Job overview

Principal Psychologist 8b 0.4 WTE (15 hours) Substantive

We are pleased to be able to advertise a permanent Principal Practitioner post in our Adult Critical Care Unit (ACCU) based at the UHNM. The ACCU has undergone significant expansion of its MDT rehabilitation across the care pathway, to include In-patients, ward follow up, and an out-patient clinic. The expansion includes the provision of psychology for patients, staff wellbeing and support for families/carers.

This has led to the development of our specialist Critical Care Psychology Team. This includes a Consultant Psychologist, Principal Psychologists, Senior Clinical Psychologist and Assistant Psychologists.

We are seeking a highly skilled and motivated Principal Psychologist, to support the innovation, ongoing development & delivery of psychological services across the care pathway.  

The post holder will be responsible, with the support of the strategic and clinical lead and Consultant Psychologist within critical care (NSCHT), for providing highly skilled psychology service in the specialist areas of critical care at UHNM. This will include:

·         ACCU Inpatient

·         Follow up on wards at UHNM

·         Out-patient clinic

The preferred candidate will have experience of leading services and a demonstrable interest in working with adults with physical health problems, and working with an MDT. There will be an expectation to work from site. Days of work can be discussed and negotiated prior to interview.

Main duties of the job

The post holder will join a highly specialist and motivated multi-disciplinary rehabilitation team at the UHNM Adult Critical Care Unit (ACCU), in partnership with North Staffordshire Combined Mental Health Trust (NSCHCT).

An emphasis with be on the clinical screening, triaging, assessment and treatment of patients at high risk of psychological distress and difficulties as a consequence of the incident that brought them into ITU services and their experiences whilst receiving these services. This includes patients who may be experiencing mental health difficulties for the first time and those with a pre-existing history of such difficulties. There will also be a need to work with patients’ families experiencing PTSD, depression and anxiety as a consequence of their experiences. The post holder will also provide support, consultation and advice to staff.

The post holder will have expertise in working psychologically within physical health care settings, as well as within a wider physical health psychological context. There will be a leadership component, with experience required in clinical assessment, interventions and signposting, as well as managing caseloads, risk assessment/management and individual/group psychology programmes, within a timely and professional manner. 

Working for our organisation

As a Trust we remain bold and ambitious with plans for both service and system collaborative transformation over the coming years to improve the health and wellbeing of our local people through high quality care.

We pride ourselves on ensuring our team has their wellbeing put first and as such provide a range of wellness opportunities including flexible working. 

We are committed to the Greener NHS national ambition to becoming the world’s first ‘carbon net zero’ national health system by 2045 (Greener NHS (england.nhs.uk). As part of this, sustainability is embedded in our strategy as one of our four key enablers. In order to deliver on this commitment, we recognise that we need a workforce that is as passionate as we are about achieving these goals, for the benefit of our service users, workforce, local communities and the planet alike.  For 2024/2025, we have launched our “Proud to be Green” engagement campaign which is aligned to the targets set out in our Green Plan.  As a Trust, you can be assured that we will commit to supporting you in working towards our net zero ambitions, set out in our Green Plan, through our sustainability programme”. 

 The Trust is committed to ensuring that a diverse workforce is representative and inclusive at all levels. We would very much welcome applications from all under-represented groups including women, people with disabilities, people from global majority backgrounds, and those from the lesbian, gay, bi and trans communities.