Senior Mental Health Practitioner -Hillingdon CAMHS MHST

Job Overview
This is a role within the Green Paper for Transforming children and young people's mental health programme. The post holder will work within a Mental Health Support Team providing short-term evidence-based interventions to children and young people with mild to moderate anxiety and depression and/or behavioural difficulties and their parent(s)/carer(s).

The post holder will work with children, young people and parents with different cultural backgrounds and ages, using interpreters when necessary and should be committed to equal opportunities.

The successful applicant may have contact with patients or service users. As an NHS Trust we strongly encourage and support vaccination as this remains the best way to protect yourself, your family, your colleagues and of course patients and service users when working in our healthcare settings.

Main duties of the job
The MHST works with young people with mild to moderate mental health presentations attending school/education settings in the Hillingdon area.
The purpose of the team is to:

• Provide evidence-based interventions for mild to moderate mental health issues.
• Support the senior mental health lead in each education setting to introduce or develop their whole school or college approach.
• Give timely advice to school and college staff, and liaising with external specialist services, to help children and young people to get the right support and stay in education.

Young people have access to the MHST through their education setting. School staff and other potential referrers are able to contact a team of clinical staff to discuss potential referrals.

The MHST will manage referrals, deal with queries, undertake clinical telephone triage and face-to-face assessment, give advice and signpost young people where appropriate.

Working for our organisation
Central and North West London NHS Trust expects all staff to act in a way which shows you understand our core values and are willing to put them into practice with young people, their friends, family and carers and also other staff members.

We expect you to show COMPASSION, contribute to a caring and kind environment and recognise that what you do and say helps can make the lives of others better.

We expect you to RESPECT everyone and acknowledge and welcome people's differences rather than ignore them or see them as problematic.

We expect you to EMPOWER others and continually try to provide information, resources and support to help others make their own decisions and meet their own needs.

We expect you to work in PARTNERSHIP and behave in a way that shows that you recognise the importance of working collaboratively with all who come into contact with this service.

Detailed Job Description And Main Responsibilities
The key roles and responsibilities of the Senior Mental Health Practitioner will include:

• Forming strong working relations with a variety of stakeholders.
• Working in partnership with schools/colleges and other educational settings.
• Provide training to team members and other professionals/trainees.
• Supervising junior staff in the team.
• Providing consultations to education colleagues and support education settings to embed a whole school approach to wellbeing.
• Developing and delivering evidence-based individual and group time-limited interventions to young people within education settings in accordance with Children and Young People's IAPT principles.
• Holding a caseload of CYP with mild-moderate mental health difficulties.
• Completion of thorough assessments, risk assessments, care planning and reviews.
• Ensuring that there is accurate and timely documentation to a high standard, and that Routine Outcome Measures are completed.
• Evidencing the outcomes of the MHST service and feeding back this data to key stakeholders.
• Providing clinical supervision to Education Mental Health Practitioners and day-to-day clinical and supervisory support for the Trainee Education Mental Health Practitioners.
• Contributing to group supervision spaces within the team.
• Working as part of a senior team, supporting the Senior Clinical Supervisors and Service Development Leads to expand the service within the Harrow area and improve the quality of the service.
• Supporting and developing the interventions that can be delivered as part of the MHST within the education setting, including SEN settings.
• Appropriately raise and report safeguarding concerns where identified and to support colleagues with this process.

Patient Safety

• Safeguarding people by recognising and responding when an adult or child might be at risk from abuse but also recognising their own limits and asking for help and escalate concerns when necessary.
• Escalating safety concerns and by doing so acting as effective advocates for those who use our services.
• Being open and transparent about your own practice.
• Identifying areas where improvements in safety or quality can be made. Report to the Team Manager any areas of concern, which may affect the safe delivery of care and/or the safe working of other members of the team.
• Working closely with others to improve services.
• Maintaining accurate, legible, comprehensive records.
• Maintaining compliance with your mandatory and core training requirements.
• Be aware of and understand one's responsibilities in relation to the Policies and Procedures regarding:
  • Fire
  • Lone Working
  • Health & Safety
  • Absence management
• Report any accidents/incidents as per the reporting procedures of the service.
• Central and North West London NHS Trust is committed to providing safe, effective services and providing young people and families with a positive experience.

Person Specification
Essential
Education and Qualifications

• Relevant professional qualification in either: a.) Degree level Mental Health Nursing; Social Work; Occupational Therapy; Art Therapy; Drama Therapy; Music Therapy; LD Nursing. Or b.) Substantial consolidated experience qualified as EMHP or CWP.
• Additional qualifications or training in child and adolescent mental health gained through study.
• Registered with a relevant professional body.

Desirable

• Formal CBT training or Post Graduate accredited training in CBT.
• Accredited courses/workshops in CYP-IAPT principles.

Previous Experience and Knowledge
Essential

• Substantial consolidated experience working in child and adolescent mental health.
• Experience either working as a member of a multidisciplinary team or multi-agency working.
• Good understanding of the range of child and adolescent mental health services and conditions.
• Knowledge of legislation in relation to children and adolescents and safeguarding procedures and policies.

Desirable

• Knowledge and experience in mental health promotion work.
• Experience of working with schools to support CYP emotional wellbeing needs.
• Experience running therapy groups and/or training events.

Other
Essential

• Able to travel to meet the requirements of the post.
• Team player.
• Excellent time management and organisational skills.

Desirable

• Access to car or other motor vehicle for use for work purposes.

Clinical Skills
Essential

• Ability to carry out 1:1 therapeutic mental health interventions with children and young people.
• Ability to conduct mental health assessments of children and young people.
• Ability to work within educational settings to increase mental health awareness within the staff group.

Desirable

• Experience delivering trainings and psycho-educational workshops about mental health issues.
• Experience of providing mental health consultation and signposting to education staff and other professionals.

Knowledge
Essential

• Understanding how the Mental Capacity Act and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards impacts on their work and the people they are working with.
• Understanding the concept of quality and their role in improving safety, clinical outcomes and the patient experience.

Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential Criteria

• Relevant professional qualification in either: a. Degree level Mental Health Nursing, Social Work, Occupational Therapy or equivalent substantial b. HEE Postgraduate Diploma in Education Mental Health Practice or Postgraduate Diploma in Psychological Wellbeing Practice for children and young people.
• Additional qualifications or training in child and adolescent mental health gained through accredited courses workshops, study and in-house training programmes. CBT training (e.g. CYP-IAPT).
• Extensive post qualified as a CWP or EMH.

Desirable Criteria

• Registered with a relevant professional body.

Experience/Knowledge
Essential Criteria

• Substantial consolidated experience working in child and adolescent mental health.
• Extensive experience of delivering evidenced-based CBT interventions for mild to moderate mental health issues such as anxiety, low mood and behavioural problems to CYP both individually and in groups.
• Experience either working as a member of a multidisciplinary team or multi-agency working.
• Good understanding of the range of child and adolescent mental health services.
• Knowledge of legislation in relation to children and adolescents and safeguarding procedures and policies.

Desirable Criteria

• Knowledge and experience in mental health promotion work.

Technical Job Related Skills
Essential Criteria

• Good communication, assessment, planning and recording skills.
• Ability to deliver interventions which address the assessed needs.
• Ability to work co-operatively with other disciplines.
• Knowledge of risk management and ability to monitor and assess risk and act accordingly to ensure safety.

Desirable Criteria

• Ability to evaluate interventions and practice for service improvement.

Personal Job Related Skills
Essential Criteria

• Ability to relate to young people and families.
• Broad understanding of equal opportunities and an ability to work in an anti-discriminating way.
• Enthusiasm, flexibility and willingness to cope with the demands of what can be a stressful job.
• Ability to relate to professional staff from different agencies often at senior levels.

Other Requirements
Essential Criteria

• To work as part of a team and to be self-motivated.
• To work under pressure and to achieve deadlines.
• Understanding of issues of confidentiality and information sharing.
• To be able to travel efficiently throughout the area.

Desirable Criteria

• To have a wider knowledge about the Health Act and changes to NHS Commissioning.