Community Psychiatric Nurse

NHS; Croydon; On-site; GBP 42,000 - 51,000; Full time

Job summary

Join the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust as a Community Psychiatric Nurse. This unique role focuses on providing specialist care to adults with learning disabilities and mental health needs, ensuring safe transitions from hospital to community settings. As part of a dedicated multi-disciplinary team, you will oversee care plans, conduct assessments, and support both service users and junior staff. This position offers an opportunity to make a significant impact on patient care within a well-regarded trust.

Qualifications

• Experience working with adults with learning disabilities and mental health needs.
• Sound knowledge of current issues in mental health care.
• Experience providing clinical supervision.

Responsibilities

• Provide specialist nursing input for adults with learning disabilities.
• Manage a defined caseload and coordinate care with MDT.
• Conduct risk assessments and implement care plans.

Skills

Crisis management

Assessment skills

Multi-disciplinary teamwork

Education

oRNLD, RMN or RNMH

Evidence of continued professional development

Job description

Go back South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust

Community Psychiatric Nurse

The closing date is 19 June 2025

This is an exciting and unique opportunity to join the newly developed Forensic Intellectual and Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (FIND) Community Team in South London and Maudsley (SLaM).

The FIND Team will provide safe transition for inpatients discharged from the inpatient Forensic Services to the community providing specialist assessment, treatment and consultation to the Forensic Service in order to ensure a smooth, safe and clinically justified pathway to individuals with mental illness, offending history and learning disability with or without neurodevelopmental disorder.

The three forensic services of SLaM, South West London and St Georges( SWLSTG), and Oxleas together comprise the South London Mental Health and Community Partnership (SLP). The SLP's overarching goals centre on bringing care closer to home, improving patient pathways and outcomes by delivering excellent care in better environments. The SLP has a track record of delivering highly effective, clinically informed service developments in order to better meet the needs of service-users. The FIND provision is one such development and the SLaM FIND Team will therefore work closely with the FIND Teams in each of the other Trusts in order to expedite service-user's transition through inpatient settings to community provision.

Main duties of the job

The postholder will have oversight of a small caseload managed in partnership with the Multi-Disciplinary team (MDT). The MDT team is a team of multi professionals with specialist skills and experience with the client group. This will include clinical assessment, treatment, planning, implementation and monitoring of outcomes. The post holder will carry out nursing procedures to a standard that ensures safe and effective care and complies with The Nursing and Midwifery Council's Code of Professional Conduct. The post holder will clinically supervise and appraise junior staff and students. There will be an expectation that the post holder will facilitate user involvement in all aspects of service delivery.

The postholder will oversee and provide assessment, planning, implementation and evaluation to people on their caseload within a variety of settings, and ensure records associated with this process are maintained. The post holder will carry out risk assessments for people on their caseload for example, work with the FIND Team Lead and MDT to manage these situations effectively. The role will also involve an opportunity to provide support, training and advice for junior team members and/or Trainee nursing students.

About us

South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust has a rich history, well-established community links and an international reputation. We deliver specialist services in the London boroughs of Croydon, Lambeth, Lewisham and Southwark.

We are committed to provide a high quality and specialist care to our service users and we are recognised for our care and treatment we provide. The Care Quality Commission already rates our services as 'good'.

We launched our five-year strategy, Aiming High; Changing Lives in 2021 together with Our Care Improvement System as our quality management system methodology to make a positive impact on patient care, outcomes and staff experience. By joining SLaM, all staff will get the opportunity to be part of this exciting improvement journey supported with learning and development to harness everyone's potential as change makers.

The trust recognises the unique and valuable contribution that people with lived experience of mental illness can bring to a role. We therefore welcome applications from people with lived experience and consider them as an asset to the Trust.

Job responsibilities

Key Responsibilities:

1) To provide specialist nursing input for adults with a diagnosis of a learning disability (LD) and/or Autism (ASD) who also experience additional mental illness, co-morbid neurodevelopmental conditions, or behaviours which challenge and who have had contact with forensic services. This will include assessment, including risk, planning and implementing care and interventions and evaluating in conjunction with the service user, the carer, MDT and other agencies.

2) Provide specialist knowledge on forensic mental health across all SLaM boroughs through active follow up of a defined caseload as well as providing expert advice and consultation e.g. CMHT's, Community LD teams, Community Forensic mental health teams, courts, police liaison meetings, probation and mental health hostels.

3) To liaise with, advise and support carers, community based mental health workers, inpatient services, support workers and primary healthcare team members. To liaise effectively with all concerned parties including GPs about CPAs, management, possible risks and contingency strategies for service users.

4) To work effectively within a multi-disciplinary context whilst maintaining the unique perspective and contribution of mental health and learning disability nursing.

5) Ensure that all service users have documented service/care plans which are reviewed and evaluated on a regular basis and that service users have copies of their care plans.

6) Manage a caseload of enhanced CPA clients acting as a care co-ordinator. Attending clinical meetings, CPN meetings, referral meetings, professional meetings as appropriate to the service user.

7) To mentor allocated RMN/RNLD student nurses and joint practitioner students. To participate in the induction of new team members.

8) To maintain accurate user documentation, establishing priorities, organising time and resources to ensure safe and effective standards to monitor/document care.

9) To actively participate in the setting, monitoring and maintenance of evidence based nursing practice and standards of care, through nursing research and clinical audits.

10) Through regular appraisal and supervision, review, maintain and promote your own professional development. Undertake regular supervision of own case load with team leader or other identified professional and ensure this is accurately recorded.

11) To act as an accountable professional in line with the NMC code of Professional Conduct and with relevant legislation

Person Specification

Qualifications

• oRNLD, RMN or RNMH .
• oExperience of working in a multidisciplinary team.
• oEvidence of continued professional development.
• oExperience of working with adults with a learning disability and mental health or behavioural needs
• oExperience of Forensic services
• oPositive behaviour support
• oPsycho-social interventions
• oEvidence based Quality Improvement/Research
• oAutonomous/lone working
• oManaging a caseload
• oCrisis management

Experience

• oExperience of working with this client group at Band 5/6 or above.
• oSound knowledge of current issues in the care of people with mental health problems who have learning disability and/or ASD
• oExperience of Forensic inpatient or community services.
• oExperience of providing clinical supervision to nursing staff and students.
• oExperience of working as part of a multidisciplinary team
• oExperience of working with families and carers.
• oPsycho-social interventions

Knowledge / Skills

• oSound knowledge of philosophies and models commonly in used in forensic, learning disability, ASD and mental health fields.
• oUp to date knowledge of DIALOG, CPA and the Mental Health Act 1983, Mental Capacity Act, Human Rights Act and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards.
• oWorking knowledge of community care legislation and its relevance for the care of people with mental health problems and intellectual disabilities
• oDealing with complex clinical cases
• oExperience of nursing assessment
• oExperience of safe guarding management

Communication Skills

• oAbility to communicate to a high standard both verbally and in writing that is simultaneously accessible to people with a learning disability and their family and carers and to professionals.
• oExperience of communicating with other staff and agencies at a variety of levels.
• oAbility to be flexible in communication strategies used.
• oEvidence of commitment to multidisciplinary work, and recognition of role of good communication in effective team work
• oDevelop good working relationships with relevant inpatient Units. Attend regular review meetings and visit clients while they are in hospital.

Personal Attributes and Other

• oRecognition of own limitations and strengths and ability to seek appropriate advice when needed.
• oAbility to gain the trust, confidence and respect of service users, their relatives and staff, to work in partnership with service users.
• oCapacity to be innovative and creative in your approach to clinical and consultative work and willingness to try new approaches.
• oEvidence of strong commitment to working with people with learning disabilities and mental health needs.
• oAnalytical style and solution focused, disciplined, shows attention to detail and motivation to produce high quality work, managing time and workload effectively
• oSophisticated team player motivated by achieving joint aims and objectives- flexible about hours of work, scope of task and responsibilities.
• oGenuine commitment to principles of equal opportunity, air access and service user empowerment and the ability to translate principles into practice.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust

£42,939 to £50,697 a yearper annum inclusive of HCAS