Non Medical Nurse prescriber

Thank you for your interest in the North London NHS Foundation Trust (NLFT). This is an exciting time to join us and be part of our journey to improve mental health care across North London and deliver excellent services to our local people. We will achieve this through the North London Way, as we:

• Collaborate at every level by living our values to create the right conditions for us all to work together.
• Develop our new Trust culture, to help make our new Trust a great place to work and to receive great care.
• Empower our teams to lead the planned improvements in our services, by skilling them and giving them the tools to make the changes.
• Focus on delivering excellence at every level to improve our performance and ensure consistently high-quality care across all our services.
• Ensure that research, quality improvement, and technology lead the way and are embedded in our services.
• Take a trauma informed approach to everything we do.

We proactively welcome diversity in our workforce and pride ourselves on being an inclusive employer. We aim to recruit from our local communities and provide opportunities to all including apprenticeships, veterans, care leavers and more. The North London Way to deliver: Better Mental Health, Better Lives, Better Communities.

As a values‑driven Trust, we recruit through our values. Our selection processes focus on behaviours, attitudes, and examples that reflect our organisational values and commitment to compassionate, high‑quality care.

Job overview: To work as a member of a multidisciplinary specialist drug team, providing information, advice, assessment, caseload management, physical health checks and blood borne virus screening, vaccinations and treatment. One of the main remits of the posts is the initiation of clients onto opiate substitute medication, via observed administration in our onsite care clinic. Monitoring treatment through regular clinical reviews. Offering advice and dose review.

Main duties of the job:

• Assess opiate dependence and in conjunction with the medical team support the prescribing of evidence based opiate substitution treatments, providing person-centered, flexible care (to include stabilization, intermediate maintenance and detox regimes).
• Initiate clients onto opiate substitute medication, via observed administration in our onsite care clinic and be responsible for the operational running of the clinic.
• Hold caseload of complex clients, undertake comprehensive assessments, physical and mental health needs, social and support issues to develop clinically safe and client centered treatment plans.
• Delivery of a range of health interventions, including advice and information, physical health checks, BBV screening & vaccination and support the delivery of the onsite Hepatitis C treatment clinic.
• To work as an effective member of the multidisciplinary team actively participating in clinical team meetings, group supervision and contributing to the yearly service development plan.
• To adhere to local safeguarding protocols to safeguard children and vulnerable adults, including the completion of safeguarding assessment tools, referrals to social services and producing reports.
• To work as a Non-Medical prescriber within agreed scope of practice.
• To work effectively with partner agencies and other professionals to ensure a joined‑up approach to treatment and care planning.

Working for our organisation: North London NHS Foundation Trust (NLFT) is committed to improving mental health care across North London to deliver excellent services to our local people. We will provide consistently high-quality care closer to home. With our partners in North London and each borough we will ensure equity of outcome for all. We will offer great places to work, providing staff with a supportive environment to deliver outstanding care.

Why NLFT?

• We develop and retain our staff through leadership behaviours and managers programme and many more opportunities.
• We promote flexible working and support staff with a range of health and wellbeing initiatives.
• NHS Discounts, generous annual leave and NHS pension scheme.
• Excellent internal staff network.

In order to meet the needs of the Trust you may be required from time to time to work at different locations to your normal place of work. This may mean that you are required to work at any location that falls under Barnet, Camden, Enfield, Haringey or Islington. The Trust reserves the right to require staff to work at such other places or locations as it considers reasonable and necessary on a temporary or permanent basis.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities:

• To assess clients’ level of opiate dependence and level of opiate withdrawal, to manage their initiation onto methadone or buprenorphine, in conjunction with the medical team.
• To carry out physical monitoring of clients undergoing methadone and buprenorphine titration, maintenance programmes, reduction and detoxification programmes.
• To initiate clients onto opiate substitute medication, via observed administration in our onsite care clinic.
• To undertake comprehensive assessments, physical and mental health needs, social and support issues and to present this information together with a proposed treatment plan to the multidisciplinary team.
• To accurately assess the multiple needs of this complex client group, including identifying and exercising judgments relating to homelessness, drug treatment, psychological counselling, treatment plans, criminal justice system, child protection, other agencies etc.
• To manage a caseload of complex clients and provide one to one key working ensuring that care and recovery planning is conducted on an individual basis according to the specific needs of the service user.
• To carry out appropriate risk assessment regarding prescribing and non-prescribing interventions, and implement appropriate interventions to manage identified risks.
• To follow local safeguarding procedures in order to promote the safety and well‑being of children and vulnerable adults.
• To support the production of reports necessary for social services, courts or other external organisations.
• To make home visits consistent with need and in line with Trust policies.
• To provide harm reduction services, such as Needle Exchange, in line with Trust guidelines.
• To support service users to become involved in local service user activities, planning and co‑production.
• Where appropriate, to engage friends and family of the service user in their treatment, where explicit consent has been given.
• To carry out urine drug screening and breath alcohol testing in order to assess safety of prescribing.
• To provide advice and guidance to other practitioners around safety of prescribing in relation to results.
• To provide advice and guidance to practitioners on mental health and physical health issues.
• To carry clinical reviews.
• To participate in the delivery of the primary healthcare services, including the delivery of health and wellbeing clinics.
• To promote the health needs of clients with complex issues, and within their sphere of competence provide interventions for these needs.
• To carry out HIV and Hepatitis C testing and pre/post‑test counselling.
• To support the delivery of the onsite Hepatitis C treatment clinic.
• To carry out Hepatitis B testing and vaccination.
• To promote clinical excellence by complying with agreed Trust and statutory policies and clinical guidance, including Infection Control while maintaining own clinical competencies in this role.
• To support the Clinical Governance of the service, through reporting, investigating, recommending actions and learning lessons.
• To respond to and manage accidents & incidents, in line with Trust policy. This will include incident investigation and action planning.
• To work in partnership with an independent medical prescriber, as a supplementary non‑medical prescriber, within the designated area of practice.
• As a supplementary non‑medical prescriber prepare clinical management plans and prescribe only in accordance with these and within their scope of practice/competency taking full responsibility and accountability for their prescribing decisions.
• Ensure that patients are aware of the scope and limits of non‑medical prescribing and ensure patients understand their rights in relation to non‑medical prescribing. Patients have the right to refuse treatment/prescribing from a NMP.

Person specification:

• Experience in mental health.
• Experience of titration/dose induction.
• Extensive experience of working with those affected by substance misuse.
• A non-judgemental approach to drug use and drug users.
• First Level Registered Nurse (RMN/RGN).
• Non Medical Prescriber.

Due to the high number of applications that are received for some posts, we reserve the right to close any vacancies before the stated closing date. Therefore, please ensure you apply without delay if you wish to be considered for this role.

In line with NHS protocols, only those applicants who demonstrate clearly how they meet our person specification will be shortlisted for interview. We regret that it is not possible to contact all applicants for every vacancy. If you have not been contacted within 4 weeks of the closing date, please assume you have not been shortlisted for the next stage.

Applications from job seekers who require sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome. Please ensure you hold the correct right to work in the UK at the time of your application. Some roles may not be eligible for sponsorship, and we want to make sure you have all the information you need before applying.

To avoid disappointment please check that you are eligible under the UKVI guidelines: UK Visas and Immigration.

References will be required to cover your last 3 years of employment/training. One has to be from your current or most recent employer and the others from your previous employer. The references should be from persons with management responsibility or HR.

Please note, in order to progress your application your data will be processed by our 3rd party recruitment providers – North London Partners Shared Service, who conduct recruitment activities on behalf of North London NHS Foundation Trust. As part of pre‑employment checks your identity and right to work documentation will be verified remotely (in most circumstances), using a certified identity verification service provider TrustID. You will be asked to capture an image of the relevant documents as well as a “selfie” using your smartphone/tablet (if available) for facial matching. TrustID will also perform a digital address check using Trunarrative and Equifax, which is a soft check and does not leave a footprint on your credit rating. For more information, visit TrustID.

The Trust uses electronic new starter forms on Trac to collect personal details. Information collected is securely stored and used to set up the employee record on the ESR HR system.

We are an equal opportunities employer and are committed to creating an inclusive, fair, and supportive workplace for all. We actively welcome applications from individuals who are under‑represented within our workforce and are dedicated to eliminating discrimination in all its forms.

As a Disability Confident (Two Ticks) employer, we guarantee an interview to disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role and are committed to making reasonable adjustments throughout the recruitment process.

By applying for this role, you accept in the event you are successful that your personal data may be transferred from the Trust to another NHS organisation where your employment transfers within the NHS. This is in accordance with the streamlining programme which is aimed at improving efficiencies within the NHS both to make cost savings for NHS organisations but also to save you time when your employment transfers.

This vacancy may close early if it receives a high number of applications. Please complete and submit your application in good time to avoid disappointment.