Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Clinical

• To contribute to the formulation of assessment and treatment plans for the management of young people’s mental health needs, using frameworks which take account of an analysis of a complex range of information from multiple sources, and uses methods of intervention based upon evidence of effectiveness.
• To manage meetings that routinely involve parents, carers and other professionals, where viewpoints can conflict.
• To be responsible for managing and prioritizing own client workload of children and adolescents, often involving additional problem areas, such as self-harm, depression or family difficulties.
• To provide appropriate therapy as part of a multi-disciplinary assessment and treatment plan.
• To make appropriate formulations, that may need to consider risk such as sexual abuse, risk-taking and self-harm, drawing upon a wide experience and knowledge base, maintaining more than one provisional hypothesis, adjusting treatment options according to circumstance.
• To be responsible for recording clinical work and communicating, both orally and in writing, in a skilled and constructive manner highly complex or distressing information.
• To share assessment and treatment plans, using sensitive and age-appropriate language, being mindful that some information may be unwelcome.
• To provide specialist therapeutic advice, guidance and consultation to other professionals who are contributing directly to the assessment, formulation and treatment plan of young people.
• To work in close liaison with other children’s services including health, social care services, education, and the voluntary sector.

Professional

• To ensure that all nursing, healthcare assistants and support staff receive appropriate clinical supervision.
• To monitor performance of this staff group and to act, if necessary, to maintain standards and quality within the Trust clinical governance framework and the complaints, disciplinary and grievance procedures.
• To promote professional development and to conduct annual PADRs for all nursing, healthcare assistants and support staff.
• To ensure Trust standards of recording and information governance are maintained.
• To provide consultation and training to a range of colleagues and professional groups as appropriate.

Teaching, Training and Supervision

• To receive regular clinical supervision from a senior clinician.
• To receive professional supervision as directed by the CAMHS Head of Nursing & Quality.
• To undertake mandatory and statutory training, supervision and annual appraisal as required by Trust policy.
• To contribute and commit to undertaking an annual Development Review.
• To undertake personal development as identified in the Personal Development Plan (PDP).

Management, Recruitment, Policy and Service Development

• To be responsible for the smooth and effective operational management and co-ordination of the team.
• To work in close partnership with the multi-disciplinary team, actively promoting team working.
• To hold managerial responsibility for all non-medical clinicians, ensuring the various disciplines work within the relevant operational policy and providing support and consultation in the process.
• To ensure that clinical and managerial supervision is in place for all staff members.
• To provide management reports and to manage complaints and critical incident reporting, ensuring learning from these events is embedded into team practice.
• To manage and supervise administrative and secretarial staff in the team.
• To ensure that all necessary performance information is collected in the required timescale.
• To manage the team’s performance against commissioned contracts, NICE guidance, Trust policies, and activity reports.
• To ensure systems are in place to manage intake, allocation, caseloads and clinical review.
• To manage the roster and ensure that the service is adequately staffed.
• To carry through procedures regarding staff disciplinary and sickness absence.
• To contribute to the development, evaluation and monitoring of the team’s operational policies and services, through the deployment of professional skills in research, service evaluation and audit.
• To advise both service and professional management on those aspects of the service where organisational matters need addressing.
• To manage the workloads of the team members within the framework of the team’s policies and procedures.
• To be involved, as appropriate, in the short listing and interviewing of new appointments.
• To promote the Trust’s Equal Opportunities strategy and implement procedures to further this process.
• Championing the Trust Recovery and Social Inclusion strategy in the team.
• Managing the Trust allocated resources in conjunction with the Clinical Manager.
• To act according to the Schedule of Professional Behaviours.

Research and Service Evaluation

• Within Trust and service clinical governance frameworks, to contribute to audit and research as agreed by the Senior Management Team.

Other

• To contribute to the development and maintenance of the highest professional standards of practice, through active participation in internal and external CPD training and development programmes, in consultation with the post holder’s professional and service manager(s).
• To maintain the highest standards of clinical record keeping including electronic data entry and recording, report writing and the responsible exercise of professional self-governance in accordance with professional codes of practice and Trust policies and procedures.
• To maintain up to date knowledge of legislation, national and local policies and issues in relation to both the specific client group and mental health. For this post these specifically include:

1. Current Mental Health Legislation
2. The Children’s Act (1989)
3. Trust, local Safeguarding Board, and pan–London child protection procedures.
4. Local and national developments relevant to child mental health
5. Risk Assessment and Management
6. Clinical Governance
7. Local and national developments in line with Every Child Matters
8. Joint working practices between voluntary and statutory sector