Job summary
- Main area
- Community Mental Health
- Grade
- NHS AfC: Band 7
- Contract
- Fixed term: 12 months (Funding until 31st March 2025)
- Hours
- Full time - 37.5 hours per week
- Job ref
- 334-CLI-7144108
- Employer
- South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- 190 Kennington Lane
- Town
- London
- Salary
- £54,320 - £60,981 per annum inclusive of HCAs
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 02/06/2025 23:59
Employer heading
Dual Diagnosis Homeless Outreach Practitioner
NHS AfC: Band 7
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
We are recruiting for Dual Diagnosis Homeless Outreach Practitioner.
This is an exciting opportunity to join the award winning START Homeless Outreach Teams as an advanced practitioner, extending our service offer into Lewisham.
This is a borough based clinical role which focuses on providing a new pathway for individuals experiencing rough sleeping, mental ill health and substance use. This role is part of an ongoing pilot for Lewisham aimed at improving access to care for homeless clients, gathering data on service use and challenges and providing support to existing agencies working with this group in the borough.
Main duties of the job
1.To provide expertise and contribute to dual diagnosis within evidence-based practise for people rough sleeping in Lewisham
2.To provide specialist assessment and clinical formulation to rough sleeping clients with complex mental health needs and co-occurring substance misuse using a trauma informed outreach approach
3.To provide outreach clinics at the 999 Club and other settings as agreed
4.To provide complex case management and addressing Safeguarding for a small group of individuals who cannot be supported by third sector, CMHT or CGL alone
5.To lead the development of a robust and seamless pathway into care for homeless service users in the primary care group and are rough sleepers by effective collaborative planning and advocacy with local homeless, mental health and substance use services.
6.To work as an autonomous professional within guidelines of the relevant professional body and the policies and procedures of the service, taking full responsibility for own work.
7.To facilitate carers/family members’ involvement in assessment and care planning where appropriate and ensure they are offered information about support groups
8.To participate in the monitoring and review of any serious incidents that involve homeless dual diagnosis cases as appropriate
9.Maintain good relationships and clear lines of communication with other professional agencies and departments, providing specialist advice and support where appropriate.
Working for our organisation
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
NHS discounts, with discounts up to 10% from a variety of well-known retail brands though Health Service Discounts website.
Other benefits include:
Counselling services
Wellbeing events
Long service awards
Cycle to work scheme
Season ticket loan
Childcare vouchers
Staff restaurants
We look forward to receiving your application.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
The role also aims to improve capability and knowledge for homeless people within existing Lewisham community provision, by advice, advocacy, role modelling and direct complex case management.
Central to this approach is a focus on inclusive health practice for people who are often not accessing treatment due to needs across several areas. This will require an outreach, trauma informed style of delivery and a willingness to work in collaboration with other homeless and 3rd sector colleagues to create seamless care pathways across the system.
They will engage with continuing CPD across dual diagnosis and homelessness best practice and promote a system understanding of the ways that rough sleeping and substance use can impact on recovery, wellbeing, safeguarding and physical health.
The post holder requires highly advanced communication and influencing skills as they will be required to work collaboratively with key stakeholders across professional and organisational boundaries, within and outside of the Trust. They will be able to skilfully and sensitively communicate highly complex and sensitive information to clients, carers and colleagues and galvanise support of staff and services within and outside the Trust.
The post holder will maintain regular contact with colleagues. This will include the team leaders, nurses, doctors and allied health professionals within the team. They will communicate regularly with the START Homeless Outreach CSL, other dual diagnosis practitioners in Lewisham and keep abreast of developments in the evidence base and changes in services provision.
The post holder will liaise, communicate effectively and update the CSL (START) on a frequent basis to feedback progress and highlight any areas of focus or concern.
The post Holder will maintain regular contact with other clinicians within the trust and other statutory/non statutory services including 999 Club, street outreach, Rough Sleeping Coordinator, GP homeless health service, inpatient wards, Community Mental Health Recovery and Support Teams, Home Treatment Team, GP Practices and Local A&E psychiatric liaison services.
They will regularly collaborate with partner agencies involved in the care of people experiencing homelessness and promote information sharing and joint working.
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
- Hold a professional qualification i.e. Nursing/SW/OT
- Evidence of training in Dual Diagnosis
Desirable criteria
- Non - medical prescriber
- formal qualification in therapies i.e CBT
Experience
Essential criteria
- Experience of working with people with co-morbid mental health and substance misuse problems
- Experience of managing complex caseload
- Experience of Quality improvement
Desirable criteria
- Delivery of Level 2 dual diagnosis training (e.g., ‘pan-London’)
- Working clinically within a homeless or substance use team
Knowledge & Skills
Essential criteria
- Understanding of experiences faced by homeless service users with dual diagnosis and their families
- Understanding of and ability to complete comprehensive assessments of homeless dual diagnosis clients
Desirable criteria
- Knowledge of quality standards & policy regarding current Dual Diagnosis and Homelessness best practice guidance
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
- Fran Busby
- Job title
- Trust Homeless Service Lead
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 07710117836
- Additional information
Fran Busby
Trust Homeless Service Lead
START Homeless Outreach Teams
07966847763
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