Senior Psychiatric Liaison Practitioner inOrpington inOrpington PUBLISHED 19 NOV 2024

The post holder will be an experienced Senior Psychiatric Liaison practitioner carrying out front line specialist assessments and crisis risk management plans within the ED. The post holder must have experience working with Older Adults as well as Working Age Adults.

The post holder will work as part of the Mental Health Liaison Team. They will need to be skilled, proactive, creative, compassionate and willing to connect immediately with multiple colleagues in the system (CMHTs, CRHTT, Police, Recovery House, Emergency Department, Medical wards etc.). The post holder will need to conduct rapid screening, assessment and treatment of patients presenting with and without medical co-morbidities, and provide specialist advice and senior reviews to members of the MHLT and acute hospital.

The post holder will be an independent decision maker regarding the assessment of those presenting to the Emergency Department and wards. They will be required to carry out specialist assessments and reach decisions on appropriate treatment plans or onward referrals autonomously and provide evidence-based care as outlined in NICE guidelines. The post holder will be competent and confident in positive risk taking and will support junior members to also work in a way that promotes patient autonomy and avoid admissions that are not supported by clinical need.

1. Work alongside senior team colleagues to provide clinical leadership to the team
2. Work alongside other senior colleagues to operate a Rapid Assessment and Treatment function for patients referred from the ED for specialist mental health assessment utilising the SBAR model of rapid assessment and care planning, and a modified version of the UK Mental Health Triage Scale.
3. Support and develop the clinical skills of junior team members, particularly in relation to the safe and appropriate use of positive risk taking
4. Establish and maintain effective working relationships with acute trust staff
5. Promote and initiate any actions to safeguard vulnerable children and adults.
6. Provide a comprehensive consultation-liaison service to individual clinicians, particularly in assisting them develop emergency plans of care and make difficult decisions in cases where patients are exhibiting complex psychosocial needs and/or challenging behaviours
7. Be required to teach others.
8. Be responsible for specific clinical projects.
9. Be expected to participate fully in quality assurance initiatives.
10. The post-holder will act as a role model in providing a service for people with mental health problems for all staff within general hospital setting.
11. Ensure that collection of required data to inform key clinical performance indicators
12. The post holder represents the Trust in the general hospital setting and will play a vital role in communicating and maintaining a good working relationships.

About us

As a member of the Integrated Mental Health Liaison Team (MHLT) you will:

1. Work alongside senior team colleagues to provide clinical leadership to the team
2. Work alongside other senior colleagues to operate a Rapid Assessment and Treatment function for patients referred from the ED for specialist mental health assessment utilising the SBAR model of rapid assessment and care planning, and a modified version of the UK Mental Health Triage Scale.
3. Support and develop the clinical skills of junior team members, particularly in relation to the safe and appropriate use of positive risk taking
4. Support junior team members to prioritise referrals and clinical duties effectively, in order to promote safe and effective practice and clinical responsiveness
5. Establish and maintain effective working relationships with acute trust staff
6. Maintain high standards of oral and written communication with team / trust colleagues, acute trust staff, patients, and their significant others at all times
7. Provide a specialist consultation-liaison service to referring clinicians and clinical teams, assisting them in decision making in difficult and complex cases.
8. Promote choice and hopefulness and ensure a recovery orientated approach.
9. Promote and initiate any actions to safeguard vulnerable children and adults.
10. Be responsible for the full assessment of care needs of patients presenting with a wide variety of clinical conditions. Following this, the post-holder will be responsible for planning and referring on for appropriate follow up where necessary.
11. Provide a comprehensive consultation-liaison service to individual clinicians, particularly in assisting them develop emergency plans of care and make difficult decisions in cases where patients are exhibiting complex psychosocial needs and/or challenging behaviours
12. Be required to teach others, both in formal and informal settings. Teaching will also be provided to pre-registration students.
13. Be responsible for specific clinical projects and undertake all necessary work to complete these, including facilitating meetings, liaising and/or negotiating with other staff.
14. Be expected to participate fully in quality assurance initiatives, with particular emphasis on a patient first approach when required.
15. The post-holder will act as a role model in providing a service for people with mental health problems for all staff within general hospital setting.
16. Ensure that collection of required data to inform key clinical performance indicators
17. To support the successful participation of the team in achieving required CQUIN targets
18. The post-holder will initiate and participate in audit/research projects associated with the work of the service when required.
19. The post-holder will carry out investigations into formal complaints and serious untoward incidents and submit reports in a timely manner.
20. The post holder represents the Trust in the general hospital setting and will play a vital role in communicating and maintaining a good working relationship between both Trusts.
21. Any other reasonable tasks allocated to you.