Job summary
- Main area
- Deputy Autism Lead
- Grade
- Band 8b
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Part time - 30 hours per week
- Job ref
- 222-LS-AMHS-268
- Employer
- West London NHS Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- H&F, Ealing and Hounslow
- Town
- Isleworth
- Salary
- £66,718 - £76,271 Per Annum Inclusive of HCAS
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 14/07/2024 23:59
- Interview date
- 22/07/2024
Employer heading
Deputy Autism Lead
Band 8b
West London NHS Trust provides a full range of mental health, community and physical healthcare services for children, adults and older people living in the London boroughs of Ealing, Hammersmith & Fulham and Hounslow.
We also provide some specialist services that are commissioned regionally, such as our medium secure services; and nationally, such as the Cassel Hospital for people with complex and severe personality disorder and our high secure services at Broadmoor Hospital.
Job overview
An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Deputy Autism Lead to join West London Trust Mental Health Autism Team, working across the adult mental health pathway. The partnership between acute and community mental health services to care for service users’ entire care journey is at the centre of what we do.
We are looking for a skilled and motivated senior practitioner in their field, who is enthusiastic and hardworking, who brings extensive experience of working with people with mental health problems and who wants to work and progress their career within the field of autism. The post holder will need to be comfortable with working in a partners, within a senior leadership position and leading teams and people.
We are looking for a candidate with the drive, enthusiasm and vision to lead the expansion and transformation of the Mental Health Autism Team in collaboration with service users. Thank you for your interest this role and I wish you every success with your application.
Main duties of the job
The post holder will work autonomously with autistic adults with co-occurring mental health conditions, as part of the Mental Health Autism Team. They will provide direct intervention, consultation and advice to professionals working across agencies and offer training to staff. The post holder will also support autistic adults who are at increased risk of readmissions to inpatient mental health services or frequently utilise unplanned care.
The post spans acute and community mental health services across Ealing, Hammersmith & Fulham and Hounslow and will require travel across all three boroughs.
As the Deputy Autism Lead, the post holder will have a clinical leadership role, supporting in the clinical governance of the Mental Health Autism Team and the smooth and safe running of the service. At a time of service growth, the post holder will be actively involved in shaping the development of the service, care pathways and interfaces with other services.
Working for our organisation
West London NHS Trust is one of the most diverse healthcare providers in the UK, delivering a range of mental health and physical healthcare and community services. The Trust runs Broadmoor Hospital, one of three high secure hospitals in the country, with an international reputation.
Our high secure services care for patients from South of England and we provide low and medium secure services across eight London boroughs. The Trust also provides mental and physical healthcare in three London boroughs (Ealing, Hounslow and Hammersmith & Fulham). We employ 4,500 staff, of whom 56% are BME. Our turnover for 2023-24 is £426m.
The Trust is rated as ‘Good’ overall by the Care Quality Commission. Forensic services are rated as ‘Outstanding’.
The Trust is an established partner and contributor in the development of the evolving North West London Integrated Care System and the Integrated Care Board. The Trust leads the NW London Children and Adolescent Mental Health provider collaborative.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
The Candidate Pack provides an overview of the key tasks and responsibilities of the role, and the person specification outlines the qualifications, skills, experience and knowledge required. Please view as attached.
The person specification below is not the full person specification, but outlines the criteria against which your application form will be assessed.
Person specification
Qualifications and Training
Essential criteria
- A recorded/registered doctoral level qualification in clinical (or its equivalent for those trained prior to 1996)/ counselling psychology
- OR/ a recorded/registered qualification in one of the following - nursing, social work, occupational therapy, arts therapy or a psychological therapy – plus further post graduate level diploma qualification training in CBT and Accredited as a cognitive behavioural psychotherapist by the British Association of Cognitive & Behavioural Psychotherapies (BABCP).
- BSc (or equivalent) in Mental Health Nursing, AND education to Masters level OR equivalent experience
- Registration with the Health and Care Professions Council or Nursing and Midwifery Council where appropriate
Desirable criteria
- Training in clinical leadership
- Trained in Quality Improvement methodology
- Training in specific therapy modalities, such as Dialectical Behaviour Therapy, Systemic Therapy
- Additional qualification as a Learning Disability Nurse and/or a Nurse Prescriber.
- Training in autism diagnostic assessments (e.g. ADOS-2, ADI-R, 3Di, DISCO).
- Training in relation to working with autistic people, for example specific communication-based approaches (e.g. Social Stories) or sensory-based interventions
- Training in approaches to reduce restrictive practice and/or behaviours of concern
Experience
Essential criteria
- Significant post-qualification experience of working as a qualified psychologist, psychological therapist or mental health nurse.
- Experience of working with autistic adult service users who present with complex mental health problems and autism.
- Experience of working with autistic adults in community or inpatient mental health settings.
- Experience in mental health nursing OR psychology across a range settings i.e. inpatient and community
- Substantial recent experience in practice development / service improvement, to make reasonable adjustments to care and treatment.
- Proven ability to work at a strategic and senior leadership level
- Significant experience of developing and delivering patient safety initiatives, working with a range of clinical and patient audiences
- Ability to work under pressure and to tight and often changing deadlines
- Skills for delivering results through managing through others and using a range of levers in the absence of direct line management responsibility
- Experience of facilitating reflective practice to teams
- Experience of facilitating MDT care planning meetings with inpatient MDTs.
- Experience of providing clinical supervision, teaching and training.
Desirable criteria
- Experience of working in an autism diagnostic service.
- Previous experience as matron, lead nurse, or practice development nurse
- Previous experience in working within a clinical governance framework
- Experience in QI projects
- Project management experience
- Experience of having facilitated/co-facilitated psychological therapy groups
- Experience of the application of psychological therapy in different cultural contexts
- Experience in facilitating case formulations with the MDT for autistic people
Knowledge and skills
Essential criteria
- Knowledge and understanding of Autism and related guidance/ legislation
- Knowledge of Care, Education and Treatment Reviews and Dynamic Support Registers in relation to working with autistic people, and how these relate to risk of admission.
- Advanced specialist knowledge, both theoretical and practical, of psychological/nursing therapy applied to clinical practice, communication and care of autistic people
- Able to plan, prioritise and organise own service user caseload, treatment programmes (individual or group) involving other staff, and other aspects of the work such as research activity
- Able to provide and receive highly complex, highly sensitive or highly contentious information, where there are significant barriers to acceptance which need to be overcome using the highest level of interpersonal and communication skills such as would be required when communicating in a hostile, antagonistic or highly emotive atmosphere
- Able to make judgements involving highly complex facts or situations, which require the evaluation of a range of options (e.g. the assessment of specialist clinical conditions and the determination of treatment options), where expert opinions may differ
- Knowledge of national policy relating to mental health services and autistic adults, including access to diagnostic assessments and mental health services.
- Understanding of the background to and aims of current healthcare policy and appreciate the implications of this on engagement, specifically applied to autistic people.
- Well-developed knowledge of risk and safety agenda and regulation linked to delivery of quality improvement programmes
- Takes decisions on difficult and contentious issues where there may be a number of courses of action
- Strategic thinking – ability to anticipate and resolve problems before they arise
- Demonstrates knowledge and understanding of equality opportunity and diversity taking into account and being aware of how individual actions contribute to and make a difference to the equality agenda
Desirable criteria
- Knowledge quality improvement methodology
- Working knowledge of competency base systems of appraisal/assessment
- Excellent understanding of mental health legislative framework for mental health services
- Provide and receive highly complex, sensitive and contentious information, negotiate with senior stakeholders on difficult and controversial issues, and present complex and sensitive information to large and influential groups.
- Ability to analyse complex facts and situations and develop a range of options.
Personal Qualities
Essential criteria
- Good sense of humour
- Excellent team player and ability to facilitate partnership working
- Can use constructive criticism and openly seeks to review and reflect on own style and presentation.
- Resilient and self-motivated with drive and vision that is able to work on own nitiative and manage a range of priorities across competing agendas
- Source of inspiration
- Decisive and does not avoid sensitive issues
- Empathy towards the needs of people using mental health and related services, and a vision of how services can make step changes for improvement
Desirable criteria
- Record of professional publications
Employer certification / accreditation badges
Applicant requirements
You must have appropriate UK professional registration.
The postholder will have regular contact with vulnerable people and as such this post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Samia Ezzamel
- Job title
- Autism Lead - Consultant Psychological Therapist
- Email address
- [email protected]
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