Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust, (LGT), is a community-focused provider of local and acute care, delivering high-quality services to over one million people living across the London boroughs of Lewisham, Greenwich, and Bexley. We provide whole-life care and are here to support our communities to live healthier lives as well as taking care of them when they need us the most.
Employing almost 7,500 colleagues, affectionately known as Team LGT, we provide services at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Woolwich, University Hospital Lewisham, and at over a dozen community settings in Lewisham. We also provide some services at Queen Mary's Hospital in Sidcup.
We have recently launched our new vision and values to mark the LGT10 - the tenth anniversary of our Trust forming in 2013. Our trust vision is to be exceptional. In the quality of our patient care; our support for colleagues; and in the difference we make through our partnerships and in our communities.
To achieve this we value Respect, Compassion, and Inclusion; Being accountable over staying comfortable; Listening over always knowing best; and Succeeding together over achieving alone. You can read more about our visions and values here
Our hospitals and community sites provide a wide range of inpatient and outpatient services, as well as emergency and planned care. The Trust is rated as "good" or "outstanding" in over three-quarters of the services inspected by the Care Quality Commission.
Every year our work includes performing 10,000 procedures in our theatres; bringing seven and a half thousand new lives into the world; carrying out 570,000 visits to patients in their homes or communities and providing emergency care for more than 300,000 patients arriving in our busy Urgent and Emergency Departments.
LGT is a centre for the education and training of medical students enrolled with King's College London's GKT School of Medical Education. We are a training centre for nurses, midwives and allied health professionals. We are pioneering new roles that will support the changing needs of our patients and are one of the largest employers of physician associates in the country.
We are committed to working with our partners to deliver the best outcomes for our local communities. This means playing an active role in the South East London Integrated Care System (ICS), and in formal partnerships including the South East London Acute Provider Collaborative, provider partnerships with our local mental health trusts and borough-based boards of the ICS in Bexley, Greenwich and Lewisham.
Job overview
Macmillan Psychological Support (MaPS - 2.5 days) together with the Rapid Diagnostic Clinic (RDC - 1.5 days) are two small, friendly teams within Lewisham and Greenwich Trust delivering excellent psychological care to people experiencing cancer, and those undergoing health investigations. The services are highly valued and have considerable support to develop new ways of working which are creative, flexible and tailored to the needs of a diverse local patient population. Both teams have a cancer focus but the RDC also allows the post-holder to retain some breadth of clinical experience in covering a wide range of psychological presentations.
We work closely with multi-disciplinary colleagues and are proud to be responsive in our work to support our patient and staff community. This post provides an excellent opportunity for further development of clinical and leadership skills within a committed, supportive clinical team, where there is a strong sense of belonging and where we offer a patient-centred, compassionate response.
Depending experience, the post may also be offered as a Band 7-8a preceptorship.
Main duties of the job
The MaPS team (two psychologists, two psychotherapists and an assistant psychologist) provides specialist psychological assessment and interventions for people with a cancer diagnosis and their loved ones, at all stages of their experience with cancer, as well as teaching, supervision, consultation and support to multi-disciplinary colleagues.
The RDC is a new MDT which offers fast-track assessment to patients with suspected symptoms of cancer. The psychology team is a pioneering addition, which supports the small, supportive, psychologically-minded team to provide a holistic psychologically-informed service. We are now in the process of moving out of the pilot phase and the post-holder will play an exciting role in continuing to develop the service in innovative ways.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Job Summary:
To provide a highly specialist clinical psychology service to adults with a cancer diagnosis, and their loved ones, referred to the Macmillan Psychological Support Team (MaPS), and to adults with non-specific medical symptoms referred to the Rapid Diagnostic Clinic (RDC) as part of the suspected cancer pathway, including specialist assessment and treatment, training other staff and planning, implementing and monitoring outcomes.
Main Responsibilities:
1. To provide expertise in a highly specialist clinical area, contributing to psychological services in the MaPS and RDC teams.
2. To provide highly specialist assessment and clinical formulation for clients with complex mental health needs associated with non-specific medical symptoms (RDC) and a cancer diagnosis (MaPS).
3. To select, administer and interpret psychometric tests, requiring skilled manipulation of test materials, and interpretation and integration of complex data.
4. To provide psychological reports, including relevant formulation, opinion and interventions, in order to inform referrers and, where appropriate, service users.
5. To select and deliver highly specialist evidence-based psychological treatments, monitoring outcomes and modifying and adapting interventions, drawing on a range of theoretical models.
6. To work as an autonomous professional within BPS and HCPC guidelines and the policies and procedures of the service, taking full responsibility for own work including treatment and discharge decisions.
7. To be responsible for psychological interventions with carers of patients with a cancer diagnosis.
8. To contribute to the effective working of the MaPS and RDC teams and to a psychologically informed framework for the service area.
9. To communicate highly complex information in a skilful and sensitive manner with clients, carers and colleagues.
10. To assess and monitor risk and draw up appropriate risk management plans.
11. To advise other members of the MaPS and RDC teams and other health care professionals on specialist psychological care.
12. To respond appropriately and professionally to emotionally distressing situations.
Qualifications & Training
Essential criteria
* Doctoral level qualification in Clinical or Counselling Psychology or equivalent.
* Registered with the HCPC as a Practitioner Psychologist.
Experience
Essential criteria
* Evidence of having worked as a clinical specialist under supervision at band 7.
* Experience of specialist psychological assessment and treatment of clients with a range of psychological needs.
* Experience in the provision of at least one evidence-based model of psychological therapy.
* Experience of supervising psychological therapists and providing training.
* Experience of working with, and addressing issues of, diversity.
Desirable criteria
* Experience of specialist psychological assessment and treatment of clients with cancer.
We reserve the right to close the post before the stated closing date, please apply early. We encourage all suitable candidates to apply including if you are Black, Asian or other ethnic minorities, live with a disability or are LGBT+.
Please note, not all roles will meet the criteria for a skilled worker visa.
You must have appropriate UK professional registration.
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service. #J-18808-Ljbffr