Job summary
The post holder will take responsibility for the coordination and delivery of psychology provision within the Critical Care Unit and recovery pathways acting as an integral member of the multi-disciplinary team. They will be responsible for the systematic provision of a high quality, responsive and accessible clinical psychology service for patients, their families and staff in the critical care unit.
They will develop a cohesive and integrated rehabilitation service for all patients experiencing critical illness in our trust from admission through to discharge and improve continued follow up after leaving hospital, to manage any ongoing problems.
The post holder will work autonomously within professional guidelines and be responsible for the systematic governance of psychological practice including assessment of needs, delivery of therapies, specialist consultation to the multi-disciplinary team, training of staff and service evaluation.
Main duties of the job
- To take responsibility for accepting, prioritising and managing referrals.
- To provide highly specialised and comprehensive assessments, formulations and interventions of the complex psychological and neuropsychological difficulties that stem from the event that resulted in the CCU admission and/or or from the treatment received on CCU.
- To be an active member of the multidisciplinary Critical Illness Recovery pathway offering assessment, formulation and brief therapy where appropriate.
- To be responsible for the interpretation, analysis and integration of highly complex psychological and non-psychological information including data gathered from use of psychological and neuropsychological assessment, self-report measures, rating scales, direct and indirect structured observations and semi-structured interviews with service users, family members and others involved in the service user's care.
- To communicate highly complex, often technical, psychological or neuropsychological assessment findings and recommendations to service users, family members, and staff in a clear and empathic manner. This will often require a high degree of sensitivity as situations will frequently be highly emotive.
About us
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
We are committed to achieving equality and inclusion for all our people at Homerton University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. We are proud to be in one of the most diverse locations in the country, with nearly 90 different languages spoken as a main language, and we champion equality, diversity and inclusion in all aspects of our employment practices and service delivery. Every member of our staff is expected to understand, commit to, and champion equality, diversity and inclusion throughout their work.
Standards of English
All employees are required to have the appropriate level of English competence to enable them to effectively carry out their role, deliver safe care and enhance the patient experience. This is a requirement of the Immigration Act 2016 (Part 7), and the Person Specification will clearly define the required level of competence for the role.
Informal enquires are welcome and visiting is encouraged.
Job description
Job responsibilities
The full job description provides an overview of the key tasks and responsibilities of the role, and the person specification outlines the qualifications, skills, experience, and knowledge required. For both documents, please view the attachment/s on this page.
The person specification below is not the full person specification but outlines the criteria against which your application form will be assessed.
Job description
Job responsibilities
The full job description provides an overview of the key tasks and responsibilities of the role, and the person specification outlines the qualifications, skills, experience, and knowledge required. For both documents, please view the attachment/s on this page.
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
Essential
- Post-graduate doctoral level training in clinical or counselling psychology (or its equivalent for those trained prior to 1996 and those who trained abroad) as accredited by the BPS, or with a statement of equivalence from the BPS
- Undertaken post-qualification training in a specialised area of practice relevant to rehabilitation of patients following critical illness
- Undertaken post-qualification training in a specialised area of practice relevant to rehabilitation of patients following critical illness
- Completion of formal training in clinical supervision
Desirable
- Leadership qualification / evidence of formal training in leadership
Knowledge & Skills
Essential
- Advanced knowledge of complex methods of psychological and neuropsychological assessment including theory, evidence base and application of psychological approaches and interventions for people with physical health problems and their relatives
- Clinical expertise in at least one area of clinical practice relevant to work in Critical Care, e.g. trauma, acquired disability adjustment, family and relationship difficulties, neuropsychological changes
- Well-developed skills in the ability to communicate effectively, orally and in writing, complex, highly technical and/or clinical sensitive information to clients, their families, carers and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS, in highly emotional situations.
- Knowledge of a range of consultation models and skills in providing consultation to other professional and non-professional groups
- Doctoral level knowledge of research methodology, research design and complex, multivariate data analysis as practised within the field of clinical psychology
- Well-developed knowledge of legislation in relation to people with mental health and physical health conditions and its implications for clinical practice in Critical Care
Experience
Essential
- Experience of exercising full clinical responsibility for clients' psychological care and treatment both as a professionally qualified coordinator of care and within the context of a multidisciplinary care plan
- Substantial experience of working with a wide variety of client groups, across the whole life course, presenting problems that reflect the full range of clinical severity, including maintaining a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems, verbal abuse and the threat of physical abuse
- Substantial experience of working as a clinical or counselling psychologist within a multidisciplinary team with adults presenting with physical health problems and across the full range of care settings including inpatient, outpatient and community settings
- Familiar with other related services which may be required for patient care e.g. IAPT, Psychiatry liaison services, CAMHS
- Familiar with other related services which may be required for patient care e.g. IAPT, Psychiatry liaison services, CAMHS
- Experience of developing and facilitating staff teaching and training for psychologists and the wider multidisciplinary service
- Ability to design and undertake complex audit/ research and service evaluation
Desirable
- Experience of representing psychology within the wider organisation
- Experience of liaising with commissioners
- Core experience of leadership within an appropriate specialist area
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Post-graduate doctoral level training in clinical or counselling psychology (or its equivalent for those trained prior to 1996 and those who trained abroad) as accredited by the BPS, or with a statement of equivalence from the BPS
- Undertaken post-qualification training in a specialised area of practice relevant to rehabilitation of patients following critical illness
- Undertaken post-qualification training in a specialised area of practice relevant to rehabilitation of patients following critical illness
- Completion of formal training in clinical supervision
Desirable
- Leadership qualification / evidence of formal training in leadership
Knowledge & Skills
Essential
- Advanced knowledge of complex methods of psychological and neuropsychological assessment including theory, evidence base and application of psychological approaches and interventions for people with physical health problems and their relatives
- Clinical expertise in at least one area of clinical practice relevant to work in Critical Care, e.g. trauma, acquired disability adjustment, family and relationship difficulties, neuropsychological changes
- Well-developed skills in the ability to communicate effectively, orally and in writing, complex, highly technical and/or clinical sensitive information to clients, their families, carers and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS, in highly emotional situations.
- Knowledge of a range of consultation models and skills in providing consultation to other professional and non-professional groups
- Doctoral level knowledge of research methodology, research design and complex, multivariate data analysis as practised within the field of clinical psychology
- Well-developed knowledge of legislation in relation to people with mental health and physical health conditions and its implications for clinical practice in Critical Care
Experience
Essential
- Experience of exercising full clinical responsibility for clients' psychological care and treatment both as a professionally qualified coordinator of care and within the context of a multidisciplinary care plan
- Substantial experience of working with a wide variety of client groups, across the whole life course, presenting problems that reflect the full range of clinical severity, including maintaining a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems, verbal abuse and the threat of physical abuse
- Substantial experience of working as a clinical or counselling psychologist within a multidisciplinary team with adults presenting with physical health problems and across the full range of care settings including inpatient, outpatient and community settings
- Familiar with other related services which may be required for patient care e.g. IAPT, Psychiatry liaison services, CAMHS
- Familiar with other related services which may be required for patient care e.g. IAPT, Psychiatry liaison services, CAMHS
- Experience of developing and facilitating staff teaching and training for psychologists and the wider multidisciplinary service
- Ability to design and undertake complex audit/ research and service evaluation
Desirable
- Experience of representing psychology within the wider organisation
- Experience of liaising with commissioners
- Core experience of leadership within an appropriate specialist area
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.
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
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.
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see
NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
