Senior Clinical Practitioner | South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust

We are looking for a highly experienced clinician with experience of and expertise in the CAMHS crisis pathway, in addition to CAMHS managerial experience, to join the CAMHS Emergency Care Service for a fixed term, 12-month period.

The post holder will be responsible for the management of CAMHS Emergency Care Team and will provide, with the team consultant child & adolescent psychiatrist, clinical advice and support to the local A&E departments, local CAMHS Teams and schools.

The post holder will focus on supporting effective clinical leadership in the CAMHS Emergency Care Team and promoting a culture of high performance and clinical excellence. The postholder will work to improve outcomes and experience of CAMHS for children and young people and will challenge traditional models of care through new insights, perspectives, and a positive expectation that children and young people can achieve meaningful change during the recovery process.

The postholder will manage the provision and delivery of crisis interventions provided by CAMHS Emergency Care Service, including the management of an Emergency Care Team Rota. The post holder will oversee and operationally lead the assessment of children and young people presenting in mental health crisis to A&E Departments or following admission to the paediatric wards.

The post holder will build close working relationships with the community CAMHS teams and senior clinicians. The post holder will be required to undertake advanced clinical work, which will be subject to an agreed work plan. The post holder will be responsible for the development and monitoring of the assigned care pathway quality and improvement plans.

The post holder will ensure all clinical effectiveness systems are embedded and sustainable (this will include audit and evidence-based care). The post holder will be adept at prioritising and implementing actions that will provide the most efficient, effective and safe pathways for children and young people to access care and will be able to promptly elevate any obstacles to putting appropriate care in place.

The Senior Clinical Practitioner in the CAMHS Emergency Care is responsible for the management of CAMHS Emergency Care Team and provides with the team consultant child & adolescent psychiatrist clinical advice and support to the local A&E departments, Local CAMHS Teams and schools.

The Senior Clinical Practitioner will focus on supporting effective clinical leadership in the CAMHS Emergency Care Team and promoting a culture of high performance and clinical excellence. The postholder will work to improve not only outcomes for the children and young people but also their experience and will challenge traditional models of care through new insights, perspectives and a positive expectation that children and young people can succeed in the recovery process.

The postholder will work to manage the provision and delivery of crisis interventions provided by CAMHS Emergency Care Team, including the management of an Emergency Care Team Rota. The postholder will work as an independent and autonomous professional within professional guidelines and the policies and procedures of the service, taking full responsibility for own work.

The postholder will provide primary CAMHS assessments and other specialist assessments, using self-report measures as appropriate, structured observations, clinical interviews, and will interpret and integrate this highly complex data to identify and diagnose the cause of emotional and behavioural problems in children and young people.

The postholder will formulate mental healthcare and crisis management and safety plans that are specific to each child and young person and family, based upon an analysis of complex factors concerning historical and developmental processes contributing to the presentation. They will assess safeguarding issues for each case, consulting with other professionals and referring concerns to the appropriate safeguarding team as required.

The postholder will deliver evidence-based psychological treatments, monitoring outcome and modifying and adapting interventions drawing on a range of theoretical options. The postholder will assess and monitor risk and draw up appropriate risk management plans and safety plans in conjunction with the child and young person, parents/carers and other services as appropriate.

The postholder will communicate skilfully, tactfully and sensitively highly complex, sensitive and potentially distressing information with children and young people, parents, carers and colleagues taking account of sensory and cultural barriers to communication.

The postholder will maintain the highest standards of clinical record keeping and report writing, according to professional and Trust guidelines, including electronic data entry and recording. The postholder will ensure that all services provided are acceptable and accessible to the diverse communities which make up the catchment area of the service.

The postholder will act as clinical lead providing clinical leadership and clinical decision making for a range of cases including high risk and extremely complex, ensuring the provision of a care package appropriate for the client needs, assisting with the co-ordinating of safe transition.

The postholder will be a Senior clinician, providing either non-medical prescribing and physical health care skills and/or the ability to practice advance therapeutic techniques to support and facilitate discharge from the CAMHS Emergency Team including from A&E departments.

In conjunction with the Head of Nursing & Quality for CAMHS and Specialist Services, the postholder is responsible for developing and implementing standards across the Trust by strengthening professional clinical leadership at team level. They will be easily identifiable to children and young people and parents/carers.