Job Advert
West Lothian Psychological Approach Team (WeLPAT).
NHS Lothian 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 Lothian welcomes applications from all sections of society.
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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.
We are seeking to recruit to a permanent post within the West Lothian Psychological Approach Team (WeLPAT), a specialist care home team in West Lothian Older People’s Mental Health Services. The team’s base is at St John’s Hospital, Livingston. As the team’s core patient group are individuals with dementia experiencing distress, we are looking for individuals with specific interest in working with this group and their caregivers who can demonstrate the ability to work effectively as part of a team and provide excellent care and intervention outcomes. The team will also provide psychosocially led support and intervention for older adults in care homes presenting with distress in the context of other mental health difficulties such as common and complex & enduring mental health problems and experience of trauma. This post offer great opportunities for multi-disciplinary working across care systems and settings, developing psychologically informed assessment and intervention skills and experience of training delivery and service development.
This post will work within a team with Clinical Psychology, Occupational Therapy and additional Mental Health Nursing. There is dedicated sessional Consultant Psychiatry input and the team have their own administrative support. There are three core elements to WeLPAT provision: direct case management, regular Link Worker consultation sessions to support proactive and preventative approaches to distress, and training and service development. The post holder will have a clinical caseload and will provide clinical assessment, formulation and intervention on direct case work. Case allocation across the professional groups aims to align with both the bio-psychosocial ethos of the team and each group’s unique contribution to the MDT. Our Mental Health Nurses are pivotal to building alliances and have been important in the innovation of developing knowledge through the Link Worker approach. WeLPAT also have remit provide training to care staff, including the Essentials in Psychological Care NES training programme and the post holder will be expected to deliver training across this programme.
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 full training, supervision from psychology and support will be given to individuals with potential to develop and who meet other essential and desirable criteria.
You must hold required NMC registration. Both posts will have agreed professional nursing management arrangements with operational management and clinical case supervision provided by the Clinical Psychology Lead on a day-to-day basis.
For further information on what is included in the role and what skills/experience are being looked for, click on the links at the bottom of the screen to the job description and person specification. If after reading this information you have any questions please contact Ross Agnew, Team Leader, 01506 524074 or Dr. Donna Gilroy, Consultant Clinical Psychologist (0131 537 6901/01506524095).