Lead Community Nurse Specialist

Position Overview

*This position includes an incentive bonus of £3,500 * which will be distributed in stages over an 18-month timeframe. Please be aware that this initiative is not available to current employees of Oxford Health and is subject to a clawback provision. Terms and conditions apply.

Are you interested in joining a pioneering CAMHS Tier 4 service?

Do you have a passion for providing intensive community assistance to adolescents and their families, serving as an alternative to hospital care?

Are you eager to collaborate with dedicated and enthusiastic colleagues?

This role can be structured as full-time or part-time (minimum of 22.5 hours) with some flexibility.

We are a diverse and progressive team that offers a tailored training program, along with continuous professional development, supervision, and support for your wellbeing.

The Learning Disability and Autism (LDA) Hospital at Home initiative is an innovative service being established under the Thames Valley Provider Collaborative. The Hospital at Home team will concentrate on young individuals with moderate to severe learning disabilities AND/OR significant functional impairments associated with an autism diagnosis who are at risk of home or placement breakdown and who could qualify for inpatient care.

Key Responsibilities

As a member of the nursing team, you will possess extensive knowledge across various nursing domains, delivering holistic and person-centered care and support for young individuals and their families/caregivers in multiple environments.

We require you to have experience working with clients with learning disabilities and/or autism, and you will need to operate independently under the guidance of senior nurses, engaging in all facets of the nursing process.

You will also be integrated into a larger senior nursing and multidisciplinary team, working directly with young individuals and families within the service.

The team will undergo a phased implementation:

Phase 1: The senior team will provide consultations to the network and contribute to individual cases while preparing for the training and readiness of the remaining team members.

Phase 2: You will participate in discussions for the planned implementation of agreed interventions on a limited number of pilot cases. You will collaborate with the young person, family, and other relevant professionals in the network to implement the agreed interventions. You will have a designated supervisor and attend both individual and group supervision/debriefs for these complex cases.

Phase 3: You will continue to be part of the multidisciplinary team as it expands, consistently contributing to the team processes and development.

Working with Our Organization

Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust provides comprehensive physical, mental health, and social care services for individuals of all ages across various regions.

Our services are delivered at community bases, hospitals, clinics, and within individuals' homes, ensuring care is as close to home as possible.

Our vision is that regardless of who you are or where you are located, you will experience: "Exceptional care delivered by an exceptional team"

Our core values are: "Compassionate, safe, and excellent"

At Oxford Health, we provide a wide array of benefits designed to support your career and wellbeing, including:

• Excellent opportunities for career advancement
• Access to personalized individual and Trust-wide learning and development
• 27 days of annual leave, plus bank holidays, increasing to 33 days with continuous service
• NHS discounts across a broad range of retailers
• Competitive pension scheme
• Lease car scheme
• Cycle to work scheme
• Employee Assistance Programme
• Mental Health First Aiders
• Staff accommodation (note that waiting lists may apply)
• Staff networking and support groups organized by our Equality, Diversity & Inclusion team

Detailed Job Description and Main Responsibilities

In certain instances, the team will assist in preventing unnecessary admissions, while in other cases, young individuals will transition from tier 4 care through the LDA Hospital at Home team, reducing their inpatient stay. The LDA Hospital at Home service maximizes the use of innovative technology, provides care close to home, minimizes admissions, shortens lengths of stay, reduces waiting times, and facilitates earlier discharges from inpatient care.

By managing the care pathway, we ensure that children and young individuals receive care in an inpatient setting or through an 'out of hospital' service as close to home as possible.

This approach will:

• Alleviate the burden on families from traveling long distances
• Enhance ongoing engagement with community clinical teams
• Encourage early therapeutic home leave
• Minimize length of stay and avoid admissions

The LDA Hospital at Home service is a specialized initiative working with patients up to 18 years old who have moderate to severe learning disabilities and autism. The Thames Valley Provider Collaborative is a network of service providers collaborating to deliver high-quality care for the most vulnerable young individuals as close to home as possible.

We are currently assembling our multidisciplinary team (MDT) to work with young individuals diagnosed with moderate to severe learning disabilities and autism who are at risk of admission due to mental health challenges.

Access to transportation for home and community visits is essential. If necessary, adjustments can be made in accordance with the Equality Act 2010.

Person Specification

Knowledge Requirements

Essential Criteria

• Experience working with clients with learning disabilities and/or autism
• Understanding of risk management for this client group
• Awareness of the legal responsibilities of the profession
• Familiarity with CMHTs and interdisciplinary collaboration

Desirable Criteria

• Strong knowledge of community services
• Awareness of national and local issues concerning mental health and clients with learning disabilities/autism

Qualifications

Essential Criteria

• Professional Qualification RNM or RNC or RNLD (Degree or equivalent)
• Evidence of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) portfolio

Desirable Criteria

• Postgraduate education specifically related to the client group

Further Training

Essential Criteria

• Ability to prioritize effectively
• Evidence of further study in evidence-based therapeutic interventions such as functional assessment, ABA, or PBS
• Ability to work well in a team, maintain high standards of care, and serve as a positive role model

Experience

Essential Criteria

• Experience working within a multidisciplinary team
• Ability to manage in a stressful/challenging work environment
• Experience supervising other staff

Desirable Criteria

• Community work with individuals facing mental health challenges.
• Experience with audits

Additional Information

All new hires will undergo a 6-month probationary period. This, along with the induction process, aims to foster a positive and supportive work environment, allowing new employees to learn essential aspects of their role over a reasonable timeframe.

Candidates not currently employed by the Trust who attend an interview for non-qualified Band 1-5 positions are required to complete numeracy and literacy assessments.

Appointment to this position is contingent upon the Trust receiving satisfactory references covering three years of employment or study. Please ensure your referees respond promptly to reference requests.

Employees are expected to participate in mandatory and statutory training related to their role.

We are committed to excellence, driven by the belief that a fair, just, and fully inclusive organizational culture enables our teams to deliver the highest quality of care and services possible. We strive to ensure that our diverse workforce reflects the communities we serve.

We welcome applications from all sections of the community, are an Equal Opportunities employer, and actively seek to make reasonable adjustments to enable you to fulfill your role and reach your full potential. All employees are dedicated to demonstrating our core values – safe, caring, and excellent.

Oxford Health is dedicated to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults, and we expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

Oxford is a globally recognized center of excellence for research. Oxford Health collaborates closely with the University of Oxford's Department of Psychiatry and the Department of Primary Care, hosting a Biomedical Research Centre focused on enhancing mental health and the NIHR Clinical Research Facility at the Warneford site. The Trust also hosts the NIHR Applied Research Collaboration (ARC), which conducts applied research that directly impacts patient health and wellbeing.