We have an unique opportunity for a Community Mental Health Nurse to bring their expertise into the team, allowing professional development enhancing physical health skills, frailty and the impact this has on mental health.
The Discharge to Assess Team supports people in Care homes/Nursing homes when increasing frailty affects their mental health. Following a Hospital Stay. The team helps prevent avoidable hospital admissions and reduces the need for secondary mental health services.
We work within primary care and closely with Hertfordshire County Council provide early intervention, proactive support, and consistent care. This integrated approach ensures service users receive timely mental and physical health support, helping them stay safely in their preferred place of care working towards effective discharge if appropriate to meet there care needs.
As a ‘wrap around’ service you will be linked in with various health and social care professionals to deliver a person centered approach to the service user.
Candidates must be c ar driver and have a mode of transport (unless you have a disability as defined by the Equality Act 2010 which prevents you from driving) as a high degree of travel is required. Work will be undertaken in office base, and in care homes around the county.
We encourage potential applicants to avoid the support of AI as we would like transparency and integrity from candidates.
w e can only consider applicants who do not require visa sponsorship.
Main duties of the job
Provide mental health assessment, risk assessment and care plans to service user refereed into the Discharge to Assess Team
Liaison with various professionals, family, carers, care home staff.
Documentation and information gathering.
Being able to identify conditions effecting older people and ageing.
Coordination and liaison of appointments with service user, MDT’s, and care providers.
Attend MDT’s – identifying appropriate referrals.
Robust communication skills.
Liaison with secondary mental health services when required.
Compassionate and sensitive engagement with service users and families/carers.
All staff should comply with the Trust’s Anti-Discriminatory Statement, Employee Charter, Trust Policies and Procedures, Code of Conduct and Equality and Diversity.
Key Relationship
As the post holder will be working within the community most of the time, they will need to be establishing and maintaining positive relationships with people, agencies, charities and other providers whom also provide services to Older People in that community area. These relationships are vital and team members should bear in mind that they will be representing HPFT
Close working relationships should be developed with other parts of HPFT notably Crisis teams and MHSOP’s; as well as Hertfordshire County Council’s Health and Community Services.
Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (HPFT) is an outstanding organization with ambitions to match. We are one of just five mental health trusts to achieve an overall rating of ‘Outstanding’ from the Care Quality Commission, and our aim is to be the leading provider of mental health and specialist learning disability services in the country.
Our family of over 3500 members of staff provide health and social care for over 400,000 people with mental ill health, physical ill health and learning disabilities across Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire, and Norfolk, delivering these services within the community and several inpatient settings. We also deliver a range of nationally commissioned specialist services including Tier 4 services for children and young people, perinatal services, plus medium and low secure learning disabilities services.
The care we provide makes a fantastic difference to the lives of our service users, their families and carers - everything is underpinned by choice, independence and equality, with our Trust values embedded throughout:
Our Trust values are:
Welcoming. Kind. Positive. Respectful. Professional.
These values are at the core of who we are, everything we do, and how we do it!
Would you like to be part of the HPFT family? Would you like work with us to ensure our service users live the fullest lives possible they can? Would you like to be supported in your career to be the best that you can be?
Clinical Responsibility
In addition to Job Responsibilities, the post holder will:
Carry out specialist mental health and social care assessments. Develop, implement, evaluate, and document specialist care.
Devise care plans that promote patients independent living in the community if possible.
Complete risk assessments that are clear, concise and detail plans to safely manage any risks that are identified.
Physical health checks.
Attend and represent/feedback when required at MDT’s.
Review of clinical notes on patient records.
Support discharge planning with referral to appropriate services or signposting.
Demonstrate a high standard of record keeping and documentation with adherence to Trust policies
Work with colleagues to develop and demonstrate clinical expertise and good standards of mental health practice.
Deliver care that is person centred reflecting current best practice, and challenges practice that may be detrimental to older people receiving high quality care.
Service Development and Improvement
To attend and actively participate in training sessions, team meetings and supervision as appropriate.
To be actively involved in clinical audit and evaluation of physical health outcomes and the use of new digital technology for heal
Financial Responsibility
Report any activity that may be fraudulent. Be responsible for the completion of own extra duty and expenses claims.
Service Development and Improvement
Ensure that all policies applicable to the service are implemented.
The propose ideas for, and if accepted, complete audits relevant to the improvement of the teams clinical practice.
Communications
The post holder will have good level of competency to receive and give clinical information verbally and in writing from/ to those receiving care, their families/carers and professional colleagues.
Demonstrate a good level of interpersonal skills, self-awareness and empathy in all communications.
Ensure adherence to all aspects of patient confidentiality, documentation and record keeping according to Trust and national guidelines.
Will have the ability to communicate clearly and sensitively in complex situations.
Will have the ability to develop and maintain good working relationships with colleagues within the all agencies whom they encounter to the benefit of the client and the service.
Health and Safety
The post holder has a duty of care to themselves and to others with whom they come into contact in the course of their work as laid down in the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and any subsequent amendment or legislation.
Infection Control
All Trust staff will:
Act as a role model and champion for the highest standard of all aspects of infection prevention and control and implementation of all Infection Prevention and Control Trust polices and guidelines.
Demonstrate respect for the roles and endeavors of others, in implementing good standards of hand hygiene.
Value and recognize the ideas and contributions of colleagues in their endeavors to reduce the incidence of healthcare associated infection.
Equality and Diversity
Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust is committed to providing an environment where all staff, service users and careers enjoy equality of access, provision, opportunity and outcomes.
The Trust works to eliminate all forms of discrimination and recognize that this requires, not only a commitment to remove discrimination, but also action through positive policies to redress inequalities.
Providing equality of opportunity means understanding and appreciating the diversity of our staff, service users & careers and ensuring a supportive environment free from harassment. As a result, Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust actively encourages its staff to challenge discrimination and promote equality of opportunity for all.
Confidentiality
Employees must maintain confidentiality of staff, patients and Trust business and have a responsibility to comply with the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) 2018 and be aware of the Caldicott principles. If you are required to process information, you should do so in a fair and lawful way, ensuring accuracy is maintained. You should hold information only for the specific registered purpose and not use or disclose it in any way incompatible with such a purpose. You should disclose information only to authorized persons or organizations as instructed. Breaches of confidentiality in relation to information will result in disciplinary action, which may include dismissal. Employees are expected to comply with all Trust policies and procedures and to work in accordance of the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) 2018. For those posts where there is management or supervision of other staff it is the responsibility of that employee to ensure that their staff receive appropriate training.
Standards of Business Conduct and Conflicts of Interest
The Trust has adopted a Standards of Conduct Policy, which reflects NHS Management Executive Guidelines. It is the responsibility of all staff to ensure that they act as a role model, by upholding the principle of a leading mental Trust. Staff should be informing their line manager if they are working for any other organization to ensure that this Trust complies with the Working Time Regulations.
Information and Records Management
The post holder must be competent in using IT and have the relevant skills to carry out the activities required for the post.
To comply with the Data Protection Act 1998, Freedom of Information Act 2000 and Department of Health Code of Confidentiality in line with Trust procedures.
To adhere to the Trust’s policies on records management including creation, use, storing and retention and disposal of records.
Adhere to the Trust’s Corporate Identity (using the standard templates – available on the Trust intranet ‘HIVE’).
Safeguarding Adults and Children
The Trust is committed to ensuring adults and children are protected and come to no harm from abuse. All employees have a responsibility to be aware of national and local policies, their individual responsibilities with regards to the protection and safeguarding of both adults and children and must adhere to them at all times.
Organizational Change
As services develop and change, the post holder may be required to undertake other responsibilities within the Trust.
Flexible Working
The Trust believes that its staff members are its most valuable asset and is committed to attracting and retaining the very best, and utilizing all the talent and experience available. The Trust recognizes the importance of helping its employees balance their work and home life by offering flexible working arrangements that enable them to balance their working life with other priorities, including parental and other caring responsibilities, life-long learning, charity work, leisure activities and other interests.
Health and Safety
Health and Safety at Work In accordance with the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1992 (as amended) and other relevant Health and Safety legislation, staff have a duty to take responsible care to avoid injury to themselves and others by their work activities, to maintain a safe working environment for patients, visitors and employees and to co-operate in meeting statutory requirements
This job description is an outline, which reflects the present requirements of the post and is not intended to be an inflexible or finite list of duties and responsibilities. As these duties and responsibilities change and develop the job description will be amended from time to time in consultation with the post holder.
