Specialist Paramedic Mental Health

Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust; Doncaster; Hybrid; GBP 36,000 - 50,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading healthcare provider in Doncaster is looking for a Specialist Paramedic Mental Health to manage complex patient needs. This role involves working directly with Mental Health Response Vehicles and supporting colleagues in Emergency Operations. The ideal candidate will have a PGDip in Specialist Practice and be capable of exercising clinical judgement in challenging situations. Benefits include flexible working hours, a contributory pension, and opportunities for professional development. Join us in providing essential emergency care to diverse communities.

Benefits

Flexible working including part-time hours

27 days annual leave increasing to 33

Contributory Pension

NHS Discounts

Car lease schemes

Employee assistance services

Career progression opportunities

Qualifications

• Experience in mental health assessments and interventions.
• Proven ability to work autonomously in challenging environments.
• Strong communication skills for interacting with diverse stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Provide clinical support and decision-making for urgent and emergency care.
• Manage patient care in mental health scenarios during pre-hospital response.
• Mentor colleagues and support their professional development.

Skills

Clinical judgement

Mental health crisis management

Mentorship and training

Communication skills

Assessment and diagnosis

Education

PGDip qualification in Specialist Practice

Job description

The Specialist Paramedic Mental Health (SPMH) will work on the Mental Health Response Vehicles (MHRVs), rotate into the Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) to provide support to patients over the phone and to crews on scene where necessary, and undertake rotation into partner organisations including primary care, crisis teams and third sector providers to continue their own development and support with closer working relationships. The SPMH operates at the Specialist Paramedic level, providing enhanced clinical support and supervision of staff across a range of incidents within the pre‑hospital environment. Working with a greater autonomy, the post holder will provide enhanced clinical management of both Mental and Physical health concerns and coordinate the care of patients with complex and challenging healthcare needs, responding to patients with acute or critical illness, serious injury or major trauma in emotive and demanding situations or environments.
Vacancy location: + South Yorkshire - Doncaster Ambulance Station, Patient Care The post holder will safely and effectively manage patient care, ensuring they;

• Provide a Trust‑wide specialist source of experience and knowledge around mental health issues and crisis
• Undertake an enhanced assessment of patients with complex health needs, ensuring that care is planned to best meet their Mental and Physical Health needs in the pre‑hospital setting.
• Exercise your own clinical judgement to assess, diagnose, treat, refer and/or discharge patients with undifferentiated injury and/or illness
• Apply enhanced knowledge, make balanced and pragmatic decisions relating to end of life care and futility of resuscitation; placing the patient’s best interests and wishes at the heart of such decisions.

Communication and Relationship Responsibilities

• Develop working relationships with colleagues, peers and operational/clinical managers across all directorates and divisions within the Trust as appropriate to undertake the role
• Develop working relationships with external organisations in order to access support for patients and to positively promote the Trust and the role of Paramedics
• The post holder will be required on a regular basis to communicate with people who may be experiencing significant distress and in situations which are complex, and highly charged, The post holder will support the development of self and others by;
• Providing mentorship and support to any clinician or non clinician as required
• Supporting the delivery of training and development activities across the organisation within their area of expertise and capability
• Demonstrating clinical leadership through role modelling professional behaviours that influence the provision of high clinical standards and promote exemplary behaviours in others.
• Developing and maintaining a personal professional portfolio to underpin, and evidence their professional scope of practice and continuing professional development, as required by the Trust and professional regulatory body.
• Maintaining fitness to practice in line with the requirements of the professional regulatory body.

Planning and Organisational Responsibilities

• Manage the care requirements of the situation; assessing and triaging patients and advising and directing the public accordingly.
• Acting as a point of contact for the MHRV whilst on shift.
• Working in EOC, acting as a central point of clinical support, providing remote clinical advice and decision‑support to clinicians across the Trust, in relation to urgent and emergency care; working to defined SOPs and guidelines.
• Whilst working on placement in MH trusts, to at all times act with in accordance with YAS values and via any honorary contacts in place with the values of partner organisations.

Training Requirements

The PMH/SPMHs will be required to complete a PGDip qualification for the role. This will be delivered through an Emergency Care Practitioner Apprenticeship programme for Mental Health at Sheffield Hallam University and the qualification will result in a PGDip in Specialist Practice. The post title will be ‘Paramedic Mental Health’ during training, and then ‘Specialist Paramedic Mental Health’ once training is completed and the individual has passed the CASP process as a level 7 specialist practitioner.

Yorkshire Ambulance Service (YAS) NHS Trust geographically covers nearly 6,000 square miles of varied terrain, from isolated moors and dales to urban areas, coastline and inner cities. We serve a population of over five million people across Yorkshire and the Humber and strive to ensure that patients receive the right response to their care needs as quickly as possible, wherever they live. We employ more than 7,100 staff, who together with over 1,300 volunteers, enable us to provide a vital 24‑hour, seven‑days‑a‑week, emergency and healthcare service. Our ambition is to be an employer of choice, and we are continuously working across our partnership to improve our collective offer to staff in areas like health and wellbeing, benefits and flexible working incl. hybrid working.

Benefits

• Flexible working including part‑time hours, job shares and flexible hours, agile working (role dependant)
• 27 days annual leave, increasing to 33 with service.
• Contributory Pension
• NHS Discounts including shops, restaurants, gyms etc
• Car lease and other salary sacrifice schemes
• Dedicated employee assistance and counselling service
• Opportunities for research participation, career progression and ongoing development
• Well respected, committed and supported staff networks for our workforce