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Job summary

Main area
Specialist Forensic Services
Grade
NHS AfC: Band 4
Contract
Permanent
Hours
Full time - 37.5 hours per week (24 hour shift system)
Job ref
334-NUR-7634208-FR
Employer
South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust
Employer type
NHS
Site
River House, Bethlem Royal Hospital
Town
Beckenham
Salary
£32,199 - £34,876 per annum inclusive of HCAS
Salary period
Yearly
Closing
04/05/2026 23:59

Employer heading

South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust logo

Senior Psycho-social Support Worker

NHS AfC: Band 4

 

South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust has a rich history, well-established community links and an international reputation. We deliver specialist services in the London boroughs of Croydon, Lambeth, Lewisham and Southwark, Bexley, Bromley, Greenwich, Wandsworth and Richmond.

We are committed to provide a high quality and specialist care to our service users and we are recognised for our care and treatment we provide. The Care Quality Commission already rates our services as ‘good’.

We launched our five-year strategy, Aiming High; Changing Lives  in 2021 together with Our Care Improvement System as our quality management system methodology  to make a positive impact on patient care, outcomes and staff experience. By joining SLaM, all staff will get the opportunity to be part of this exciting improvement journey supported with learning and development to harness everyone’s potential as change makers.

The trust recognises the unique and valuable contribution that people with lived experience of mental illness can bring to a role. We therefore welcome applications from people with lived experience and consider them as an asset to the Trust. 

Our Values

We take pride in providing specialist care to our service users where our Trust values and our promise to be caring, kind, polite, prompt, honest, listen and do what I say I’m going to do is at the heart of everything we do. When you join us, you’ll be part of something special.

As a Trust we are happy to talk flexible working.

Job overview

An exciting opportunity for an experienced psycho-social support worker to develop skills in a specialist personality disorder service has arisen on Waddon Ward, River House.

Waddon Ward is a 15 bedded medium secure male only ward.

It is a specialist unit that admits those who have a significant violent and offending history as well as diagnosed with Personality Disorder.

Waddon Ward is part of the Offender Personality Disorder Pathway (OPD), jointly commissioned by NHS England and The National Probation Service.

The Violence Reduction Program is the main core treatment program on Waddon Ward which a Cognitive Behavioural Therapy  psychological approach.

The post involves supporting the nursing team, taking on  the associate nurse role for a small case load and leading the team of psycho-social support workers.  You will have the opportunity to participate in the assessment of new patients and plan their treatment pathways.

You will receive training and supervision required for the role. The successful candidate must be committed to providing high quality patient care and have a demonstrated interested in working with offenders with personality disorder.

Main duties of the job

  • Providing high quality psycho-social interventions to patients with personality disorder.
  • Supervising junior staff.
  • Participating in an ongoing programme of development and education for the multi professional team.
  • Maintaining high quality standards on the ward.

Career Progression pathways and development opportunities:

We are committed to get the very best out of our staff and support staff in their career aspirations. We have career pathways available, where you will be able to develop your skills and build on your experience to progress into other roles across different specialties.    In addition, we offer ongoing training and development in risk assessment and therapies related to personality disorder, for example Mentalisation Based Therapy, Violence Reduction Programme.

Working for our organisation

Flexible working:

As one of the few Trusts in London we are proud to offer flexible working as part of our new ways of working, and we are happy to talk flexible working at the interview stage.  This role covers shifts across seven days per week, including day and night shifts.

Benefits:  

We are committed to ensuring our staff get the most out of their benefits package and understand the importance of a healthy work life balance. There is an extensive range of excellent benefits for you and your family. We want you to feel like you are part of a close knit team at SLaM. It’s important to us that you valued and appreciated and that are why we have a comprehensive benefits package on offer

Some of our benefits are highlighted here:

  • Generous pay, pensions and leave, we offer a comprehensive pay, pensions and leave package which is dependent on the role and length of service.
  • Work life balance, flexible working and support a range of flexible options, such as: part-time working and job sharing.
  • Career development, There are plenty of opportunities to progress your career and we support your development through a number of programmes such as mentoring, coaching, positive people management, collective leadership and other talent programmes
  • Car lease, our staff benefits from competitive deals to lease cars
  • Accommodation, our staff benefits from keyworker housing available which is available on selected sites.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

This position entails working with a demanding client group of personality disordered offenders. Therefore you will be given the opportunity and expected to attend regular participation in staff support, reflective practise and individual supervision

You must be able to physically respond efficiently and confidently to a crisis, i.e. be able to assist in the delivery of First aid, or employ PSTS techniques which you will have completed training in during your induction to the trust.

You will work under the direct and indirect supervision and guidance of the nursing team to implement care with a group of offenders with a diagnosis of Personality Disorder, maintaining their dignity, privacy and choice, treating them with respect at all times

Person specification

Education/Qualification

Essential criteria
  • NVQ Level 3 in Health & Social Care or other equivalent qualification
Desirable criteria
  • Degree in Psychology
  • Masters in Psychology

Experience/Knowledge

Essential criteria
  • Experience of working with people with mental health problems
  • Experience of working as a HealthCare Assistant in Forensic Mental Health
  • Experience of working with professionals from other agencies and services
  • Ability to maintain professional boundaries in all interactions with service users
  • Ability to undertake all mandatory training relevant to the post including Seni Lewis Training Program, basic life
Desirable criteria
  • Experience of co-facilitating groups or 1:1 therapeutic sessions
  • Experience of working in a learning environment
  • Experience supporting individuals who present with emotional distress, complex needs or challenging behavour
  • Willingness to participate in quality improvement, audit or service development initiatives.

Skills/Abilities

Essential criteria
  • Good written and verbal communication skills
  • Basic IT skills
  • Ability to work with a challenging client group, showing initiative and flexibility to team work and to care situations
Desirable criteria
  • Knowledge of skills that can be shared in team meetings

Other Criteria

Desirable criteria
  • Personal experience of mental health problems

Employer certification / accreditation badges

London Healthy workplaceCapital Nurse, LondonNo smoking policyLondon Living Wage is a voluntary commitment made by employers, who can become accredited with the Living Wage FoundationImproving working livesMindful employer.  Being positive about mental health.Stonewall Silver 2022Disability confident employerStonewall equality policy. Equality and justice for lesbians, gay men, bisexual and trans people.Armed Forces Covenant Bronze AwardHappy to Talk Flexible WorkingArmed Forces Covenant

Applicant requirements

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
Mohamed Kargbo
Job title
Ward Manager
Email address
[email protected]
Telephone number
020 3228 8483
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