Job overview

The Intensive Support Team is a service designed to support individuals with a learning disability who are struggling with mental health crisis and/or behavioural distress which is placing them at risk of admission to hospital. The team is expected to meet the holistic needs of service users and carers, avoiding hospital admission where possible.

We are looking for a nurse with the passion and clinical skills to join our innovative Intensive Support Team.  The consultant nurse leads the team of dedicated practitioners to supporting a team caseload of people needing intensive support.  There are three locality arms of the team (Spokes) who work in partnership with local service users and key agencies providing vital support in helping people remain safe in the community.

The post holder will be responsible for providing day to day clinical and operational support to an all-age intensive support team.  The post requires that an enhanced model of support is delivered daily throughout the year, serving the most vulnerable people in the community, at risk of an admission to a mental health hospital. The team also offers in-reach to those admitted to hospital working in conjunction with other learning disability teams, leading on formulation, training, and reasonable adjustments that the person might require during their stay.

Main duties of the job

The post holder will work as part of a multi-disciplinary group of nurses and allied health professionals, to reduce avoidable admissions to hospital, breakdown of community care, and provide support for those in hospital. The post holder will utilise sounds clinical and leadership skills to ensure an evidenced based approach to delivering specialised clinical interventions that include positive behavioural support approaches, specialised adapted mental health assessments and interventions, and robust risk management approaches.

Being a nurse in the IST gives you the opportunity to:

Help the most vulnerable people at risk of care breakdown or hospital admission. 

Provide a variety of direct patient care interventions.

Be part of an innovative team striving to ensure people receive good quality care.

Develop your understanding of community and inpatient interventions for people with a learning disability, support risk mitigation actions and work part of a multiagency collective to achieve the best outcomes for people with a learning disability.

The clinical development of our employees is a high priority, so the successful applicant will join a service that regularly provides clinical and career development opportunities.

An ability to meet travel requirements of the role is essential, and applicants must be willing to undergo an enhanced CRB check.

For further information &/or an informal visit please contact: Lucy Keniford (Consultant Nurse) [email protected]

Working for our organisation

Lancashire & South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust provides a range of services including secondary mental health care across this area. Specialist provision comprises inpatient child and adolescent mental health services, perinatal mental health and forensic services including low and medium secure care. 

The Trust also provides a range of physical health and well-being services in the community alongside a range of partners in the Lancashire, Cumbria and Sefton area.  

Lancashire & South Cumbria Foundation Trust encourages flexible working, we believe that a positive work/life balance benefits NHS employees through improved health and wellbeing. We would consider working patterns such as; term time, part time, compressed hours, flexi-time and career breaks. We encourage applicants to state clearly on their application forms this request and discuss these options at interview.