Job Description

Come join a passionate team, dedicated to providing outstanding



care to service users, their families & carers.



To ensure we deliver the outstanding care we believe our service users deserve, we are recruiting a motivated and dynamic Senior liaison mental health practitioner



who can lead and inspire the nursing team, by demonstrating sound clinical skills and being able to remain calm and compassionate.



You will take a lead role in planning clinical care, employing your pre-existing skills to provide a therapeutic and safe environment. You will



develop confidence in assessing risk on a formal and informal basis and be able to balance this effectively with acting in the least restrictive way,



fostering a safe yet therapeutic service. You will have a solid working knowledge of relevant legal frameworks i.e. MHA (1983), and Capacity Act



(2005) .



You must be a registered nurse with experience of working in a crisis mental health setting. It is essential you have an understanding of the



challenges that face nurses caring for individual's with mental health difficulties today and be able to demonstrate resilience and empathy. Most



important to us is that you have a commitment and passion to want to be part of an excellent service.



The primary function of this role is to work as a highly experienced mental health practitioner carrying

out first line specialist assessments and crisis risk management plans within the Emergency

Department (ED) as part of the Mental Health Liaison Team (MHLT). The work will include response

to referrals and effective triage assessments and advising the referring acute trust team on expert,

evidence based, safe and effective models of care and treatment for people presenting with mental

health problems. The other key role is to provide evidence-based interventions for the care pathway

in University Hospital Lewisham with the aim of reducing length of stay and frequent attendances to

the hospital. The work will also involve setting up collaborations and interventions throughout the

care pathway, from acute presentation onward, to promote timely discharge of patients, reduce

prolonged lengths of stay, and to reduce the risk of inappropriate readmission following discharge.

To post holder will actively identify and triage patients presenting to the Emergency Department of

University Hospital Lewisham with emergency or urgent need for management of mental health,

psychological and substance misuse problems, including those who have deliberately self-harmed.

The post holder will liaise with ED regarding appropriate medical clearance of patients being referred

The post holder will work 37.5 hours a week providing 24 hour cover.



South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust (SLaM) provide the widest range of NHS mental health services in the UK as well as substance misuse services for people who are addicted to drugs and alcohol. We work closely with the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience (IoPPN), King's College London and are part of King's Health Partners Academic Health Sciences Centre.



SLaM employ around 5000 staff and serve a local population of 1.1 million people. We have more than 230 services including inpatient wards, outpatient and community services. Currently, provide inpatient care for approximately 5,300 people each year and treat more than 45,000 patients in the community in Croydon, Lambeth, Lewisham and Southwark; as well as substance misuse services for residents of Bexley, Bromley and Greenwich.



By coming to work at SLaM, you will gain experience of being part of an organisation with a rich history and international reputation in mental health care. You will have access to professional development and learning opportunities, and have the chance to work alongside people who are world leaders in their field. SLaM delivered more than 14,000 training experiences in 2014; providing an extensive range of learning opportunities for staff at all levels.

Key Responsibilities:

Clinical Service Provision

Lead as a senior psychiatric liaison practitioner in A&E in triage decision making for the service and

within the MDT and acting as a specialist clinical resource for the ED

To be located in an office at ED and serve as the first point of contact from ED referrals and to

proactively screen and receive referrals from ED and respond in a timely manner

To work autonomously using sound decision-making skills within the clinical setting in relation to

the assessment of mental health and physical health needs of designated patients in A&E



Management Responsibilities

Deputise for the Team Leader and participate in the management of the service. These may include

E-Rostering, investigations, investigating complaints, recruitment, supervising junior staff,

performance management, budgeting, organising and attending external meetings etc.

To send daily and regular reports to ED and CCG and to monitor the team's performance using the

Integrated Reporting System (Insight) and to ensure that data entry is accurate and that the team

meets the required performance targets.

Ensure effective working relationships and the regular review of working practices with ED, AMHPs,

ARC/HTT, Security staff and other professionals and all the relevant agencies the team works in

collaboration with at ED



Liaison and Partnership Working

To be responsible for the effective interface of the Liaison service with the A&E Department,

Community Mental Health Teams, Social Services, Hospital Wards, NHS

Direct, the Police, the Emergency Duty Team, the PCT, GPs and Service User and Carers groups.

To attend and participate in meetings, forums and working groups to represent the Liaison service

both within the Trust and external