Mental Health Nurse

Joining #TeamNELFT means you’ll become part of a welcoming and supportive working environment. We’re CQC rated Good, and we want you to join us on the journey towards an Outstanding rating. NELFT has sites across North East London, Essex, Kent and Medway. We provide community and mental healthcare services to adults and children within these areas.

The Trust has award winning equality and diversity initiatives and staff health and wellbeing activities. We invest heavily in your development, because when you are valued and supported, we provide the best care to our patients. We are a Level 3 Disability Confident Leader, have been featured in the Working Families Top 10 Employers benchmark for three consecutive years, and we have achieved a Carers UK Level 1 Accreditation. Along with our staff networks and training opportunities, we work hard to embed a just and compassionate culture here at NELFT.

Find out more about NELFT careers and what makes our Trust a great place to work, in this video

Job overview

We are seeking an enthusiastic Specialist Nurse to join our dedicated multi-disciplinary Community Eating Disorder Team. North East London NHS Foundation Trust Community Eating Disorder service offers the latest in evidence based NICE compliant psychological interventions to clients and their families with an Eating Disorder. Unlike many other mental health services we offer specialist assessment and treatment across the life span from age 8yrs with no upper age limit. The team’s multi-disciplinary approach to the assessment and treatment of individuals with an eating disorder is a real strength. The post holder will primarily work with adult service users however opportunities will be available to work across the lifespan.

If you are an overseas qualified nurse and wanting to start your journey to becoming a UK based registered nurse with the NMC, you can check whether you are eligible to be supported through our Capital Nurse consortium. Please visit; . Whilst NELFT is happy to welcome overseas nurses we are unable to consider your application directly. You should submit your interest and apply through the Capital Nurse London group.

Main duties of the job

The post holder is expected to work well within a team setting however should be able to deliver an autonomous service as part of the role, operating within recognised professional guidelines and the overall framework of North East London NHS Foundation Trust eating disorder service policies and procedures.

The successful applicant will deliver highly specialised assessments for adult service users with an eating disorder. The assessments will include: mental health, physical health, social care, quality of life, domains of strengths and weaknesses. A range of self-report questionnaires and interviews will be employed which require specialist training to administer and interpret.

There will be an opportunity within this role to develop and deliver evidence based group activities and treatment for clients. We actively encourage a team approach and are interested in informing new treatments for eating disorders.

We are looking for a suitably experienced Specialist Nurse to support the team deliver the best possible care and treatment to adult service users with an eating disorder. We are seeking an individual with the knowledge and skills to work as part of a multi-professional team and be innovative in their approach to supporting this client group.

The applicant will have proven clinical experience in the care and treatment of adult service users with an eating disorder.

Working for our organisation

COVID-19 Vaccination

We continue to encourage all staff to ensure that they have been double vaccinated and received their booster. We recognise that taking the vaccine provides the best defence against COVID 19 for our patients, our staff and their families.

Probationary Period

This post will be subject to a probationary period. Internal applicants are exempt from the probationary period (unless you are an internal applicant currently part way through a probationary period or currently a bank member of staff).

Starting with NELFT

NELFT place a great deal of importance on new starters being properly welcomed and inducted into the Trust. All new starters will join the Trust on the first Monday of each month and will undertake a comprehensive induction of up to two weeks which will include mandatory training, systems training and the allocation of equipment. As part of the process new starters will have the opportunity to also meet the executive team, senior managers and attend a number of drop in sessions focusing in engagement, health and wellbeing and key processes. The induction will be held at our head office in Rainham, Essex.

High Cost Area Supplement – London

This post also attracts payment for High Cost Area Supplement of 15% of the basic salary (minimum payment of £4,313 and a maximum payment of £5,436 per annum pro rata).

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

This post is a great opportunity to work with adults and carers as part of the well-established and innovative Lifespan Eating Disorder Service in North East London NHS Foundation Trust. We are looking for a Clinical Nurse Specialist to join our highly skilled, dedicated and friendly team to work primarily with adults with eating disorders and their carers. The team sits within a lifespan Eating Disorder Service which creates an opportunity for smooth transition between young people and adult services. We are seeking an individual who has an interest in working in eating disorders and is passionate about delivering good quality, patient-led care. 

The successful applicant will work effectively within a multi-disciplinary team and will ideally have experience in working with those affected by eating disorders. The applicant will work as part of the MDT to provide NICE concordant interventions to those with eating disorders and comorbid presentations. We will support candidates to develop skills in delivering evidence-based treatment. The post holder will be actively involved in assessing and managing clinical risk associated with eating disorders, including performing and interpreting specific investigations, such as blood pressure and ECGs. Further training will be provided as required, including training in phlebotomy.

Clinical Skills

Perform and interpret specific investigations, such as blood pressure and ECGs, in order to manage the patient’s clinical risk effectively.

Ensure all patients have individualised care plans and that these are reviewed at appropriate intervals.

Develop clinical practice and procedures that best support the well being of adult service users with eating disorders in the community

Work with colleagues to ensure that specialist, professional, skilled clinical care is provided for patients and that this is adapted to meet their individual needs.

Supervision will be offered by a senior member of the team from the same discipline where possible. There will be access to regular individual and group supervision including CBT and safeguarding supervision. The post holder will offer supervision to more junior members of the team and to nursing students on placement, as required. As a service we have strong research links with University College London and Imperial College London. We have been the proud hosts of eight specialist Eating Disorder conferences and the successful applicant would have the opportunity to be involved in future conferences. In addition, our team has pioneered the integration of Emotion Focused Family Therapy (EFFT) for eating disorders within the UK.

We appreciate that Eating Disorders can be a rewarding and challenging field to work in, even for those with experience, therefore, as well as excellent supervision and reflective practice sessions, we provide the opportunity to develop skills through joint working, access to internal training, CPD and external training courses. As an expanding service there is opportunity for progression within the team and input into service development.

We cover a large geographical area from our main base in Barking and have satellite clinics in Havering and Waltham Forest. The role will involve a mixture of remote and face to face working which will need to be offered in response to the demands of the service. We recognise that working within the NHS can be highly pressurised and there is a priority within the team to ensure that team members are supported to have a good work/life balance with flexibility around family friendly hours where possible.

Please refer to the attached Job Description & Person Specification for further details on this vacancy.

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential criteria

Qualified RMN with NMC registration

Experience

Essential criteria

Experience working with eating disorder patients and families Experience working with complex needs Experience working in community setting

Knowledge

Essential criteria

Knowledge of eating disorders and evidence based treatment

Skills

Essential criteria

Excellent communications and organisation skills requirements as per JD

Benefits

We believe in bringing your authentic and best self to work, in order to deliver the best care to our patients. We are committed to supporting our employees holistically. Here is a snapshot of what is on offer at NELFT:

A long-standing and award-winning approach to equality and diversity with supportive networks for ethnic minority staff, staff with disabilities or long term/chronic conditions and LGBT staff. A commitment to supporting colleagues to achieve a work life balance, through flexible working opportunities and our effortsto support our working parents and carers. This has resulted in us being recognised as a ‘Top 10 Family Friendly Employer’ from the Working Families Charity. Proactive health and wellbeing support, including access to our employee assistance programme, staff psychological support, individual wellbeing conversations and a network of health and wellbeing ambassadors. Detailed information about our wellbeing and benefits offer can be found in this link.

As a flexible working friendly organisation, we want to be sure that you can work in a way that is best for us and for our patients, and for you. Speak to us about how we might be able to accommodate a flexible working arrangement whether that’s a job share, part time hours or another flexible pattern.

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