Practice Lead

37.5 hours per week.

We seek an experienced practitioner with strong leadership and management skills and a strong interest in Older Persons Mental Health (OPMH) to join the home-treatment team in Plymouth.

You will be providing visible clinical leadership for the team and driving collaborative efforts between HTT and other parts of the service. This shall include working closely with the medical teams, community teams, statutory providers, emergency services and the acute sector.

You must have excellent communication skills, and a good working knowledge and understanding of acute adult mental health including in older people. An important part of this role is to ensure quality and role-model best practice. This includes championing best practices and providing training for the team especially in the care of older patients.

If you have a passion for mental health and display our values of being kind, respectful, inclusive, ambitious, responsible and collaborative, we would like to hear from you. It will be expected that you will have experience in a senior role working within the field of mental health and have a sound clinical background which has been supplemented by continuing professional development.

Please note that Livewell may close the job advertisement earlier than the specified deadline if a high number of applications are submitted. Therefore, we recommend you submit your application at the earliest opportunity.

Main duties of the job

The role is an all-rounded, hands-on senior clinical role. The postholder will need to confidently evidence and utilise many key skills such as effective communication, prioritising competing service demands, risk management, maintaining high clinical standards, utilising evidence-based practice, and providing inspirational leadership within the teams and the wider organisation. Where required, the post holder will work across a 7 day period, and clinical time will be flexible according to the needs of the team. There will be a requirement to be part of the mental health on-call rota. The job requires innovation, flexibility, and commitment, and the post holder will be required to work resourcefully as part of the senior clinical team to ensure that patients and families have the best possible experience and outcome of using our services.

All Livewell staff are expected to be able and willing to work across a 7 day service.

About us

Livewell Southwest is an independent, award-winning social enterprise delivering integrated health and social care services across Plymouth, South Hams, and West Devon, with specialist services in parts of Devon and Cornwall. Our teams work in community hospitals, GP practices, sports centres, and health hubs.

As an organisation with a strong social conscience, we are guided by our values: kindness, respect, inclusivity, ambition, responsibility, and collaboration. We focus on transforming services to ensure sustainability while empowering staff and those we serve.

We involve the people we care for, along with their families and carers, in shaping the care they receive, striving to deliver the right care at the right time and place. Centering our work on individual needs helps people lead healthy, independent lives.

We prioritise employees' development, offering protected CPD time, training pathways, leadership programs, and funding for qualifications like the Care Certificate and Nurse Training Scholarships. Our induction and preceptorship programs ensure a smooth transition into our organisation.

Livewell Southwest values diversity and encourages applications from all sections of the community, including those with armed forces experience, lived experience of mental health, neuro-diverse conditions and learning disabilities. If you need assistance or reasonable adjustments during the application process, contact the Recruiting Manager listed in the job advert.

Job description

Job responsibilities

The post holder will be responsible for the development and monitoring of the care pathway quality and improvement plans. The postholder, in conjunction with the operational team manager and relevant other teams, will ensure that clinical effectiveness systems are embedded and sustainable (based on audit and evidence-based care).

Participate in, and lead where required, the development, implementation, and evaluation of strategies and service innovations whereby the service evolves to meet the needs of the individuals and their carers.

Fully participate in quality assurance initiatives and advances including any resulting audit of these.

Will demonstrate the ability to engage with different stakeholders including medical staffing in developing the service.

1.2 Service Delivery and Resource Management

Ensure that governance and assurance systems are in place for care pathways/clinical teams.

The postholder will provide expert professional advice regarding clinical care, incidents, and complaints.

Ensure that services are delivered by practitioners with the appropriate knowledge, skills, and competencies.

In conjunction with the Team Manager, ensure that care is provided within the service resource.

1.3 Practice Quality and Workforce Development

Take the lead, in consultation with the team manager, in being responsible for the coordination of multi-disciplinary team working and engagement in service delivery in line with practice standards.

Ensuring the safety and effectiveness of the service through the implementation of effective risk management, governance and assurance systems.

Support the Team Manager and Operational Management Team in the development of the workforce.

The post holder will act as a role model in providing a service for people with mental health problems for all staff within the Home Treatment Team and other stakeholders.

The post holder will help monitor and improve quality through the following:

- Team compliance to national guidelines including NICE guidelines through audit and other means.

- Developing care pathways which improve clinical care.

1.4 Line Management/Clinical Supervision Responsibility

The postholder will support the Team Manager in the delivery of line management to the team.

The postholder will ensure that the team accesses clinical supervision and Continuous Professional Development.

The postholder will provide appropriate cross-cover as required for the Team Manager.

1.5 Additional Responsibilities

All practice leads will hold a portfolio of responsibilities including but not limited to: ensuring the quality and triangulation of Home Treatment Team, KPIs, responsibility for updating and monitoring risk registers, Infection prevention and control, NICE compliance within the team.

They will also take responsibility for key practice development projects across the Home Treatment team service as assigned by the Team Manager or Operational Management team.

Practice Leads will hold a service portfolio based on individual job planning e.g. safeguarding, complaints.

1.6 Personal Professional Duties

Role model clinical leadership.

Practice in a way that actively minimises dependency and promotes recovery.

Communicate information in a way that makes it relevant and understandable for service users and carers, working to the principles of the functions policy implementation guidelines and practice in line with the standards and values set out in them.

Ensure a duty of care to service users who are entitled to receive safe and competent care. The service users' wishes, feelings, values, and beliefs should be taken into consideration as well as the views of the people close to them.

Take personal accountability for your own practice. This means that you are answerable for your actions and omissions, regardless of advice or directions from another professional.

Ensure that you remain professionally competent by participating in your own and others' clinical supervision.

Demonstrate specialist knowledge and skills, not only relating to the care of mental health patients, but also in-depth knowledge of the roles and functions of other professionals across the services. This may be enhanced by a relevant qualification at an appropriate level.

1.7 Communication and Relationship Skills

The Practice Leads along with the Team Manager will provide high-quality mental health services to eligible patients through a multi-disciplinary team of registered professionals and medical staffing. The postholder will ensure that services are provided within National, Local and practice guidelines so that:

Quality of life for the people most in need is maintained and improved.

All services are provided effectively and efficiently within current national direction and relevant legislation, to include the protection of vulnerable Adults and Children.

Detailed confident verbal information sharing, within the Team or the wider multi-disciplinary Team, which includes Primary Care.

Detailed confident verbal information sharing on behalf of the Organisation to and from Police and other agencies where appropriate with regard to matters of risk, mental ill health, and as when appropriate.

Ability to appropriately communicate information whilst negotiating positive changes or new service developments.

Confident in managing conflict between individuals when required.

Ability to negotiate a positive outcome from complaint investigations.

The ability to receive information, analyse and formulate professional judgements.

Attend and represent the team's view in meetings, e.g. Child Protection, Adult Protection, Mental Health Review Tribunals, CPA reviews.

Attend and participate in various forums/steering groups within Adult Mental Health and the wider health community e.g. South West Clinical Networks. Be a part of the Acute Care Pathway.

Elicit information from the patient and work with them to advocate on their behalf.

Ability to communicate clearly and effectively over the telephone within the boundaries of confidentiality.

Maintain accurate, timely paper and electronic records. Ensure they are kept safely in accordance with Organisation policies, including the Data Protection Act and the Organisation Confidentiality Policy.

The post holder must demonstrate a positive attitude to mental health attending to patients with respect and courtesy.

The post holder will ensure that professional boundaries are always adhered to.

Directly responsible for the collaboration and the planning of individual care with patients, carers, negotiation with other teams and services to provide a seamless service to users and carers.

Must be confidential in communicating with people who are experiencing mental health difficulties when English is not their first language using Organisation approved interpreters/services.

To attend and participate in the monthly Locality business and performance meetings.

1.8 Knowledge, Training and Experience

The post holder will be responsible for updating their own practice, knowledge and skills within their sphere of practice including Organisation mandatory training.

Expert Knowledge of working within a Home Treatment Team, and/or other relevant experience that is transferable to a Home Treatment Team Model.

Knowledge of Policy and Legislation.

Knowledge of Mental Health and Mental Health Service delivery.

Knowledge of the Urgent care agenda.

Knowledge of the current drivers in Home Treatment team and Key Performance Indicators for the service.

Adhere to Policy and Legislation relating to Mental Health, e.g. Mental Health Act 1983, Mental Capacity Act, Equal Opportunity Law, Disability Discrimination Act, Human Rights Act, Care Programme Approach and Clinical Governance.

1.9 Analytical and Judgement Skills

The post holder will provide mental health care and other interventions in the setting most appropriate to meet the patients' needs.

Ability to match patient need with available skills and resources.

Emergency judgements and clinical decision making as team lead.

Supervision, advice, guidance to others about complex individuals/situations.

To receive information and balance risk to patient and organisation, formulating plans accordingly and communicating to the wider health community.

Investigating complaints and reviewing untoward incidents and serious incidents, producing chronology of events, timelines, gaining witness statements, producing reports, recommendations and action plans for improvements.

Support the Team Manager in the organisation of the duty rota, ensuring that appropriate skill mix is available 24 hours and is the most cost-effective use of the resources available.

To have the vision to develop the workforce plan for the next five years.

Full Job Description can be found as a Supporting Document.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• Registered Health/Social care Professional
• Post graduate diploma / degree level study related to health/social care or equivalent worked experience relevant to the role

• Teaching/Assessing course such as mentorship module or equivalent
• Recognised Management qualification/course e.g. ILM course or leadership, management modules, core management study days, in-house courses (HR, budgets, appraisals, staff performance, sickness) OR significant management experience that is relevant to the role
• Non-Medical Prescriber
• Additional courses relevant to Crisis work and Home treatment speciality

• Extensive professional knowledge acquired through clinical practice in Home Treatment or other acute care pathway care provision underpinned by training at degree level/diploma level specialist training or equivalent experience
• Knowledge of the impact of crisis on mental health difficulties
• Evidence-based practice
• Mental Health Act 1983
• Good knowledge of current NHS