Crisis Assessment Practitioner

Job description

Job responsibilities

KEY RESULT AREAS:

The post-holder will:

1. Provide face to face assessment in the most appropriate setting for the patient.
2. Provide telephone and video assessments were deemed suitable
3. Provide a consultation-liaison service to referring clinicians and clinical teams, assisting them in decision making in difficult and complex cases.
4. Promote choice and hopefulness and ensure a recovery orientated approach.
5. Promote and initiate any actions to safeguard vulnerable children and adults.
6. Be responsible for the assessment of care needs of patients presenting with a wide variety of clinical conditions within and out of normal working hours. Following this, the post-holder will be responsible for planning and referring on for appropriate follow up where necessary.
7. Provide an in-depth assessment, particularly in assisting the development of emergency plans of care, making difficult decisions in cases where patients are exhibiting complex psychosocial needs and/or challenging behaviours.
8. Be expected to participate fully in quality assurance initiatives, with particular emphasis on a patient first approach when required.
9. The post-holder will act as a role model in providing a service for people with mental health problems for all staff, students and visitors that encounter the service.
10. The post-holder will participate in audit/research projects associated with the work of the service when required.
11. The expectation is that the post holder will rotate and work within all crisis services of the hub and form part of one Coral Mental Health Crisis Hub team.

Clinical:

The post-holder will:

1. Lead/facilitate robust full bio-psychosocial assessments making clear decisions, based on an analysis of complex presenting problems and judgement about available options. This will include those related to the admission and discharge of patients (when working with out of hours service providers such as, ACCC, MHCL Coordinator and/or on call SpR and AMPHs can be utilised to provide support).
2. Have a good understanding and work within the trusted assessor framework.
3. Work closely with the Mental Health Crisis Hub Coordinator to manage capacity and flow within the service.
4. Utilise a wide variety of clinical skills appropriate to the needs of individual patients and the clinical setting in which they are required to be seen.
5. Ensure discharge or transfer from the service is clinically safe, sound and timely.
6. Have an ability to engage challenging and/or acutely distressed patients in potentially hostile and/or antagonistic situations.
7. Provide a broad range of specialist psychosocial treatments for individual patients and a specialist consultation-liaison service to referring clinicians and decision-making assisting them in decision making in difficult and complex cases.
8. Demonstrate a high standard of record keeping and documentation with adherence to trust policy and an understanding of professional guidelines and application of confidentiality.
9. Work with colleagues to develop and the promote the services philosophy, framework of care delivery and strategic objectives.
10. Work with colleagues to develop clinical expertise and high standards of nursing practice, as defined by the Nursing and Midwifery code of professional conduct.
11. Deliver care that is evidence practices, reflecting current best practice and research.
12. Participate in structured clinical supervision in accordance with Trust policies and procedures.
13. Demonstrate clinical excellence and high standards of nursing practice to other staff.
14. Demonstrate sound understanding of the legal and ethical issues in caring for the mentally ill. In particular, demonstrating sound understanding of the Mental Health Act /Mental Capacity Act and its use in a non-mental health inpatient setting.
15. Encourage dignity, choice and empowerment.
16. Promote recovery and social inclusion throughout the patient journey.
17. Help the client identify strengths to achieve goals and aspirations.
18. Contribute to a comprehensive risk assessment in accordance with the Trust Policies and Guidelines.
19. To work flexibly in ensuring maximum efforts are made to engage users/carers.
20. To always maintain confidentiality, and ensure accurate records are maintained in accordance with NMC guidelines and Trust Policy.
21. To ensure effective communication with Children & Families for safeguarding children is required.
22. Raise safeguarding alerts if you suspect that a service user and/or carer has been exposed to harm or abuse.
23. To report to Unit Manager any incident or Serious Untoward Incidents that may take place and provide reports and accurate records relating to the incidents.The post holder to be flexible in doing rotatyional shifts between working in the Mental Health Crisis Line and completing assessment in the Team

Communication:

1. Demonstrate the ability to receive and give complex clinical details clearly using SBAR, with patients, carers and colleagues.
2. Demonstrate the ability to communicate clearly and sensitively in situations that are contentious and/or hostile.
3. Demonstrate a high level of interpersonal skills, self awareness and empathy in all communications.
4. Demonstrate an ability to negotiate and problem solve in contentious and/or antagonistic situations where agreement is required.
5. Communicate clear decisions and rationale when agreement cannot be reached e.g. in situations where the Mental Health Act or Mental Capacity Act or Common Law may be needed to be used.
6. Demonstrate the ability to develop and maintain good working relationships with colleagues within the team and externally.

Management:

1. Fulfil the Shift Coordinator role within the crisis hub, providing senior clinical input to manage emergencies and support senior/difficult decision making in the sphere of your practice/role.
2. Play a vital role in communicating and maintaining good working relationships within the trust and externally.
3. Have responsibility for the health, safety and welfare of self, service users and visitors. To always comply with the requirements of the Health and Safety regulations.
4. At all times follow the NMC Code of Professional Conduct or relevant regulatory body and ensure that all staff within your sphere of responsibility also follows the code.
5. Act as change agent to promote innovation and high standards of practice.
6. Contribute to the development and implementation of Trust policy as and when required.
7. Inform senior members within the service line when issues impacting on service delivery become apparent.
8. Participate in clinical meetings, virtual risk meetings, zoning meetings/handover and business meetings.
9. Carry out responsibilities to promote the smooth running of the clinical area.
10. Participate in the Trusts complaints procedure and critical incident reporting when required and work within the policies and procedures of the Trust.

Research:

1. Demonstrate a commitment to developing research skills in themselves and any junior staff.
2. Undertake audit/research into client/service related areas and contribute to the application and evaluation of current research findings.
3. Develop methods at service level to monitor standards of care in liaison with the clinical audit department (quality assurance/research).
4. Lead on quality improvement initiatives to improve the quality of care for service users and their families.

Clinical Governance:

1. Contribute to the design and implementation of auditing of clinical work.
2. Provide information and reports as required to the management team.
3. Take an active role in seeking carer and user feedback.
4. Demonstrate respect, empathy and understanding of all users and colleagues within the service.

Training, Education and Development

1. To undertake mandatory and statutory training as required by Trust policy.
2. To contribute and commit to undertaking an annual PADR.
3. To undertake personal development as identified in the Personal Development Plan (PDP).
4. The post holder will make an active contribution to on-going education within the service, for the benefit of colleagues and service users.
5. Under the guidance of the Unit Manager, identify own professional development needs and demonstrate achievements against personal development plans.
6. Act as a mentor/preceptor where appropriate.
7. Facilitate a learning environment conducive to the acquisition of further knowledge and skills.

Person Specification

Education and Qualification

Essential

• RMN (current NMC registration)
• Evidence of continuing professional and personal development
• Mentorship Qualification
• ENB 998 or equivalent

Desirable

• RGN
• oEducated to degree or diploma level nursing or other courses relevant to acute and urgent care e.g. brief solution focussed therapy, risk assessment/management, assessment etc.

Experience and Knowledge

Essential

• oDemonstrable experience of post qualifying work in psychiatry, with evidence of experience at Band 5
• oExperience of working with people who have experienced serious ongoing mental health problems
• oExperience of assessing and managing crisis with those with a severe mental illness
• oExperience of working within an assessment team.
• oExperience of working as a Clinical Supervisor
• oExperience of implementing and monitoring standards of care
• oExperience of working within a multidisciplinary team
• oExperience of supervising junior staff within own and/or other disciplines
• oExperience as a preceptor / mentor.
• oKnowledge of clinical governance and audit.
• oKnowledge of relevant professional and clinical legislation.

Desirable

• oOther relevant post registration experience
• oExperience of working in a community mental health team.
• oAudit and research experience
• oExperience of teaching/training in a formal or informal setting
• oExperience of working in an assessment setting
• oExperience of recruitment and selection of staff
• oExperience of managing and monitoring budgets

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.

Certificate of Sponsorship

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).

Employer details

Employer name

South West London and St Georges Mental Health NHS Trust

Address

Springfield University Hospital

Tooting

SW17 7DJ

Employer's website

https://www.swlstg.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)