ACD Facilitator

South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust; City of Westminster; On-site; GBP 30,000 - 40,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading mental health service provider in the United Kingdom is seeking an ACD Facilitator to support young people previously detained under the Mental Health Act. This role involves developing best practices for Advance Choice Documents (ACDs), ensuring service users' experiences guide care planning. The ideal candidate has a professional background in healthcare and experience in mental health settings. This position promotes autonomy and collaborative work.

Qualifications

• Professional background in social work, nursing, psychology & psychotherapy, occupational therapy or allied health professions.
• Prior experience working with children and adolescents in mental health settings.
• Sound knowledge of child-care and mental health legislation.
• Willingness and ability to travel between sites in Lambeth, Lewisham, Southwark and Croydon.

Responsibilities

• Lead the development of evidence-based best practice for ACDs.
• Support the implementation of ACDs across CAMHS.
• Work directly with CAMHS service users and carers.

Skills

Professional background in social work, nursing, psychology

Experience working with children and adolescents

Knowledge of child-care and mental health legislation

Job description

Position Summary

The ACD Facilitator will deliver highly specialist interventions to support young people who have previously been detained under the Mental Health Act, working collaboratively with them and their carers to co‑produce Advance Choice Documents. These documents are a vital tool in promoting autonomy, voice, and person‑centred planning in future care.

Responsibilities

• Lead the development of evidence‑based, co‑produced best practice for ACDs in mental health services.
• Support the implementation, accessibility, and use of ACDs across CAMHS.
• Deliver awareness‑raising activities and staff training to embed ACDs into routine practice.
• Work directly with CAMHS service users and carers, ensuring their experiences and preferences are central to care planning.
• Work as an autonomous professional within professional registration body guidelines and codes of conduct, guided by principles and policies of the services, taking responsibility for interpreting relevant Mental Health Legislation within defined parameters.
• Develop and maintain community and inpatient links relevant to service users in the Directorate.
• Contribute to enabling other staff, service users and carers from diverse backgrounds to flourish and build trust in the services they use by creating a culturally appropriate and psychologically safe environment through the co‑production of ACDs.
• Agree outcomes/results with the ACD Clinical Lead and decide how they are best achieved, supporting all reporting requirements for the service.
• Lead on the planning, coordination, delivery and evaluation of high‑quality, evidence‑based ACDs.
• Plan and implement interventions in the event of a relapse, in collaboration with the service user and relevant clinical services to achieve their health and wellbeing goals in the development of their ACD.
• Monitor, evaluate and modify the suitability of the content of the ACD in collaboration with the service user and their clinical services.
• Provide clear leadership and support service users to achieve development of a culturally appropriate ACD reflective of their preferences regarding treatment.
• Work as a member of the multi‑disciplinary team, including the implementation of core decisions with regard to service users’ care and treatment.
• Actively support and educate service users, carers, key supporters and colleagues regarding aspects of Occupational Therapy provision.
• Work with the ACD Clinical Lead to ensure each ACD produced is made accessible within the Trust using agreed procedures.
• Maintain appropriate, up‑to‑date, written and electronic records and activity data in accordance with Professional and Trust standards.
• Collect and report on outcomes required for the ACD implementation, research and Patient and Carer Race Equality Framework (PCREF).
• Provide specialist reports as required.
• Lead on the planning, coordination and delivery of the roll‑out of ACDs across the Directorate.
• Liaise with referrers, GPs and other professionals concerned with the service user to develop and review ACDs.
• Identify staff training needs and develop and deliver training together with the Recovery College.

Qualifications and Experience

• Professional background in social work, nursing, psychology & psychotherapy, occupational therapy or allied health professions.
• Prior experience working with children and adolescents in mental health settings.
• Sound knowledge of child‑care and mental health legislation.
• Willingness and ability to travel between sites in Lambeth, Lewisham, Southwark and Croydon, offering a dynamic and varied working environment.

Diversity and Inclusion Commitment

The Trust is committed to providing services which embrace diversity and that promote equality of opportunity. We are a Disability Confident Employer, welcoming applicants from all sections of the community and people of all protected characteristics. We provide reasonable adjustments for candidates with a disability and are committed to treating people fairly with compassion, respect and dignity and in promoting equality and human rights. We aim to put this commitment into practice by:

• Embedding our commitment to tackling inequality, eliminating discrimination and harassment; promoting equality of opportunity and fostering good relations in our everyday practice.
• Ensuring that all our services and all staff understand and support our commitment.
• Believing that people who use our services, their carers and our staff, should be treated with compassion, respect and dignity.

Application Notes

• All applications for this post will need to be made online.
• You should read and understand the Job Description and Person Specification attached to the role. Your Statement in Support should reflect the requirements specified as your application will be judged against these criteria.
• The closing date listed is a guide only and the vacancy may close earlier should a sufficient number of applicants have been received. We advise that you submit your application as early as possible.
• Once you have submitted your application you agree to your application being transferred to a 3rd party e‑recruitment system. All subsequent information regarding your application will be generated from apps.trac.jobs.
• Should you not have heard from us within three weeks from the closing date your application has not been successful.
• Priority consideration for applications may be given to at‑risk NHS employees.
• Should you be successful and appointed, you authorise South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust to confirm your previous NHS service via an Inter Authority Transfer (IAT) process.
• We are a smoke‑free Trust.

Helpful Resource

How to Use TRAC for Job Applications – detailed guide on how to use TRAC effectively throughout the application process.

About South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust (SLaM)

South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust is a leader in specialist mental health and substance misuse services across London, including Croydon, Lambeth, Lewisham, Southwark, Bexley, Bromley, Greenwich, Wandsworth and Richmond. We deliver high‑quality care, supported by the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience (IoPPN), King's College London and the King's Health Partners Academic Health Sciences Centre. Our recent five‑year strategy, Aiming High; Changing Lives, has guided our improvement journey, and our Care Quality Commission rating remains 'good'. The Trust recognises the unique and valuable contribution that people with lived experience of mental illness bring to a role, welcoming such applicants as an asset.

Values

We take pride in providing specialist care where our Trust values and promise to be caring, kind, polite, prompt, honest, listen and do what I say I'm going to do are at the heart of everything we do. As a Trust we are happy to talk flexible working.