Neonatal Clinical/ Counselling Psychologist/ Psychological TherapistinLutoninLutonPUBLISHED WED 15 JAN 2025

The Neonatal Psychological Service at Bedfordshire Hospitals works to support the emotional and psychological wellbeing of parents and families where their baby has been admitted to the neonatal unit, as well as the staff teams that support them. Psychological support and family-centred care is a valued part of our Trusts’s approach, and we work closely with multidisciplinary colleagues to support our infants and their families to thrive.

The service provides support for Meadowbank Ward at Bedford Hospital (a 12-cot Level 1 Special Care Baby Unit) and for the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Luton and Dunstable Hospital (37 neonatal cots, comprising 11 intensive care (Level 3), 10 high dependency (Level 2), and 16 special care (Level 1) cots. Our unit at Luton and Dunstable Hospital achieved Gold accreditation with Bliss in 2021, and has been proud to pilot a programme of Family-Integrated Care (FICare) on both sites over the past two years. We are also excited that Meadowbank Ward at Bedford Hospital has recently been awarded Silver accreditation with Bliss.

You will be joining an experienced neonatal psychotherapist in providing support for babies and families on both hospital sites, and will be provided with appropriate clinical supervision. The service has good links with the paediatric psychology service and maternity midwives within the hospital trust, as well as community care providers.

Your role will involve providing assessment, formulation and specialist evidence-based individual, couple, and group-based intervention in relation to parent and infant wellbeing during the family’s time on the neonatal unit. The work will include infant and family support as well as working with the staff team and wider system to contribute to and develop a trauma-informed neonatal environment.

Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust provides hospital services to a growing population of around 700,000 people living across Bedfordshire and the surrounding areas across two busy hospital sites in Bedford and Luton. Both hospital sites offer key services such as A&E, Obstetrics-led Maternity and Paediatrics. You will be joining a friendly, high performing Trust committed to ensuring the health and wellbeing of staff. As one of the largest NHS Trusts in our region you will have access to a programme of high quality training and development to help you grow your career. The Trust continues to be committed to delivering the best patient care using the best clinical knowledge and technology.

Our Values

We not only recruit based on qualifications and experience - we recruit individuals who demonstrate the behaviours which underpin our Trusts core values. We achieve this by using values based recruitment. We are dedicated to making our recruitment practices as inclusive as possible for everyone, we are committed to promoting equality and diversity, and creating a culture that values differences.

Please note that vacancies may close prior to the advertised closing date when sufficient number of applications have been received. All new staff will be subject to a probationary period covering first 6 months in post. Travel between hospital sites may be required. Please review all documents attached to ensure you familiarize yourself with all requirements of the job.

For further details / informal visits contact: Name: Dr Megan Maidment Job title: Lead Paediatric Clinical Psychologist Email address: