Atkinson Senior Mental Health Practitioner

Are you a compassionate, courageous, and experiencedclinician ready to make a real difference in the lives of children and youngpeople? We are seeking a Band 7 Senior/Specialist Mental Health Practitionerto join our multidisciplinary Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service at the Atkinson Secure Children's Home in Exeter.

We provide integrated residential care, healthcare, and education for children and youngpeople placed with us under Section 25 of the Children's Act due to significant riskssuch as absconding, self-harm, or harm to others. As many of our young people have experienced relational trauma and adverse childhood experiences, the homeoperates within a trauma recovery model supported by therapeutic parenting.

You will deliver high-quality, specialistmental health care including expert clinical assessment and treatment, working closely with a dedicated multi-disciplinary team that includes professionals from Nursing, Speechand Language Therapy, Occupational Therapy, and GP services.

We welcome applicants from a range of clinical backgrounds, especially those with Social Work/Therapy qualifications, as we've found theseto be a great fit for the home. We arealways keen to promote professional development and can provide trainingopportunities to support your own career development.

This is a rewarding opportunity to work in asupportive environment with a strong team ethos, where your skills andcompassion will have a lasting impact.

Main duties of the job

• Undertake and oversee specialist mental health assessments and therapeutic interventions for children and young people with complex needs, within a secure residential setting
• Deliver a range of therapeutic interventions and provide expert clinical advice and guidance.
• Analyse and report on clinical data relating to care, interventions, and outcomes.
• Work autonomously, exercising sound clinical judgement under pressure, and seek supervision and professional support when appropriate.
• Make informed decisions in challenging situations, with support from peers as needed.
• Collaborate with the Atkinson multi-agency team to meet the needs of children and young people and contribute to service development.
• Organise, plan, and chair multi-agency meetings.
• Manage own workload effectively to ensure timely completion of tasks and appropriate prioritisation of clinical care

This role may not be eligible for sponsorship under the Skilled Worker route; please refer to the Direct Gov website for more information with regards to eligibility.

Please note that Livewell may close the job advertisement earlier than the specified deadline.

All staff are expected to be able and willing to work across a 7 day service.

To learn more about the role or arrange a visit, please contact Maddie Mills, Operations Manager, or Karen Cloute, Principal Clinical Psychologist and Clinical Lead, on .

About us Livewell Southwest is an independent, award-winning socialenterprise delivering integrated health and social care services acrossPlymouth, South Hams, and West Devon, with specialist services in parts ofDevon and Cornwall. Our teams work in community hospitals, GP practices, sportscentres, and health hubs.

As an organisation with a strong social conscience we are guided by our values,kindness, respect, inclusivity, ambition, responsibility, andcollaboration. We focus on transforming services to ensure sustainability, whileempowering staff and those we serve.

We involve the people we care for, along with their families and carers, inshaping the care they receive, striving to deliver the right care at the righttime and place. Centering our work on individual needs helps people leadhealthy, independent lives.

We prioritise employees' development, offering protected CPD time, trainingpathways, leadership programs, and funding for qualifications like the CareCertificate and Nurse Training Scholarships. Our induction and preceptorshipprograms ensure a smooth transition into our organisation.

Livewell Southwest values diversity and encourages applications from allsections of the community, including those with armed forces experience, lived experience of mentalhealth, neuro-diverse conditions and learning disabilities. If you need assistance or reasonable adjustments during theapplication process, contact the Recruiting Manager listed in the job advert.

Job responsibilities Please refer to the attached Job Description and Person Specification for additional information relevant to the role.

MAIN DUTIES/RESPONSIBILITIES

• To undertake and oversee comprehensive or specialist mental health assessments and interventions for children/young people and their families/carers, presenting with complex needs.
• To provide a range of specialist therapeutic interventions and expertise and advice.
• To review, analyse and report on key data relating to the clinical care, interventions and outcomes.
• To work as an autonomous practitioner with the ability to use your own judgement to make decisions under pressure and seek support, supervision and professional leadership when needed.
• To act as an autonomous professional with responsibility for a defined caseload as well as the responsibility for the supervision of the practice of others, making decisions to prioritise care as appropriate.
• To make decisions, even in times of pressure or distress, in a thoughtful and informed way to meet the needs of service users and staff and seeking guidance by peers where appropriate.
• To work in accordance with codes of practice as defined by the regulatory and professional body.
• To work in accordance with organisational policies and procedures.
• To work with others to provide a co-ordinated response to meet the needs of children and young people and their families/carers, progress service developments and achieve outcomes as set out in action plans or team goals.
• To organise, plan and chair multi-agency meetings.
• To plan and organise your own time in order to complete tasks in a timely way and prioritise clinical care appropriately.

Responsibility for People Management

• To clinically supervise the work of others, specifically assistants and trainees, including contributing to the completion of appraisals and staff development.
• To follow and implement relevant HR Policies and guidance.
• To attend and deliver training, consultation and teaching as required.
• To participate in the Organisations appraisal process.
• Ensure prompt action is taken in raising issues with regard to staff performance, sickness, attendance levels and any disciplinary, capability or grievance matters.
• Provide supervision and support to other clinicians with the ability to demonstrate compassionate leadership, to understand and follow HR policies and procedures, ensure staff wellbeing and development and adopt a collaborative approach to engage staff with a range of skills and communication needs.

Responsibility for financial and/or physical resources

• To work to the financial policies and procedures as laid down by the employer
• The post holder will take appropriate care of equipment entrusted to them for use.
• The post holder is responsible for maintaining a clear desk policy and protecting all confidential information in accordance with the organisations policies and procedures.
• The post holder will be required to act responsibly in terms of providing best value practice and protecting service resources.
• To take responsibility for any specific materials you are required to use, maintaining their general standard and ensuring that adequate supplies are maintained.

Responsibility for administration

• To ensure the inputting of accurate and contemporaneous case notes on the relevant clinical systems in line with professional and organisational standards.
• To be responsible for accurate and timely inputting of data into the relevant data collection systems.
• To have a sound knowledge of IT and the ability to use a clinical records system.
• To ensure all Employers policies, procedures and guidelines are followed.
• To complete all statutory and mandatory training as required by the employer.
• To identify and manage risks through incident reporting when appropriate.
• To take part in and develop activities designed to improve service delivery or quality of care such as staff surveys, participation and service development.

Responsibility for people who use our services

• To undertake specialist assessments, provide highly skilled advice and make decisions about assessment, treatment and discharge, including the management of risk. To formulate plans for psychological treatment and/or specialist therapeutic interventions for children and young people, carers, families and groups and to demonstrate awareness of diversity issues.
• To carry a complex caseload, working effectively and according to NICE guidelines/ evidence-based practice to improve outcomes for children and young people, ensuring the collaborative use of Routine Outcome Measures, goal-based care, risk management and care planning to inform practice.
• To work in a way that evidences compassionate leadership, promoting respect for others, care for staff well-being and championing anti-discriminatory practice.
• To work closely with professionals . click apply for full job details