Senior Psycho-social Support Worker in London

South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust has a rich history, well-established community links and an international reputation. We deliver specialist services in the London boroughs of Croydon, Lambeth, Lewisham and Southwark, Bexley, Bromley, Greenwich, Wandsworth and Richmond. We are committed to providing high quality and specialist care to our service users and we are recognised for the care and treatment we provide. The Care Quality Commission already rates our services as ‘good’. We launched our five-year strategy, Aiming High; Changing Lives in 2021 together with Our Care Improvement System as our quality management system methodology to make a positive impact on patient care, outcomes and staff experience. By joining SLaM, all staff will get the opportunity to be part of this exciting improvement journey supported with learning and development to harness everyone’s potential as change makers. The trust recognises the unique and valuable contribution that people with lived experience of mental illness can bring to a role. We therefore welcome applications from people with lived experience and consider them as an asset to the Trust.

An exciting opportunity for an experienced psycho-social support worker to develop skills in a specialist personality disorder service has arisen on Waddon Ward, River House. Waddon Ward is a 15 bedded medium secure male only ward. It is a specialist unit that admits those who have a significant violent and offending history as well as diagnosed with Personality Disorder. Waddon Ward is part of the Offender Personality Disorder Pathway (OPD), jointly commissioned by NHS England and The National Probation Service. The Violence Reduction Program is the main core treatment program on Waddon Ward which employs a Cognitive Behavioural Therapy psychological approach.

The post involves supporting the nursing team, taking on the associate nurse role for a small caseload and leading the team of psycho-social support workers. You will have the opportunity to participate in the assessment of new patients and plan their treatment pathways. You will receive training and supervision required for the role. The successful candidate must be committed to providing high quality patient care and have a demonstrated interest in working with offenders with personality disorder.

Main duties of the job:

• Providing high quality psycho-social interventions to patients with personality disorder.
• Supervising junior staff.
• Participating in an ongoing programme of development and education for the multi-professional team.
• Maintaining high quality standards on the ward.

Career Progression pathways and development opportunities:

We are committed to getting the very best out of our staff and support staff in their career aspirations. We have career pathways available, where you will be able to develop your skills and build on your experience to progress into other roles across different specialties. In addition, we offer ongoing training and development in risk assessment and therapies related to personality disorder, for example Mentalisation Based Therapy, Violence Reduction Programme.

Working for our organisation:

As one of the few Trusts in London, we are proud to offer flexible working as part of our new ways of working, and we are happy to talk flexible working at the interview stage. This role covers shifts across seven days per week, including day and night shifts. We are committed to ensuring our staff get the most out of their benefits package and understand the importance of a healthy work-life balance. There is an extensive range of excellent benefits for you and your family.

Benefits:

• Generous pay, pensions and leave.
• Work life balance, flexible working and support a range of flexible options, such as part-time working and job sharing.
• Career development, with plenty of opportunities to progress your career and support through a number of programmes such as mentoring, coaching, positive people management, collective leadership and other talent programmes.
• Car lease, competitive deals to lease cars.
• Accommodation, keyworker housing available on selected sites.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities:

This position entails working with a demanding client group of personality disordered offenders. Therefore, you will be given the opportunity and expected to attend regular participation in staff support, reflective practice and individual supervision. You must be able to physically respond efficiently and confidently to a crisis, i.e. be able to assist in the delivery of First aid, or employ PSTS techniques which you will have completed training in during your induction to the trust. You will work under the direct and indirect supervision and guidance of the nursing team to implement care with a group of offenders with a diagnosis of Personality Disorder, maintaining their dignity, privacy and choice, treating them with respect at all times.

Person specification:

Education/Qualification:

• NVQ Level 3 in Health & Social Care or other equivalent qualification.
• Degree in Psychology.
• Masters in Psychology.

Experience/Knowledge:

• Experience of working with people with mental health problems.
• Experience of working as a HealthCare Assistant in Forensic Mental Health.
• Experience of working with professionals from other agencies and services.
• Ability to maintain professional boundaries in all interactions with service users.
• Ability to undertake all mandatory training relevant to the post including Seni Lewis Training Program, basic life support.
• Experience of co-facilitating groups or 1:1 therapeutic sessions.
• Experience of working in a learning environment.
• Experience supporting individuals who present with emotional distress, complex needs or challenging behaviour.
• Willingness to participate in quality improvement, audit or service development initiatives.

Skills/Abilities:

• Good written and verbal communication skills.
• Basic IT skills.
• Ability to work with a challenging client group, showing initiative and flexibility to team work and to care situations.
• Knowledge of skills that can be shared in team meetings.

Other Criteria:

• Personal experience of mental health problems.

Equality and diversity:

The Trust is committed to providing services which embrace diversity and that promote equality of opportunity. We are a Disability Confident Employer, we welcome applicants from all sections of the community and people of all protected characteristics. We provide reasonable adjustments for candidates with a disability and are committed to treating people fairly with compassion, respect and dignity and in promoting equality and human rights. We aim to put this commitment into practice by:

• Embedding our commitment to tackling inequality, eliminating discrimination and harassment; promoting equality of opportunity and fostering good relations in our everyday practice.
• Ensuring that all our services and all staff understand and support our commitment.
• We believe that people who use our services, their carers and our staff, should be treated with compassion, respect and dignity.

SLaM is a Stonewall Diversity Champion, Stonewall is the largest Lesbian, Gay, Bi and Trans (LGBT) rights charity in Europe.