Job summary
We are seeking an enthusiastic Clinical Psychologist to join the Paediatric Psychological Therapies Team at St George's Hospital. This Band 7 role is a split post across our General Outpatient (urology, dermatology, allergies, epilepsy) and Specialties streams (gastroenterology and respiratory/asthma). The post includes specialist assessment, formulation, individual, family and group interventions, and psychological input to inpatient referrals.
The role also involves supervision of non-qualified staff (assistants, trainees, master's students) and opportunities to contribute to audit, service evaluation and quality improvement.
St George's is one of London's largest children's hospitals, hosting one of only four paediatric trauma units, the only paediatric intensive care unit in South West London, and is a leading centre for surgery and foetal medicine.
Psychology is embedded within paediatric specialty MDTs (e.g., Gastroenterology, Respiratory, Sickle Cell, Diabetes, PENTA), delivering high-quality, evidence-based, family-centred care. Our large, friendly and expanding team includes psychologists, family therapists, mental health practitioners, assistants, trainees and administrators. We provide psychological support for inpatients and outpatients across a wide range of specialties. The service is committed to CPD, innovation and high-quality care, offering excellent opportunities to develop specialist and leadership skills.
Main duties of the job
Please see main job description and person specification for more details. Please contact Dr Jan-Sher Bhatti (Principal Clinical Psychologist) on 02087252214 for an informal discussion
About us
Trust Vision & Values:
The postholder is expected to have a clear understanding of how this post contributes to the achievement of the trust vision of:
We are a thriving Foundation Trust at the heart of an integrated healthcare system. One that delivers improved patient care at a community, hospital and specialist setting, supported by a unique and nationally recognised programme of research, education and employee engagement.
We expect all our staff to share the values that are important to the Trust, being Excellent, Kind, Responsible & Respectful, and behave in a way that reflect these.
Job description
Job responsibilities
The post-holder will work across our General Outpatient and Specialist Streams and cover duties outlined, but not limited to, those described below:
- Provide specialist psychological assessment, formulation, and evidence-based interventions to children, young people, and families referred from paediatric medical teams.
- Work with families under the care of a range of departments. This includes:
- General outpatient stream: supporting departments without dedicated psychology input, such as urology, dermatology, allergies, and epilepsy.
- Specialist stream: providing input primarily to the gastroenterology and asthma (respiratory) services.
- Offer psychological input for inpatient admissions, supporting children and families with issues such as procedural anxiety, adjustment to diagnosis, and emotional wellbeing whilst they receive medical care.
- Conduct risk assessments and implement appropriate risk management plans for children and families presenting with psychological and/or emotional difficulties in the context of physical health conditions.
- Develop and deliver group interventions across both the general outpatient and specialty streams, working collaboratively with colleagues to create accessible, tiered approaches to psychological support.
- Contribute to themulti-disciplinary team (MDT) through consultation, joint working, and staff support, helping to integrate psychological thinking into medical pathways.
- Take onsupervisory responsibilities for non-qualified staff, including assistant psychologists, trainee clinical psychologists, and masters students on placement.
- Supportservice evaluation, audit, and quality improvement projects, contributing to innovative models of care to ensure effective, equitable, and sustainable delivery of psychological services.
- Engage incontinuous professional development, with excellent supervision structures and opportunities to develop specialist clinical skills in paediatric psychology, group interventions, and service leadership.
This is an exciting time to join our service, which has grown significantly over the past 18 months. The successful candidate will play an active role in shaping the delivery of psychological care within paediatrics, working closely with colleagues across specialties to meet the needs of children, young people, and their families. They will benefit from working within a teaching hospital and research-active environment, with scope to contribute to training, teaching, and developing areas of special interest within paediatric psychology.
Job description
Job responsibilities
The post-holder will work across our General Outpatient and Specialist Streams and cover duties outlined, but not limited to, those described below:
- Provide specialist psychological assessment, formulation, and evidence-based interventions to children, young people, and families referred from paediatric medical teams.
- Work with families under the care of a range of departments. This includes:
- General outpatient stream: supporting departments without dedicated psychology input, such as urology, dermatology, allergies, and epilepsy.
- Specialist stream: providing input primarily to the gastroenterology and asthma (respiratory) services.
- Offer psychological input for inpatient admissions, supporting children and families with issues such as procedural anxiety, adjustment to diagnosis, and emotional wellbeing whilst they receive medical care.
- Conduct risk assessments and implement appropriate risk management plans for children and families presenting with psychological and/or emotional difficulties in the context of physical health conditions.
- Develop and deliver group interventions across both the general outpatient and specialty streams, working collaboratively with colleagues to create accessible, tiered approaches to psychological support.
- Contribute to themulti-disciplinary team (MDT) through consultation, joint working, and staff support, helping to integrate psychological thinking into medical pathways.
- Take onsupervisory responsibilities for non-qualified staff, including assistant psychologists, trainee clinical psychologists, and masters students on placement.
- Supportservice evaluation, audit, and quality improvement projects, contributing to innovative models of care to ensure effective, equitable, and sustainable delivery of psychological services.
- Engage incontinuous professional development, with excellent supervision structures and opportunities to develop specialist clinical skills in paediatric psychology, group interventions, and service leadership.
This is an exciting time to join our service, which has grown significantly over the past 18 months. The successful candidate will play an active role in shaping the delivery of psychological care within paediatrics, working closely with colleagues across specialties to meet the needs of children, young people, and their families. They will benefit from working within a teaching hospital and research-active environment, with scope to contribute to training, teaching, and developing areas of special interest within paediatric psychology.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Doctoral level training in clinical psychology, including specifically models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics and neuropsychology, two or more distinct psychological therapies and lifespan developmental psychology, as accredited by the BPS and HCPC.
- Current registration with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC).
Desirable
- Pre-qualification training and qualifications in research methodology, staff training and/or other fields of applied psychology or child health specialisms.
Knowledge
Essential
- Doctoral level knowledge of research methodology, research design and complex, multivariate data analysis as practiced within the clinical fields of psychology.
- Knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological therapies for children with chronic physical health conditions and the impact of their treatment on quality of life.
Desirable
- High level knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological approaches for specific problems (e.g. adherence difficulties, preparation for medical treatment).
- Knowledge of legislation in relation to the client group (eg with regard to child protection and consent to treatment).
Skills
Essential
- Skills in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment intervention and management frequently requiring sustained and intense concentration.
- Well developed skills in the ability to communicate effectively, orally and in writing, complex, highly technical and/or clinically sensitive information to clients, their families, carers and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS.
- Ability to provide supervision and support to non-qualified psychology staff.
- Skills in providing consultation to other professional and non-professional groups.
Desirable
- Ability to contribute to service development and innovation.
Experience
Essential
- Experience of specialist psychological assessment, formulation, and intervention with children, young people and families.
- Experience of working within a multidisciplinary team, preferably in a paediatric or health setting, and representing psychology.
- Experience of conducting and managing risk assessments and implementing appropriate risk management plans in the context of psychological and/or emotional difficulties.
- Experience of working with other agencies, e.g. social care.
- Experience in delivering psychological therapies that are culturally sensitive, inclusive, and responsive to the needs of children, young people, and families from diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds.
- Experience of teaching or training others, using a variety of complex multi-media materials suitable for presentations within public, professional and academic settings.
- Experience of providing cognitive assessments.
- Experience of working with people with medical/chronic physical health conditions across a range of severity and presentations.
Desirable
- Experience of developing and implementing group-based interventions.
- Experience of working in an acute hospital with patients with medical/chronic health conditions across inpatient and outpatient settings.
Other
Essential
- Ability to prioritise workload, manage time effectively and work autonomously within professional guidelines.
- Ability to identify and employ mechanisms of clinical governance as appropriate, to support and maintain clinical practice in the face of regular exposure to highly emotive material and challenging behaviour.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Doctoral level training in clinical psychology, including specifically models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics and neuropsychology, two or more distinct psychological therapies and lifespan developmental psychology, as accredited by the BPS and HCPC.
- Current registration with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC).
Desirable
- Pre-qualification training and qualifications in research methodology, staff training and/or other fields of applied psychology or child health specialisms.
Knowledge
Essential
- Doctoral level knowledge of research methodology, research design and complex, multivariate data analysis as practiced within the clinical fields of psychology.
- Knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological therapies for children with chronic physical health conditions and the impact of their treatment on quality of life.
Desirable
- High level knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological approaches for specific problems (e.g. adherence difficulties, preparation for medical treatment).
- Knowledge of legislation in relation to the client group (eg with regard to child protection and consent to treatment).
Skills
Essential
- Skills in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment intervention and management frequently requiring sustained and intense concentration.
- Well developed skills in the ability to communicate effectively, orally and in writing, complex, highly technical and/or clinically sensitive information to clients, their families, carers and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS.
- Ability to provide supervision and support to non-qualified psychology staff.
- Skills in providing consultation to other professional and non-professional groups.
Desirable
- Ability to contribute to service development and innovation.
Experience
Essential
- Experience of specialist psychological assessment, formulation, and intervention with children, young people and families.
- Experience of working within a multidisciplinary team, preferably in a paediatric or health setting, and representing psychology.
- Experience of conducting and managing risk assessments and implementing appropriate risk management plans in the context of psychological and/or emotional difficulties.
- Experience of working with other agencies, e.g. social care.
- Experience in delivering psychological therapies that are culturally sensitive, inclusive, and responsive to the needs of children, young people, and families from diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds.
- Experience of teaching or training others, using a variety of complex multi-media materials suitable for presentations within public, professional and academic settings.
- Experience of providing cognitive assessments.
- Experience of working with people with medical/chronic physical health conditions across a range of severity and presentations.
Desirable
- Experience of developing and implementing group-based interventions.
- Experience of working in an acute hospital with patients with medical/chronic health conditions across inpatient and outpatient settings.
Other
Essential
- Ability to prioritise workload, manage time effectively and work autonomously within professional guidelines.
- Ability to identify and employ mechanisms of clinical governance as appropriate, to support and maintain clinical practice in the face of regular exposure to highly emotive material and challenging behaviour.
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see
NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
Additional information
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see
NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
