Job responsibilities
Key Duties
Provide clinical leadership and oversight to all helpline staff members that is service user focussed.
Support clinical and non-clinical colleagues in the triage decision making in clinically complex cases.
Oversee the specialised risk and mental health assessments of individuals engaged with the Urgent Care pathway to inform recommendations for their care/treatment.
Set and lead on clinical standards that support the sustainability of a quality accessible helpline service.
Develop and build relationships across all mental health specialities (all age and all need) and the voluntary sector ensuring a focus on developing seamless pathways for service users.
Provide leadership and clinical expertise to the further development ofclinical pathways from the mental health support line.
Provide clinical supervision to mental health support line team members.
Support development of key clinical performance metrics.
Analyse and develop monthly clinical and operational performance targets against these standards.Provide training and supervision to helpline staff in relation to using clinical triage tools.
Ensure the safe follow up communication and transition for individuals presenting with needs for safeguarding.
Support team members in recommending and referring, where treatment intervention is indicated, to the most appropriate team/service utilising all available resources.
Work with peers across trust directorates and partnership agencies and to ensure integration of the service with the wider crisis pathways.
The post holder will be able to sustain a respectful, consistent and reliable therapeutic relationship with service users.
The service provides an all age all need response and therefore as clinical lead you will need to demonstrate competence across a broad spectrum of mental health specialism.
Clinical Professional Issues
To co-ordinate activities within the mental health support line call centre ensuring all team members are clear on clinical and operational policies and processes.
Ensure close liaison with CMHTs, Primary Care Teams, Inpatient Services, Social Services Departments and Non statutory Agencies.
To ensure that the Service meets its quality and performance targets as indicated in the performance metrics.
The post holder will provide a professional role model for the delivery of high quality care always acting in a person centred and enabling fashion, working in a family inclusive practice and in line with contemporary practice.
Ensure evidence based practice and research awareness is used as the foundation for the assessment, planning, implementation and evaluation of care.
Promote service user and carer involvement; autonomy and choice are embedded into the philosophy of the clinical area in all aspects of care.
Ensure appropriate evidence based clinical risk assessments undertaken.
Ensure all service users, where indicated have an up to date evidenced-based care plan that meets their presenting needs and safety plans are reflected to ensure clinical teams are aware of any changing patterns of presentation and risk.
The post-holder will be aware of and work within all legislative requirements (Mental Health Act, Code of Practice, Human Rights Act, Equalities Act etc).
Ensure good practice is maintained by taking the lead in challenging practice that requires change or development or that does not meet required standards.
Use effective interpersonal skills that relate to service users, carers and team members on an equal basis.
Ensure a multi-professional/agency approach to care is maintained, valuing the interface of professional roles and responsibilities.
Promote the use of critical skills analysis and innovative approaches to ensure care is reviewed according to service user needs/perspectives.
Ensure trust professional guidelines are maintained for record keeping.
Post holder will ensure the Trust Policy for Clinical / Practice Supervision is implemented; this will include providing and receiving Clinical / Practice Supervision in accordance with their specialist knowledge across a named set of staff.
Post holder will proactively explore opportunities for, and take the lead on developing practice within the clinical areas.
Ensure where necessary the Child/Adult / Public Protection Procedures are followed.
Ensure that all providers of care throughout the health community are involved in planning, delivering and evaluation care where indicated.
Exercise professional accountability and responsibility, taking into account the actions of other professionals who are responsible/accountable to you.
Ensure care is delivered to incorporate health and social care policy.
Ensure care is delivered in a person centred manner ensuring gender, ethnic, cultural and spiritual needs of service users are adhered to.
Ensure carers/significant others are included in the assessment and communication post assessment is implemented safely and effectively.
Demonstrate ability to weigh up the interests of service users in complex situations using professional knowledge, judgements and skills to enable you to account for the decisions you make, and the clinical leadership you provide for others.
Leadership & Management
Post holder will share accountability with the other clinical lead.
Demonstrate the ability to apply leadership/managerial theory.
To implement change within the division areas as required.
Empower all team members to participate in implementing change by using problem solving, considering potential conflicts and planning resolution.
To be involved with the recruitment and selection of new staff across the service directorate
Proactively manage conflict within a multi-professional and multi-disciplinary team, ensuring the needs of service users are maintained.
Nurture a culture of respect for others, and an environment that values and is pro-actively respectful of ethnicity, gender, culture and individuality for service users and staff.
Ensure Trust policies, procedures, and legislative directives are adhered to, E.g. Equal Opportunities, Human Rights Act, Disability Discrimination Act, Race Relations, Sex Discrimination etc.
Ensure service users/carers participate in developing and shaping the service where possible.
Develop strategic thinking skills, promoting an umbrella view of clinical situations for the multi-professional team.
Chair clinical and non-clinical meetings as required.
Post holder will ensure effective communication systems are in operation within theservice line that support and enhance high quality care.
The post holder will take the lead in ensuring clinical and non-clinical risk management systems are operational within the clinical area, including Health & Safety at Work issues.
The post holder will receive management supervision from the Service Line Manager
Post holder will ensure the Complaints Procedure is followed.
Clinical Governance/Quality Assurance
Lead on developing and delivering the clinical governance agenda/plan for the service.
Facilitate the development of evidence-based standards of care that include service users, carers and team members.
To ensure that audit and research occur across the service and that results are fed into the correct monitoring groups within the organisations Clinical Governance and Best Value structures.
Identify and when necessary take the lead in developing clinical audit and research activity.
Lead on appropriate aspects of service audit evaluation and review, in regards to the identified team.
Participate in the regular review of policies and guidelines within this service area, and implement required changes to practice.
Education and Development
Demonstrate the ability to monitor personal practice ensuring live professional registration is maintained including CPD requirements.
Ensure personal professional developmentpromotes good practice, prevents poor practice and intervenes in unacceptable practice.
The post holder will ensure they and those responsible/accountable to them, function within the parameters of their professional role.
The post-holder will ensure that the staff they are responsible for attend relevant statutory training as identified by the Trust.
The post-holder will support the development of annual skills profiling of their team.
The post-holder will be responsible for developing a learning environment/ culture ensuring adequate teaching opportunities are in place.
Through mentoring and coaching the post holder will actively participate in clinical practice development..
Other Issues
This job description will be reviewed annually with the post-holder.
The post-holder may be asked to undertake duties not directly highlighted within this job description. This will only be done when the skills and experience of the post-holder meet the requirements of the role
All employees must fulfil their responsibilities with respect to the Trust's Health & Safety Policy.
The clinical lead will support the wider pathway needs and development.
Demanding nature of the Job
The service is operational over 24 hours a day, seven days a week and the clinical lead may be expected to work across a 24/7 shift pattern.
The post holder will play a lead role in service development and will communicate service developments to stakeholders and the mental health community.
Ability to access & communicate accurate, timely clinical information, across a large geographical area.
The post-holder will be working with Service Users who have a severe mental illness and often have a dual diagnosis and/or forensic history and this can be challenging and demanding. They will therefore have to adopt appropriate support strategies.
The post-holder is responsible for ensuring that the team utilizes local support systems as necessary
Response to frequently unpredictable, clinical events and situations, necessitating flexibility, within a rapid time-span.
