Clinical Specialist

A secondment opportunity has become available with the Personality Disorder Community Team for a Band 6 Clinical Specialist. The secondment will cover an initial period of 9 months and can lead to a substantive position for the suitable clinician.

Working as a member of the Community Division service line based within the Personality Disorder Service
- Community Team you will be responsible for providing individual assessment, identified clinical interventions and direct care to service users with severe personality disorder and associated difficulties. You will be responsible for a defined caseload and will formulate appropriate specific, highly specialist care and treatment plans; providing highly skilled and specialist interventions and care to service users with complex mental health problems.

As a registered Nurse/Health Care Professional (with NMC/HCPC reg.) the post holder will be responsible for working in way that promotes levels of excellence in the team and operates to the requirements of the service operational policy and strategy, and that safe, evidence based, effective, culturally competent care is delivered in a timely manner to service users.

This opportunity is for a registered professional to join a specialist Community Mental Health Team as a case manager working with people who have needs relating to a given diagnosis of ‘Personality Disorder’.

The focus of the role will be that of individual assessment and intervention delivered within the framework of NICE guidelines. Evidence based practice maximises service user’s strengths and for the Community Team this is with specific reference to the Structured Clinical Management Model to guide best practice. The post holder will be responsible for a defined caseload and will formulate appropriate specialist care plans, providing skilled interventions and care to service users with complex mental health and social care needs.

Case management, care act assessments and safeguarding will also form part of this role as well as work with service users’ whole support systems.

Camden & Islington NHS Foundation Trust covers a large, urban population in Central London and current statistics tell us that with a population of almost 500,000 people there are a number of people who have complex needs, often relating to trauma, who might be given a diagnosis of Personality Disorder is 5.7 people per 100. The majority of people stay within the Primary Care system however many require more specialist input to understand their needs and make healthy changes to their thinking and behaviours.

The Team’s approach is based on the Structured Clinical Management (SCM) model; a model that gives clinicians a framework to guide their work with service-users based on psychologically informed best practice. The essence of SCM is formulation-based case management, including therapy, active crisis planning, and medication as an adjunct where appropriate.

The Team works with people around social care as well as psychological needs. All of these elements are aimed at engaging people in a way that means they continue to be as independent as possible.

You will receive both managerial and clinical monthly supervision, benefit from guidance and containment form senior colleagues across the clinical team and management group. You will be joining regular in-house training, reflective practice, multidisciplinary team meetings and case formulation meetings as part of your practice and own development.

Working with service users to develop internal skills that increase their resilience and independence within the framework of Structured Clinical Management but using a collection of evidence based approaches to inform 1:1 and systems work

Management of direct payments and personal budgets on behalf of allocated people

Direct work with and consultation to crisis services to develop robust management plans that fit with longer term work for people who are using the service. Contribution to internal training structures and support of students who may be learning within the team

Entry of needs assessments, case notes, risk assessment and crisis planning on EPR system

Ability and responsibilities for establishing and maintaining communication and relationship both internally and externally. e.g. to have the skills to be able to communicate highly complex information, particularly in relation to risk

Where appropriate the post holder will be required to administer depot medication on occasions (NMC reg. only)

To be responsible for providing expert care in personality disorder care co
- ordination, in accordance with NMC or HCPC codes of professional conduct