Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust

Research Assistant, Quest

This job is now closed

Job summary

Postholder will have a vital role in the delivery of a National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) funded project: The clinical & cost effectiveness of quetiapine for people with borderline personality disorder: A pragmatic, double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomised trial [QUEST].

In this exciting role, the post holder will travel to mental health clinics throughout Merseyside & Lancashire to discuss the QUEST trial with community mental health service users & recruit patients with a diagnosis of borderline personality disorder. Postholder will collect data for the project in clinics or participant homes, involving the Zanarini Rating Scale for Borderline Personality Disorder (ZAN-BPD), Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-V Personality Disorders (SCID-5-PD) and a range of other measures. Full training will be provided.

Postholder will work collaboratively and be supported by the study Chief Investigator & QUEST study team, R&D staff & clinical services to assist with the successful delivery of the study & achievement of local and national targets in relation to research performance.

Main duties of the job

Maintaining good working relationships with service users, carers, clinic staff & other stakeholders will be key to the success of the project. Successful candidate should be organised, capable of independent work, with strong interpersonal skills & a good awareness of MH difficulties. Postholder will be based in the R&D department, working alongside a vibrant research team.

To assist in the set-up and facilitation of the research project.
To maintain and manage an external database of quantitative data anonymise data, input data into the database and keep it up to date.
To approach potential research participants using a variety of communication formats, in order to engage them in the research study.
To carry out any relevant psychometric test materials and structured/ semi-structured interviews whilst ensuring the safety and comfort of participants and yourself.
Where indicated, to follow-up research participants at agreed intervals.
To be aware of the psychological/ emotional needs of research participants, responding and reporting appropriately.
To ensure that research procedures (including consent processes and follow up) are carried out according to the approved protocol and the UK policy framework for health and social care research.
To conduct reviews of electronic patient clinical notes, extracting and coding data for research purposes.
To score relevant tests make data anonymous and enter data into the study database.
To ensure safe storage of paper data.

About us

Mersey Care is one of the largest trusts providing physical health and mental health services in the North West, serving more than 1.4 million people across our region and are also commissioned for services that cover the North West, North Wales and the Midlands.

We offer specialist inpatient and community services that support physical and mental health and specialist inpatient mental health, learning disability, addiction and brain injury services. Mersey Care is one of only three trusts in the UK that offer high secure mental health facilities.

At the heart of all we do is our commitment to 'perfect care' - care that is safe, effective, positively experienced, timely, equitable and efficient. We support our staff to do the best job they can and work alongside service users, their families, and carers to design and develop future services together. We're currently delivering a programme of organisational and service transformation to significantly improve the quality of the services we provide and safely reduce cost as we do so.

Flexible working requests will be considered for all roles.

Date posted

03 December 2024

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 5

Salary

£29,970 to £36,483 a year Per annum

Contract

Fixed term

Duration

30 months

Working pattern

Part-time

Reference number

350-TWS6831531

Job locations

R & D department; Indigo Building

Maghull Health Park

Maghull, Liverpool

L31 1HE

Job description

Job responsibilities

Please see attached job description and person specification for further details of this role or contact the recruiting manager for more information.

Job description

Job responsibilities

Please see attached job description and person specification for further details of this role or contact the recruiting manager for more information.

Person Specification

Skills

Essential

Ability to interview and perform assessments with service users in a safe, sympathetic and courteous manner.
Able to respond sensitively to emotional distress.
Demonstrable knowledge of patient and staff safety issues.
Organisational & prioritisation skills.
Be aware of stigma & discrimination of persons with mental health difficulties.
Demonstrable knowledge of confidentiality issues.
Ability to converse with internal & external services & able to accept & convey telephone messages in a precise & courteous manner.
Clear & unambiguous written communication skills.
Excellent data entry skills.
Ability to use Microsoft Word to produce reports.
Ability to file effectively.
Sufficiently adaptable to learn and use new technology.
Ability to travel across Trusts sites.
Willingness to adapt working hours to match the needs of the project.
Requirement to travel to various sites/ locations across the NW region, therefore you must have the means to travel to these sites in a timely manner.

Qualifications

Essential

A degree (2:1 or above) in psychology/social sciences or related discipline.

Knowledge & Experience

Essential

Good awareness of a range of different mental illnesses.
Familiarity with undertaking structured and semi- structured interviewing.
Understanding of research governance and ethics.

Desirable

Familiarity with a range of research methods.
Experience of engaging different demographic groups in research.
Experience of working with people with mental health difficulties

Values

Essential

Continuous Improvement
Accountability
Respectfulness
Enthusiasm
Support
High professional standards
Responsive to service users
Engaging leadership style
Strong customer service belief
Transparency and honesty
Discreet
Change oriented

Person Specification

Skills

Essential

Ability to interview and perform assessments with service users in a safe, sympathetic and courteous manner.
Able to respond sensitively to emotional distress.
Demonstrable knowledge of patient and staff safety issues.
Organisational & prioritisation skills.
Be aware of stigma & discrimination of persons with mental health difficulties.
Demonstrable knowledge of confidentiality issues.
Ability to converse with internal & external services & able to accept & convey telephone messages in a precise & courteous manner.
Clear & unambiguous written communication skills.
Excellent data entry skills.
Ability to use Microsoft Word to produce reports.
Ability to file effectively.
Sufficiently adaptable to learn and use new technology.
Ability to travel across Trusts sites.
Willingness to adapt working hours to match the needs of the project.
Requirement to travel to various sites/ locations across the NW region, therefore you must have the means to travel to these sites in a timely manner.

Qualifications

Essential

A degree (2:1 or above) in psychology/social sciences or related discipline.

Knowledge & Experience

Essential

Good awareness of a range of different mental illnesses.
Familiarity with undertaking structured and semi- structured interviewing.
Understanding of research governance and ethics.

Desirable

Familiarity with a range of research methods.
Experience of engaging different demographic groups in research.
Experience of working with people with mental health difficulties

Values

Essential

Continuous Improvement
Accountability
Respectfulness
Enthusiasm
Support
High professional standards
Responsive to service users
Engaging leadership style
Strong customer service belief
Transparency and honesty
Discreet
Change oriented

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.

Employer details

Employer name

Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust

Address

R & D department; Indigo Building

Maghull Health Park

Maghull, Liverpool

L31 1HE

Employer's website

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

Employer details

Employer name

Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust

Address

R & D department; Indigo Building

Maghull Health Park

Maghull, Liverpool

L31 1HE

Employer's website

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