Advanced Social Work Practitioner

Wales Medicines Strategy Group; Greater London; On-site; GBP 51,000 - 59,000

Job description

Employer South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust

Employer type NHS

Site Bethlem Royal Hospital

Town Beckenham

Salary £51,883 - £58,544 per annum inc of HCAs

Salary period Yearly

Closing 06/04/2025 23:59

Advanced Social Work Practitioner

Band 7

South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust has a rich history, well-established community links and an international reputation. We deliver specialist services in the London boroughs of Croydon, Lambeth, Lewisham and Southwark, Bexley, Bromley, Greenwich, Wandsworth and Richmond.

We are committed to providing high quality and specialist care to our service users and we are recognised for the care and treatment we provide. The Care Quality Commission rates our services as ‘good’.

We launched our five-year strategy, Aiming High; Changing Lives in 2021 together with Our Care Improvement System as our quality management system methodology to make a positive impact on patient care, outcomes, and staff experience. By joining SLaM, all staff will get the opportunity to be part of this exciting improvement journey supported with learning and development to harness everyone’s potential as change makers.

The trust recognises the unique and valuable contribution that people with lived experience of mental illness can bring to a role. We therefore welcome applications from people with lived experience and consider them as an asset to the Trust.

Our Values

We take pride in providing specialist care to our service users where our Trust values and our promise to be caring, kind, polite, prompt, honest, listen and do what I say I’m going to do is at the heart of everything we do. When you join us, you’ll be part of something special.

As a Trust, we are happy to talk flexible working.

Job overview

An exciting opportunity has arisen to work in the River House social work team providing a high calibre social work service to patients detained at our Medium and Low Secure Units. Opened in 2008, this state-of-the-art unit is fast becoming recognised as a world leader in developing high quality therapeutic interventions and best practice in working with mentally disordered offenders.

Main duties of the job

Joining a friendly and experienced team of senior social workers, you will have responsibility for leading on safeguarding, risk management, and discharge planning as an integral part of your ward multi-disciplinary team.

Working for our organisation

South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust (SLaM) provides the widest range of NHS mental health services in the UK as well as substance misuse services for people who are addicted to drugs and alcohol. We work closely with the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience (IoPPN), King's College London and are part of King's Health Partners Academic Health Sciences Centre. There are very few organisations in the world that have such wide-ranging capabilities working with mental illness. Our scope is unique because it is built on three major foundations: care and treatment, science and research, and training.

SLaM employs around 5000 staff and serves a local population of 1.1 million people. We have more than 230 services including inpatient wards, outpatient and community services. Currently, we provide inpatient care for approximately 5,300 people each year and treat more than 45,000 patients in the community in Croydon, Lambeth, Lewisham and Southwark; as well as substance misuse services for residents of Bexley, Bromley, and Greenwich.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Using social work values and principles of the recovery model, we are looking for energetic, dynamic social workers with a high degree of commitment to this client group. Experience of working with mentally disordered offenders would be an advantage.

Person specification

Qualifications

• CQSW/DipSW or Degree in Social Work
• Current registration with Social Work England
• Practice Education Qualification

Experience

• Extensive post-qualifying experience of working in statutory adult mental health at band 6 or above (or equivalent).
• Experience of multi-professional collaboration at a senior level, including working in partnership with other statutory agencies.
• Experience of promoting service user and carer involvement
• Working with mentally disordered offenders/working in forensic social work services

Knowledge and skills

• Knowledge of the application of the Mental Health Act, Mental Capacity Act, Care Act and the relevant Codes of Practice
• Knowledge of mental disorders and their complexities
• Knowledge of safeguarding legislation, policy and procedures.
• Strong understanding of risk assessment models and implementing risk management processes
• Experience using IT including electronic clinical recording systems and Microsoft Office (Word/Outlook/Teams)
• Ability to provide and receive complex and emotive information with staff, service users/patients, carers and other stakeholders.
• Written skills to produce quality reports and assessments to deadlines.
• Working effectively within multi-disciplinary teams
• Working effectively with external partners to facilitate discharge.
• Advocacy skills to raise understanding and awareness of service user/patient rights and to challenge discrimination
• Understanding of mental health secure services and pathways
• Experience in liaising with MAPPA/MARAC and other agencies.
• Supervision of staff/students
• Understanding of auditing processes and quality improvement
• Responsive to change and ideas
• An understanding of effective systems for governance and the management of clinical and non-clinical risks

The Trust is committed to providing services which embrace diversity and that promote equality of opportunity. We are a Disability Confident Employer, we welcome applicants from all sections of the community and people of all protected characteristics. We provide reasonable adjustments for candidates with a disability and are committed to treating people fairly with compassion, respect and dignity and in promoting equality and human rights. We aim to put this commitment into practice by:

• Embedding our commitment to tackling inequality, eliminating discrimination and harassment; promoting equality of opportunity and fostering good relations in our everyday practice
• Ensuring that all our services and all staff understand and support our commitment
• We believe that people who use our services, their carers and our staff, should be treated with compassion, respect and dignity

Please note:

• All applications for this post will need to be made online
• Read and understand the Job Description and Personal Specification attached to the role. Your Statement in Support should reflect the requirements specified as your application will be judged against these criteria
• The closing date listed is a guide only and that the vacancy may close earlier should sufficient number of applicants have been received. We advise that you submit your application as early as possible
• Once you have submitted your application you agree to your application being transferred to a 3rd party e-recruitment system. All subsequent information regarding your application will be generated from apps.trac.jobs
• Should you not have heard from us within three weeks from the closing date your application has not been successful
• Priority consideration for applications may be given to at-risk NHS employees
• Should you be successful and appointed, you authorise South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust to confirm your previous NHS service via an Inter Authority Transfer (IAT) process
• We are a smoke-free Trust

SLaM is a Stonewall Diversity Champion, Stonewall is the largest Lesbian, Gay, Bi and Trans (LGBT) rights charity in Europe.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.