Band 5 Assistant Psychologist - Older People In-Patient Units

Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust; Birmingham; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

A mental health trust in the UK is seeking a dedicated professional to support older individuals with dementia and mental health challenges. Your role will involve providing direct clinical services in a supportive, team-oriented environment. Ideal candidates will have experience with mental health issues and be strong communicators, contributing to improving care quality for our clients.

Benefits

Relocation expenses up to £8,000

Comprehensive training program

Supportive multi-disciplinary team

Qualifications

• Experience working with older people with mental health issues.
• Ability to support individuals in distress and manage challenging behavior.
• Knowledge of psychological assessments and care protocols.

Responsibilities

• Support older people with dementia or mental health problems.
• Provide direct clinical services to clients and facilitate access to care.
• Engage in quality improvement projects for patient recovery.

Job description

Overview

We have one post at Reservoir Court in Erdington. This post will support older people with dementia or mental health problems such as depression, psychosis or anxiety who are admitted to our in-patient units. As such people may be in severe distress and there will be exposure to behaviour that challenges. Service users will often have significant co-morbid physical health conditions or care needs. You will be supported by senior psychology staff and by a large and varied multi-disciplinary team who have good relationships between clinical and operational colleagues. You will assist in the provision of direct clinical services to clients, their families and other carers, and facilitate access to evidence informed psychological practice by supporting the use of psychologically informed assessments, protocols, guidelines and procedures by other members of the MDT.

Inpatient services

Our inpatient services are innovative and focused on providing the right care to people in the right place. Clinical staff have a high degree of engagement with quality improvement projects which aim at improving recovery, providing the least restrictive care and facilitating discharge options.

Working for our organisation

Welcome to Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust. Our 4,000 clinical and support staff help us to improve mental health wellbeing and meet the needs of the 70,000 people we serve each year. We provide a range of mental healthcare services across Birmingham and Solihull, as well as specialised services nationally. We also offer medical, nursing and psychology training and are proud of our international reputation for both research and innovation.

Our population is culturally diverse, characterised in places by high levels of deprivation which create an increasing demand for our services and a necessity for us to make sure everyone can access the help they need. We are a team of compassionate, inclusive, and committed people working together to provide excellent care to support our community. If you are looking for a place to belong, where you can make a real difference to people’s lives, join our team where our warm welcome is waiting for you. We highly recommend you submit your application as soon as possible, this post may close earlier than the indicated closing date if a sufficient number of applications are received.

Our Trust is committed to treating individuals fairly and ensuring they have the same opportunities to fulfil their potential, even if this means doing things differently for different people sometimes. We are working hard to ensure our workforce reflects the diversity within Birmingham and Solihull and that our services meet the needs of all diverse service users and carers.

The Trust is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. As part of our safe recruitment practice pre-employment checks will be undertaken before any appointment is confirmed. As part of the selection process you may be required to undergo a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check, however all cases of criminal record history are dealt with on a case by case basis.

Please note, if applicable for your role you will be required to cover the cost of your DBS certificate. This will be deducted from your salary over 3 months. You will also be required to sign up to the DBS Update Service before commencement with the Trust. The Trust will reimburse this. You will be contractually obliged to maintain your subscription.

All successful applicants will be required to complete the Trust's induction programme. The Fundamental (Statutory and Mandatory) training will be in an e-learning format. You will be required to complete training modules online (approx. 9-14 hours depending on post) by the end of your second week with us.

If you are successful at the shortlisting stage of the recruitment process we may contact you via email to advise you of the interview details. Please ensure you access your email account from which you applied regularly once the position has closed.

Eligibility

Applications from job seekers who require sponsorship to work in the United Kingdom (UK) are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. However, please ensure that you check if this role meets the eligibility criteria for sponsorship. Non UK / Republic of Ireland candidates wishing to apply can self-assess the likelihood of obtaining a Certificate of Sponsorship here: Browse: Work in the UK - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). The minimum salary threshold for a Health and Social Care is £25,000 and for the Skilled Worker route is £38,700. If the starting salary for this role is below this, we will not be able to provide sponsorship.

Overseas applicants applying for entry clearance into the UK must present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided in continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Guidance can be found here: Criminal records checks for overseas applicants - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Relocation expenses may be reimbursed subject to eligibility. The policy provides for reimbursement up to £8,000.

Interview information

Interview date: To be confirmed, but likely will be weeks commencing 8th or 15th September 2025. Please note, the interview will be held in person at Reservoir Court, Erdington, Birmingham. If you anticipate you will not be able to attend on this date, or will not be able to attend in person, please contact us before applying to discuss whether alternative arrangements will be possible. If you let us know you cannot attend in person after you have been offered an interview, we may not be able to accommodate this request.