Senior Practitioner – Forensics

Job overview

We are looking for an experienced and motivated Senior Forensic Practitioner to join the Specialist Community Forensic Team (SCFT). This Band 7 role provides clinical and operational leadership within a specialist forensic community service, working as part of a multidisciplinary team to support service users with complex social, forensic and rehabilitation needs.

You will hold a clinical caseload alongside your leadership responsibilities, and contribute to the management and coordination of the wider team caseload, providing clinical leadership and supporting effective multidisciplinary working.

SCFT is developing its service model to strengthen geographical working across Essex. This includes three geographical teams, shared clinical leadership and access to specialist resources across the service. The service is also introducing extended-hours working to increase planned clinical capacity and respond appropriately to changing patient need.

You will contribute positively to these developments and help implement new ways of working. This includes working flexibly with colleagues across the service, supporting effective primary and secondary working arrangements, and improving continuity of care, transition and discharge.

You will work closely with the Service Manager and the wider multidisciplinary team, providing clinical leadership, supporting staff and maintaining high standards of clinical practice and service delivery.

Main duties of the job

As a Senior Forensic Practitioner in the Specialist Community Forensic Team (SCFT), you will provide clinical and operational leadership while holding a caseload of service users with complex needs.

You will manage and coordinate the team caseload, ensuring service users receive appropriate assessment, care planning, risk management and rehabilitation support. Drawing on a detailed understanding of their needs and risks, you will contribute to effective clinical decision-making and provide advice on complex clinical and forensic matters.

You will lead the multidisciplinary team, chairing MDT meetings where required.

You will help develop the SCFT service model, including the move to three geographical teams, stronger local working and shared clinical responsibility. You will support primary and secondary working arrangements to maintain continuity of care, effective cross-cover and good use of the wider team's skills. As the model evolves, you will also help develop extended-hours working, supporting planned clinical activity and timely responses to changing need and risk.

You will contribute to transition and discharge planning, working with inpatient services, community mental health services, local authorities and other partners to support appropriate movement through services.

You will also contribute to supervision, appraisal, staff development, service improvement, partnership working and the management of clinical risk.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The Specialist Community Forensic Team (SCFT) provides specialist community forensic mental health support to service users with forensic histories and complex social, clinical and rehabilitation needs.

As Senior Forensic Practitioner, you will provide clinical and operational leadership within the team, working closely with the Service Manager and the wider multidisciplinary team to maintain standards of clinical practice and service delivery.

You will be responsible for managing and coordinating the team caseload and will maintain a detailed understanding of the service users being supported by the team. You will ensure that care planning, risk assessment, risk management and rehabilitation planning are carried out effectively and in accordance with relevant professional and Trust requirements.

You will hold a caseload of service users, including those with complex needs, and collaborate with other members of the team in their support and management. Caseload size and composition will be determined according to service requirements, patient need and the demands of the role.

You will provide clinical leadership within the multidisciplinary team and contribute to effective MDT decision-making. This will include chairing MDT meetings where required, providing professional advice, supporting complex clinical decision-making and ensuring that concerns relating to clinical risk are appropriately identified and managed.

You will work closely with colleagues across the Trust and with external agencies and statutory partners. Effective partnership working will be important in supporting service users with complex social, forensic and rehabilitation needs and in promoting effective transition and discharge.

Service development

SCFT is developing its service model to provide a more integrated geographical approach across Essex. The developing model includes three geographical teams, with shared clinical leadership and access to specialist resources across the service.

The postholder will contribute to the development and implementation of this model, working with colleagues to establish effective team arrangements and ways of working. This will include supporting primary and secondary working arrangements, effective cross-cover and shared responsibility for service users.

The service is also developing extended-hours working to increase planned clinical capacity and provide an appropriate response to patient need and risk. The postholder will be expected to contribute to the development and implementation of these arrangements as the service model progresses.

You will support the service to move towards more planned and coordinated clinical work, while maintaining the ability to respond to changing clinical need and risk.

You will contribute to improving patient flow through effective transition, discharge and step-down arrangements. This will include working closely with inpatient services, community mental health teams, local authorities and other partner agencies.

Clinical and team leadership

You will provide clinical leadership to the multidisciplinary team and support effective decision-making in relation to complex clinical and forensic presentations.

You will contribute to the supervision, appraisal and development of staff and provide support and guidance to members of the multidisciplinary team. You will also contribute to recruitment, performance management and staff development within the team.

You will organise and manage your own time in response to the demands of the team and its caseload. You will need to balance competing priorities, respond to changing demands and manage unpredictable work patterns while maintaining safe and effective clinical practice.

Clinical governance and service improvement

You will contribute to clinical governance, audit, quality improvement and risk management and support the implementation of changes to practice.

You will work with colleagues to identify areas for improvement and support the development of effective and responsive specialist forensic community services.

You will contribute to the education and development of students and other learners, undertaking appropriate practice education responsibilities where applicable to your professional role.

Applicant requirements

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.