Discharge Coordinator

South West London and St. George's Mental Health NHS Trust; Greater London; On-site; GBP 32,000 - 42,000; Part time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible working

Disability confident employer

Professional development support

Job summary

South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust is seeking a part-time Discharge Coordinator (Band 6) to join the Acute and Urgent Care service line. You will work across Tolworth or Springfield Hospital wards, coordinating MDT actions and ensuring timely discharges while addressing barriers to care.

You will have registered professional status in a relevant clinical field, experience in discharge planning, and strong communication and safeguarding skills.

Qualifications

• Current professional registration in a clinical subject (e.g. RMN, OT, Social Work or equivalent).
• Experience in discharge planning and working with MDTs.
• Knowledge of safeguarding and mental health legislation.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate MDT actions to ensure discharge planning progresses.
• Identify and address barriers to discharge and update estimated discharge dates.
• Liaise with community teams, housing providers and local authorities as required.
• Prioritise duties to maintain patient flow and timely discharges.
• Develop and maintain relationships with ward staff and external partners.

Skills

Communication

Risk assessment

Safeguarding

Discharge planning

Teamwork

Education

NHS registered professional

Job description

South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust has a rich history, well-established community links and an international reputation. We provide a full range of local mental health services to the Kingston, Merton, Richmond, Sutton and Wandsworth London boroughs, as well as specialist forensic mental health services, including specialised services such as national deaf adults and CAMHS inpatients and OCD.

We are committed to providing high quality integrated health and social care for local people with mental health problems in South West London and more specialist mental health services for people throughout the UK. The Care Quality Commission already rates our services as 'good' however we aim to be 'outstanding'.

Our Values

We take pride in providing specialist care to our service users where our Trust values; being consistent, compassionate, collaborative, respectful and open is at the heart of everything we do. Our mission is "making life better together".

When you join us, you'll be part of something special - an innovative and rapidly growing organisation that is helping to redefine the Mental Health, education and social care landscape in the UK.

As a Trust, we are happy to talk flexible working.

Job overview

This is an exciting time to join one of the integral departments of the Acute and Urgent Care (AUC) Service Line at South West London & St George's as we are looking at new ways to improve the quality of the care as we promote effective patient flow. The Discharge Coordination Team is a dynamic team that supports wards with:

• Promoting purposeful admissions by agreeing a plan on admission with an estimated discharge date
• Tackling barriers to discharge, preventing avoidable delayed discharge and transfer of care.
• Timely escalation of issues leading to increased length of stay to the service line, ICBs and Local Authorities.

Discharge Coordinators work in conjunction with internal and external partners in supporting proactive discharge planning and timely discharges in line with expected dates of discharge.

They focus efforts on behalf of individual patients at heightened risk of delayed transfer of care (DToC) from inpatient wards and provide accurate information/updates into the trusts daily discharge and pathway meetings.

Main duties of the job

This part time role is an admin and clerical band 6 role and we are looking for a highly motivated Nurse, OT, social worker or experienced non-clinician to be part of a team that will help the service line to provide the best care for our patients by ensuring timely access to relevant services through pro-active assessment of needs and barriers.

The post holder will cover either Tolworth or Springfield Hospital wards. You could be based in any of those 2 sites.

The post holder must be adept at prioritising the activities that will provide the most efficient, effective and safe discharge pathway and accelerate any conditions that will prevent this from happening. They will be able to work closely alongside the ward consultant, ward manager and wider MDT.

They will be confident at building relationships, develop and foster relationships with staff across the acute and urgent care pathway and with partner agencies and will proactively manage these relationships so that staff can count on reliable and knowledgeable support and information about discharge processes. The successful post holder will have a good knowledge of community services and referral processes to ensure smooth discharges.

Working for our organisation

Unless expressly stated in the job advert this role is not subject to sponsorship, please be advised that all offers of employment are subject to evidence of right to work in the UK.

We are Proud to Belong at South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust.

We have expert services, a rich history and a clear commitment to providing the best quality care for those with mental ill-health. The Care Quality Commission already rates our services as 'good' - we aspire to be 'outstanding'.

This is a great time to join us. We are transforming the way we care for our communities to support our mission of Making Life Better Together. We have built two brand new mental health facilities at Springfield University Hospital, which are amongst the best in the world. More developments are planned across our sites and services as we invest a further £120m to upgrade and modernise our estate by 2027.

We are inclusive and diverse and strive to be actively anti racist. We want to attract people from all backgrounds and experiences to enrich the work we do together. We are proud to co-produce and involve our local communities in all that we do.

We offer flexible working, career development and a variety of benefits to enable a positive, welcoming environment in which our people and their careers can thrive.

Come and join our inclusive teams and help our patients on their recovery journey.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Discharge Coordinators are responsible for coordinating and prioritising action from the MDT and partners to ensure that:

1. Barriers to Discharge and Estimated Dates of Discharge forms are completed and updated in line with clinical reviews
2. Intervening early to remove barriers to prevent patients becoming delayed transfers of care.
3. Highlighting potential "B" list) DTOC patients to expedite discharge planning and prevent them becoming "A" list (reported) DTOCs.
4. Updating Borough DTOC meetings on patients who are A and B list Delayed Transfers of care
5. Verification of purpose of admission and expected length of stay
6. Establishment of scope for discharge within 24 hours and work to expedite discharge: Invoking a rapid review by a Consultant (arranging temporary accommodation from budget to permit early home treatment (not exhaustive).
7. Support carer engagement triggering Carer's Assessments as required, and to work closely with carers and relatives in the interests of supporting timely discharges.
8. Pre-empt and resolve arising barriers to discharge i.e. keys, other agency support to discharge.
9. Promote 'conditions based discharge' so that discharge takes place once agreed conditions are met.
10. Ensure early liaison with Community Teams of pending discharges to HTT or direct to community teams.
11. For detained patients to consider short periods of section 17 leave or the use of Supervised Community Treatment where appropriate in line with legislation and least restrictive principles.
12. To develop effective relationships with local authorities, housing providers, tenancy support teams and benefit agencies specific to Boroughs
13. Pre-empt, accelerate homelessness unit input / liaison.
14. Introduce HTT involvement at the right point to commence facilitated early discharge by HTT.
15. Investigate cases that are about to pass / have passed projected milestone dates recorded for passing key stages in the acute care pathway i.e. discharge review, discharge plan in place, discharge.

Person specification

TRAINING & QUALIFICATIONS

Essential criteria

• Current professional registration in relevant clinical subject/practice e.g. RMN, OT, Social Work, psychology or equivalent relevant experience in health, social care or voluntary sector
• Evidence of post qualification training/education
• Ongoing evidence of continuing professional development
• A commitment to completing full quality improvement development as outlined in the trust strategy

Desirable criteria

• Training in providing supervision, mentorship or equivalent, or willingness to undertake training.
• Post Graduate degree (in relevant subject)
• To have completed or be working towards accredited courses which enable potential development
• Recognised training that supports clinical practice ( Psychosocial Intervention or DBT)

EXPERIENCE

Essential criteria

• Demonstrable experience of working at Band 5 or equivalent for 2 years
• Experience of liaising with community agencies
• Experience of working with people who have experienced serious ongoing mental health problems
• Experience of working within a multidisciplinary team
• Experience of implementing the principles and practice of the Recovery approach

Desirable criteria

• Experience of implementing changes in working practices
• Experience of using and supervising others in the use of psychosocial interventions
• Experience of using quality improvement methodologies
• Experience of implementing and monitoring standards of care, including clinical audit and governance

Knowledge & Skills

Essential criteria

• Excellent communication skills, both verbal and written, and the ability to influence others in clinical decision making towards discharge
• Sound knowledge and skills in risk assessment
• Knowledge of safeguarding policies and procedures
• Clear understanding of the Mental Health Act, Care Act, Housing Act, Quality & Safety Governance, Clinical audit and relevant national policies
• An ability to develop, supervise, teach and manage junior staff
• Knowledge of recent initiatives across professional workforce
• Clear understanding of the process of supervision

Desirable criteria

• Ability to contribute to, monitor and implement changes and improvements to services
• Familiarity with budget control and management
• Ability to monitor and control resources
• Knowledge of performance management procedures
• Specialised clinical skills, e.g. group work, anxiety/anger management, CBT, family work skills
• Appreciation of the ward/team manager's role and how to balance clinical and non-clinical responsibilities
• Knowledge of Recovery Model of care

At South West London St Georges Mental Health Trust we are committed to providing services which embrace diversity and that promote equality of opportunity. We are a Disability Committed Employer, and welcome applications from all sections of the community and people of all protected characteristics. We are Members of Stonewall Diversity Champions and Employers Network for Equality and Inclusion.

As part of the Trust's commitment to Equalities and Diversity, the Trust supports the establishment of Staff Networks groups to promote diversity in the workplace:

• BME (Evolve) Staff Network
• Christian Staff Network
• DiverseAbility
• Deaf Staff Network
• Mental Health Staff Forum
• Women's Staff Network
• LGBTQIA+

We are committed to supporting the Armed Forces Community and has signed the Armed Forces Covenant.

We provide reasonable adjustments to the interview process for any candidates with a disability.

Please note:

• That the closing date listed is a guide only and that the vacancy may close earlier should sufficient number of applicants have been received
• That once you have submitted your application you agree to your application being transferred to a 3rd party e-recruitment system
• That should you not have heard from us within three weeks from the closing date your application has not successful
• That priority consideration for applications may be given to at‑risk NHS employees
• That should you be successful and appointed, you authorise South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust to confirm your previous NHS service via an Inter Authority Transfer (IAT) process
• That your employment is offered subject to successful completion of a Probationary Period depending on your Band (except medical roles)
• That we are a smoke‑free Trust
• South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust does not charge any fees at any stage of the recruitment process, including job applications, sponsorship arrangements, or employment offers. The contact details published on our official website are the Trust's authorised contact channels and should be used for all recruitment communications, job applications, and verification of employment offers.