Job summary
- Main area
- Older Adult Team
- Grade
- NHS AfC: Band 7
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Full time
- Flexible working
- Home or remote working
- Compressed hours
- Job ref
- 334-NUR-7322489-LF
- Employer
- South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- St Thomas' Hospital
- Town
- London
- Salary
- £54,320 - £60,981 Pro rata inclusive of HCAS
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 12/08/2025 23:59
Employer heading
Older Adult Liaison Team leader - Lambeth
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
An exciting opportunity has arisen for a full time Band 7 – Older Adult Team Leader/ Clinical Nurse Specialist to join the Mental Health for Older Adults (MHOA) Liaison Team within our busy, multi-disciplinary Liaison Team based at St Thomas' Hospital.
The MHOA Liaison Team provides a Mon-Fri (9am-5pm) service to St Thomas' and Guys Hospitals (GSTT) offering urgent assessment and intervention to older adult patients attending the Emergency Department and those admitted to the inpatient wards. The service works closely with GSTT staff in a variety of medical settings.
You will be responsible for the day to day clinical work, management and performance of the MHOA Liaison Team, ensuring that the service provided is in accordance with SLaM’s Trust Values and objectives.
You will be expected to conduct specialist clinical assessments and support care pathways for old age patients currently in Guys or St Thomas’ Hospital (GSTT), including the emergency department. To promote the detection of conditions such as delirium, dementia and depression, which, when undetected, may lengthen a patients stay in hospital. To ensure appropriate investigation, treatment during the admission and aftercare following discharge from hospital for patients.
Main duties of the job
You must have excellent clinical skills, be able to demonstrate an ability to complete complex, comprehensive mental state examinations, thoroughly assess risk, formulate safe and effective risk management plans and document this clearly. You will be expected to offer senior clinical advice and support to colleagues both within the liaison service and wider hospital. You should have sound experience of management of mental health emergencies, and crisis care in a variety of settings.
You will be able work autonomously, carrying out bio-psycho-social assessments and making decisions about patient pathways and treatment with awareness of when to seek advice and support from senior colleagues.
You will hold a sound working knowledge of common mental health disorders, the Mental Health Act, Mental Capacity Act and DOLs. A comprehensive knowledge of the important interface between physical and mental health is essential. A strong knowledge of prominent physical health problems within the older adult population is essential.
You will join the team at an exciting time as we are continuing to develop our service in line with the CORE 24 Model for Mental Health Liaison Services.
Working for our organisation
SLaM employ around 4,800 people across South London and other sites in the UK. It is a diverse team of talented individuals, spanning a wide range of specialties and benefiting from many world-leading healthcare experts. We deliver more than 14,000 training experiences each year for our staff, providing an extensive range of learning opportunities. Staff can benefit from exceptional professional development opportunities and we will work with you to build your career in mental health. In addition, our working relationship with Kings Health Partners allows those working at the Trust to get involved in academic research.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
For more detailed job description, please see attached JD.
Clinical
To assess patients and supervise a specialist liaison service to people with mental health problems over the age of 65 who are being treated within GSTT.
To provide strong and decisive clinical leadership to all staff within the team and work effectively as part of a MDT.
To respond to referral and requests for advice in a professional and positive manner.
To provide face to face assessments and consultations with service users, carers and clinical and non-clinical personnel within the Trust and externally.
To devise and deliver treatment and management plans for patients seen within the service.
To liaise with and refer on to hospital and community based mental health services, both within the Trust and externally; working closely with the Older Adult directorate in SLaM.
To make decisions regarding whether a person referred requires admission to mental health bed, requires intensive support from home treatment team, or can be discharged, referred to their GP or referred on to community mental health services or other agencies. This is largely an
autonomous decision with referral to and discussion with team colleagues for a second opinion where appropriate.
The post holder will be expected to work autonomously most of the time but must work collaboratively and in an integrated way with all other parts of the Trust’s services.
To monitor the team’s performance and to ensure that data entry is accurate and that the team meets the required performance targets and KPIs set as a Lambeth Liaison Service.
Managerial
To be responsible for ensuring that the Liaison Team works closely with the old age in-patient wards, frailty unit and Emergency Department of GSTT.
To be responsible for ensuring that services provided by the Older Adult Liaison Team are of the highest standard in terms of fair access, equality of opportunity and anti-discriminatory practice.
To be responsible for ensuring that procedures are in place within the Older Adult Liaison Team to support the receipt of referrals, assessments, allocation and closing of referrals that come through the system.
To be responsible for ensuring that systems are in place to respond promptly, appropriately and in an open manner to complaints and enquiries about the work of the Liaison service.
To ensure that clinical governance policy and procedures are implemented. To investigate serious incidents and complaints in accordance with the Trust policies.
To undertake investigations into complaints and incidents, provide reports to the Clinical Service Lead as required and implement recommendations arising from these.
To be responsible for the effective staffing of the service through compilation of the e-Roster ensuring that staff with the appropriate skill and experience are on duty at all times.
To ensure that arrangements are in place within the team for effective clinical assessment of all referrals, risk management and evaluation, making use of the professional skill mix within the team.
To provide the Clinical Service Lead with regular feedback on the work of the Older Adult Liaison Team; represent the Older Adult Liaison Team at trust-wide operational meetings, providing feedback as required.
To work collaboratively with the Clinical Service Lead, and CMHT and HTT managers to ensure that the service meets the requirements of Core 24, PLAN standards, the MHA 2007, MCA and CPA
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
- Registered Mental Health Nurse/AHP with live registration
- Evidence of recent continued professional development
- Mentorship Qualification
Desirable criteria
- Evidence of other advanced education/ training relating to Liaison Services/ PLAN
- Management Course
Experience
Essential criteria
- A sound understanding of how to assess and meet the needs of older adults with acute mental illness at a senior clinical level
- Experience in the management of psychiatric crises and emergencies for older adults.
- Experience of developing and facilitating specialist teaching for staff
- Experience of providing clinical supervision and appraisal and management of others
Desirable criteria
- Experience of conducting audits, Data reviews and QIPs
- Experience of managing conflict effectively
Skills
Essential criteria
- Ability to make decisions on whether to discharge, refer on or admit service users following a comprehensive assessment and evaluation of risk.
- Outstanding skills in building and maintaining high standards of professional links and communication channels with a variety of personnel and agencies
Desirable criteria
- Experience with rostering
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
- Nyasha Kajawu
- Job title
- Clinical Service Lead
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 02071886014
- Additional information
preferred contact is by email
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