Principle Applied Psychologist

Job responsibilities

Key Relations

Internal

Chief Nurse/Divisional Directors/Deputy Chief Nurse/Divisional Directors of Nursing/Midwifery/Deputy

Divisional Directors of Nursing/ Clinical Leads of Service/Matrons/Ward Managers/Consultants/Medical

Staff/ Nurses/AHPs and support workers/Finance team/HR team/Clinical Governance teams/Patient

Experience teams/Patients/ Service Users / families and carers of patients.

External

Primary Care, Education Groups, Social Care, Worcestershire rvices and other

relevant organisations

Role Summary

The Clinical Psychologist will lead a specialist clinical psychology service to the Diabetes

and Cystic Fibrosis Service in Worcestershire, to address the psychological needs of children and

young people and their families. This will include specialist assessment, treatment, planning,

implementation and monitoring of outcomes, focusing on identifying and treating psychological and

emotional issues associated with diabetes and cystic fibrosis.

The Clinical Psychologist will provide a strategic view on the development, implementation and

evaluation of the psychology service for children and their families with complex needs, working within

the multi-disciplinary environment.

To provide consultation, advice and training as appropriate to other members of the service and to

work effectively within the multi-disciplinary health team.

To contribute to service evaluation, audit, research and policy development.

Use their initiative and take responsibility for themselves and the quality of their work and the service

they provide to patients.

Contribute to the teaching, clinical governance and administrative activities relevant to the needs of the

clinical psychology service within diabetes and cystic fibrosis service.

To provide clinical supervision and line management to other qualified clinical psychologists, assistant

psychologists or trainee clinical psychologists as required.

Clinical supervision for the post-holder will be established with an appropriately qualified and

experienced clinical psychologist.

Duties and Responsibilities

The following are the core responsibilities for any clinical psychologist post, as listed in AL (SP) 4/92,

working within the Code of Conduct of the British Psychological Society and Guidelines for the Professional

Practice of Clinical Psychology of the BPS Division of Clinical Psychology:

Adhere to national and local standards and guidelines relating to professional practice

Beware of and adhere to current legislation and employer procedures relating to the post

Demonstrate commitment to personal development and acquisition of further skills and knowledge

Responsible for collecting own work statistics

Responsible for managing own time appropriately

Responsible for managing a defined caseload

Work with volunteers and assistants

Responsible for student observations

Responsible for assessment, treatment, reports, interventions, evaluation for each patient

Review and discharge individual patients

Seek second opinions, where necessary

Make onward referrals, where appropriate

Offer advice to carers.

Clinical

To provide highly specialised clinical psychology services, as appropriate to children and young people

and their families and carers, as a member of the Worcestershire Diabetes and Cystic

Fibrosis Service, including:-

The psychological assessment, clinical formulation and management of children and young people

with diabetes and their families with complex presenting problems.

The selection, administration and interpretation psychometric, cognitive, developmental and

neuropsychological assessments where appropriate.

The selection and delivery of evidenced based psychological treatments and therapies, monitoring

outcomes, modifying and adapting interventions and drawing on a range of theoretical options.

Specifically, working to promote psychological adaptation and adjustment.

To work as an independent and autonomous professional within BPS and HCPC guidelines and the

policies and procedures of the service, taking full responsibility for own work including treatment and

discharge decisions.

To contribute to the effective working of the multi-disciplinary health team in order to deliver

comprehensive clinical care to families, children and young people, ensuring that psychological wellbeing

is central to the planning and delivery of health care.

To communicate skilfully and sensitively highly complex and sensitive information with children,

families, carers and colleagues, taking account of sensory and cultural barriers to communication.

To formulate and communicate sensitively highly complex psychological assessment findings and

implement psychological treatment plans, individual, family or group interventions as appropriate.

To provide highly specialist psychological consultation and advice to colleagues and others in the

wider health and education settings and to contribute to a psychologically informed framework within

the service.

To conduct assessments flexibly, attending multi-disciplinary and medic-led clinics, as required.

To assess and monitor risk and safeguarding issues and draw up appropriate risk management plans.

To provide advice to other professionals on psychological aspects of risk assessment and

management.

To raise awareness within the multi-disciplinary healthcare team of a psychological and systemic

framework for thinking about illness and physical health.

To provide psychological support to children, young people and their families who are emotionally distressed by the childs condition or treatment.

To maintain excellent working relationships with colleagues, local CAMHS teams and other local

agencies.

Teaching, training and supervision

To receive regular clinical and professional supervision from a more senior psychologist according to

BPS and Trust guidelines.

To provide professional and clinical supervision to other qualified clinical psychologists and assistant

and trainee psychologists as required.

To participate in the identification of the training needs of professional staff.

To provide specialist clinical teaching, training and consultation to psychologists and other professions

as appropriate.

Management, recruitment, policy and service development

To lead the provision, organisation, development and evaluation of clinical psychology within the

c diabetes and CF service.

To provide line management to other psychologists within the service.

To identify aspects of the service which could be improved and to contribute to the service

development though identifying, undertaking and coordinating appropriate projects.

To monitor and manage the workload of other qualified psychologists and assistant psychologists as

required and contribute to their appraisal/development review.

To participate in the recruitment process of psychologists as appropriate.

To lead the consultation and engagement of service users in planning and developing services.

To exercise delegated responsibility for managing the psychological resources available to the team,

whether in the form of additional qualified or unqualified graduate psychology staff, or in the form of

psychological materials employed in the assessment and treatment of patients.

Responsible for strategic planning, service development and policy issues relating to clinical

psychology within the service.

To contribute as part of the MDT, to relevant policies, procedures and reports as appropriate.

Research, audit and service evaluation

To coordinate and lead on the development of clinical psychology in the diabetes and CF

service through undertaking service evaluation and audit.

To carry out appropriate research and provide research advice to other staff within the service.

To contribute to the development of outcome measurement and assessment, and assist other staff in

the implementation of the same.

To disseminate research and service evaluation findings though presentations and published articles

as relevant.

To utilise theory, evidence-based literature and research to support evidence based practice in

individual work and work with other team members.

Communication and liaison

Liaise with patients and their families and professionals/agencies in relation to the clinical care of

individual clients.

Liaise with other professionals in relation to the service delivery to children, young people and families

with diabetes and CF.

Represent clinical psychology in diabetes at an operational level to ensure good

communication and working relationships are established with a wide range of professions and

agencies.

Contribute to regional diabetes and CF network activities as appropriate.

Clinical Governance

Initiate, develop, implement and evaluate clinical governance for a clinical psychology within the

diabetes and CF service.

Professional Responsibility

To ensure own Continuing Professional Development in line with BPS/HCPC requirements and Trust

appraisal and personal development plan requirements.

To maintain an up to date knowledge of current developments in professional and clinical practice and of relevant legislation and policies.

Improving Diversity and Inclusive Recruitment:

As part of the Trust's aim to improve diversity across the Trust, positive action is being taken and all applications for this post from BAME, Disabled and LGBT+ candidates can request to be considered under an expanded Guaranteed Interview Scheme if they meet the minimum criteria as specified in the person specification for this role.

Applicants will be prompted in the application form to declare if they wish to be considered under this expanded Guaranteed Interview Scheme, and their response would be visible to the Shortlisting Panel.

If you have any queries about expanded Guaranteed Interview Scheme, please contact Rob Saunders (HR Manager - Recruitment) in confidence via email robert.saunders1@nhs.net.

Personal Qualities

Essential

• Ability to work flexibly and cooperatively
• Able to negotiate and collaborate with a wide
• range of professionals
• Able to function as part of a team
• Able to provide leadership within and across
• teams
• Able to fulfil the travel requirements of the post to
• travel across the county to meet service needs
• A commitment to continued professional
• development, to partnership working and to
• reflective clinical practice
• Well-developed IT skills including entry and
• analysis or audit and / or research data
• Enthusiastic, confident and interested in service
• development

Other Requirements

Essential

• Willing to undertake training in relation to post
• Must be willing and able to travel to meet the
• demands of the post
• Complaints management
• Performance management
• Able to fulfil Occupational Health requirements
• for post
• Standard Clauses
• A Disclosures and Barring Service check will be
• carried out where the position is eligible for a
• Disclosures and Barring Service Check in
• accordance with the 2012 Protection of Freedom Act
• and the guidance issued by the DBS.
• All posts working with children or vulnerable adults
• are required to have an Enhanced DBS checked
• including checking against DBS / ISA Vetting and
• barring lists.

Experience

Essential

• Psychological assessment and treatment of
• children, young people and families with a range
• of complex difficulties in a mental health or
• physical health-related setting
• Exercising full
• psychological care and treatment
• Consultation and training to other staff
• Supervision of other staff including qualified
• psychologists
• Leading and developing a clinical service
• Representing a team and service
• Line management
• Developing and carrying out research projects,
• audit and service evaluation
• Multi-disciplinary and multi-agency working
• Clinical record keeping, outcome monitoring and
• report writing
• Working with a wide variety of client groups
• (children & young people aged 0-18 years,
• parents, extended family, carers and
• professionals).
• Experience of working with highly emotive and
• distressing problems (e.g. childhood illness)

Desirable

• Psychological
• assessment and
• treatment of children
• and young people with
• a range of needs in a
• paediatric setting and /
• or physical health
• setting
• Group work
• Providing specialist
• teaching for a range of
• professionals

Qualifications

Essential

• Doctoral level training in Clinical Psychology as
• accredited by the BPS / HCPC, including
• specifically models of psychopathology, clinical
• psychometrics and neuropsychology, two or
• more distinct psychotherapies and lifespan
• developmental psychology or equivalent
• Registered with the HCPC as a Practitioner
• Psychologist
• Evidence of postgraduate CPD

Desirable

• Additional training in a
• specific therapeutic
• approach e.g.
• motivational
• interviewing, solution
• focused approaches
• Training, study days or
• conferences relating to
• physical health
• conditions

Skills/Knowledge

Essential

• Doctoral level knowledge of research
• methodology related to child and family problems
• and complex statistical analysis
• Knowledge of psychological assessment and
• clinical psychometrics
• Advanced level knowledge of the theory and
• practice of at least 2 models of highly specialised
• psychological therapies for child and adolescents
• relevant to physical health
• Knowledge of the psychological theoretical
• models of health and illness
• Knowledge of legislation and national policy
• relevant to work with children, young people and
• families with physical health conditions and
• mental health issues
• Awareness of diversity issues
• Highly developed written and verbal
• communication skills including communicating
• highly complex, highly technical and clinically
• sensitive information to clients, families and
• colleagues
• Consultation skills
• Ability to work independently as an autonomous
• practitioner with appropriate level of clinical and
• managerial supervision and maintain awareness
• of own limitations
• Ability to work effectively within a multidisciplinary
• team and contribute to effective team
• functioning
• Evidence of continuing professional development
• as recommended by the BPS / HCPC
• Ability to provide constructive feedback to staff
• and challenge poor behaviour

Desirable

• Well-developed skills in
• the specialist
• psychological
• assessment and
• treatment of children
• and young people with
• medical conditions and
• their families

Improving Diversity and Inclusive Recruitment

Essential

• As part of the Trust's aim to improve diversity across the Trust, positive action is being taken and all applications for this post from BAME, Disabled and LGBT+ candidates can request to be considered under an expanded Guaranteed Interview Scheme if they meet the minimum criteria as specified in the person specification for this role. Here you can declare if you wish to be considered under this expanded Guaranteed Interview Scheme and this response would be visible to the Shortlisting Panel.

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).