Paediatric Mental Health Liaison Nurse

Job overview

Please Note:

This role is not eligible for visa sponsorship. Applicants must already hold the right to work in the UK independently, with a visa or immigration status that allows them to fulfil the full duration and type of contract offered. The Trust is unable to provide visa sponsorship for this position.

Children and young people with mental health problems are often accommodated in Paed ED,
PAU and Willow ward whilst receiving medical care and/or awaiting a mental health assessment.
An increasing number of these children and young people are then placed on a Section and detained under the Mental Health Act. This post will play a key role in supporting staff around the management of these patients.

If you are a mental health nurse with experience in working with children we would love to heart from you

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This post will play a key role in supporting staff around the management of these patients. The
post holder will provide relevant training, supervision / debriefing and support to staff and act as
the interface between Paediatric ED, PAU and Willow ward, NELFT and the CAMHS Service
The purpose of this role is to provide a safe and timely assessment and ongoing support to
children and young people who present in a mental health crisis. To develop and deliver robust
educational interventions that promotes best practice in the management of patients
experiencing, or at risk of self-harm. To support staff within the units to appropriately risk assess,
support care provision and attend MDT meetings to support the pathway of children and young
people with mental health conditions within the acute trust.

Working for our organisation

We are committed to being an inclusive and diverse employer. We strive to employ people who reflect the communities we serve, and aim to create an inclusive culture where everyone can reach their full potential. Whatever your race, ethnicity, belief, generation, sexual orientation, gender or gender identity, disability or experience, you’ll appreciate the opportunities we give you to work in an inclusive atmosphere. We welcome applications from people of diverse backgrounds, perspectives and experiences to build on the progress we’ve achieved to make our Trust diverse and the best place to work. We celebrate the diversity of thought, viewpoints and ideas that help us overcome challenges and embrace new possibilities. We have signed the Armed Forces Covenant Pledge and have a commitment to the Armed Forces Community.

We are dedicated to using our Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) approach as our shared organisation model of change to enhance our services and ensure excellence in patient care.

If you are considering applying for a role, please be aware that as an NHS Employee you may have contact with vulnerable service users. We strongly encourage that all our staff are vaccinated against COVID-19 and are vaccinated annually against Flu, in order to protect the health and safety of our staff and patients. Your commitment will help us to put the safety and care of our patients first, as well as helping us to protect you and your colleagues.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Specific Responsibilities
1. Working relationships:
1.1 Working within the paediatric areas, PAU and Emergency Department
1.2 Liaise with NELFT, CAMHS crisis, eating disorder teams, learning disabilities and
safeguarding teams and Social Services
1.3 Working within multidisciplinary and multi-agency care teams and relevant shared
care/tertiary centres.
1.4 Ensuring that clients and carers who face cultural and/or language barriers are helped to
understand and make use of the services available.
1.5 To maintain and develop relationships with professionals external to the area of service,
children, young people and their families (where appropriate) within CAMHS area of
service/specialism.
2. Budget responsibilities:
2.1 To ensure the effective use of all resources, supplies and equipment.
3. Accountability
3.1 Deliver excellent patient care in conjunction with evidenced-based clinical standards
within the speciality
3.2 Contribute to the evaluation and development of the service provided
3.3 Contribute to the development of multi -agency integrated care
3.4 To establish close working links with NELFT, primary care colleagues, community
paediatric service and tertiary/ shared care centres
3.5 To communicate complex and sensitive information and advice to child or young person
and their families, carers and professionals, including information about diagnosis and
prognosis, to find ways of enabling the information to be understood, providing empathy
and reassurance.
4. Clinical responsibilities
4.1 Working alongside the CAMHS crisis and eating disorder services: assess, plan,
implement and evaluate nursing provision. Develop and implement specialist nursing
protocols, developing care packages and programs of care for young people who self
harm or have an eating disorder, including the involvement of multi-agency input around
the child or young person and their family’s needs.
4.2 To be responsible for the assessment, planning, implementing and evaluating of
specialist care, including supporting and evaluating the work of paediatric and agency
staff
4.3
To act as a resource of specialist advice for children, young people and families on the
nursing care and management of specialism; including the provision of advice and
management of acute complications.
4.4 To review CAMHS patients in ED or paedaitric areas who require an inpatient bed and
ensure appropriate risk assessments are completed
4.5
Review policies and procedures in relation to CAMHS and the management of these
patients in the acute setting. Ensure these policies are kept up to date and are evidence
based and are embedded into the patient journey.
4.6
Act as an advocate for the young person and their family and where necessary refer to
external agencies for identified support
4.7 To actively involve service users in decisions about the service and support they receive,
to be aware of and inform service users about participation initiatives, and actively
support the development of such initiatives to ensure the voice of service users is at the
heart of service design, development and delivery.
4.8
4.9
Assess, plan, implement and evaluate holistic specialist nursing care in the hospital
setting and ensure that any staff providing care for the children and young people with
mental health related issue are aware of the care plan and their roles and responsibilities
Daily review of ward in-patients admitted to Willow or attending the hospital with a
mental health related issue. Support for ED and PAU on mental health related issues.
4.10 To provide support for nursing staff roster, working clinically caring for children and
young people with general paediatric needs where there are no CAMHS children in the
hospital, to cover shortfalls or sickness
4.11 Provide ongoing counselling, support, information about the conditions, lifestyle changes
and long-term implications to children, young people and families
4.12 To work co-operatively with healthcare professionals from NELFT, safeguarding,
members of the primary care team and other agencies including schools to provide
holistic, co-ordinated packages of care for the child, young person and family
4.13 To assess and manage clinical events to ensure safe and effective care
5. Education
5.1 To provide support, advice and education to the emergency department and Paediatric
areas to build knowledge and skills of staff within these settings in the care and
treatment of children and young people with mental health difficulties
5.2 Assist in the application of, and develop guidelines for best clinical practice. Advise
clinicians and colleagues on changes to practice.
5.3 Promote positive attitudes towards children and young people with mental health illness
across the ward and other departments where they are caring for children.
5.4 Act as a resource to improve the management of risky and dependent and vulnerable
young people eg. Risk Assessments and management strategies
5.5 Ensure staff compliance of Trust policies and procedures.
5.6 Undertake safeguarding supervision and support sessions with NELFT as directed and
report difficult cases to the Paediatric Matron / ward manager for further action
5.7 Ensure National and Safeguarding Children guidelines are adhered to at all times
5.8 Responsible for own professional registration and Revalidation requirements, to attend
courses relevant to specialism as deemed suitable at appraisal or in the process of
clinical supervision
5.9 Attend relevant multi-agency training or education to develop one’s own knowledge to
ensure that current practice is implemented
5.10 Support the development of skills and knowledge amongst students and all members of
the Paediatric team
6. Professional
6.1 Act as an advocate for the young person and their family and where necessary refer to
external agencies for identified support
6.2 Adhering to the NMC (2015) Code of Professional Standards of practice and behaviours
for nurses and midwifes
6.3 Maintaining own professional development in line with the requirements of Revalidation,
identifying and acting on training needs and attending relevant lectures and courses as
necessary to ensure best practice.
6.4 Keeping up to date with current developments in patient care and evidence-based
practice.
6.5 Working within all policies, procedures and guidelines of Dartford and Gravesham NHS
Trust including those related to Safeguarding children.
6.6 Ensuring that confidentiality is maintained at all times, including the storage of records
and the transfer of verbal and written information.

Our staff are our most valuable asset. We are committed to making staff feel appreciated, supported and included in the Trust’s successes. Our mission is to be an outstanding place to work providing the very best care for our patients and excellent career opportunities for our staff. Everything we do is guided by our core values and behaviours, identified by our staff and embedded throughout the organisation.

Would you like to work flexibly? In the NHS, we are reminded every day of how important life is. As a flexible working friendly organisation, we want to be sure that you can work in a way that is best for us, for our patients and for you. Speak to us about how we might be able to accommodate a flexible working arrangement

We have the highest CQC rating of all Acute NHS Trusts in Kent and Medway (Good). The CQC highlighted that managers promoted a positive culture that supported, valued staff and created a sense of common purpose based upon shared values.

The Trust is a great place to work, stay, develop a career and enjoy a healthy work life balance. We have made and are delivering on a wide range of commitments to staff; health and wellbeing; equality; diversity and inclusion; access to education and career development. During 2020 we sett up quality councils, driven by our staff to create a culture of shared governance and quality improvement.

We have a strong focus on innovation and improvement. Part of Guy’s and St Thomas’ (GSTT) ‘Healthcare Alliance’ we are introducing new models of care to improve clinical outcomes for patients. Our association with GSTT also gives staff wishing to develop their skills excellent opportunities to work across numerous specialities.

As our local population increases, our services and skills are expanding and adapting to meet demand. We are continuously looking at best practice models to enhance and improve the services we offer.

The Trust provides services at Darent Valley Hospital and Queen Mary’s Hospital, for a local population of over 500,000 people.

If you would like to be part of our innovative and forward thinking team putting patients at the centre of all we do, we invite you to #joinourfamily.

The NHS are striving towards “we work flexibly” as a workforce, we want to ensure that you can work in a way that is best for us, our patients, and importantly for you. We offer many flexible working opportunities, speak to us about how we might be able to accommodate a flexible working arrangement for you and if it works for the service, we will do our best to make it work for you.

Please note this vacancy may close earlier than stated to aid efficient processing of applications. To ensure your application will be considered please submit it at your earliest convenience. If you have not heard from us within 21 days of the closing date please assume that you have not been shortlisted on this occasion.

Please note, that due to the limited number of car parking spaces, car parking permits will be allocated subject to compliance with the Trusts eligibility criteria and availability of spaces. Permit holders are not guaranteed a car parking space.

Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust is a smoke free organisation. To improve public health smoking or vaping is not permitted anywhere on the hospital site.