Clinical Nurse Specialist (CAMHS Eating Disorder Pathway) in Plymouth

The CAMHS Eating Disorder Pathway delivers a specialist service for children and young people aged 5-18 who are experiencing eating disorders. Evidence shows that early identification and treatment significantly reduce the severity and duration of illness.

We are looking for an experienced and motivated Clinical Specialist Nurse to join our CAMHS Eating Disorder Pathway. This is an exciting opportunity to work within a supportive, skilled and dedicated multi-disciplinary team committed to delivering high-quality care.

You will work as part of a multi-disciplinary team (MDT) within the Eating Disorder Pathway, and in close collaboration with other CAMHS teams and external agencies. The team operates within the ITHRIVE model of care, promoting recovery through timely, evidence-based interventions and holistic support.

You will play a key role in providing specialist assessment, treatment and support for children and young people experiencing eating disorders, working closely with their families to promote recovery and wellbeing. In addition, you will act as a senior clinical resource, guiding and supporting both junior and senior colleagues within the MDT to ensure best practice, safe care, and effective decision-making.

The service currently operates 5 days per week, Monday to Friday, 9am-5pm. This role may not be eligible for sponsorship under the Skilled Worker route. We may close the job advertisement earlier than the specified deadline.

• Provide comprehensive assessment and deliver evidence-based therapeutic interventions, including one-to-one, family and group work, in line with NICE guideline NG69 and nationally recognised models for eating disorder treatment, including Family Therapy for Anorexia Nervosa - FTAN/Maudsley-based interventions, CBTE, DBT-informed approaches and systemic therapy, to support recovery for children and young people and their families.
• Care will be delivered in line with the Access and Waiting Time Standard for Children and Young People with an eating disorder (Commissioning Guide, July 2015), ensuring timely assessment and commencement of treatment.
• Take a senior specialist role within the multi-disciplinary team, leading clinical case meetings and safeguarding processes (safeguarding supervision skills required).
• Support the presentation and discussion of cases at pathway MDT, guiding decision-making and ensuring best practice.
• Demonstrate exceptional skills in risk assessment and management, ensuring prompt and accurate communication of concerns.
• Lead and support both junior and senior colleagues in coordinating multi-agency responses when required, providing expert guidance and promoting best practice in safeguarding and risk management.
• Demonstrates personal resilience and emotional stability, with the ability to tolerate and manage the demands of working with highly complex and challenging cases.

All staff are expected to be able and willing to work across a 7 day service.

Livewell Southwest is an independent, award-winning social enterprise delivering integrated health and social care services across Plymouth, South Hams, and West Devon, with specialist services in parts of Devon and Cornwall. Our teams work in community hospitals, GP practices, sports centres, and health hubs.

As an organisation with a strong social conscience we are guided by our values, kindness, respect, inclusivity, ambition, responsibility, and collaboration. We focus on transforming services to ensure sustainability, while empowering staff and those we serve.

We involve the people we care for, along with their families and carers, in shaping the care they receive, striving to deliver the right care at the right time and place. Centering our work on individual needs helps people lead healthy, independent lives.

We prioritise employees' development, offering protected CPD time, training pathways, leadership programs, and funding for qualifications like the Care Certificate and Nurse Training Scholarships. Our induction and preceptorship programs ensure a smooth transition into our organisation.

Livewell Southwest values diversity and encourages applications from all sections of the community, including those with armed forces experience, lived experience of mental health, neuro-diverse conditions and learning disabilities. If you need assistance or reasonable adjustments during the application process, contact the Recruiting Manager listed in the job advert.

Skills

• Crisis management and ability to plan care for acutely psychiatrically ill patients with support from team processes.
• Motivation and engagement.
• Car owner / driver, valid driving license with business insurance. Ability to travel between bases and within the community and with Devon and Cornwall if required for the post.
• Ability to make complex clinical decision-making.
• Mental health and risk assessment, care planning, evaluation and intervention.
• Case management and prioritisation.
• Strong organisational and time management.
• Competent IT skills and database knowledge.
• Ability to manage complex clinical situations within a defined caseload.
• Self-motivated and able to work on own initiative.
• Commitment to anti-oppressive practice.
• Ability to work collaboratively across agencies and professional backgrounds.
• Commitment to ongoing learning and professional development.
• Reflective practice.
• Able to use across system organisational IT systems.
• Culturally competent assessment and intervention skills.
• Specific therapeutic skills relevant to working with children and families.

Knowledge

• Extensive professional knowledge acquired through clinical practice in a Community Mental Health setting managing highly complex cases autonomously underpinned by training at degree level/diploma level specialist training or equivalent experience.
• Knowledge of relevant legislation and documents pertaining to children, e.g., Children Act 2004, Child Protection, National Service Framework, Every Child Matters etc.
• Learning Disability specific legislation and documents, Aiming High for Disabled Children, Valuing People, Mansell report, and Mental Capacity Act.
• Knowledge of a range of mental health problems and disorders affecting children and young people who are in care.
• Knowledge of the impact of crisis on mental health difficulties.
• Evidence based practice.
• Understanding of Mental Health Act.
• Good knowledge of current NHS and Social Care Policy.
• Evidence of CPD.
• Understand the Principles of Governance, particularly in relation to their Service area.
• Well-developed skills in the ability to communicate and adapt effectively, orally and in writing, highly technical, and clinically sensitive information to CYP, their families, carers, and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS.
• Skills in providing consultation to other professional and nonprofessional groups.
• Working with people in Crisis.
• Experience of working within a multicultural framework.
• Knowledge of different models of therapy, e.g., CBT, DBT, solution focused therapy etc.
• Well-developed knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological therapies in specific difficult to treat groups.
• Experience of working within a multicultural framework.
• Relevant and significant experience of working on an inpatient setting.

Personal Qualities

• Ability to work as part of a team and autonomously.
• Willingness to work flexibly.
• Ability to embrace change and have capacity to thrive in demanding situations.
• Ability to communicate/listen formally and in writing.
• Highly reflective, confident, and articulate.
• Flexible and resourceful in coping under pressure and with conflicting demands.
• Sensitivity to working within a multicultural framework.
• An awareness of own strengths and limitations.

Qualifications

• Core qualification to degree level in any mental health modality (e.g., Nursing, Social Work - with significant and relevant post qualifying experience in Secondary Mental Health and within a community setting).
• Appropriate Registration relevant to Professional Qualification.
• Post graduate training qualification in methods of working with children with mental health problems, e.g., counselling, systemic practice or postgrad diploma in child and adolescent mental health.
• Teaching/Assessing courses such as mentorship module or equivalent.
• Intermediate family and systemic practice.

Experience

• Experience (both work and life related).
• Experience of working in a multi-agency and/or multi-disciplinary context.
• Significant and relevant post-qualifying experience.
• Experience of working with the care systems both directly with Children and young people and professionals within the care system.
• Ability to manage system change.
• Experience of post-registration working with children and young people who have experienced mental health difficulties.
• Experience in assessment, including risk, care planning, intervention and evaluation.
• Demonstrates personal resilience and emotional stability, with the ability to tolerate and manage the demands of working with highly complex and challenging cases.
• Maintains professionalism, compassion and sound clinical judgment under pressure and in emotionally charged situations.
• Maintaining own safety in Community settings by working within relevant policy and having completed or be willing to complete breakaway training or equivalent.
• Experience of effective working with families of diverse cultural backgrounds.
• Experience of working within multi-agency safeguarding systems e.g., child protection conferences, child-in-need meetings.
• Be able to give unwelcome news sensitively.
• Show respect and treat people with dignity.
• Evidence of transferable clinical, risk management and leadership skills.
• Experience of working with a wide variety of patient groups.
• Experience of delivering teaching and training.
• Maintaining a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems, verbal abuse, and the threat of physical abuse.
• Experience of managing others.
• Wide experience of multi-disciplinary team working.
• Extensive clinical experience in mental health care, crisis management and positive risk taking.
• Ability to frequently travel independently and in a timely manner between Livewell Southwest sites and community locations including areas not served by public transport.
• Experience of managing risk.
• Experience working with eating disorder patients and families across the lifespan.
• Experience of supervision of MDT staff.
• Experience of managing a high level of risk.
• Performance management.
• Experience of implementing competencies and essential training for a team.
• Experience working with eating disorder patients and families across the lifespan.
• Experience of the application of psychology in different cultural contexts.
• Experience working with a wide variety of patient groups, across the life course and presenting with the full range of clinical severity across the full range of care settings including outpatient, community, inpatient, and residential care settings.
• Further specialist training/experience in an evidence-based treatment for eating disorders.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.