This is an exciting opportunity for an innovative role within the new Perinatal Trauma and Loss Service. The service aims to integrate maternity, reproductive health, and psychological therapy for women experiencing mental health difficulties arising from their maternity experience, including trauma and loss.
This service will be based alongside the Perinatal Mental Health Team and work closely with a Principal Clinical Psychologist.
This post will be based in Peterborough and cover Peterborough, Huntingdon, and Wisbech, with operational links to the local maternity hospitals in Peterborough and Huntingdon. The post-holder will help to assess patients who are experiencing severe mental health difficulties because of perinatal loss and trauma. They will be supported to deliver therapeutic interventions and groups, particularly for those women who go on to become pregnant again. They will support with birth planning and work closely with local midwifery teams to support the delivery of trauma-informed care. They will provide training and support to maternity services.
We have a hybrid working model but are a community-based team, and there will be an expectation to travel for home visits. We encourage applications from those with applicable knowledge and skills, but specialist training and supervision will be provided.
Main duties of the job
The Specialist Midwife will support the delivery of this specialist service, under the supervision of a Principal and Consultant Clinical Psychologist. The Specialist Midwife will support triaging and assessment of mental health difficulties in the context of perinatal trauma and loss. With supervision and training, they will monitor and manage mental health and safeguarding risk, as well as delivering psychologically informed interventions to individuals or groups. Where a patient becomes pregnant again, they will lead on birth planning and liaise closely with maternity services to ensure trauma-informed care and support.
They will also provide relevant training and support to maternity and other partner agencies, promoting the integration of services to improve the experience of women with severe mental health difficulties. The post-holder will work within professional guidelines and exercise responsibility for their caseload following appropriate governance procedures.
Job responsibilities
- With support and training, deliver mental health assessments with a focus on perinatal loss and trauma. Using clinical supervision, demonstrate an ability to think psychologically to make sense of someone's difficulties.
- With support and training, deliver psychologically informed and evidence-based interventions to improve mental health. Where patients are pregnant again, deliver individual and/or group interventions with a view to supporting them through their pregnancy and birth. This will include developing birth plans alongside maternity care.
- Offer support and guidance to families of women experiencing significant mental illness.
- Assess, monitor, and respond to mental health and safeguarding risk, ensuring timely risk assessments, care planning, and safety planning, escalating concerns and making appropriate referrals as needed.
- Draw on strong reflective capacity to consider your own emotional responses to your clinical work and make use of clinical supervision to support your own learning and well-being.
- Promote the integration of services to improve services for women with severe perinatal trauma, loss, or tokophobia.
- Work across a variety of settings to deliver care (including, but not limited to, home addresses, children's centres, healthcare sites).
- Develop and deliver training for external and internal staff alongside qualified psychologists.
- Identify areas of service and quality improvement, and work with the relevant professionals and operational staff to implement and evaluate these.
- Support the implementation of current and new guidelines and standards relating to MMHS.
- Ensure the service is acting in an equitable manner, respecting different ethnic, cultural, and religious beliefs across all aspects of service.
Person Specification
Education / Qualifications
Essential
* NMC Professional registration as a midwife.
* Evidence of ongoing professional development in clinical leadership.
Desirable
* Evidence of specialist qualification in mental health.
* Teaching/mentorship qualification.
Experience
Essential
* Extensive recent experience as a Registered Midwife.
* Expertise in dealing with perinatal loss, trauma, and birth-related anxiety.
* Experience of working with women with complex needs.
Desirable
* Quality Improvement training
* Clinical audits and research
* Experience of delivering supervision
Skills & Abilities
Essential
* An ability to think psychologically or from a trauma-informed perspective about people's difficulties.
* An ability to assess and respond to mental health and safeguarding risk.
* An ability to work with clear interpersonal boundaries while offering care.
* Excellent analytical and decision-making skills.
* Ability to manage change and deal with conflict/stressful situations.
Desirable
* Training in psychological interventions
Knowledge & understanding
Essential
* Understanding of the mental health needs of women.
* Knowledge of person-centred and trauma-informed care and its application.
* Knowledge of the policies and guidelines pertinent to the planning and delivery of care to women with mental health needs.
Desirable
* Knowledge of service improvement models and its application.
Employer details
Employer name
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust
Address
City Care Centre
Thorpe Road
Peterborough
PE3 6DB
Any attachments will be accessible after you click to apply.
310-ASMH-6820277 #J-18808-Ljbffr