Job Description
We are seeking to recruit a Primary Mental Health Practitioner to support ongoing development and delivery of CAMHS Primary Mental Health Service. You will work with the Primary Mental Health Service to support the mental health needs of children and young people across Sheffield and work with our partners in the local authority and third sector.
Key tasks include: Providing specialist CAMHS assessment and interventions to an Early Help Services, undertaking mental health assessments with other members of the Early Help services formulating packages of care to meet the mental health needs of children and families and providing universal group work to professionals, parents or young people to promote good mental health and problem prevention.
This is an exciting opportunity to work within an innovative team focused on early intervention and prevention within child and adolescent mental health services. We are looking for a candidate with experience in working within child and adolescent mental health services with a broad range of therapy approaches to treatment.
Further professional development is actively encouraged and supported. The post will provide a wide range of experience and allow the candidate to further develop transferable skills.
Professionally you will join a well-established and innovative CAMH service which provides specialist services through direct patient care, consultation and supervision. You will be supported by a substantial professional group.
- As an independent practitioner have accountability and responsibility for your own caseload.
- Within the context of Primary Mental Health deliver a comprehensive range of psychologically informed or therapeutic interventions to children, young people and their families or carers where agreed following consultation.
- To work in collaboration with colleagues from other agencies involved in the health and development of the child or young person and to promote high standards of mental health care, mental health promotion and an understanding of mental health presentations and difficulties.
- Working closely alongside Early Help Services to provide consultation, assessment, capacity building and training.
- To demonstrate skills within consultation, assessment, psychoeducation, signposting, planning, implementation and evaluation of intervention packages for children, young people and families.
- To demonstrate good clinical practice over a range of interventions.
- To work in collaboration with colleagues working in Specialist CAMHS and the wider education and social care network to provide a holistic package of care/treatment for identified children, young people and families.
- To work in collaboration with colleagues in Specialist CAMHS, providing some direct input into this system but also as a filter to individual cases.
Sheffield Children's is one of three independent, specialist paediatric hospitals in the country, providing dedicated healthcare for children and young people across community, mental health and acute specialist settings.
We have three overarching aims that set the direction for the Trust in our vision to create a healthier future for children and young people.
- Outstanding patient care
- Brilliant place to work
- Leader in children's health
Our commitment to rewarding colleagues is demonstrated through our brilliant reward and benefits offer including; generous annual leave entitlement and pension scheme and access to salary sacrifice schemes such as cycle to work and lease cars.
We are committed to supporting colleagues from different heritages and lifestyles while at work. This is supported through the offer we have in place for flexible working and the three equality network groups we have in place.
Communication and Relationship Skills
- To maintain confidentiality of information regarding children, young people and families at all times.
- Provide and receive complex or sensitive information where there are barriers to understanding and to be proactive, having the ability to pre-empt, work with and overcome barriers to communication.
- To promote and maintain effective communication and positive working relationships throughout both CAMHS, Early Help and wider services.
- To promote and maintain effective communication with children, young people and families, ensuring lines of communication are open to them so that they are able to participate fully within their care.
- Provide formal and informal consultation/supervision to individual staff in school communities or groups of professionals.
- Establish and maintain formal links with Early Help Services, to be able to retain professional identity, maintain existing skills/knowledge base and negotiate appropriate levels of supervision.
- To attend and participate within regular team meetings and where identified wider CAMHS, Trust regional or national meetings.
Knowledge, Training and Experience
- To have Nursing, Social Work or Occupational Therapy registration and use this knowledge in the care and treatment of children, young people and families.
- To have specialist knowledge of the relevant CAMHS speciality, gained through in-depth post registration training eg CAMHS/Mental Health specific/relevant training.
- To have at least 4 years post registration experience within the speciality.
- To carry out the duties as directed by the relevant registration body and within the Code of Professional Conduct.
- To be a clinical resource within the service.
- To take responsibility for own continuing professional development and performance.
- To carry out training sessions as identified/required.
Analytical and Judgement Skills
- To be able to analyse and make decisions in relation to client and environmental risk and care in complex situations.
- Manage complex situations where analysis and interpretation of facts and a range of options are present.
Planning and Organisational
- To plan straightforward tasks on an ongoing basis.
- To plan therapeutic programmes/interventions which are often subject to change.
- Demonstrate self-management planning and organisational skills.
Physical Skills
- Demonstrate and maintain skills in basic life support.
- To have good keyboard/IT skills to effectively use and input data to CAMHS information systems, use of email, the intranet/internet and in the preparation of written reports.
Responsibility for Client Care
- Working on referrals allocated/received hold an autonomous caseload.
- Assist in the triage of referrals and allocation of cases.
- Undertake mental health assessments in partnership with other members of Early Help Services to formulate, deliver and evaluate comprehensive individual packages of care to meet the mental health needs of children and their families.
- Identify when the mental health needs of the child or young person are outside the scope of the Primary Mental Health and facilitate referrals to specialist CAMHS service and/or other agencies when appropriate.
- Deliver targeted interventions to prevent ill health for those identified at risk. This may include specific project work and be provided in collaboration with Early Help staff members and school staff.
- Provide relevant mental health information and advice to Early Help services about individual referred children.
- Deliver child and young people’s mental health promotion packages alongside other members of Early Help Services.
- Monitor and ensure maintenance of standards of care, which comply with professional guidelines, local and national policies and relevant laws to ensure that therapeutic practice is of the highest standard.
- To practice across a range of arenas including individual, group and family interventions.
- To utilise own support mechanisms including own clinical/managerial supervision.
- To be a clinical role model within the service.
- Provide clinical advice and consultation to both CAMHS and multi-agency colleagues.
- Maintain timely and accurate clinical records for clients on your caseload.
- To ensure that all aspects of legal frameworks, governing children and young people, such as Mental Health or Children’s Acts are adhered to at all times.
Responsibility for Policy/Service Development
- Contribute to the development of policies and procedures within the service.
- Contribute to the development of the service.
Responsibility for Financial and Physical Resources
- Promote a safe working environment in line with Trust policies on Health and Safety by highlighting significant deficiencies to a senior colleague.
Responsibility for Human Resources
- Where identified, line manage junior Nursing/Mental Health Practitioner colleagues.
- Act as clinical/managerial supervisor, preceptor and mentor for junior Nursing/Mental Health Practitioner colleagues and students/trainees.
- Participate in the induction of new staff in the team.
Responsibility for Information
- Accurately complete client clinical records, using both paper and computerised systems.
- Input information and have a working knowledge of directorate information systems.
- Contribute to the development of practice within the team.
- Act as a mental health resource to the MAST and other relevant children’s Tier 1 services providing advice, information, consultation and training.
- Identify training needs in relevant primary care settings and liaise according with the Multi-Agency Training Co-ordinator.
- Deliver relevant training packages to Tier 1 staff in conjunction with the Multi-Agency Training Co-ordinator.
- Contribute to the learning environment for CAMHS and Service Districts.
- To assess and apply evidence based findings to practice.
- To assist in multi-disciplinary audit projects within the clinical area and where required within the wider directorate.
Freedom to Act
- Own workload is managed.
- Has some discretion to work within a defined set of clinical/managerial parameters and to guide others.
- Be aware of and adhere to Trust’s policies and procedures.
Physical Effort
- Sitting for extended periods.
- Keyboard skills.
Mental Effort
- To respond quickly and effectively to the unpredictable workload and the different levels of concentration required.
- Respond effectively to interruptions.
Emotional Effort
- Frequently cope with the emotional demands of working directly with children, young people and families involved in distressing situations eg distressing life experiences, safeguarding and challenging behaviour.
Working Condition
- To have rare exposure to blood and bodily fluids.
- To be exposed to verbal aggression on a rare basis.
- To be exposed to physical aggression on a very rare basis.
Inclusive Recruitment & Selection
We are committed to being an inclusive employer and accurate data capture is an important part of that to ensure we are supportive and representative. Our aim is to ensure that all applicants can see themselves in the available categories on our application form, but we recognise that some of our data capture fields are not inclusive. We have flagged this with our system provider to ask for change.
We offer encouragement and active support to applicants with additional needs, including those from ethnic minorities, with disabilities and members of the LGBTQ+ community. If you wish to adjust any aspect of the recruitment process or wish to find out more about our recruitment & selection processes, please get in touch with our Recruitment Manager: [email protected]
We are continually reviewing our recruitment & selection process to support the long-term aim of Sheffield Children’s being a champion of Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion. If you have any ideas for improvement, please get in touch with Catherine Gilbert [email protected]
Trust Values
The Trust is committed to providing great quality patient care and keep children, young people and families at the heart of what we do by following our CARE values:
- Compassion – leading by kindness and showing empathy, understanding and respect
- Accountability – striving to do the right thing and owning responsibility
- Respect – value differences, tackling inequality and fostering a culture of inclusion
- Excellence – delivering a high-quality standard of care