Consultant Forensic/Consultant Applied Psychologist

Job overview

We have an exciting opportunity to develop an innovative three-year Forensic Hub Consultation Pilot.

We wish to offer a 3 year secondment opportunity for a Consultant Forensic/Consultant Applied Psychologist with experience of working in Forensic settings and services to provide expert clinical leadership to the Forensic Reach Out and Support Team/Service.

The Forensic Reach Out and Support pilot aims to reduce the number of forensic transitions between secondary care community services and specialised forensic services, including the duration between referrals.  It will provide proactive management and oversight of forensic cases to help identify early warning signs of relapse and taking action to prevent readmission to secure services. It will; strengthen the interface between forensic and secondary mental health services; clarify key paths and transition criteria; enhance coordination and collaboration practices for forensic service users between secondary care community services and specialised providers.

The service will offer forensic expertise, leadership and training to upskill our Mental Health multi-disciplinary teams in comprehensive forensic formulation-based risk assessment and risk management. This includes embedding our comprehensive risk assessment training programme, including HCR-20 risk assessments within all our CMHT and inpatient services. This will enable system wide teams confidence to work with complex forensic issues.

Main duties of the job

The post holder will provide expert clinical Forensic leadership within Reach Out Forensic Hub. With Hub colleagues, they will be responsible for advancing forensic clinical practice, improving patient outcomes, and ensuring the delivery of safe, effective, and recovery-focused care across inpatient and community services, as part of the Reach Out project.

The role will combine direct clinical practice with service development, research, education, and strategic leadership. They will hold a key leadership role in supporting BCHFT staff to enhance their skills in risk formulation and care planning around difficult forensic cases and in developing and supporting clear system pathways and relationships with internal and external partners such as our Black Country FIRST Team panels.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• Clinical Responsibilities, Patient Contact

1.1.     Provides highly specialist psychological forensic assessment of clients with complex and high-risk needs in forensic services based on the appropriate use, interpretation and integration of data from a variety of sources, which may include neuropsychological testing.

1.2.     Responsible for recognising the potential for or signs of client harm, abuse or neglect, including poor clinical practice, reporting all such concerns and taking all reasonable steps to protect the client. Responsible for identifying and reporting concerns regarding the safeguarding of children who may be at risk.

1.3.     Undertakes forensic risk assessment and risk management for individual clients and provides highly specialist advice to other professionals on psychological aspects of risk assessment and risk management and the high physical risks inherent in the forensic client group.

1.4.     Formulates plans for highly specialist psychological therapy and/or management of clients’ forensic presentation based upon an appropriate conceptual framework and evidence-based practice. Negotiates the implementation of such plans with clients and/or their carers.

1.5.     Implements a wide range of highly specialist psychological therapies for individual clients, carers, families and groups, adjusting and refining psychological formulations as required.

1.6.     Undertakes highly skilled evaluations and makes decisions about treatment options.

1.7.     Provides expert forensic psychological advice, guidance and consultation to other staff contributing directly to client’s diagnosis, formulation and intervention plan.

1.8.     Facilitates decision-making by planning and mapping processes/interventions with members of the team or the wider Psychological Professions to determine the most appropriate treatment modality or service for clients.

1.9.     Leads the multi-disciplinary care team in the development and implementation of multi-disciplinary care plans where appropriate. Monitors progress during the course of multidisciplinary interventions.

1.10.   Provides expertise and advice to facilitate the effective and appropriate provision of psychological care by all members of the wider team across the designated locality.

1.11.   To liaise with other professionals working within the NHS, Social Inclusion and Health and the voluntary sector on matters relating to client care that have implications for the service.

• Supervisory/Professional Responsibility

2.1. Supervises, Trainee Applied Psychologists, Assistant Psychologists, Band 7, 8a and 8b Applied Psychologists

2.2. Specialist psychological supervision and scaffolding in a care pathway/cluster

2.3. Line manages Psychological Professionals up to band 8b

2.4. Provides clinical leadership and direction in the development and provision of excellence in applied psychology and psychological therapies across the designated locality

2.5. Will hold responsibility and accountability for their own actions, ensuring appropriate support and supervision is sought when required.

2.6. To keep abreast of current developments in this field through reading, attendance at appropriate training courses, and a range of other CPD activities, and to ensure that a log is kept of this in line with HCPC requirements.

2.7. To contribute, as appropriate, to the teaching offered on the local Applied Psychology training courses.

• Multi-Disciplinary Training and Development

3.1. To work with members of the multi-disciplinary team to develop and maintain psychologically minded ways of understanding and working with forensic clients using the services, both to promote and maintain the mental health and coping strategies of the clients and to maintain the safety of clients and staff.

3.2. Provides expert advice, clinical supervision, consultation and training to other healthcare professionals across the organisation

3.3. Ensures appropriate clinical supervision and scaffolding is in place to enable embedding of psychological skills in relation to a specific care pathway/cluster

3.4. Takes a lead role in advising team leader/service manager on psychological aspects of training needed by the team/service

3.5. Assesses the need for and develops a plan for training in psychological interventions for the team.

• Service and Organisational Development

4.1. Takes a lead role in MDT delivery of CQUIN and QIP projects, NICE benchmarking and compliance requirements as required within MDT

4.2. Able to identify service priorities and to work with Team/Service Managers on developing these into action plans

4.3. Provides clinical leadership in development and provision of psychological care by all members of the wider team/service across the service area

4.4. Planning and mapping interventions with the Trust wide Psychological Therapy services to determine best treatments for clients

4.5.     Take a lead role in MDT delivery of CQUIN and QIP projects, NICE benchmarking and compliance requirements as required across the service areas/care pathways within the service delivery group.

4.6.     Supports Consultant Lead Applied Psychologist in development of the service delivery group’s Clinical Strategy

• Service Redesign and Cultural Change

5.1.     Bring an understanding of psychological change processes to own role within MDT and to help MDT to cope with changes

5.2.     Bring an understanding of psychological change processes to help Team/Service Managers to devise suitable plans for change

5.3.     Take a lead across the service/care pathway in service redesign as agreed with Team or Service Manager

5.4.     Represent a psychological perspective in regular specific service delivery group wide forums dedicated to particular aspects of service governance, quality and redesign

• Service Evaluation and Research

6.1.     Take a lead role in clinical audits as required across service areas/care pathways within the service delivery group

6.2.     Evaluates training and competencies of staff who have been trained in psychological therapies

6.3.     To undertake co-ordination and management of evaluation and research projects within designated service area, including undertaking own service evaluations and research working on projects from conception to delivering in consultation with Team/Service Managers

• To undertake any other duties of a similar nature consistent with the responsibilities of this post to provide a quality psychological service.