Social Worker

TN United Kingdom; Birmingham; On-site; GBP 35,000 - 55,000; Full time

Job summary

An exciting opportunity awaits a passionate Specialist Practitioner to join the Autism Liaison Service within a leading mental health trust. This role focuses on providing tailored assessments and interventions for autistic individuals, aiming to enhance their care experience and support safe discharges from mental health services. As part of a dynamic team, you will develop specialized skills while fostering collaborative relationships across various healthcare settings. If you are driven to make a meaningful impact in mental health care, this position offers a unique chance to contribute to the well-being of autistic adults in a supportive environment.

Qualifications

• Professional qualification in mental health required.
• Experience in mental health and autism preferred.

Responsibilities

• Provide specialist assessments and interventions for autistic service users.
• Collaborate with multi-disciplinary teams to enhance care.

Skills

Mental Health Assessment

Autism Spectrum Disorder Knowledge

Therapeutic Interventions

Multi-disciplinary Team Collaboration

Client-Centered Care

Education

Professional qualification in Occupational Therapy, Social Work, or Nursing

Current registration with relevant professional body

Training relevant to working with autistic people

Job description

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An exciting opportunity has arisen for an enthusiastic and ambitious Specialist Practitioner within the Autism Liaison Service. This is a new post, due to expansion of our innovative provision with acute mental health services, to cover a defined cohort of autistic service users within Community and Recovery Mental Health Services, who are at increased risk of readmissions to inpatient mental health services or frequently utilise unplanned care.

The post spans acute and community mental health services across Ealing, Hammersmith & Fulham and Hounslow. The post will be primarily based at either Hammersmith and Fulham or Lakeside Mental Health Unit, but will involve outreach provision and therefore travel across all three boroughs.

This role is intended to provide specialist assessments and interventions to autistic service users inpatient mental health services or at increased risk of readmission, with the overall aim of improving the care and experience of admissions and supporting earlier, sustainable and safe discharges, and reducing the risk of readmissions. You will be an integral part of the Autism Liaison Service in promoting safe, effective and therapeutic care for autistic adults in acute and community mental health services. This role gives the opportunity to develop profession-specific specialist assessment skills, in addition to delivering individually-tailored interventions, including planning for and facilitating transitions.

Main duties of the job

This new post offers an exciting opportunity for an ambitious and experienced Specialist Practitioner (OT/Social Work/Nursing/CAP/Arts Therapist), looking to specialise in mental health and Autism. The successful candidate will offer a thorough, compassionate and evidence-based service to adults with a suspected or confirmed diagnosis of Autism within acute mental health services. The post will also involve an outreach component, offering community-based input to autistic adults at risk of readmission or who frequently utilise unplanned care.

As an integral member of the Autism Liaison Service, the post holder will have knowledge and understanding of taking a strengths-based approach to working with autistic people, supporting the individual and teams to identify and meet unmet needs. The role offers opportunities for service development and clinical audits. Multidisciplinary joint working will be central to the development of integrated care, and fostering strong relationships with stakeholders will be key.

The post spans acute and community mental health services across Ealing, Hammersmith & Fulham and Hounslow. The post will be primarily based at either Hammersmith and Fulham or Lakeside Mental Health Unit, but will involve outreach provision and therefore travel across all three boroughs.

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, physical healthcare and community services commissioned locally and nationally. The Trust runs Broadmoor Hospital, one of only three high secure hospitals in the country and one of the highest profile mental healthcare settings in the world.

Our medium-secure and forensic services care for patients from across the South of England. The Trust also provides mental and physical healthcare in three London boroughs – Ealing, Hammersmith & Fulham and Hounslow. The Trust employs 3,770 staff, of which 47% are from Black and Asian Minority Ethnic (BAME) background. Our turnover in 2019/20 was £314m.

In recent years there has been a trust-wide step change in culture, performance and ambition. The Trust is now rated as ‘Good’ overallby the CQC, and the rating for our Forensic services has improved from ‘Requires improvement’ to ‘Outstanding’. Rigorous financial management has been central to our ability to deliver service improvements. The Trust has delivered consistent surpluses since 2009, totalling more than £77m. In parallel, we have also improved efficiencies by reducing length of stays and improving patient flow, with almost no out of area placements in recent years.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

To provide a client-centred autism specialist service to a defined caseload of service users with
complex needs across acute and community mental health. The post holder will be based within the
specialist Autism Liaison Service, which supports multi-disciplinary teams to identify and meet the
needs of service users under the care of acute mental health services (AMHS) with a diagnosis of
autism or where autism is suspected. The service also provides outreach input to a defined cohort
within community and recovery mental health services (CARMHS), where the individual is at risk of
readmission to inpatient mental health services or a frequent user of unplanned care. The post
holder will bring their specialist skills to offer assessments and interventions for this population of
service users. The role will be based across acute and community mental health services within
Hammersmith and Fulham, Ealing and Hounslow, with an outreach component to other teams
where appropriate.

Person specification

Qualifications

• Professional qualification in mental health Occupational Therapist, Social Worker, Mental Health Nurse (RMN), Clinical Associate Psychologist (CAP), Cognitive Behavioural Therapist (BABCP accredited), Arts Therapist
• Current registration with the relevant professional body (HCPC, NMC, BPS, BABCP)
• Training relevant to working with autistic people (such as sensory integration, Social Stories)
• Training in positive approaches to behaviours of concern

Experience

• Where relevant, achieved Band 5 KSF sub-set ( preceptorship programme for OT). Relevant post-qualification experience in Mental Health and/or Autism and/or Learning Disabilities.
• Application of core profession-specific skills in assessments and interventions.
• Experience of working with autistic people
• Lived experience of autism, either as an autistic person or carer/supporter.
• Experience of supervision of students and staff
• Experience of delivering training/teaching
• Experience of undertaking sensory assessments and sensory-based interventions

Knowledge & Skills

• Knowledge of mental health difficulties and of a holistic approach to understanding an individual’s presentation in the context of wider biopsychosocial aspects.
• Knowledge and understanding of how mental health difficulties can impact on a person’s ability to complete day-to-day activities
• Principles of clinical governance
• Clinical and environmental risk assessment and safety planning.
• Clinical/case supervision training. An understanding of trauma informed car
• Knowledge of sensory differences/sensory integration and how this might impact on a person’s experience of care