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NHS Scotland is committed to encouraging equality and diversity among our workforce and eliminating unlawful discrimination. The aim is for our workforce to be truly representative and for each employee to feel respected and able to give their best. To this end, NHS Scotland welcomes applications from all sections of society.
Mental Health Nurse Band 6 1.0wte (career break cover - fixed term or secondment, up to end December 2026)
Edinburgh Behaviour Support Service (EBSS)
EBSS is a psychology-led specialist service providing formulation driven interventions for individuals with dementia presenting with distressed behaviour referred to the service and resident in Edinburgh City Care Homes. EBSS also provide training to care homes in responding to stress and distressed behaviour. The post holder will join Clinical Psychology, a full time Assistant Psychologist and existing Band 6 Nursing staff as part of the EBSS clinical team based at the Royal Edinburgh Hospital. The post holder will have a clinical caseload and will provide clinical assessment, formulation and intervention on direct case work. EBSS provide training to care home staff within the NES Responses to Stress & Distress in Dementia and Essentials in Psychological Care – Dementia training programmes and the post holder will be expected to deliver training across this programme and will be supported to do so. EBSS have allocated administrative support.
We are recruiting to a fixed term position to cover a planned career break of a permanent staff member. This contract is fixed term up to end of December 2026 but an extension to this is anticipated.
We are looking for an individual with specific interest in working with individuals with advanced dementia and their caregivers who can demonstrate the ability to work effectively as part of a team and provide excellent care and intervention outcomes. This post offers excellent opportunities for multi-disciplinary working across care systems and settings, development of psychologically informed assessment and intervention skills, experience of training delivery, and service evaluation. You would be joining a small and welcoming established team.
Previous attendance at NES Psychological Responses to Stress and Distress 2 day enhanced/expertise level training and experience in the delivery of training is desirable although a huge benefit of this post will be that full training, supervision from psychology and team support will be given to the right individual with potential to develop. You may be a current Band 5 looking to develop into a Band 6 role or a current B6 looking for a change in practice. This post can be offered as a fixed term position or (with managerial agreement) as a secondment.
You must hold required NMC registration. EBSS nurses have agreed professional nursing management arrangements with operational management and clinical case supervision provided by the Clinical Psychology Leads on a day-to-day basis.
We would strongly encourage anyone interested in this role to contact us with any queries. Please contact Dr Danielle Wilson or Dr Donna Gilroy on 0131 537 6044.
As from 1/4/26, the Agenda for Change full-time working week will be reducing from 37 to 36 hours per week. Part time hours will be reduced pro-rata. However, there will be a corresponding increase in the hourly rate so that pay will not be affected.
We will fully support disabled candidates, and candidates with long-term conditions or who are neurodivergent by making reasonable adjustments to our recruitment policy and practices.
Please note: we anticipate a high level of interest in this position and may close the vacancy early once a sufficient amount of applications are received. Therefore, please make sure you complete and submit your application at an early stage.
To work in the United Kingdom, there is a legal requirement for an individual to demonstrate that they have the relevant permission to work in the country. This permission is, without exception, granted by the UK Visa and Immigrations Service. Further information on what NHS Scotland Boards are required to do to check this as well as what your responsibilities include can be found in the further information for this vacancy.
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This post requires the post holder to have a PVG Scheme membership/record. If the post holder is not a current PVG member for the required regulatory group (i.e. child and/or adult) then an application will need to be made to Disclosure Scotland and deemed satisfactory before they can begin in post.
Due to legislative changes from 1 April 2025, this post may require a different level of criminal records check done than is currently the case. If the post is assessed as a "regulated role", your appointment will be subject to joining the Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) Scheme. If there is any change to what is currently required, this will be confirmed by either the Hiring Manager or the Recruitment Team. For more details on these changes please visit: Disclosure Scotland Changes.