Occupational Therapist or Registered Mental Health Nurse (Band 5) - Mental Health Autism Team -[...]

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Occupational Therapist or Registered Mental Health Nurse

Band 5

Main area Mental Health Autism Team Grade Band 5 Contract Permanent Hours Full time – 37.5 hours per week Job ref 22-LS-CM-94

Site Ealing, H&F and Hounslow Town London Salary £35,964 – £43,780 per annum inclusive of 20% HCAS Salary period Yearly Closing 27/07/2025 23:59

West London NHS Trust provides a full range of mental health, community and physical healthcare services for children, adults and older people living in the London boroughs of Ealing, Hammersmith & Fulham and Hounslow.

We also provide some specialist services that are commissioned regionally, such as our medium secure services; and nationally, such as the Cassel Hospital for people with complex and severe personality disorder and our high secure services at Broadmoor Hospital.

Job overview

An exciting opportunity has arisen for an enthusiastic and ambitious Occupational Therapist or Registered Mental Health Nurse within the Mental Health Autism Team. The service has recently expanded to cover a defined cohort of autistic service users within community mental health services, who are at increased risk of readmissions to inpatient mental health services or frequently utilise unplanned care.

The post spans acute and community mental health services across Ealing, Hammersmith & Fulham and Hounslow. The post will be based across both Hammersmith and Fulham and Lakeside Mental Health Units, but will involve outreach provision and therefore travel across all three boroughs.

This role is intended to provide occupational therapy or mental health nursing assessments and interventions to autistic service users accessing inpatient or crisis mental health services. The service also supports people at increased risk of readmission, with the overall aim of improving the care and experience of admissions and supporting earlier, sustainable and safe discharges, and reducing the risk of readmissions.

The post is across H&F, Ealing and Hounslow, but paid as inner London weighting. Please note opening date of advert as high volume of applications may be received and unable to shortlist sooner due to AL.

Main duties of the job

This new post offers an exciting opportunity for an ambitious and enthusiastic Occupational Therapist or Registered Mental Health Nurse, looking to specialise in mental health and autism. The successful candidate will offer a thorough, compassionate and evidence-based service to adults with a suspected or confirmed diagnosis of autism within inpatient and crisis mental health services. The post will also involve an outreach component, offering community-based input to autistic adults at risk of readmission or who frequently utilise unplanned care.

As an integral member of the Mental Health Autism Team, the post holder will have knowledge and understanding of taking a strengths-based approach to working with autistic people, supporting the individual and teams to identify and meet unmet needs. The role offers opportunities for service development and clinical audits. Multidisciplinary joint working will be central to the development of integrated care, and fostering strong relationships with stakeholders will be key.

The post spans inpatient, crisis and community mental health services across Ealing, Hammersmith & Fulham and Hounslow. The post will be based at both Hammersmith and Fulham and Lakeside Mental Health Units, and will involve outreach provision across all three boroughs

Working for our organisation

West London NHS Trust is one of the most diverse healthcare providers in the UK, delivering a range of mental health and physical healthcare and community services. The Trust runs Broadmoor Hospital, one of three high secure hospitals in the country, with an international reputation.

Our high secure services care for patients from South of England and we provide low and medium secure services across eight London boroughs. The Trust also provides mental and physical healthcare in three London boroughs (Ealing, Hounslow and Hammersmith & Fulham). We employ 4,500 staff, of whom 56% are BME. Our turnover for 2023-24 is £426m.

The Trust is rated as ‘Good’ overallby the Care Quality Commission. Forensic services are rated as ‘Outstanding’.

The Trust is an established partner and contributor in the development of the evolving North West London Integrated Care System and the Integrated Care Board. The Trust leads the NW London Children and Adolescent Mental Health provider collaborative.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The Candidate Pack provides an overview of the key tasks and responsibilities of the role, and the person specification outlines the qualifications, skills, experience and knowledge required. Please view as attached

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

Person specification

Qualifications and Training

• BSc (Hons) or equivalent in Occupational Therapy or Mental Health Nursing.
• Current registration with the relevant professional body (HCPC or NMC).
• Training in positive approaches to behaviours of concern.
• Training relevant to working with autistic people (such as sensory integration, Social Stories)
• Additional training in an area relevant to the professional discipline, e.g. OT standardised assessments, Dialogue training.
• Completion of Practice Placement Educator training or equivalent.

Experience

• Experience in working with autistic people. Application of core profession-specific skills in assessments and interventions.
• Multidisciplinary team working.
• Experience of working with people who have severe and enduring mental health conditions. Ability to build rapport with service users, carers and colleagues.
• Evidence of ability in completing assessment, treatment planning, intervention delivery and evaluation, relevant to OT or Nursing.
• Core skills and application of models of practice, relevant to OT or Nursing.
• Relevant post-qualification experience in Mental Health and/or Autism and/or Learning Disabilities.
• Where relevant, already working towards or achieved Band 5 KSF subset (e.g. preceptorship programme for OT).
• Use of standardised assessment tools and outcome measures.
• Involvement in research and/or clinical audit.
• Experience of supervision of students or junior members of staff.
• Lived experience of mental health difficulties and/or autism.
• Experience of delivering training/teaching.
• Ability to prepare and present papers at study days and conferences.
• Ability to apply (research) evidencebased practice.
• Contribution to service development and the training of others
• Ability to reflect and critically appraise own performance.

Knowledge and Skills

• Knowledge of mental health difficulties and of a holistic approach to understanding an individual’s presentation in the context of wider biopsychosocial aspects.
• Knowledge and understanding of how mental health difficulties can impact on a person’s ability to complete day-to-day activities.
• An understanding of how a person’s social circumstances or current crisis may impact on their activity participation, social interaction and communication.
• Up-to-date knowledge of autism, including applied understanding of how different aspects of autism might impact on a person’s communication, social interaction and behaviours.
• Ability to articulate and apply relevant experience to mental health setting Clinical and environmental risk assessment and safety planning
• Equality and diversity.
• Understanding of team dynamics.
• Awareness of need to work within appropriate boundaries.
• Principles of clinical governance. Computer literate.
• Relevant current legislation, NICE guidelines, CPA, risk assessment and risk management.
• An understanding of trauma-informed care.
• Knowledge of sensory differences/sensory integration and how this might impact on a person’s experience of care.

As an employee of West London NHS Trust, you have a responsibility to maintain a sound understanding of, and a commitment to uphold the National Health Service values and principles set out in the NHS Constitution.

We reserve the right to close adverts prior to the closing date stated should we receive a high volume of applications.

By applying for this post you are agreeing to West London NHS Trust transferring the information contained in this application to its preferred applicant management system. If you are offered a job, you will be required to undergo a pre-employment checks which can take between 4-8 weeks . After which your information will also be transferred into the national NHS Electronic Staff Records system (ESR ).

Please ensure you include email addresses for your referees which MUST be at supervisory or managerial capacity covering the last 3 years of employment to date to avoid delay in the recruitment process.

West London NHS Trust is committed to safeguarding all children and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

We encourage the thoughtful use of technology as a demonstration of strong time management and a commitment to innovation. However, we encourage applicants to personalise their recruitment application to showcase their unique skills and experiences.

While AI-generated content can be a helpful tool, relying solely on generic responses instead of highlighting your own strengths and achievements may impact the success of your application. The success of an application will always be assessed against the essential and desirable criteria for the role, so it is important to ensure that your application and any supporting information clearly demonstrate how you meet these requirements.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Name Zoe Yessaian Job title Senior Nurse Email address zoe.yessaian2@nhs.net Additional information

For more information and an informal chat please contact:
Zoe Yessaian (Senior Nurse): zoe.yessaian2@nhs.net and
Emma Turner (Principal Dramatherapist): emmaj.turner1@nhs.net

If you have problems applying, contact

Address Human Resources – Trust Headquarters
West London NHS Trust
1 Armstrong Way – Southall
UB2 4SA
Telephone Mob: 07483968676

At West London NHS Trust, we want you to support you to build a career you can be proud of and this starts before your first day with us. Our people live our values every day as they deliver, manage and work to improve our services to patients, carers, families and other professionals.

We’re committed to making our recruitment process clear and efficient. It’s in everyone’s interest that we get the very best people on board as soon as we can.

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