Detailed job description and main responsibilities

To work as part of the Macmillan Psychology Service to provide a specialist (Level IV) clinical psychology service across the county, in line with national directives, to adult (18 +) patients living with cancer who are under the care of Northampton or Kettering General Hospitals and who are experiencing complex psychological difficulties relating to any aspect of their diagnosis or treatment.

 To provide specialist psychological assessments for patients accessing oncology services, based upon the appropriate use, interpretation and integration of highly complex psychological data from a variety of sources including psychological measures, direct observations and clinical interviews with patients, family members and others involved in the patient’s care.

 To formulate and implement plans for the formal psychological treatment and/or management of a patient’s psychological difficulties taking into account developmental background, personality adaptations, interpersonal patterns of relating and diagnostic issues.  These plans will be based upon an appropriate conceptual framework of the patient’s difficulties and employing methods of proven efficacy, across the full range of care settings.

 To be responsible for implementing a range of psychological interventions, adjusting and refining psychological formulations which draw upon different explanatory models and maintaining a number of provisional hypotheses.

 To evaluate and make decisions about treatments options and exercise autonomous professional responsibility for the assessment, treatment and discharge of patients.

 To utilise theory, evidence-based literature and research to support evidence-based practice in individual work and work with other team members.

 To undertake risk assessment and risk management for patients and to provide general advice to other professionals on psychological aspects of risk assessment and management.

 To offer a flexible and responsive service to cancer patients at all stages of the cancer pathway, including a mix of face to face and virtual outpatient sessions, as well as some inpatient work.

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 behavior.

 To communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing, complex, highly technical and/or clinically sensitive information to patients, their families, carers and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS.

 To develop effective working relationships with the cancer multidisciplinary team and the wider health care community 

 To maintain up to date knowledge of legislation, national and local policies and issues in relation to both the specific patient group and mental health.

 To work positively with issues of difference and diversity.

 To maintain the highest standards of clinical record keeping including electronic data entry and recording, report writing and the responsible exercise of professional self-governance in accordance with professional codes of practice of the British Psychological Society, the Health Care and Professionals Council and Trust policies and procedures.

 To provide consultation to other professional and non-professional groups where appropriate.

To work closely with psychology colleagues working within cancer and palliative care across Northamptonshire, as well as other Psychologists within the region.

To contribute to the development, evaluation and monitoring of the team’s operational policies and services, through the deployment of professional skills in research, service evaluation and audit. 

To advise both service and professional management on those aspects of the service where psychological and/or organisational matters need addressing. 

To contribute to the pre- and post-qualification teaching of clinical psychologists, as appropriate. 

Depending on service resource, and as appropriate, to develop opportunities to provide specialist clinical placements for trainee clinical/health psychologists within the Macmillan Clinical Psychology Service.