Perinatal Nurse Specialist

The Methodist Church in Britain; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 42,000 - 54,000; Full time

Job summary

The Methodis t Church in Britain is seeking a Band 6 perinatal mental health nurse to assess and treat maternal mental illness. The role involves working across community sites, home visits and some home working with a flexible rota to cover maternity triage.

You will manage a caseload of up to 25 women, provide leadership in collaboration with multi-disciplinary teams, and supervise students while maintaining high standards of CPD and safeguarding practice.

Qualifications

• RMN qualification and NMC registration required.
• Mentorship register entry or equivalent.
• Evidence of continuing professional development relevant to perinatal mental health.
• Ability to work autonomously within multidisciplinary teams.

Responsibilities

• Screen and assess mental health needs in pregnant women or those with infants under 24 months and provide evidence-based interventions.
• Case load management for antenatal and postnatal women with moderate needs, including reviews and care planning.
• Liaise with primary care, maternity, health visiting and other services for referrals and care transfers.
• Provide training, supervision and advice on perinatal mental health to professionals.
• Take turns on duty rota, triage new referrals and urgent presentations in maternity units.
• Supervise and mentor students within the service.

Skills

Clinical decision making

Written and oral communication

Diversity and equality awareness

Flexibility across service boundaries

Education

RMN qualification

Mentorship register entry

CPD evidenced

Degree or equivalent

Dual qualification (RGN/Midwife/Health visitor)

Job description

This Band 6 post sits in the Ealing arm of the Tri-borough Perinatal Mental Health Service, fixed term for 12 months. The work centres on assessing and treating mental illness in women who are pregnant or have infants under two years, and advising the maternity and health visiting staff who support them. The service works in an agile way, mixing community sites, home visits and home working, with 60% office time and a rota covering maternity triage. NMC Part 3 registration and a mentorship register entry are needed.

What the job involves

• Screen, assess and identify mental health needs in women aged 18 and over who are pregnant or have infants under 24 months, and manage them with evidence-based interventions
• Manage a caseload of up to 25 antenatal and postnatal women with moderate mental health needs, including assessments, reviews, joint reviews and care planning meetings
• Liaise with primary care, maternity, health visiting and other mental health services on referrals, care co-ordination and transfer of care, including facilitating professionals' meetings
• Provide training, supervision, consultation and advice on perinatal mental health to professionals who work with these women
• Take a turn on the service duty rota, triaging new referrals and urgent or emergency presentations in maternity units
• Supervise and mentor students in the service

Qualifications

• RMN qualification
• Mentorship register entry or equivalent
• Evidence of continuing professional development relevant to the role

Registration & licences

• NMC registration, Part 3, or equivalent

Experience

• Significant post-qualification experience in mental health services, including with women with serious mental illness
• Managing a caseload with high-quality assessments and complex mental state, risk and needs assessments
• Working in complex multi-disciplinary and multi-agency settings, including formal child protection processes
• Working with interpreters in multi-racial and multicultural communities
• Networking within the perinatal specialty

Skills & knowledge

• Semi-autonomous clinical decisions on complex problems, with highly specialist therapeutic assessment and interventions
• Recognising and referring safeguarding children issues, and delivering supervision and training
• Knowledge of perinatal mental illness, perinatal service models, the MHA and the MCA
• Excellent written and oral communication
• Knowledge and application of diversity and equality issues in perinatal psychiatry
• Working flexibly across service boundaries with maternity and other health care professionals

Other

• Empathy and a positive attitude towards mental health care

Nice to have

• Degree or equivalent
• Dual qualified as RGN, midwife or health visitor
• Specialist training in perinatal or infant mental health
• Clinical supervision training
• Qualification or training in therapeutic or psychological interventionsExperience delivering individual and group interventions
• Experience supervising mental health or other professionals
• Intermediate computer literacy