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Job summary

Main area
Forensic Community Service
Grade
Band 8b
Contract
Permanent
Hours
Full time - 37.5 hours per week
Job ref
351-SPS1420-CLK
Employer
Lancashire & South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust
Employer type
NHS
Site
L7F9 L2043 Liaison & Diversion
Town
Preston
Salary
£62,215 - £72,293 per annum
Salary period
Yearly
Closing
29/05/2025 23:59

Employer heading

Lancashire & South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust logo

Principal Clinical Psychologist

Band 8b

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:

•    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.
•    Specialist community support for children and adults with learning disabilities and autism, including intensive support.
•    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.

For more information visit our website via Lancashire & South Cumbria NHS FT.

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

PRINCIPAL CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST Forensic Community Service (FCS), Guild Park, Preston
 
Specialist Network
 
Lancashire & South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust
 
A4C BAND 8b
 
Full-time (1.0 WTE)
 
Permanent Post
 
We would like to recruit a Clinical Psychologist with experience of all aspects of clinical/forensic settings. The post is permanent and will have its base in the Forensic Community Service (FCS) at Guild Park, just outside Preston.  The post holder will work in the Mental Health Treatment Requirement (MHTR) team.  The MHTR team is part of the Community Sentence Treatment Requirement (CSTR) programme, which is a partnership between the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), Department of Health and Social Care (DOSC), NHS England and NHS Improvement (NHSE/I), Public Health England (PHE) and His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS).  The CSTR programme is designed to assist new areas to develop pathways to enable and facilitate the use of Mental Health Treatment Requirements (MHTRs).  It aims to increase the use of MHTRs with a view to reducing reoffending among vulnerable individuals (particularly those with mental health and substance misuse needs) through effective and coordinated health and social care treatment requirements and to offer an alternative to custodial sentences.  As part of the CSTR programme, our team is tasked with the specific aim of delivering primary care MHTRs in Magistrates Courts.
 
 
 
 

 

Main duties of the job

The post holder will be the Clinical Lead for the team.  As the Clinical Lead, they will provide clinical oversight and supervision of a team of at least eight Mental Health Practitioners whose role is to provide psychological interventions for individuals referred through the court who have been identified as suitable to benefit from a therapeutic intervention as part of their community sentence.  
 
As this team is based on partnership working, an important part of the post holder’s role will be to engage with and maintain relationships with relevant partner agencies.  They will also need to oversee and evaluate the team’s screening, assessment and formulation processes and model(s) of intervention (in accordance with the existing CSTR Programme Operating Framework).  The Clinical Lead will also provide treatment for more complex cases.
 
The role of Clinical Lead requires the ability to work with clients who present with the full range of clinical needs and risk behaviours, and the ability to engage with, and respond to, highly complex clinical, professional and ethical challenges, and demands on clinicians and services. There will be opportunities to use audit and evaluation, to inform and develop practice and service provision. As part of the wider Psychological Services Team, the post holder will be expected to develop expertise in all aspects of forensic/clinical practice across the different services within Guild Park.

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 re-quest and discuss these options at interview.
For more information please visit our website via Lancashire & South Cumbria NHS FT

 

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
  • Doctoral level training 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.

Knowledge

Essential criteria
  • Doctoral level knowledge of research methodology, research design and complex, multivariate data analysis as practiced within the clinical fields of psychology.
  • Knowledge of legislation, and its implications in relation to the client group and mental health.
  • Evidence of continuing professional development as recommended by the BPS by completion of CPD log demonstrating a minimum of 40 hours per year.

Experience

Essential criteria
  • Substantial experience of working as a qualified clinical psychologist.
  • 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.
  • 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 multidisciplinary care plan.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

Apprenticeships logoNo smoking policyArmed Forces Covenant Gold AwardMindful employer.  Being positive about mental health.Disability confident employerCare Leaver CovenantStep into healthDefence Employer Recognition Scheme (ERS) - Gold

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

Apply online now

Further details / informal visits contact

Name
Dr Tanya Petersen
Job title
Lead for Psychology in the FCS
Email address
[email protected]
Additional information

Juliette Hargreaves, FCS Service Manager, e-mail: [email protected]

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