Senior Clinical Psychologist: Adult Neuropsychology (Stroke) (NHS AfC: Band 8a) - Stroke Servic[...]

Senior Clinical Psychologist: Adult Neuropsychology (Stroke)

NHS AfC: Band 8a

Main area: Stroke Services

Grade: NHS AfC: Band 8a

Contract: Permanent

Hours: 30 hours per week

• Part time
• Flexible working

Job ref: 372-MED2315-B

Employer: Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust

Employer type: NHS

Site: Calderdale Royal Hospital

Town: Halifax

Salary: £50,952 - £57,349 pro rata

Salary period: Yearly

Closing: 20/04/2025 23:59

Interview date: 30/04/2025

We are delighted to offer this permanent position within our rapidly expanding Clinical Health Psychology Department at CHFT. Currently, the service comprises a Principal Clinical Psychologist and administrative support. Funding has been secured to expand this service and offer this role.

The postholder will primarily work on the inpatient stroke wards at Calderdale Royal Hospital in Halifax. Inpatient stroke psychology has been provided for the last 3 years by the Principal Clinical Psychologist. The service is now established and, due to additional investment, the inpatient role can now be fulfilled by an 8a Psychologist, under the supervision and support of the current 8b.

This opportunity is ideally suited to someone who is creative and dynamic, as the service is still in the early stages of its development. The individual will have good interpersonal and communication skills, keen to work as part of a multi-disciplinary team (MDT) and working into the specialism of Stroke. There may be some flexibility for the role to be adjusted to reflect the interests, qualifications, and development needs of the postholder. The role could be offered as a Band 7/8a preceptorship.

Supervision will be provided internally by a Psychologist currently undergoing the practice component of the QiCN.

We encourage informal discussions from potential applicants. Please note there may be specific days required for this post, which can be discussed on enquiry.

Main duties of the job

The successful candidate will be an integral part of the Stroke Service MDT, who really value the input of Clinical Psychology for their patients and staff; they will provide psychological services and clinical expertise within these MDTs.

The post holder will be expected to deliver compassionate and skilled psychological care to patients on the stroke wards at Calderdale Hospital. In addition to direct therapy work, there will be the need to work closely with nurses, rehab assistants, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, speech language therapists, and medical staff, supporting the development of psychological care within their specialties. The role will involve some supervision, teaching, training, and consultation to the team. Service-evaluation and audit will also be an important and valued element of the role.

Given these are relatively new services, this is an exciting time to contribute to the ongoing service developments. The post holder will have the opportunity to contribute to the development of Adult Neuropsychology and will also see their role develop in response to changing demands and opportunities as they arise.

Working for our organisation

We are a growing Clinical Health Psychology Department that has good relationships across CHFT. We are committed to developing excellent quality care that aims to meet the psychological needs of patients who are treated within CHFT. We develop services in a patient-focused way and compassionate care is at the heart of our department. We actively encourage and support CPD, supervision, service-related audit, and research. As a newly established department, there is significant scope to work creatively in the continuation of new trust-wide developments and be part of shaping our culture.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Please see attached job description and person specification for a full outline of the main responsibilities of this role. This includes the following:

1. To provide a highly specialist Clinical Neuropsychology service to patients within Stroke Medicine at Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Trust.
2. To work closely with the stroke multidisciplinary team to provide highly specialist psychological and neuropsychological assessment, formulation, and therapy, taking full professional responsibility and exercising completely autonomous judgement in matters of professional practice.
3. To offer advice and consultation on patients’ psychological and neuropsychological care to non-psychologist colleagues and to other non-professional carers.
4. To offer consultation, advice, and disseminate psychological ideas to the wider stroke MDT.
5. To work autonomously in the execution of these duties and within professional guidelines and the overall framework of the Clinical Health Psychology Department and Trust policies and procedures.
6. To initiate and take part in service development and use research skills for audit and policy development.

Minimum Qualifications

• Post graduate doctoral level training in clinical psychology, including specifically models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics, two or more distinct psychological therapies, as accredited by the British Psychological Society.
• Doctoral level qualification in clinical or counselling (or equivalent prior to 1995) by course accredited by the BPS and registration as a practitioner psychologist with HCPC.
• Completion of formal clinical supervisor training sufficient to be able to supervise doctoral trainees.
• Pre-qualification training and qualifications in research methodology, staff training, and/or other fields of applied psychology.
• Completion of PGDip in Clinical Neuropsychology.

Knowledge, Experience & Expertise

• Experience of working with adults who have long-term conditions.
• Experience of specialist psychological assessment and treatment of patients across the full range of care settings, including outpatient, community, primary care, and inpatient settings and with difficult to treat groups.
• Skills in providing consultation to other professional and non-professional groups.
• Well-developed skills in the ability to communicate effectively, orally and in writing, complex, highly technical and/or clinically sensitive information to patients, their families, carers, and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS.
• Doctoral level knowledge of research methodology, research design, and complex, multivariate data analysis as practiced within the clinical fields of psychology.
• Skills in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment intervention and management frequently requiring sustained and intense concentration.
• Evidence of continuing professional development as recommended by the BPS.
• Experience of teaching, training, and/or supervision.
• Experience of working in multi-disciplinary teams and offering systemic interpretations to have an impact on the team functioning in patient care.
• Relevant experience of developing and setting up new services.
• Experience of working with adults with long-term conditions.
• Knowledge of legislation in relation to the patient group and mental health.

Communication and Relationships (Including Management Responsibilities)

• Ability to exercise the full clinical responsibility for patient’s psychological care and treatment within the clinical specialty and to coordinate the psychological care provided by others.
• Ability to identify and employ mechanisms of clinical governance as appropriate, to support and maintain clinical practice in the face of regular exposure to highly emotive material and challenging behaviour.
• Maintaining a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems.
• Ability to teach and train others, using a variety of complex multi-media materials suitable for presentations within public, professional, and academic settings.
• Ability to provide emotional support, consultation, and professional mentorship to multidisciplinary team members.

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.

Name: Dr James Hall

Job title: Principal Clinical Psychologist

Email address: James.Hall2@cht.nhs.uk

Telephone number: 01422222058

If you have problems applying, contact

Address: Workforce and Organisational Development
Acre Mill
Acre Street
Lindley
Huddersfield
HD3 3EB
Telephone: 01484 343369