Senior Clinical Psychologist

Our Vision is to provide the best mental health, learning disability, autism and community based services for the populations we serve.

As an integrated mental health, learning disability and community Trust, Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust provides a range of services including:

1. Primary and secondary mental health care for children and adults including specialist inpatient child and adolescent mental health provision, perinatal mental health, forensic services including low and medium secure care.
2. Specialist community support for children and adults with learning disabilities and autism, including intensive support.
3. Community physical health and well-being services for children and adults.

The Trust was first established in 2002 and employs approximately 7,000 staff who provide care from more than 400 sites. The organisation offers opportunities for medics, mental health and general nurses, allied health professionals, psychology, administration and clerical staff, apprentices and volunteers.

Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust supports flexible working; we believe that a positive work/life balance benefits NHS employees through improved health and wellbeing. We would consider working patterns such as term time, part time, compressed hours, home/remote working, and flexi-time.

Please note that further communication from Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust (LSCft) will normally be to the email address given on the application form. You should also ensure that email addresses and telephone numbers are provided for your referees, to enable LSCft to contact them.

Job overview

Inpatient 8a Senior Clinical Psychology position or band 7 to 8a preceptorship position available for older adult inpatient wards at the Harbour hospital in Blackpool.

We require a motivated and dynamic qualified Clinical Psychologist to join our team of Clinical Psychologists offering input to older adult mental health inpatient facilities at the Harbour inpatient psychiatric unit at Blackpool. This unit opened in Spring 2015 and is a purpose-built state of the art facility equipped to the highest standards.

The post holder would have considerable autonomy to shape and develop their role providing direct clinical input, supervision, consultation, teaching and clinical leadership to their multidisciplinary teams. This would include input into two older adult wards at the Harbour. This would be supported by the locality professional lead for acute services who is co-located on site. The post holder will be joining a friendly team of Clinical Psychologists at the Harbour inclusive of consultants, principal grades and assistant psychologists. There would be plenty of opportunities for peer support and contact with psychology colleagues. If recruited as a preceptor, a structured program of development would be offered to take the post holder from band 7 to 8a that would be supported by senior colleagues at the Harbour and the community older adult professional lead.

Main duties of the job

We are committed to providing the best development opportunities for our staff and the post holder would have options to access continuing professional development and training. There are also opportunities for research within this dynamic and forward-thinking service. The organisation also has very good links with the Lancaster University based Clinical Psychology Doctorate Course.

LCFT is an organisation that recognises and values the contribution of clinical psychology in the provision of high quality services as evidenced by the expansion of the profession within adult mental health services. Psychology provision within inpatient services is established, well regarded and highly valued.

The Fylde coast area that the job is situated is itself is a dynamic and stimulating place to be. The locality has good transport links being situated adjacent to the M55 with quick access to the M6. The area also enjoys very reasonable housing costs.

Please note that remote working could not be supported for this inpatient role.

Working for our organisation

Lancashire & South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust provides a range of services including secondary mental health care across this area. Specialist provision comprises inpatient child and adolescent mental health services, perinatal mental health and forensic services including low and medium secure care.

The Trust also provides a range of physical health and well-being services in the community alongside a range of partners in the Lancashire, Cumbria and Sefton area.

Lancashire & South Cumbria Foundation Trust encourages flexible working; we believe that a positive work/life balance benefits NHS employees through improved health and wellbeing. We would consider working patterns such as term time, part time, compressed hours, flexi-time and career breaks. We encourage applicants to state clearly on their application forms this request and discuss these options at interview.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Please see attached the job description and person specification for more information about this role.

Person specification

Education

Essential criteria

• Doctorate in Clinical Psychology or equivalent for those who trained prior to 1996, including specifically models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics and neuropsychology, two or more distinct psychological therapies and lifespan developmental psychology as accredited by the BPS.

Desirable criteria

• Pre-qualification training and qualifications in research methodology, staff training and/or other fields of applied psychology.
• Participation in Doctorate in Clinical Psychology.

Knowledge

Essential criteria

• An increased level of knowledge equivalent to a post-graduate diploma (in addition to entry level qualification).
• Doctoral level knowledge of research methodology, research design and complex, multivariate data analysis as practiced within the clinical fields of psychology.
• Evidence of continuing professional development as recommended by the BPS by completion of CPD log demonstrating a minimum of 40 hours per year.
• Formal training in supervision of other psychologists.

Experience

Essential criteria

• Experience of specialist psychological assessment and treatment of clients across a range of care settings, including outpatient, community, primary care and inpatient settings.
• Experience of working with a wide variety of client groups, across the whole life course presenting problems that reflect the full range of clinical severity including maintaining a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems, verbal abuse and the threat of physical abuse.
• Demonstrable evidence of a continuing commitment to developing expertise in psychological assessment and intervention.
• Experience of exercising full clinical responsibility for client's psychological care and treatment both as a professionally qualified care co-ordinator and also within the context of multi-disciplinary care plan.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Please be aware, the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) when submitting an application is monitored and if you have used AI to generate an application, you are required to declare this on your application form. Failure to do so, may result in your application being withdrawn.

We want to highlight the importance of integrity and authenticity in your application form, and ask you to use AI tools responsibly to ensure your application form is a true reflection of your skills, knowledge and experiences.

Please ensure that you read the person specification attached below as your application will be measured against this document.

Applications from job share partners are welcome and other forms of flexible working will be considered for all posts.

For all posts which require a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check please be aware of the Disclosure and Barring Service Code of Practice, a copy of which is available by logging on to the DBS website. If the post is subject to DBS disclosure, a charge will be made to the successful candidate(s).

You are advised to consider applying for LSCft vacancies as soon as possible as in some instances vacancies are closed as soon as a sufficient number of applications have been received. If you are not invited to interview within three weeks of the closing date then please assume that on this occasion you have been unsuccessful, as it is not possible to contact all unsuccessful candidates.

LSCft is committed to celebrating difference as an asset and we know that recruiting talent from diverse backgrounds helps to create a more flexible, creative and effective workforce. We actively challenge discrimination and welcome applications from people regardless of age, disability (particularly those with experience of accessing or caring for someone who has accessed mental health or learning disability services), ethnicity, gender, religion or belief or sexual orientation. Our goal is for the Trust to be truly representative of the communities we serve so we are particularly keen to receive applications from people in under-represented groups. If there is anything you'd like to discuss in relation to your application then please ask.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

Applicant requirements

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.

Documents to download

• Job Description and person specification (PDF, 552.3KB)
• NHS Staff Benefits - 2023 (PDF, 556.9KB)
• We Do More at LSCFT (PDF, 654.2KB)