application will be judged against this.
Please note that every effort will be made to keep the vacancy live until published closing date, though there may be instances where such interest is generated, that for administrative reasons the post may close earlier.
Please note that in line with national NHS guidelines this Trust operates a strict non-smoking policy. Members of staff are not permitted to smoke on Trust premises or grounds at any time nor take breaks during working hours for the purposes of smoking.
The Trust does not offer interview expenses to shortlisted candidates unless indicated in the advert.