Senior Liaison Psychiatry Practitioners

West London NHS Trust; Southall; On-site; GBP 35,000 - 50,000; Full time

Job summary

West London NHS Trust is seeking an experienced Social Worker to join their dynamic ELPS team. This role involves critical clinical and managerial tasks, focusing on impactful patient care and supporting team development. The ideal candidate will bring strong mental health expertise, leadership skills, and a commitment to delivering high-quality service, making this an excellent opportunity for professional growth within a leading mental health provider.

Qualifications

• Experience working in psychiatry and crisis situations is essential.
• Supervision of junior staff and mentoring students is expected.
• Knowledge of Mental Health Act and risk management is crucial.

Responsibilities

• Conduct biopsychosocial assessments for patients with mental health needs.
• Provide clinical and managerial supervision to junior colleagues.
• Develop clear discharge plans and promote patient-centered approaches.

Skills

Mental Health Expertise

Crisis Intervention

Team Collaboration

Clinical Assessment

Organizational Skills

Education

Professional Qualification as Registered Social Worker

Mentorship In Practice Qualification

Degree in Nursing or Related Field

Job description

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West London NHS Trust provides a full range of mental health, community and physical healthcare services for children, adults and older people living in the London boroughs of Ealing, Hammersmith & Fulham and Hounslow.

We also provide some specialist services that are commissioned regionally, such as our medium secure services; and nationally, such as the Cassel Hospital for people with complex and severe personality disorder and our high secure services at Broadmoor Hospital.

Job overview

We are looking for a dedicated, experienced and motivated Social Worker to join ELPS. You will be a senior member of a growing and dynamic service where learning, professional development and a supportive environment are promoted.

The team has a mix of Consultant Liaison Psychiatrists, Trainee doctors, Foundation Year doctors, Liaison Psychiatry Practitioners and Team Administrator. We are keen to expand the skills in the team and to open this role to a social worker. ELPS has office spaces in Ealing Hospital and provides a service to the acute trust primarily. Excellent working relationships have already been developed with both clinicians and managers of EH.

The role has clinical, leadership and managerial elements to it. Critical thinking and motivation for innovation and development are essential, as you will be involved in patient care and experience, team development and service improvement.

We pride ourselves on providing a standard of care that we would be happy for our loved ones and ourselves to receive. If this is your motivation as a practitioner, you will fit well in the team and we will nurture your caring attitude. Wellbeing of team members and team cohesion are high on our agenda as they are essential to providing quality care and improving patient and carer experience.

Main duties of the job

ELPS is commissioned to see patients aged 16 and above. You will undertake biopsychosocial assessments for patients who attend UTC or ED or are admitted on medical wards and have mental health needs. They may present with emotional problems, self-harm or in psychiatric crisis. They may also present with psychosomatic disorder and a variety of psychological issues related to physical disorders.

You will represent ELPS in Ealing Hospital and provide specialist support to referring clinicians and clinical teams. You will offer a person-centred approach to patients’ treatment, recovery and well-being. You will make clear autonomous decisions based on an analysis of complex presenting problems. You will promote carer/family involvement and will liaise with colleagues from other areas of health and social care to coordinate safe discharge plans.

You will demonstrate organisational and multitasking skills by effectively prioritising in a fast paced environment and efficiently delegating and allocating workload.

You will offer formal and informal training to ELPS and EH colleagues to promote high quality of care. You will provide clinical and managerial supervision to junior colleagues in ELPS. You will be encouraged to share your views and ideas to enhance and support service improvement. You will take responsibility for projects associated with service provision and development. You will have dedicated management time to fulfil these tasks and develop your leadership skills.

Working for our organisation

West London NHS Trust is one of the most diverse healthcare providers in the UK, delivering a range of mental health and physical healthcare and community services. The Trust runs Broadmoor Hospital, one of three high secure hospitals in the country, with an international reputation.

Our high secure services care for patients from South of England and we provide low and medium secure services across eight London boroughs. The Trust also provides mental and physical healthcare in three London boroughs (Ealing, Hounslow and Hammersmith & Fulham). We employ over 5,000 staff, of whom 59% are BME. Our turnover for 2024-25 is over £500m.

The Trust is rated as ‘Good’ overallby the Care Quality Commission. Forensic services are rated as ‘Outstanding’.

The Trust is an established partner and contributor in the development of the evolving North West London Integrated Care System and the Integrated Care Board. The Trust leads the NW London Children and Adolescent Mental Health provider collaborative.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The Candidate Pack provides an overview of the key tasks and responsibilities of the role, and the person specification outlines the qualifications, skills, experience and knowledge required. Please view as attached

The person specification below is not the full person specification, but outlines the criteria against which your application form will be assessed.

Person specification

Qualifications

• • Professional Qualification as Registered Social Worker with professional registration (HCPC)
• Mentorship In Practice (Teaching & Assessing in Clinical Practice) or equivalent teaching qualification
• Assisted Year In Practice (ASYE) if social work qualified
• Educated to degree or diploma level nursing
• Other courses/training relevant to Liaison Psychiatry e.g. CBT, Brief Solution Focused Therapy etc
• Other qualification in practice teaching or supervision of staff.
• Evidence of recent professional development

Experience

• • Demonstrable substantive post qualifying experience in psychiatry, with evidence of relevant experience at Band 6
• • Experience of supervising junior staff within own and/or other disciplines
• • Experience of mentoring students through placements
• • Experience of working with people who have experienced serious ongoing mental health problems
• • Experience of assessing and managing crisis with those with a severe mental illness
• • Experience of working within a multidisciplinary team
• • Experience of teaching/ training in a formal or informal setting
• • Clinical experience of working in Liaison Psychiatry Service(s)
• • Experience of implementing and monitoring standards of care
• • Other relevant post registration experience
• • Audit and research skills
• • Experience of managing outpatient clinics for mental health

Knowledge and Skills

• • Specialist knowledge of mental health disorders as well as their relationship to physical disorders
• • Assessment and treatment of self-harm
• • Risk assessment/management and crisis intervention skills
• • Use of psychosocial assessment methods
• • Knowledge of counselling skills / cognitive behavioural skills, psychosocial interventions
• • Ability to assess clinical situations quickly and use initiative
• • Knowledge of Mental Capacity Act (2005)
• • Clear understanding of the Mental Health Act (1983), and National Policy
• • Ability to engage challenging and/or acutely distressed patients in potentially hostile and/or antagonistic situations and use de-escalation techniques effectively
• • Ability to work as an active member of the multidisciplinary team
• • Sufficient clinical knowledge to be able to make autonomous decisions, based on an analysis of complex presenting problems and judgement about available options
• • Management and organisation skills that enable a number of complex activities and clinical work to be undertaken, revising and adjusting these according to the needs of individual patients and the service
• • Clear understanding of the process of supervision
• • Ability to interpret research and apply to practice
• • Skills in CBT or family work
• • Report writing skills

Personal Qualities

• • Ability to manage own time effectively through robust prioritising of own and others workloads
• • Ability to frequently work under pressure and maintain intense concentration, particularly in unpredictable situations where there will be exposure to highly distressed and/or disturbed patients, often exhibiting challenging behaviours and the risk of physical violence
• • Self-motivated, able to work autonomously and independently with confidence
• • Exercise initiative, flexibility, tact and self- awareness
• • Ability to meet deadlines
• • Team/self-management and organisation skills that enable a number of complex activities and clinical work to be undertaken, revising and adjusting these according to the needs of individual patients and the service
• • Be aware of the limitations in own competencies and seek appropriate senior advice and leadership
• • Act as a positive role model, dynamic, motivated caring and supportive
• • Ability to work closely and form excellent working relationships with a wide range of people

As an employee of West London NHS Trust, you have a responsibility to maintain a sound understanding of, and a commitment to uphold the National Health Service values and principles set out in the NHS Constitution.

We reserve the right to close adverts prior to the closing date stated should we receive a high volume of applications.

By applying for this post you are agreeing to West London NHS Trust transferring the information contained in this application to its preferred applicant management system. If you are offered a job, you will be required to undergo a pre-employment checks which can take between 4-8 weeks . After which your information will also be transferred into the national NHS Electronic Staff Records system (ESR ).

Please ensure you include email addresses for your referees which MUST be at supervisory or managerial capacity covering the last 3 years of employment to date to avoid delay in the recruitment process.

West London NHS Trust is committed to safeguarding all children and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

We encourage the thoughtful use of technology as a demonstration of strong time management and a commitment to innovation. However, we encourage applicants to personalise their recruitment application to showcase their unique skills and experiences.

While AI-generated content can be a helpful tool, relying solely on generic responses instead of highlighting your own strengths and achievements may impact the success of your application. The success of an application will always be assessed against the essential and desirable criteria for the role, so it is important to ensure that your application and any supporting information clearly demonstrate how you meet these requirements.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.

At West London NHS Trust, we want you to support you to build a career you can be proud of and this starts before your first day with us. Our people live our values every day as they deliver, manage and work to improve our services to patients, carers, families and other professionals.

We’re committed to making our recruitment process clear and efficient. It’s in everyone’s interest that we get the very best people on board as soon as we can.