Clinical Lead

Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust; Winwick; On-site; GBP 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust is seeking a Clinical Lead for the First Response Service, covering urgent triage and assessments across a wide geographic footprint. The post holder will provide clinical leadership, supervise junior staff, and ensure services operate safely 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in a flexible pattern across weekdays, weekends, and nights.

With a focus on safeguarding and adherence to Mental Health Act requirements, the role involves risk management, care planning, and

Qualifications

• Registered clinician with professional registration and current practice requirements.
• Experience in leadership and delivery of 24/7 urgent mental health services.
• Knowledge of safeguarding, Mental Health Act and related legislation.

Responsibilities

• Provide clinical leadership for the First Response Service and on a shift basis across a 24/7 operation.
• Oversee risk screening, care planning and delivery of high-quality, safe care.
• Ensure accurate documentation and governance in line with Trust policies.
• Provide education, supervision and development for junior staff within the team.
• Coordinate care across multiple settings and liaise with family members and carers as appropriate.

Skills

Clinical leadership

Risk assessment

Staff supervision

Multi-disciplinary collaboration

Education

Registered mental health professional

Job description

The First Response Service is providing an exciting opportunity for a clinical lead to join the Mid team.

The First Response Service operates on a 24/7 basis, providing support to service users across Liverpool, Sefton, Warrington, St Helen's, Halton & Knowsley, delivering urgent triage and assessments for those in mental health crisis. They also provide face-to-face urgent assessments for patients across this geographical footprint.

The post holder will be expected to work flexibly across weekdays, weekends and nights in accordance with service need.

The post holder will hold overall clinical leadership responsibility for the team and on a shift basis (covering a service operating 24 hours a day 7 days a week). They will be responsible for the overall standards which will include assessment of need, risk screening and delivery of care in line with e organisations policy and procedures.

The post holder will work to ensure continuity of care for service users on their journey through the service. The post holder will be multi-skilled and adaptable and be expected to be flexible in terms of delivering care within a variety of settings.

The post holder will be a part of and work closely with the Clinical / Operational Leadership Team to ensure effective and safe services. The post holder will ensure effective communication and provide sound clinical supervision to junior staff.

The post holder will provide appropriate education within the team and wider health economy in line with Key Performance Targets and identified need.

The post holder will support the development of a skilled and flexible workforce within the First Response Service, ensuring staff are supported in developing and maintaining appropriate level of skills.

Mersey Care is one of the largest trusts providing physical health and mental health services in the North West, serving more than 1.4 million people across our region and are also commissioned for services that cover the North West, North Wales and the Midlands.

We offer specialist inpatient and community services that support physical and mental health and specialist inpatient mental health, learning disability, addiction and brain injury services. Mersey Care is one of only three trusts in the UK that offer high secure mental health facilities.

At the heart of all we do is our commitment to 'perfect care' - care that is safe, effective, positively experienced, timely, equitable and efficient. We support our staff to do the best job they can and work alongside service users, their families, and carers to design and develop future services together. We're currently delivering a programme of organisational and service transformation to significantly improve the quality of the services we provide and safely reduce cost as we do so.

Flexible working requests will be considered for all roles.

To coordinate the care of service users; carrying out assessments, evaluation and safety planning for their own clients and engaging in safety huddles with the wider team.

To ensure that the service users care plan is developed to meet the assessed need of the individual and that unqualified staff are delivering care as identified in the care plan.

To liaise with family members, carers and significant others when completing the assessment and developing a care plan.

To undertake and supervise risk assessments and formulation of risk management plan for service users under your care, taking note of the contributions from other members of the team, family members carers and significant others.

To ensure Safeguarding Children and Adults requirements are followed and participate in meetings as appropriate.

To support unqualified staff to ensure delivery of a high standard of care to service users.

To participate in setting standards for care based on sound evidence based and research findings.

To communicate to other members of the multi-disciplinary team information which has an impact on the service user's care.

To use verbal and non-verbal communication skills gained through training or experience to impart sensitive information.

To check understanding of information where there are barriers to effective communications.

To give and receive accurate up-to-date information regarding service users' care in reviews and multi-disciplinary meetings etc. These reviews may be external to the trust.

To have accurate and up-to-date knowledge of the Mental Health Act / Mental Capacity Act and other relevant legislation.

To ensure that all relevant information with regards to a service users care and treatment is documented accurately and legibly into the health record. To supervise and monitor the entries made by unqualified staff.

To ensure that all incidents or near misses are documented as per trust policy and that any follow up action is taken.

To react pro-actively in cases of service user crisis and put in place immediate plans to resolve the situation with supervision and guidance as appropriate.

To actively participate in team meetings, development and reflective practice., To be responsible for maintaining relevant professional registration and PREP requirements.

To participate in ongoing learning to maintain and develop practice utilising CPD, self directed learning reflective practice coaching mentorship clinical supervision and performance management in the interests and needs of yourself and the service.

To provide an effective link between mental health services and primary care, acting in an advisory capacity to professionals in other fields.

To develop effective working relationships with other professional outside of the Trust to enhance the delivery of care to service users.

To participate as a supervisor and supervisee in the Divisional performance management / supervision framework.

To take responsibility for maintaining and developing own knowledge and sills within own area of work.

To attend, as appropriate, courses and conferences, and to feedback and share knowledge, gained from attendance.

To be professionally accountable for own actions as a registered practitioner.

To act, always, in accordance with trust policies and procedures, ensuring that unqualified staff are adhering to policy and procedure.

To undertake mandatory training as identified by the Trust and Division to ensure that all actions are in line with training.

To keep up to date with developments in professional practice and make recommendations for change to senior staff, as appropriate.