Critical Care Specialist Mental Health Liaison Nurse

We are delighted to offer an exciting opportunity for a full time Highly Specialist Critical Care Mental Health Liaison Nurse to join the psychosocial team within the Department of Critical Care at King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. This unique role, being the only specialist liaison psychiatry nurse within a critical care setting, will provide expert mental health nursing, family support and social advocacy to patients and family of patients within critical care. The role would suit an existing 7 mental health nurse (looking to develop and enhance their skills working within liaison psychiatry, and a trauma‑informed approach in a critical care environment), or an enthusiastic and capable band 6 mental health nurse (looking to progress to a band 7 role in an exciting area of clinical practice). This position offers a unique opportunity to contribute to an innovative model of psycho‑social care that has demonstrated strong outcomes since its inception. Established support structures are in place with the post holder benefitting from clinical and professional supervision, close working relationships from within the psychosocial team and across numerous medical departments at King's College Hospital and peer support from a friendly and innovative group of psychologists, psychiatrists, and social work within a busy hospital setting serving a diverse inner city population. Responsibilities Provide specialist mental health nursing care, including capacity and risk assessments, brief psychological interventions, and crisis management to critically ill patients. Act as the primary liaison for families and carers, offering psychoeducation, emotional support, and debriefing throughout the patient's ICU stay and recovery. Implement patient‑focussed risk management plans where required. Conduct social work‑related activities, including welfare advocacy, safeguarding liaison, and coordination with community and statutory agencies. Support and deliver a critical care psychiatry training programme for the Critical Care MDT. Work collaboratively across multidisciplinary teams to ensure holistic, patient‑centred care. Conduct comprehensive mental health assessments, including risk and capacity assessments, aligned with MCA and MHA legislation. Provide direct nursing care focused on mental health stabilisation, crisis intervention, and brief psychological support using trauma‑informed and recovery‑focused approaches. Support patients experiencing delirium, PTSD symptoms, anxiety, depression, or psychosis in the context of physical illness. Coordinate with liaison psychiatry, medical, and nursing teams to develop and implement individualised care plans. Ensure accurate and timely clinical documentation in accordance with Trust policies. Act as a member of the MDT within the intensive care follow‑up clinic, providing clinical assessment, risk assessment and signposting related to patients' mental health needs. Serve as a Family Liaison Nurse, offering consistent communication and support to families throughout ICU admission and discharge. Provide psychoeducation about the critical care environment, delirium, post‑intensive care syndrome (PICS), and emotional reactions to critical illness. Facilitate family debriefings after distressing events or adverse clinical outcomes. Support bereaved families, including signposting to bereavement services and facilitating access to psychological support. Help families navigate hospital processes and advocate for their needs within the care team. Liaise with Adult and Children's Social Care teams to address safeguarding concerns and coordinate care transitions. Collaborate with third‑sector organisations and community mental health teams to facilitate smooth discharge planning. Respond to and elevate domestic abuse concerns following Trust safeguarding protocols. Support families facing practical challenges related to caregiving, accommodation, and social isolation, including signposting and liaison with other teams. Record‑keeping and Information Governance Ensure that all information generated by own work is recorded as required by Trust policies and local procedures. Maintain the highest standards of clinical record keeping and report writing, according to professional and Trust guidelines, including electronic data entry. Research and Development Undertake regular service evaluations or audits relevant to service needs. Contribute to and lead, as appropriate, research projects relevant to the needs of the service. Disseminate research and service evaluation findings through reports, presentations and published articles. Utilise theory, evidence‑based literature and research to support evidence‑based practice in individual work and work with other team members. Leadership, Training and Quality Improvement Act as a senior clinical resource within the Critical Care Psychosocial Team, providing clinical advice, support, and informal supervision to junior staff and students. Participate in multidisciplinary team meetings, contributing to holistic care planning. Develop and deliver training sessions on psychological and social aspects of critical care to nursing and medical teams. Engage in clinical audits, service evaluations, and quality improvement projects to enhance psychosocial care delivery. Maintain up‑to‑date knowledge of evidence‑based practice, legislation and Trust policies relevant to mental health nursing and critical care. Personal and Professional Development Maintain standards of practice / Codes of Conduct according to the employer and regulating and professional bodies (NMC, CQC). Attend clinical / managerial supervision on a regular basis as agreed with manager, participate in individual performance reviews and respond to agreed objectives. Participate in projects and training events to further develop skills and capabilities. Adhere to Trust policies and procedures. General Travel to other sites across the Trust when required. Maintain duty of care for own health, safety and wellbeing and that of work colleagues, visitors and patients within the hospital, in addition to any specific risk management and clinical governance accountabilities associated with this post. Observe rules, policies, procedures and standards of King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, together with all relevant statutory and professional obligations. Observe and maintain strict confidentiality of personal information relating to patients and staff. Be responsible, with management support, for own personal development and actively contribute to development of colleagues. Safeguarding Attend mandatory training on safeguarding children and adults. Familiarise with the Trust's processes for reporting concerns. Report any safeguarding child or adult concerns appropriately. Infection Control Statement Be familiar with infection control and hygiene procedures and requirements when in clinical areas. Comply with National Code of Practice on Infection Control and local policies and procedures, as outlined during induction and refresher training. King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is one of the UK's largest and busiest teaching Trusts with a turnover of c£1.8 billion, 1.5 million patient contacts a year and more than 15,000 staff based across 5 main sites in South East London. The Trust provides a full range of local hospital services across its sites, and specialist services from King's College Hospital (KCH) sites at Denmark Hill in Camberwell and at the Princess Royal University Hospital (PRUH) site in the London Borough of Bromley. The trust‑wide strategy of Strong Roots, Global Reach is our Vision to be BOLD, Brilliant people, Outstanding care, Leaders in Research, Innovation and Education, Diversity, Equality and Inclusion at the heart of everything we do. By being person‑centred, digitally‑enabled, and focused on sustainability, we aim to take Team King's to another level. We are at a pivotal point in our history and we require individuals who are ready to join a highly professional team and make a real, lasting difference to our patients and our people. King's is committed to delivering Sustainable Healthcare for All via our Green Plan. In line with national Greener NHS ambitions, we have set net zero carbon targets of 2040 for our NHS Carbon Footprint and 2045 for our NHS Carbon Footprint Plus. Everyone's contribution is required in order to meet the goals set out in our Green Plan and we encourage all staff to work responsibly, minimising their contributions to the Trust's carbon emissions, waste and pollution wherever possible. Please review the documentation on our recruitment microsite, particularly the Trust's criminal records checking policy. All staff have a responsibility for safeguarding children and vulnerable adults and for ensuring they are aware of the specific duties relating to their role. The closing date is given as a guide; on occasion we might close a vacancy early due to a high number of applications. You are advised to submit your application as early as possible to avoid disappointment. #J-18808-Ljbffr