Clinical Lead -Wigan MHST

Job overview

An exciting opportunity has arisen for an experienced and motivated clinical leader to join our Mental Health Support Team (MHST) service in Wigan as a Clinical Lead. This is a key leadership role within our established and expanding service, providing strategic clinical leadership across the team delivering evidence-based mental health interventions to children and young people.

Working in partnership with the Operational Manager, you will be responsible for driving clinical excellence, professional leadership and service innovation. You will lead on clinical governance, safeguarding, quality improvement, workforce development and supervision, ensuring the delivery of safe, effective and compassionate care in line with national MHST guidance and trust priorities.

This role offers an exciting opportunity to influence the future development of children’s mental health services across Wigan, working collaboratively with schools, CAMHS, local authority partners and wider system colleagues to improve outcomes for children, young people and their families.

Main duties of the job

As the Clinical Lead for the Mental Health Support Teams, you will:

• Provide visible and effective clinical leadership across all MHSTs, promoting high standards of evidence-based practice and compassionate care.
• Lead the clinical governance agenda, ensuring compliance with professional standards, safeguarding requirements, quality assurance processes and Trust policies.
• Provide clinical supervision, consultation and professional leadership to Senior Practitioners, Educational Mental Health Practitioners (EMHPs), Children’s Wellbeing Practitioners (CWPs), CBT Therapists and other members of the team.
• Support staff in the assessment and management of complex clinical presentations, safeguarding concerns and clinical risk, promoting consistency and excellence in clinical decision making.
• Work in partnership with the Operational Manager to ensure the delivery of high quality, safe and effective services, contributing to service planning, workforce development and achievement of operational objectives.
• Lead and support quality improvement initiatives, clinical audits, service evaluation and the use of outcome measures to continually improve patient care and service delivery.
• Develop and maintain strong collaborative relationships with education settings, CAMHS, primary care, local authority services, voluntary sector organisations and other system partners to support integrated care and the Whole School/College Approach to Mental Health

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The Clinical Lead will provide clinical leadership for the Mental Health Support Team (MHST) service, ensuring the delivery of safe, effective, evidence-based and person-centred care for children and young people across education settings.

Working collaboratively with the Operational Manager, the post holder will lead on clinical governance, professional leadership, workforce development and service improvement, supporting the continued development of high quality mental health services that meet local need and national priorities.

The post holder will be responsible for fostering a culture of clinical excellence, continuous improvement and compassionate leadership, ensuring services are delivered in accordance with Trust values, the NHS Long Term Plan, the Mental Health Support Team Operating Model and relevant professional standards.

Clinical Leadership

• Provide visible, accessible and effective clinical leadership across Wigan MHST.
• Promote high standards of evidence-based assessment, formulation, intervention and clinical decision making.
• Provide specialist clinical advice and consultation for complex presentations, safeguarding concerns and risk management.
• Support clinicians to manage complexity through consultation, joint working and reflective practice.
• Maintain oversight of clinical quality and consistency across the service.

Clinical Governance

• Lead the implementation and monitoring of robust clinical governance arrangements.
• Ensure compliance with Trust policies, professional standards and statutory requirements.
• Lead clinical audits, documentation reviews and quality assurance processes.
• Monitor clinical outcomes and service performance using Routine Outcome Measures and quality indicators.
• Lead investigations and learning following incidents, complaints and serious events where appropriate.
• Ensure safeguarding responsibilities are embedded throughout the service.

Professional Leadership

• Provide professional leadership and expert clinical supervision to the team including Senior Practitioners, Educational Mental Health Practitioners (EMHPs), Children’s Wellbeing Practitioners (CWPs), CBT Therapists, Assistant Psychologists and trainee staff.
• Promote reflective practice, professional development and evidence-based care.
• Support appraisal, professional development and revalidation processes where appropriate.
• Develop clinical competencies and promote continuous learning across the workforce.

Workforce

• Lead and support the development of a skilled, confident and resilient workforce.
• Identify training needs and support the development of learning opportunities.
• Support recruitment, induction and retention of staff.
• Promote staff wellbeing, psychological safety and compassionate leadership.

Service Development and Quality Improvement

• Lead quality improvement initiatives to enhance clinical practice and improve outcomes
• Use audit findings, outcome data and patient feedback to drive  improvement.
• Contribute to business planning, service evaluation and transformation programmes.
• Promote co-production with children, young people, families and partner agencies.

Partnership Working

• Develop and maintain effective partnerships with schools, colleges, CAMHS, primary care, local authority services, educational psychology, social care, early help, voluntary sector organisations and other stakeholders.
• Represent the service at internal and external meetings, contributing clinical expertise to strategic developments.
• Promote integrated working and the Whole School/College Approach to Mental Health.

Safeguarding and Risk

• Provide advice on safeguarding and complex clinical risk.
• Ensure safeguarding practice meets statutory requirements and Trust expectations.
• Support staff with decision making regarding safeguarding, risk assessment and escalation.
• Promote a culture of safety, openness and shared learning.

Clinical Practice

• Maintain a limited specialist clinical caseload, focusing on more complex assessments, consultation and intervention where appropriate.
• Provide consultation to colleagues and partner agencies to support effective care planning and clinical decision making.
• Ensure clinical practice remains current through continuing professional development and adherence to professional standards.

The post holder will undertake any other duties commensurate with the grade of the post as requested by the Operational Manager or service manager and will work in accordance with Trust values, policies and procedures, maintaining professional registration and adhering to relevant codes of conduct at all times.