Senior MHST Practitioner

Job summary

The practitioner in this role will focus on providing day to day clinical oversight and support for the Education Mental Health Practitioners (EMHPs), alongside senior leadership.

The role will be working alongside community partners and developing relationships between the MHST and the educational settings where our work is based, and will act as link practitioner for a small caseload of schools. The role will ensure the efficient and effective delivery of the MHST, providing high quality, safe and responsive specialist mental health services to children, young people, parents/carers and professionals provided in accordance with Children and Young People's mental health training principles, in partnership with service users and partner agencies, working as part of a multi-agency system

The post holder may have supervisory responsibility/co-responsibility for EMHP clinicians within the MHST and will also work as part of a senior's team, supporting the Team Leaders and Clinical Service Leads with the new pathway.

The post is currently being recruited to within the existing service structure. The service may be subject to a future procurement process, and any subsequent changes will be managed in accordance with NHS employment policies and relevant legislation.

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Main duties of the job

o To manage a defined caseload of children and young people presenting with emotional health and wellbeing difficulties in schoolso To co-ordinate and deliver individualised care packages / programmes for children and young people and evaluate these programmes, ensuring high standards of practice in accordance with national guidelines and trust policy.o To provide specialist mental health advice, consultation and signposting using an outcome-based triage model to education settingso To demonstrate the ability to work as an autonomous specialist practitioner in relation to their specialist area and in clinic which will include the reading and recording of the clinical observations of each child and the ongoing assessment of the effectiveness of treatment packages.

About us

The MHSTs are a service designed to help meet the mental health needs of children and young people in education settings. They are made up of senior clinicians, CAMHS Practitioners and Education Wellbeing Practitioners (EWPs). They are based across education settings as an additional resource within a whole-system approach to promote resilience and wellbeing, to support earlier intervention, enable appropriate signposting and deliver evidence-based support, care and interventions. The MHSTs is partnered with their education settings to design a bespoke offer, based on a school's individual needs and works with the mental health services that are already in place, such as counselling, educational psychology, school nurses, pastoral care, educational welfare officers, VCSEs, the local authority, including children's social care, and NHS Children and Young People Mental Health Services (CYPMHS).

Our MHST currently works with 14 schools across Croydon. The successful candidate will be employed by Croydon CAMHS and will be expected to liaise with CAMHS teams when appropriate. The MHST deliver emotional wellbeing interventions using Guided Self Help strategies.

Job responsibilities

To engage therapeutically with clients and their carers in a variety of settings, as appropriate to the needs of the client and to be able to assess the risk of working in particular areas. To be able to assess and manage risk in children and young people and to do this on an on-going basis To take case management responsibilities when appropriate in clinical meetings, giving clear clinical advice with regard to assessment, Risk Assessment, formulation and treatment of identified clients. To recognise responsibility and act according to Trust and national guidelines alongside protocols with the relevant education settings in safeguarding children and adults. To respond to the needs of clients and their carers in an honest, non-judgemental and open manner, which respects the rights of individuals and groups. To demonstrate a commitment to equal opportunities for all people. To understand the impact of social & cultural diversity on patients and carers needs and on their experiences of mental illness and mental health services. To respond to the diverse needs of the specialist client group and their carers sensitively with regard for age, developmental stage, gender, ethnicity, religion, disability and the need for their privacy and dignity To understand the rights of clients and carers and to assist them in exercising those rights, where appropriate. To undertake carers assessments and devise an appropriate care plans. To have knowledge of appropriate legislation and its relevance to the specialist area To take responsibility for the decision to discharge clients from care when agreed treatment programmes have been completed. To be aware of and take a role in the CYP Directorate participation programme To effectively and appropriately communicate risks often under difficult, highly charged and emotional circumstances to medical staff, other professionals and families involved in the care of the client. To act as an autonomous practitioner with an understanding of own limitations and recognition of when to seek support. To contribute to overall service delivery and development, with a particular focus on care and referral pathways, and the development of the MHST as required To work closely with the school based and community health professionals, carrying out joint assessments when appropriate. To ensure that own practice remains within legal, ethical and professional parameters and is open to scrutiny from relevant professionals. To demonstrate the ability to make appropriate decisions with regard to the confidentiality of clients and their families taking into considerations the risks to clients, self and the wider public. To liaise with other colleagues in CAMHS / partnering organisations and especially within schools and participate in different clinical groups in order to share best practice and discuss current and future professional and clinical developments e.g., case review meetings and professional forums To liaise independently and effectively with external partner agencies, co-ordinating meetings and participating in case discussions between teams involved in the care of clients