Job summary
The Westminster Older Adults and Health Ageing Community Mental Health Team is a dynamic multidisciplinary service providing mental health support to older adults in Westminster with functional disorders and dementia. It is co-located with the Westminster City Council mental health team, offering a holistic approach to care. The team is also involved in the CNWL Open Dialogue project, which promotes person-centred recovery-oriented care.
The team operates using a case management, intervention-led and recovery-focused model, offering multidisciplinary assessments and interventions for service users with complex needs, as well as their families and carers. Regular multidisciplinary meetings facilitate case discussions, initial assessments, and reflective practice. A key feature of the service is the integrated older adults home treatment team, which delivers intensive support, crisis management, admission prevention, and helps ensure timely hospital discharges. The CMHT and HTT teams collaborate closely, offering a responsive and flexible service to meet the needs of service users. Coordination with older adults' inpatient services allows smooth transitions of care.
The service promotes a friendly, respectful work environment where staff receive professional development, including supervision and appraisals. Involvement of service users and carers is a core element of the service's design and delivery.
Main duties of the job
As part of the management team, the postholder would provide older adults clinical leadership in the community mental health team. The postholder would lead on clinical practice, standards and pathways; providing clinical and managerial leadership to support the team manager, as well as supporting with organisational and practice development and quality improvement strategies. The role would also involve providing specialist advice, assessment, formulation and delivery of brief interventions for older adults with complex mental health conditions and dementia, who may be new or known previously to secondary care mental health services.
Working together with other older adult clinical leads in the service, this role provides the opportunity to develop older adults care pathways in the community, focusing on integrating with community services and delivering a more holistic and joined up care for older adults with multiple complex co-morbidities including frailty, functional mental health needs and/or dementia. Furthermore, it would involve supporting workforce development, particularly community mental health nursing and allied health professionals ensuring that staff develop the skills and strategies required for their roles in the Community Mental Health Team and Home Treatment Team (HTT).
About us
- Flexible shift working opportunities for a healthier work-life balance
- Commitment from the team todevelop youby offering coaching and in-house development sessions such as, Leadership programmes,non-medical prescribing, CBT-P training and much more
- Free access to our Staff and Wellbeing serviceto ensure that you are always looking after yourself
- Commitment tocareer mappingto ensure continuous professional development including opportunities within the Trust
- Shadowing opportunitiesincluding HTT, Psych Liaison and many more
- LocalReflective Practice forumsrun by one of the senior leads
- An opportunity to work with afriendly, dynamic, passionate and diverse teamwho are committed to looking after each other as well as their patients
- Excellentstaff benefits: our benefit packages are amongst the best in London and include: childcare vouchers, health and wellbeing services, season ticket loans, cycle to work scheme, blue light card, discounts at Nando's and Superdrug, mobile phone contracts and much more!
- Award-winning Staff Networks
- Hidden Gem & annualaward ceremonies
Job description
Job responsibilities
**Please see full job description for further information**
Clinical
- To provide clinical leadership for staff within the service, particularly in the community mental health team.
- To assist the team manager in developing a model of working with service users with complex needs, ensuring that services are provided to the highest possible standard.
- To deputise for the team manager as needed.
- To lead on the day to day operational and clinical management of the service, including duty and triage functions.
- Participate in and lead meetings as appropriate.
- The postholder would be expected to show demonstrable and comprehensive experience of working with older adults/ those with complex physical and mental health needs including functional and organic illness, an ability to work flexibly and collaboratively across local environments and strong interpersonal skills.
- The postholder will be expected to have well developed clinical skills of their own in order to enable them to practice at a high standard, appropriately guide and supervise staff at all levels.
- To provide advice and support other practitioners with the assessment and management of servicer users needs and risks, including cases of a high degree of complexity from a mental health and physical health perspective.
- To provide expert advice and consultation in professional matters relating to the postholders discipline, and to ensure that expert information and advice is available for the other disciplines in the team.
- To provide managerial and clinical supervision for staff.
- To manage a small caseload as needed, including providing access and /or deliver a broad range of psychosocial interventions for individual patients, carry out robust risk assessments and care planning.
- To work within the relevant legislative frameworks (e.g. Mental Health Act (1983) Mental Capacity Act (2005), Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards, Care Act 2014 etc).
- To ensure that the team works within the relevant frameworks and policies for safeguarding vulnerable adults.
- To ensure that services within the multidisciplinary team are well co-ordinated in order they are responsive and attuned to the needs of service users, carers and families.
- To demonstrate a high level of clinical competence both in relation to supervision of staff and direct face to face contact with service users.
- To ensure that the service works in co-ordination with community services including other secondary mental health services, social services, third sector providers and Acute In-Patient services.
- To ensure effective liaison with other relevant agencies.
- To maintain and develop administrative procedures regarding the recording of case records.
- To ensure that service users are involved in the development of the team and local services.
Job description
Job responsibilities
**Please see full job description for further information**
Clinical
- To provide clinical leadership for staff within the service, particularly in the community mental health team.
- To assist the team manager in developing a model of working with service users with complex needs, ensuring that services are provided to the highest possible standard.
- To deputise for the team manager as needed.
- To lead on the day to day operational and clinical management of the service, including duty and triage functions.
- Participate in and lead meetings as appropriate.
- The postholder would be expected to show demonstrable and comprehensive experience of working with older adults/ those with complex physical and mental health needs including functional and organic illness, an ability to work flexibly and collaboratively across local environments and strong interpersonal skills.
- The postholder will be expected to have well developed clinical skills of their own in order to enable them to practice at a high standard, appropriately guide and supervise staff at all levels.
- To provide advice and support other practitioners with the assessment and management of servicer users needs and risks, including cases of a high degree of complexity from a mental health and physical health perspective.
- To provide expert advice and consultation in professional matters relating to the postholders discipline, and to ensure that expert information and advice is available for the other disciplines in the team.
- To provide managerial and clinical supervision for staff.
- To manage a small caseload as needed, including providing access and /or deliver a broad range of psychosocial interventions for individual patients, carry out robust risk assessments and care planning.
- To work within the relevant legislative frameworks (e.g. Mental Health Act (1983) Mental Capacity Act (2005), Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards, Care Act 2014 etc).
- To ensure that the team works within the relevant frameworks and policies for safeguarding vulnerable adults.
- To ensure that services within the multidisciplinary team are well co-ordinated in order they are responsive and attuned to the needs of service users, carers and families.
- To demonstrate a high level of clinical competence both in relation to supervision of staff and direct face to face contact with service users.
- To ensure that the service works in co-ordination with community services including other secondary mental health services, social services, third sector providers and Acute In-Patient services.
- To ensure effective liaison with other relevant agencies.
- To maintain and develop administrative procedures regarding the recording of case records.
- To ensure that service users are involved in the development of the team and local services.
Person Specification
Qualifications and training
Essential
- oProfessional qualification Mental Health Nursing (RMN) with current NMC/HCPC registration, Occupational Therapist
- oAttained at least Level 2 Maths and English (equivalent to GCSE grade 9-4 (A*-C))
Desirable
- oRGN/physical health qualification
- oEvidence of recent and on-going relevant further professional development
- oAttendance at specialist short courses relevant to the post (e.g. MBT or DBT, Trauma Informed Care, Group Approaches)
- oTrained in Open Dialogue, or willingness to undertake training
Experience
Essential
- oExperience of working with older adults/ those with complex physical and mental health needs including functional and organic illness, mental health care, working with carers, physical health, delivering therapeutic individual and group interventions, working in MDT's, working multi-cultural settings
- oExperience in audit, evaluation or research
- oWork in multi-cultural settings
- oClinical leadership and advice in complex cases.
- oExperience of work in the NHS, PCNs or outreach work, experience of working in voluntary sector, community groups
- oManagement experience, including clinical and managerial support of clinical staff
Knowledge
Essential
- oBasic understanding of health care systems and structures: staffing, roles and responsibilities, the role of hospitals, primary care and community care
- Team/self-management and organisation skills that enable a number of complex activities and clinical work to be undertaken, revising and adjusting these according to the needs of individual patients and the service
- Extensive knowledge of mental health conditions, frailty and physical health, social and psychological factors affecting older adults with mental health problems (organic and functional illnesses)
- Comprehensive skills in needs assessments, use of psychosocial assessment methods
- Assessment and management of risks including risks to self and others
- Knowledge of counselling skills/cognitive behavioural skills, psychosocial interventions and recovery approaches
- Appropriate clinical knowledge to be able to make autonomous decisions as well as providing clinical advice to other clinicians based on an analysis of complex presenting problems, risks and making judgement about available options
- Work with people from a wide range of cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds
- Contain and work with organisational stress and able to hold the stress of others
- Manage effectively exposure to distressing/highly emotional circumstances
- Manage effectively verbal aggression from service users, families, etc. and the risk of physical aggression
- Respectful and collaborative approach to service users, families, carers, colleagues and other professionals
- Able to negotiate and ability to handle confrontation effectively and professionally
- Ability to engage challenging and/or acutely distressed patients in potentially hostile and/or antagonistic situations and use deescalation techniques effectively
- High level of communication skills, both written and oral
Operational
Essential
- oComputer literate
- oBeing able to work flexibly across local environments
- oAwareness of diversity of cultural norms and being able to respond to this appropriately
- oUse IT packages - word processing, e-mail and internet, Excel and Access
- oAbility to use or learn NHS clinical systems
- oManagement of performance targets
- oWork cross-culturally and/or in different languages
- oWork to professional guidelines
- oAccept accountability for own work, and of working towards defined results
- oPlan, organise and prioritise own workload
- oRecord and report on clinical information as required
Person Specification
Qualifications and training
Essential
- oProfessional qualification Mental Health Nursing (RMN) with current NMC/HCPC registration, Occupational Therapist
- oAttained at least Level 2 Maths and English (equivalent to GCSE grade 9-4 (A*-C))
Desirable
- oRGN/physical health qualification
- oEvidence of recent and on-going relevant further professional development
- oAttendance at specialist short courses relevant to the post (e.g. MBT or DBT, Trauma Informed Care, Group Approaches)
- oTrained in Open Dialogue, or willingness to undertake training
Experience
Essential
- oExperience of working with older adults/ those with complex physical and mental health needs including functional and organic illness, mental health care, working with carers, physical health, delivering therapeutic individual and group interventions, working in MDT's, working multi-cultural settings
- oExperience in audit, evaluation or research
- oWork in multi-cultural settings
- oClinical leadership and advice in complex cases.
- oExperience of work in the NHS, PCNs or outreach work, experience of working in voluntary sector, community groups
- oManagement experience, including clinical and managerial support of clinical staff
Knowledge
Essential
- oBasic understanding of health care systems and structures: staffing, roles and responsibilities, the role of hospitals, primary care and community care
- Team/self-management and organisation skills that enable a number of complex activities and clinical work to be undertaken, revising and adjusting these according to the needs of individual patients and the service
- Extensive knowledge of mental health conditions, frailty and physical health, social and psychological factors affecting older adults with mental health problems (organic and functional illnesses)
- Comprehensive skills in needs assessments, use of psychosocial assessment methods
- Assessment and management of risks including risks to self and others
- Knowledge of counselling skills/cognitive behavioural skills, psychosocial interventions and recovery approaches
- Appropriate clinical knowledge to be able to make autonomous decisions as well as providing clinical advice to other clinicians based on an analysis of complex presenting problems, risks and making judgement about available options
- Work with people from a wide range of cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds
- Contain and work with organisational stress and able to hold the stress of others
- Manage effectively exposure to distressing/highly emotional circumstances
- Manage effectively verbal aggression from service users, families, etc. and the risk of physical aggression
- Respectful and collaborative approach to service users, families, carers, colleagues and other professionals
- Able to negotiate and ability to handle confrontation effectively and professionally
- Ability to engage challenging and/or acutely distressed patients in potentially hostile and/or antagonistic situations and use deescalation techniques effectively
- High level of communication skills, both written and oral
Operational
Essential
- oComputer literate
- oBeing able to work flexibly across local environments
- oAwareness of diversity of cultural norms and being able to respond to this appropriately
- oUse IT packages - word processing, e-mail and internet, Excel and Access
- oAbility to use or learn NHS clinical systems
- oManagement of performance targets
- oWork cross-culturally and/or in different languages
- oWork to professional guidelines
- oAccept accountability for own work, and of working towards defined results
- oPlan, organise and prioritise own workload
- oRecord and report on clinical information as required
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).
