Job Advert
NHS Fife Area Psychology Service is delighted to invite applicants to join our Clinical Health Psychology Team. We welcome applications on a full-time or part-time permanent basis from qualified Clinical Psychologists or Counselling Psychologists and from current trainees due to complete training in September 2022.
The NHS Fife Clinical Health Psychology Service is undergoing significant expansion and we currently have posts available in the areas of Pain Management, Adult Weight Management & Bariatric Surgery service and Major Physical Trauma. We are happy to tailor posts to the interests of applicants, so will consider applications to work across more than one area of the specialty where we have vacancy. There may also be opportunities to work in other areas of the Clinical health Psychology Service to manage waiting times, if the need arises.
All the posts we have available involve Psychologists being embedded within a multidisciplinary team, and all these posts are supported by more senior Clinical Psychology staff in the Clinical Health Team who already work in these areas.
For some further details about the posts see below, or reach out to the relevant contacts named at the end of this advert;
Adult Weight Management, Type 2 Diabetes Prevention & Bariatric Surgery Service – Come and work with us in our friendly and forward thinking MDT across Tier 3 and Tier 4 parts of our service. You will have opportunities to facilitate Specialist Weight Management groups and pre-surgery preparation groups. Providing pre-surgery psychology assessments and post surgery follow up support. This role also involves consultation within and working alongside MDT colleagues (consisting of Psychologists, Dietitians, Exercise Specialists, primary care physicians & Surgeons). Opportunities for developing and delivering training packages to MDT colleagues, as well as colleagues in NHS Fife Primary and Secondary care. Opportunities are also available in supervising Assistant Psychologists, service evaluation, service design and involvement in national meetings with colleagues who work in Weight Management across Scotland. An interest in supporting people with eating disorders, trauma histories and experience of weight stigma is essential. Please get in touch if you would like to discuss this post in more detail. You can see more about our service on our website Adult Weight Management and Type 2 Diabetes Prevention Service | NHS Fife
Pain Management Service – we would love to welcome you to our MDT Pain Management Service! The Fife Pain Management Service is provided by a dynamic and enthusiastic team, comprised of Physiotherapists, Occupational Therapists, Pharmacists, Psychologists, Consultant Anaesthetists and Nurses. There are lots of opportunities to be involved in MDT working, consultation, teaching and training. The service is currently undergoing a period of development and redesign, and there is scope to become involved in service development work. As psychologists within the Pain Service, we provide input to individuals living with chronic pain on a 1:1 basis and we also deliver MDT Pain Management Programmes alongside Physiotherapy colleagues. Clinical work would involve assessment and triage of individuals referred for 1:1 and group treatment, 1:1 treatment and delivery of the group-based PMP. There is scope for joint working with MDT colleagues, and involvement in MDT case consultations and clinical meetings. There are also opportunities to link in with the national Network of Psychologists working in Pain Services. An interest in working with individuals living with chronic pain, and working within a service promoting a self-management approach is essential. Please get in touch if you would like any further information, or to discuss this post in more detail. You can learn more about the Fife Pain Management Service via our website: Pain management services in NHS fife | NHS Fife
Major Physical Trauma Psychology Service (MPT)
The MPT Psychology service is part of the Fife Major Trauma Service which is comprised of link therapists from Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy, Speech and Language Therapy and Orthotics. We work as part of the Scottish Trauma Network and offer services to Fife patients who have experienced a major trauma (e.g. RTA, fall, industrial accident, significant assault) which has meant they have required treatment at one of Scotland’s Major Trauma Centres (MTC), most often either Ninewell’s hospital or Edinburgh Royal Infirmary. We work with patients upon their return to Fife, whether this is when they have been discharged back home or transferred to a local hospital. Within the service we work with people who have experienced non-head injury related polytrauma, with head-injury patient being seen by the Fife Neuro-Rehabilitation Psychology Service.
As we are still a relatively new service it is an exciting time to join the team and help shape the service! We are enthusiastic and passionate about promoting the role of psychology within physical health services. There are opportunities to contribute to service development work, as well as teaching, training and consultation sessions with the wider MDT. Clinical work would involve assessment and triage of patients on the Major Trauma pathway who have had psychological needs identified by the MTCs, or from referrals from MDT colleagues. Psychological intervention would be completed on a 1:1 basis, with opportunities for systemic working and contributing to team formulations. We have good links with other Major Trauma psychologists within our network regions and have regular peer support sessions.
An interest in working with people on adjustment to significant injuries and engagement in a rehabilitation process is essential. Please get in touch if you would like to discuss this post in more detail.
The successful applicants for these posts will join the wider dynamic, well-established, supportive Clinical Health Psychology team, which includes Clinical & Health Psychologists, CAAPs (Clinical Associates in Applied Psychology) and Assistant Psychologists. The wider Clinical Health Psychology Service consists of posts which are embedded within multidisciplinary medical teams across the additional areas of Rheumatology, Blood Borne Virus, Oncology, Intensive Care, Psychosexual, Respiratory, Post Covid-19 Hospitalisation and the General Medical Psychology Service, which takes referrals for a wide range of other medical conditions. At present the majority of clinical work is being conducted via video conference or telephone, with a small number of face to face clinics where a clinical need is identified. Clinical work is conducted in clinics across Fife and the two main hospitals located in Dunfermline and Kirkcaldy. The full range of clinical presentations/complexity is represented and there are opportunities for group work, teaching and training and partnership work with other agencies.
The Clinical health Psychology Service is part of the Fife Area Psychology Service, so there will also be opportunities for cross specialty research, professional development and contributing to that of others. You will have access to Area Psychology Service CPD as well as other CPD opportunities required for your post. There are also Area Psychology Service specialist supervision groups available in such therapeutic modalities as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Schema Therapy, EMDR and many more. These posts will be based in one of the two Area Psychology Service bases located at Lynebank Hospital, Dunfermline and Stratheden Hospital, Cupar, so successful applicants will have easy access to clinical staff from all the other major specialties.
The Fife Area Psychology Service is a large service with over 130 staff, comprising the full range of clinical and health specialties, with extensive involvement in training, research and service development. Close links with the Edinburgh, Stirling, Dundee and St. Andrews Universities’ D. Clin.Psych and MSc courses continue and your professional development, CPD and research initiatives will be well supported.
We are in easy reach of Edinburgh, so many staff in the Clinical Health Psychology team live in the capital, and have chosen to come and work in Fife because of its reputation as a supportive and nurturing place to work.
For informal enquiries, please contact Dr Jackie Fearn, Consultant Clinical Psychologist, Head of Clinical Health Psychology Service. e-mail: jackie.fearn@nhs.scot or phone on 01334 696336 or Dr Kirsty Gallen, Clinical Psychologist, Lead for Adult Weight Management Psychology. Email: kirsty.gallen@nhs.scot or Dr Karra Grant, Clinical Psychologist, Lead for Pain Management Psychology Service, email: karra.grant@nhs.scot or
Dr Bethany Brown Clinical Psychologist, Lead for Major Physical Trauma Psychology Service, email: bethany.brown6@nhs.scot
For more details and to read the Living and Working in Fife Guide, go to: https://www.nhsfife.org/work-with-us/why-work-with-nhs-fife/
A requirement of this post is to become a member of the Protection of Vulnerable Groups (PVG) Scheme Prior to appointment.
NHS Fife is legally obliged to ensure all its employees are legally entitled to work in the United Kingdom. If you are not a United Kingdom (UK) or Irish National, you are required to confirm your right to work in your application.
Please note the salary is pro rata for part time hours.
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.