Staff Nurse - Oak Unit | South West London and St George\'s Mental Health NHS Trust

This is an exciting and unique opportunity to join the newly developed low secure 12 bedded forensic learning disability service based on Turner ward, Shaftesbury Clinic. The forensic service sits within the Specialist Service Line of the Trust. From May 2023 this unit will be housed in a state-of-the-art new secure building on the Springfield Hospital site. The ward has been adapted to deliver care and treatment to patients with intellectual (learning) disabilities who may also have Autism. All patients will have a learning disability with mental health disorder and will be detained under the Mental Health Act. Patients will have an offending history, convicted or pending offence with the courts and may also be subject to additional restrictions under the Mental Health Act.

The service is provided by a full specialist multidisciplinary team equipped to effectively assess and treat coexisting mental disorders in this group and to provide appropriate therapies. As well as offering a new and purpose-built environment to work in, this post will also offer staff members an opportunity to enhance already existing skills or develop a new skill set. We will be providing new staff members with a comprehensive and bespoke training package as part of opening the new service. Staff members will also have access to an ongoing training package relevant to the needs of the client group and will be supported through regular clinical and managerial supervision as well as training to develop personally within the role.

If you are successful with your application, you will be working alongside our MDT, formulating treatment plans, as well as conducting daily risk and mental state assessments of patients with Learning Disability and Autism. You will be part of the team for admissions, continued treatment and discharges pathways of patients. You will be expected to liaise with learning disability community, mental health services, families, and careers, and other third parties involved in the care of the patient. We are looking for a nurse who will work holistically with Learning Disability and Autism service users to ensure excellent patient-centered care, aiming towards a safe discharge into the community. We would expect you to be passionate about Learning Disability and Autism mental health patient – working in line with the good life Model, our Trust Values, as well as being able to work collaboratively with service users and their families.

Responsibilities

• Work autonomously within the parameters of the role leading on implementing the delivery of quality nursing care, contributing to the physical, psychological, social, recreational and spiritual care in a recovery-focused way through therapeutic engagement and activities, and taking steps to address any issues that arise.
• Lead on and undertake activities to ensure that the fundamentals of care are met - nutrition, hydration, hygiene, comfort, emotional and social support.
• Coordinate and evaluate collaborative patient-centred care; obtain feedback and improve plans with the multi-disciplinary team (MDT).
• Provide accurate information about care in an accessible format to patients and their relatives / carers.
• Liaise and work positively with members of the multi-disciplinary team and partner organisations.
• Administer, and monitor the side-effects of, medication; monitor service user compliance.
• Escort service users, as required, in line with Trust policies.
• Facilitate the admission and discharge of service users, ensuring needs of the patient and service including relevant legislative or required documentation are completed.
• Advocate for service users’ needs and rights within Trust policy.
• Encourage and empower service users to have an optimum level of responsibility for their individual programme of care.

This advert closes on Sunday 11 Jan 2026.