Assistant Psychologist

Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust; Colchester; On-site; GBP 25,000 - 35,000; Full time

Job summary

Join a forward-thinking health service provider as an Assistant Psychologist, where you'll have the unique opportunity to work in neuropsychology and dementia care. This role is perfect for psychology graduates eager to enhance their skills in a supportive environment. You'll be involved in service evaluations and neuropsychological assessments, contributing to the care of individuals with cognitive impairments. With a focus on professional development, you will receive excellent training and support from experienced Clinical Psychologists. This position not only offers a chance to make a real difference in people's lives but also fosters a collaborative culture that values care and empowerment.

Benefits

Season Ticket Loans

NHS Discounts for Staff

Excellent Training Facilities

Buying and Selling Annual Leave Scheme

Flexible Working Options

Salary Sacrifice Schemes

Qualifications

• Degree in Psychology with a strong interest in neuropsychology.
• Experience in healthcare settings and team collaboration.

Responsibilities

• Conduct neuropsychological assessments under supervision.
• Support psychological care and facilitate group interventions.
• Engage in service evaluation and data collection.

Skills

Neuropsychology

Dementia Care

Clinical Health Psychology

Data Collection and Analysis

Team Collaboration

Education

Degree in Psychology (2:1 or higher)

Postgraduate study in a relevant area

Tools

Statistical Software

Job description

EPUT provides community health, mental health, and learning disability services to support more than 3.2 million people living across Bedfordshire, Essex, and Suffolk. Also:

• We are among the largest employers in the East of England region, with more than 10,000 staff working across more than 200 sites.
• We run the COVID-19 vaccination programme across mid and south Essex and Suffolk and north east Essex.

EPUT was formed on 1 April 2017 following the merger of North Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (NEP) and South Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (SEPT). A new leadership team was established at the Trust in 2020.

Our vision and values

Our Vision

“To be the leading health and wellbeing service in the provision of mental health and community care”.

Our Purpose

“We care for people every day. What we do together, matters”.

Our Values

• We Care
• We Empower

Our strategic objectives

• We will deliver safe, high-quality integrated care services.
• We will enable each other to be the best that we can.
• We will work together with our partners to make our services better.
• We will help our communities to thrive.

Our services

• Mental Health Services
• Community Health Services
• Learning Disabilities Services
• Social Care

Job overview

We are seeking to recruit a psychology graduate with an interest in neuropsychology, dementia care, and clinical health psychology for a full-time assistant psychologist post. The post is fixed term for 24 months, offering an excellent opportunity to develop knowledge and skills across these specialties, alongside experience of group work and service evaluation.

This advert will close early should we receive a high number of applications.

Main duties of the job

For the first 3 months, the post will be split between the Critical Care Unit (CCU) Psychology Service at Colchester and Ipswich Hospitals (Mon-Thurs) and the Memory Assessment Service at The King’s Wood Centre (Fri). The CCU role will focus on a service evaluation project, collecting data and outcomes. Thereafter, the role will be entirely based in the Memory Assessment Service. You will support and enhance the psychological care of service users, completing neuropsychological assessments and co-facilitating group interventions under the supervision of a qualified Clinical Psychologist.

Working for our organisation

EPUT are looking for motivated staff who share our Trust values of Care, Learn, and Empower. In return, EPUT can offer you a range of benefits and development including;

• Season Ticket Loans
• NHS discounts for staff
• Excellent Training facilities and opportunities
• Buying and Selling annual leave scheme
• The opportunity to work bank shifts and expand knowledge and experience in other areas
• Salary Sacrifice schemes including lease cars and Cycle to Work
• Day One Flexible Employer

The Trust supports and actively encourages flexible working for all employees. We offer many options and you are encouraged to ask the recruiting manager what is possible for this role. If appointed, you will have the opportunity to apply for a flexible working request from the first day of your employment.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• Service evaluation and audit via data collection, maintenance of databases, and analysis of patient-reported outcome measures and service user feedback.
• Completion of neuropsychological assessments contributing to the differential diagnosis of dementia in the Memory Assessment Service under close supervision. This will include test administration, interpretation, report writing, and providing feedback to service users and their families.
• Co-facilitation of the psycho-education group for people with Mild Cognitive Impairment.
• To ensure the maintenance of accurate and timely documentation/records on all service users in line with professional code and Trust policy.
• To liaise with staff in a variety of settings, ensuring that teams can respond effectively and efficiently to the needs of people with cognitive impairment or dementia in their care.
• To attend MDT meetings when required to provide input and contribute to care plans.
• To assist in the continuing development of a high-quality service that is underpinned by evidence-based practice, NICE guidance, and MSNAP accredited care standards.
• To participate in weekly supervision with a qualified Clinical Psychologist.

Person specification

Education

• Degree in Psychology 2:1 or higher
• Postgraduate study in a relevant area

Experience

• Experience of working in a healthcare setting
• Experience of working in a team
• Experience of involvement with research/audit/service evaluation/data collection
• Experience of working in any capacity with older people, people with dementia, and people with long-term health conditions

Please note - staff who are formally at risk within the organisation will be given priority in securing alternative employment. Should it come to light that a post being advertised by the Trust is considered ‘suitable alternative employment’ to an individual who is at risk, the recruiting manager will be advised and the post will be withdrawn from NHS Jobs.

Important Professional References

Make sure that as a part of your application you have professional references with business contract information covering your last three years of employment history. We are unable to accept personal or character references.

As a newly appointed employee, you are responsible for incurring the cost of your initial DBS check relevant to your post, the amount will be deducted from your first salary with the Trust.

Applications for Job Share are positively welcomed.

Our Trust is an Equal Opportunities Employer. We particularly welcome applications from people with experience of using mental health services. We also hold the Disability two tick symbol and have made the pledge to commit to employing more people with learning disabilities; we encourage people with a disability to apply. If you require this application form in another format i.e. Braille or audio tape etc, please contact the Recruitment Department on 01375 364513 or email [e-mail] and we can arrange for this to be dispatched to you.

The Trust has the right to expire vacancies prior to the closing date if they so wish. The Trust makes every attempt to contact all applicants and we strongly advise that you check the email account which is registered with NHS Jobs regularly; we would advise however due to the high number of applications we receive that if you have not heard from us within three weeks of the closing date your application has been unsuccessful on this occasion.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people, and vulnerable adults, and expect all staff to undertake this commitment. Applicants will be subject to robust safer recruitment processes.

Although Covid vaccinations are no longer a mandatory requirement within the NHS, we continue to encourage and support the vaccination uptake as this remains the best line of defence against Covid19. The safety of our staff and patients is a top priority for us at EPUT.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Come and work at EPUT and make a difference in people’s lives.