Job summary
- Main area
- Clinical Psychologist
- Grade
- Band 8a
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Full time - 37.5 hours per week
- Job ref
- 222-ICS-527-A
- Employer
- West London NHS Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- St Bernards
- Town
- Ealing
- Salary
- £63,665 - £70,887 per annum inclusive of HCAS (Outer)
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 08/10/2026 23:59
- Interview date
- 16/10/2026
Employer heading
Clinical Psychologist
Band 8a
West London NHS Trust provides a full range of mental health, community and physical healthcare services for children, adults and older people living in the London boroughs of Ealing, Hammersmith & Fulham and Hounslow.
We also provide some specialist services that are commissioned regionally, such as our medium secure services; and nationally, such as the Cassel Hospital for people with complex and severe personality disorder and our high secure services at Broadmoor Hospital.
Job overview
We are looking for an experienced ward psychologist to work in the older people’s in-patient services in Ealing. There are two wards, one which focuses on people with dementia, but also includes frail older people with functional mental health needs, while the other is a step down ward for people who are awaiting the completion of discharge arrangements. The post holder will be a key part of the ward MDT, providing more complex formulations and promoting a psychological understanding of service users’ presentation. They will also complete assessment and intervention with a focus on developing our discharge pathways to ensure seamless links to our community teams. As part of this work we will also be working with the families of those people who are returning home and the staff in a variety of supported living environments for those who need greater support.
Main duties of the job
This post is based in Jubilee Ward St Bernard’s Hospital in Ealing and The Limes which is based in Southall. The post holder will jointly supervise the Assistant Psychologist for the wards alongside the other ward psychologist based in Hammersmith and Fulham.
You will have regular individual supervision from an experienced Clinical Psychologist and be part of a strong local psychology service working within Older People’s Mental Health Services. You would also have access wider Trust resources for continuing professional development. The Trust values training highly and will support you with external training programs if needed for the role. The Trust is developing a wide range of resources for staff wellbeing and actively promotes inclusivity in its staff and aims for our teams to reflect the diverse communities that we serve.
Research activity is also encouraged and well supported within the service with a dedicated research team sharing the services offices.
Working for our organisation
West London NHS Trust is one of the most diverse healthcare providers in the UK, delivering a range of mental health and physical healthcare and community services. The Trust runs Broadmoor Hospital, one of three high secure hospitals in the country, with an international reputation.
Our high secure services care for patients from South of England and we provide low and medium secure services across eight London boroughs. The Trust also provides mental and physical healthcare in three London boroughs (Ealing, Hounslow and Hammersmith & Fulham). We employ over 5,000 staff, of whom 59% are BME. Our turnover for 2024-25 is over £500m.
The Trust is rated as ‘Good’ overall by the Care Quality Commission. Forensic services are rated as ‘Outstanding’.
The Trust is an established partner and contributor in the development of the evolving North West London Integrated Care System and the Integrated Care Board. The Trust leads the NW London Children and Adolescent Mental Health provider collaborative.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
The Candidate Pack provides an overview of the key tasks and responsibilities of the role, and the person specification outlines the qualifications, skills, experience and knowledge required. Please view as attached
The person specification below is not the full person specification, but outlines the criteria against which your application form will be assessed.
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
- Good honors degree (2:1 minimum) in Psychology. Eligibility for graduate membership of BPS.
- Post-graduate doctorate in clinical or counselling psychology (or its equivalent for those trained prior to 1996 or those in lateral transfer) as accredited by the BPS.
- Registration with the Health and Care Professions Council
Desirable criteria
- Other related academic and post-graduate qualifications
- Evidence of post-doctoral training in psychological therapy techniques
Experience
Essential criteria
- Experience of teaching, training and/or supervision.
- Experience of working with older people
- Experience of having facilitated/co-facilitated psychological therapy groups.
- Experience of teaching, training and/or supervision.
- Experience of representing psychology within the context of multi-disciplinary care.
Desirable criteria
- Experience of the application of clinical psychology in different cultural contexts.
Knowledge
Essential criteria
- Specialist knowledge, both theoretical and practical, of psychology applied to clinical practice.
- Specialist theoretical and practical knowledge of the assessment and treatment of a range of mental health conditions.
- Able to provide and receive complex, sensitive or contentious information, where there are significant barriers to acceptance which need to be overcome using the highest level of interpersonal and communication skills such as would be required when communicating in a hostile, antagonistic or highly emotive atmosphere.
- Able to plan, prioritise and organise own service user caseload, treatment programmes (individual or group) involving other staff and other aspects of the work such as research activity.
- 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
- Able to use database, word processing and test administration/scoring software.
- Evidence of continuing professional development
Desirable criteria
- Specialist theoretical and practical knowledge of assessment and intervention with families.
- Able to speak other languages present in local communities such as Hindi, Punjabi or Polish.
Skills
Essential criteria
- Able to adapt to rapidly changing service demands
- Able to maintain intense concentration frequently and for prolonged periods with unpredictable patients (e.g., in the assessment and treatment of patients with complex difficulties).
- Able to function in potentially traumatic circumstances and in highly emotionally distressing circumstances on a frequent basis (e.g., in dealing with patients with serious mental illness, violence, self- harm, sexual abuse).
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
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Helen Stirk
- Job title
- Consultant Clinical Psychologist (OPMHS)
- Email address
- [email protected]
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