Lead Practitioner Psychologist, Sickle Cell Disorder and Thalassemia

Barts Health NHS Trust; London; On-site; GBP 45,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

An exciting opportunity has emerged for a Lead Practitioner Psychologist within the Department of Haematology at Barts Health NHS Trust. You will provide expert psychological support to patients with Sickle Cell Disorder and Thalassemia, leading initiatives to enhance healthcare accessibility and patient experiences. This role offers implications for research, policy work, and further opportunities for continuous professional development.

Benefits

Continuous professional development opportunities

Supportive professional network

Qualifications

• Experience working with people with medical conditions as a clinical specialist.
• Experience in multi-disciplinary team working and service improvements.

Responsibilities

• Provide specialist psychological support to adults with chronic conditions.
• Manage relationships with healthcare providers to promote mental health.

Skills

Leadership

Collaboration

Psychological assessment

Education

Professional Doctorate in Applied Psychology

Clinical supervision training

Job description

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Lead Practitioner Psychologist, Sickle Cell Disorder and Thalassemia, London

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Client:

Barts Health NHS Trust

Location:

London, United Kingdom

Job Category:

Other

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EU work permit required:

Yes

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Job Reference:

a134193fd7e3

Job Views:

4

Posted:

29.06.2025

Expiry Date:

13.08.2025

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Job Description:

Job overview

An exciting opportunity has become available for an enthusiastic and experienced practitioner psychologist within our Department of Haematology.

The successful candidate will lead in the provision of specialist inpatient and outpatient psychological support to adults with sickle cell disease or thalassaemia.

We are looking for a practitioner psychologist who is passionate about tackling health inequalities and improving access to care and patient experience for those who are least well served by health services, and who has experience in working with patients with chronic health conditions.

Within the role, there is scope to contribute to research, or policy work in psychological care for people with Sickle Cell & Thalassemia as well as opportunities for service development and providing care in an innovative way. There are also opportunities for CPD and a chance to develop clinical skills.

Main duties of the job

The post holder will be based primarily at the Royal London Hospital; a regional hub providing specialist services for adults with disorders affecting red blood cells. An important aspect of the role will be in providing management to a colleague whose focus is community based support, as well as close liaison with a colleague working in the paediatric sickle cell service, to assist with adolescents transitioning to adult care.

The role will have a focus on supporting the systems around patients to promote psychology and mental health well-being as an integral part of chronic disease management. Service users crucially need to maintain an adequate relationship with healthcare providers, and the psychologist serves to support that relationship, working with both service users and staff.

Direct work involves meeting with service users individually and/or in groups, providing specialist psychological assessment, support and intervention. Much of the work with service users will involve helping people manage symptoms or complications related to their condition, such as sickle cell pain crisis and addressing the psychosocial and occupational challenges of having a long term health condition.

In addition to joining the Haematology service, Barts Health has an established and growing infrastructure for clinical health psychology, so you will join a professional network committed to mutual support and development.

Working for our organisation

Barts Health is one of the largest NHS trusts in the country, and one of Britain’s leading healthcare providers.

The Barts Health group of NHS hospitals is entering an exciting new era on our improvement journey to becoming an outstanding organisation with a world-class clinical reputation. Having lifted ourselves out of special measures, we now have the impetus and breathing space to chart a fresh course in which we are continually striving to improve all our services for patients.

Our vision is to be a high-performing group of NHS hospitals, renowned for excellence and innovation, and providing safe and compassionate care to our patients in east London and beyond. That means being a provider of excellent patient safety, known for delivering consistently high standards of harm-free care and always caring for patients in the right place at the right time. It also means being an outstanding place to work, in which our WeCare values and behaviours are visible to all and guide us in how we work together.

We strive to live by our WeCare values and are committed to promoting inclusion, where every staff member has a sense of belonging. We value our differences and fully advocate, cultivate and support an inclusive working environment.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The full job description provides an overview of the key tasks and responsibilities of the role, and the person specification outlines the qualifications, skills, experience, and knowledge required. For both documents, please view the attachment/s below.

We are dedicated to being an outstanding place to work and will work with you to get the best experience. We know flexible working is not a one size fits all and will mean something different to everyone. We are inclusive, so if you are interested in flexible working, please speak to the recruiting manager.

Person specification

Experience

• Experience of having worked with people with medical conditions as a clinical specialist.
• Experience of multi-disciplinary team working joint work and inter-agency collaboration
• Experience of specialist psychological assessment and treatment of clients with a range of complex psychological and physical health needs.
• Experience in implementing service improvements

Skills

• Evidence of leadership skills; including the strategic development of services and proven success in project management of quality initiatives.
• Evidence of the ability to effectively collaborate with colleagues, family, carers, and service users to deliver the best possible services with available resources.

Knowledge

• Knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological assessments and interventions, including for those living with complex medical conditions
• Understand of models of health psychology in addition to models of psychopathology.
• Knowledge of legislation in relation to the client group and mental health issues.

Qualifications

• Entry-level qualification in Applied Psychology (professional Doctorate, or combination of MSc plus PG Diploma level additional training) that has been accepted by the HCPC for purposes of professional registration.
• Completed training course in clinical supervision
• Registered with the HCPC as Practitioner Psychologist and evidence of continuing professional development as required by the HCPC.