Specialist Midwife for Perinatal Mental Health London

Job summary

The specialist midwife for perinatal mental health will have a key organisational role in developing and maintaining high standards of care for women with mental health problems during pregnancy and the immediate postnatal period. You will be an innovative practitioner and an effective change agent promoting evidence based practice

Main responsibilities include providing support and midwifery care for women with mental health problems during pregnancy and the postnatal period in conjunction with the perinatal mental health team and neighbouring Mother and Baby Unit. You will work closely with women to plan and coordinate their care based on their individual needs. You will be involved in maintaining current standards in care pathways and policies for women with mild, moderate and severe mental health problems booked at Homerton Hospital; close liaison with relevant hospital and community based professionals; offering advice to maternity service staff and organising on-going mental health training for midwives, doctors and other health care practitioners. You will be an active member of the Maternity Safeguarding Team, providing support, advice and liaison when required.

You will provide a link between the maternity service and other services involved in mental health care for women, including the local primary care therapy service (IAPT), maternal mental health service (OCEAN) and the perinatal mental health team. You will ensure that relevant pathways, policies and processes to identify women with, or at risk of, or with existing mental illness are developed, implemented and audited. This will involve working with a range of relevant professionals, services and agencies, including commissioners and the public health team.

The post holder will be based both within the maternity safeguarding team and the perinatal mental health service. The role encompasses liaison with other agencies as well as teaching, support and empowerment of all clinicians involved in maternity care including: obstetricians, midwives, student midwives, and maternity support workers in relation to mental health issues in pregnancy. Evidence of continued education should be demonstrated.

About us

Homerton Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust is a high performing and flourishing organisation serving the population of Hackney, East London, The City and beyond.

We are extremely proud of the fact that Homerton Hospital has recently attained the highest possible rating of "Outstanding" from the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

Our integrated Trust provides comprehensive hospital and community health services for its local population and a range of specialist services for a wider group of patients. In addition, the Trust manages services out of St Leonard's Hospital and the Mary Seacole Nursing Home.

Homerton aims to ensure equality and value diversity, and we are committed to inclusion for all of our staff. This is reflected in our policies, procedures and People Plan. All of our staff are expected to embody our Trust values at all times.

We are also committed, through our Fair Recruitment Standards, to ensuring all applicants are treated fairly.

Homerton has a proud tradition of supporting and developing its staff, including its well-regarded and valued nursing community, and all staff are able to take advantage of a great range of benefits.

Homerton is proud to have been included on the HSJ & Nursing Times Best Places to Work list.

Job responsibilities

The full job description provides an overview of the key tasks and responsibilities of the role, and the person specification outlines the qualifications, skills, experience and knowledge required. For both documents, please view the attachment/s on this page.

The person specification below is not the full person specification but outlines the criteria against which your application form will be assessed.

Education/ Qualifications

Essential

• NMC registered Midwife
• Evidence of post qualification education

Desirable

• Additional qualification in mental health or counselling qualification
• Teaching and assessing/qualification

Skills/ Abilities

Essential

• Able to communicate effectively with patients, staff and other agencies
• Able to facilitate effective team working
• Ability to prioritise a busy workload
• Works well on own initiative as well as working well within a team
• Proficient IT skills
• Evidence of ability to influence and motivate others
• Able to recognise limitations and need for advice and support
• Ability to apply research to practice and to support changes in practice as a result of clinical audit

Experience

Essential

• Practicing midwife with significant experience as a Midwife at Band 6 or equivalent
• Post-graduation training/experience in perinatal mental health
• Previous comprehensive midwifery experience
• Evidence of delivering high quality teaching to staff groups.
• Experience of working with challenging people groups
• Experience of working across agencies

Desirable

• Previous experience within similar role at Band 7 or equivalent

Knowledge

Essential

• Knowledge/understanding of confidentiality issues
• Specialist knowledge and experience in maternal and infant mental health, developed through training and practice
• Detailed knowledge of current midwifery issues.
• Knowledge of clinical governance processes
• Understanding of wider NHS agenda and drivers for change.
• Evidence of knowledge of recent midwifery research and clinical audit
• A specialist interest in mental health

Other Requirements

Essential

• Commitment and adherence to the Equality Act
• Understanding of the Trust values
• Flexible approach to work

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.

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website.

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website.