Senior Clinical Nurse Therapist

NHS; March; On-site; GBP 53,000 - 61,000; Full time

Job description

Job summary

We are currently seeking a skilled and compassionate Senior Clinical Nurse Therapist to join our unique, dedicated team as part of the OPD Fens services located within a high secure male prison service.

This unique role offers the chance to provide mental health support in a challenging yet rewarding environment providing specialist mental health knowledge advise, consultation and a range of clinically based interventions ensuring that assessments, treatments and ongoing care as required is delivered within the prison environment.

The post will involve managerial responsibilities and working alongside the MDT and Service Manager ensuring continuity of care and close working relationships with our partners in NHFT. Tasks may involve you working outside of the Fens services including the residential wings, workshops, the health care centre and, at times, may involve attending prisoners who are temporarily based in Health Care, Segregation Unit, the Bridge or the Close Supervision Unit.

The post holder will develop and deliver specialist clinics that address the holistic needs of this population focussed on specialist needs related to trauma, personality difficulties and comorbid mental health conditions.

Main duties of the job

The post holder will provide specialist knowledge and interventions for the offenders within PD pathway (OPDP) using high quality, evidence-based specialist assessments and interventions. To ensure the provision of specialist advice, consultation, liaison, and education to professionals who work within and in conjunction with the OPDP Fens services.

To provide therapy and hold a clinical case load.

You will contribute to the ongoing review, development, and delivery of Mental Health training and education to other staff. To work jointly with staff from a variety of other services.

To liaise and consult with the Fens Services Consultant Psychiatrist, the NHFT Psychiatrist, the primary health care team, and secondary MH teams within the prison.

To provide specialist advice and consultation regarding the management of moderate and severe MH conditions, supporting referrals to specialist NHS services where appropriate.

About us

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust is a health and social care organisation dedicated to providing high-quality care with compassion to improve the health and wellbeing of the people we care for, as well as supporting and empowering them to lead a fulfilling life.

Our clinical teams deliver many NHS services, not only via inpatient and primary care settings, but also within the community. These services include children's, adult and older people's mental health, forensic and specialist mental health, learning disabilities, primary care and liaison psychiatry, substance misuse, social care, research and development.

To achieve our goal, we look to recruit high-calibre candidates who share our vision and values. As an equal opportunities employer, we encourage applications from all sectors of the community, particularly from under-represented groups including people with long term conditions and members of our ethnic minority and LGBTQ+ communities.

Regrettably, we cannot offer sponsorship for all our job roles. If you apply for a role that we cannot offer sponsorship for, unfortunately, your application form will be rejected from the process.

Date posted: 10 April 2025

Pay scheme: Agenda for change

Band: Band 8a

Salary: £53,755 to £60,504 a year per annum, pro rata

Contract: Permanent

Working pattern: Full-time

Reference number: 310-MASMH-6453556-E

Job locations: The Fens Service, HMP Whitemoor, Longhill Road, March, PE15 0PR

Job responsibilities:

Please refer to the attached job description and person specification for full details of responsibilities.

To exercise full autonomous professional responsibility for the psychological assessment, treatment and discharge of clients, within the role of the outreach lead.

To manage and maintain a caseload in line with current standards of psychological practice and consistent with agreed team approaches. This will be at least 50% of your role.

To have significant working knowledge of personality disorder and trauma, and the behaviours that come from high levels of distress.

To have close working relationships with our partnership providers and the wider prison, and to have a good understanding and knowledge of the client group and be able to communicate the needs of the Service User group within appropriate meetings and forums.

To hold a clinical caseload and provide individual and group therapy.

To communicate the results of assessment and interventions to other members of the multidisciplinary team including non-clinical staff, and to do so in a way that is accessible to all.

To communicate effectively, using the highest level of interpersonal and communication skills, within difficult situations such as to a service user who may be presenting as hostile and antagonistic and not wanting to receive information.

To develop formulations and treatment plans for the formal interventions and/or management of a residents mental health and behavioural problems, based upon an appropriate conceptual framework of these problems, and employing methods based upon evidence of efficacy, across the Fens.

To ensure that all members of the clinical team have access to the understanding of the resident from a psychological perspective, through the provision of advice and consultation and the dissemination of psychological research and theory.

Person Specification

Education/Qualifications

• Registered Mental Nurse/RMN or Learning Disability
• Specific therapeutic training, CBT, DBT, EMDR, Schema, Sensorimotor psychotherapy or other Psychological approaches

Experience

• Substantial post registration experience in senior nursing positions, to include significant leadership functions.
• Experience of managing a nursing service.
• Change management experience.
• Experience of working in secure / forensic conditions
• Experience of holding a clinical caseload.

Skills and Abilities

• Excellent communication skills.
• Leadership skills e.g. can exercise leadership to support and inspire colleagues.
• In depth knowledge and skill related to a particular therapeutic intervention such as CBT, DBT, family work and psychosocial interventions.
• IT literate.
• Ability to undertake assessment, planning, implementation and evaluation of treatment plans.
• The ability to supervise and participate in providing teaching and training to other staff.
• Ability to prioritise work demands and be flexible
• Proven skills in undertaking risk assessments and management plans.
• Skill in caseload management at both an individual and team level
• Able to work as an independent reflective practitioner
• A commitment to the role of health promotion and education with the client group.

Knowledge & Understanding

• Theory and concepts associated with mental health and personality disorder and their application.
• Knowledge of physical healthcare needs.
• Commitment to and understanding of evidence-based practice.
• Aware of safeguarding issues and responsibilities under relevant legislation.
• Good knowledge of the legislation relating to care including - Mental Health Act, Mental Capacity Act, Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards Act, Care Act, Children's Act, Equality Act 2010, Health and Safety Act and the General Data Protection Regulations
• Knowledge of relevant NICE guidance.

Physical Requirements

• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, enabling formation of networks with professionals within the Trust and from other agencies (HMPPS) to promote effective team working with clients.
• Able to contain and work with high levels of distress from clients.
• Emotionally robust.
• Able to contain and work with organisational stress
• Interpersonally calm and able to defuse difficult, volatile situations.
• Able to tolerate ambiguity and to take decisions in situations of incomplete information.
• Ability to exercise appropriate levels of self-care and to monitor own state, recognising when it is necessary to take active steps to maintain fitness to practice.
• Motivated towards personal and professional development.

Other

• Ability to teach and train others, using a variety of complex multi-media materials suitable for presentations within public, professional and academic settings.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications.

Employer details

Employer name: Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust

Address: The Fens Service, HMP Whitemoor, Longhill Road, March, PE15 0PR

Employer's website: https://www.cpft.nhs.uk/