We are seeking to recruit an enthusiastic, clinically confident Specialist Perinatal Mental Health Worker to join Lewisham Community Perinatal Team. You will have experience of general adult inpatient, Mother and Baby inpatient unit, community mental health services or Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS). You will also have experience of working with women with moderate to severe mental illness in the perinatal period.
You will be familiar with Perinatal community standards, governance and performance structures and confident in partnership work with other agencies such as Children and Family Social Services, Midwifery and Obstetric teams, CMHTs, Health Visitors and the Voluntary sector.
You will display excellent clinical knowledge and skilled practice for women with mental health disorders in the perinatal period. You will provide consistently skilled judgments in clinical work. You need to have experience of working in a richly diverse inner London Borough and have understanding of the opportunities and challenges this brings.
Working closely with colleagues in PMHT’s, you will receive support and be part of the on-going Perinatal workforce training within SLaM and London-wide. You will be part of the Pan London Community Perinatal Nurses network. This is a great opportunity to supervise junior staff, student nurses as well as implementing new ways of working using best practice and NICE guidelines.
Service and Team responsibilities
Clinical – Individual
To undertake all duties in line with the professional Codes of Professional Conduct, and maintain professional registration requirements for the post according to discipline/profession.
You will manage your own caseload and work within a team but will have freedom to act within the service framework and Trust operational policies.
To participate and lead in joint complex assessments with other disciplines and other agencies and provide reports for referrers, families and other agencies as required.
The Lewisham Perinatal Service provides a Monday to Friday, 9-5 service to service users residing within the Borough of Southwark and Lambeth offering assessment, intervention and treatment to women who suffer from moderate to severe mental health disorders in the perinatal period.
You will be based at the Old Townhall in Lewisham.
Our Trust headquarters is located at Denmark Hill less than 5 minutes from the train station (zone 2). We also provide services and operate across other locations, such as London boroughs of Croydon, Lambeth, Lewisham and Southwark; and substance misuse services for residents of Bexley, Lambeth, Greenwich and Wandsworth.
1. Service and Team responsibilities
Participate as a multi-disciplinary team member in the setting and reviewing of therapeutic aims, objectives, standards and strategies to provide a high standard of care to clients and their families. To ensure that all recording and reporting of client contact is timely, accurate, up to date and of good quality and within Perinatal services & professional standards of record keeping. To work with the team and clients to maintain a safe therapeutic environment. To assure the quality of care through achieving high operational standards in clinical systems. To maintain and ensure good professional standards and attitudes towards the care and treatment of mothers, infants and their families. To link with other statutory and voluntary agencies and professionals as well as other Generic Psychiatric Teams in terms of referrals and joint work. Maintain good relationships and clear lines of communication within the boundaries of confidentiality, with other professional agencies and departments, providing specialist advice and support where appropriate.
2. Clinical – Individual
To assume responsibility for own case list and case management of mothers, infants and families who are determined to be at risk. To make a clinical formulation from a standard Perinatal assessment, including risk assessment, on which to recommend a treatment intervention. To assess safeguarding issues for own cases, discuss with senior colleagues where necessary and refer appropriately to Children & Families Social Services. To deliver interventions for mothers and infants and their families at home or in other satellite or statutory agency areas as required. To use evidence-based interventions that will be required with this group of clients. The treatment interventions provided will normally be based on NICE guidelines and evidence based practice. To use individual and multidisciplinary team advice to planning packages of care to mother and their infants.
3. To participate and lead in joint complex assessments with other disciplines and other agencies and provide reports for referrers, families and other agencies as required. Design, write and share a copy of the care plan with clients, families and other agencies involved in her care. Carry out the planned intervention with minimal supervision. To maintain good relationships and clear lines of communication with other professional agencies and departments, providing specialist advice and support where appropriate.
4. To contribute to the effective functioning of the team and service through attendance at relevant meetings, taking responsibilities within the service as appropriate and negotiated with the line manager. Supervise junior members of the team from any discipline.
