To work as a member of the multi-disciplinary team exercising autonomous professional responsibility for managing a clinical caseload independently, providing highly specialist assessments and follow-up for women referred with complex problems, which includes assessment of risk in terms of self-harm, self-neglect, vulnerability, harm to others, domestic violence and safeguarding children.

To seek consultation where necessary with clinical supervisor and/or line manager on clinical work and participate in regular supervision.

To be mindful of the needs of women and their families from a wide range of racial, cultural, sexual, religious and social backgrounds and to develop with colleagues, sensitive and innovative ways of meeting these needs.

To ensure that all Trust Perinatal service users have a perinatal care plan, which is implemented. This requires attending and contributing to pre and post-birth meetings.

To work with other professionals in supporting them to implement an agreed parent –infant care plan.

To attend the CNWL Safeguarding Children multidisciplinary meetings and any other relevant multidisciplinary meetings within Maternity services, as appropriate.

To be responsible for monitoring, recording and reporting on clinical work and communicating highly complex clinical information to a variety of recipients (e.g. patient’s, families and carers, other professionals) orally and in writing.

To be responsible for developing and maintaining knowledge of local resources and developing excellent working relationships with relevant statutory, voluntary and community groups and organisations.

Person specification

Education And Qualifications

Essential criteria

• RMN qualification and evidence of current registration on Part 3 of NMC register
• Evidence of continuing professional development
• Practice Assessor/Supervisor training

Desirable criteria

• Educated to degree level or equivalent
• Specialist Training in perinatal & infant mental health
• Qualifications / training in specialist skills e.g. therapeutic / psychological interventions
• Recently experience of perinatal mental health practice and/or safeguarding children practice

Experience

Essential criteria

• Professional knowledge acquired through degree /diploma
• Experience of managing a caseload of service users with evidence of completing high quality assessments
• Experience of working in a complex multi-disciplinary / multi-agency context
• Experience of formal child protection processes and inter-agency work with families
• Experience of undertaking complex nursing and mental state, risk and needs assessments
• Experience of working in a multi-racial/cultural community and of working with interpreters

Desirable criteria

• Experience of multi-agency pre-birth planning (CPA) for women with serious mental illness
• Evidence of networking within the Perinatal Psychitatry Specialty
• Experience of working in obstetrics and gynaecology
• Experience of planning and delivery of training in response to identified needs
• Experience of contributing to policies and procedures
• Experience of supervising mental health / non mental health professionals

Skills And Abilities

Essential criteria

• Sufficient clinical knowledge to be able to make autonomous decisions, based on analysis of complex presenting problems and judgement about available options.
• Team/self management and organisational skills that enable a number of complex activities and clinical work to be undertaken, revising and adjusting these according to the needs of individual patients and the service.
• Ability to contribute to and facilitate effective multi-disciplinary/multi-agency working
• Ability to implement evidence-based practice
• Ability to liaise and offer highly specialist consultation to other agencies effectively
• Ability to provide highly specialist therapeutic assessments and a range of therapeutic interventions
• Ability to effectively manage own clinical and administrative caseload and work under pressure at times of change
• Ability to identify, recognise and understand safeguarding children issues and refer appropriately
• Ability to develop and deliver training on perinatal mental health and associated issues such as safeguarding children, domestic violence
• Ability to provide supervision to staff within own and other disciplines and to use supervision effectively
• Ability to work flexibly across service boundaries and with professionals from health care settings such as maternity services
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, both oral and written
• Ability to work effectively with women from diverse minority ethnic and cultural backgrounds and with families with a high level of deprivation, social isolation, exclusion and stigma.
• Ability to work as part of a multi-disciplinary and ‘virtual’ team
• Computer literate to an intermediate/ advanced level

Knowledge and Understanding

Essential criteria

• Up to date knowledge of evidence based practice and current developments in perinatal psychiatry
• Knowledge about mental illness in the perinatal period
• Up to date knowledge of the Children Act 1989 and associated legislation and government policy and its implications for mental health services
• Knowledge and understanding of diversity and equality issues and their application in perinatal psychiatry services
• Knowledge & understanding of contributions of other disciplines and professionals to a multi-agency service
• Understanding of clinical governance and audit issues
• Understanding of issues around information-sharing in relation to Child Protection and Children in Need
• Knowledge of relevant Perinatal service models
• Knowledge of relevant legislation e.g. MHA, MCA

Desirable criteria

• Experience of conducting clinical audits

Personal

Essential criteria

• Calm and profesional in manner.
• Able to exercise initiative, flexibility and tact.
• Ability to work under pressure and remain calm particularly in unpredictable situations where there may be exposure to highly distressed patients who may exhibit challenging behaviour
• Ability to meet deadlines
• Ability to accept constructive criticism.
• Self-motivated with the ability to think laterally to problem solve
• Willing to engage in and use peer and group supervision creativity.

Other

Essential criteria

• The postholder must have the ability to understand and implement the Equal Opportunities Policy at a level appropriate to the job

Desirable criteria

• Car driver with valid U.K driving licence