Highly Specialist Practitioner Psychologist in Cancer
Guy’s and St Thomas’ is among the UK’s busiest and most successful NHS foundation trusts. We provide a full range of hospital and community services for people in south London and as well as specialist care for patients from further afield including cancer, renal, orthopaedic, respiratory and cardiovascular services.
Guy’s is home to the largest dental school in Europe and a £160 million Cancer Centre opened in 2016. As part of our commitment to provide care closer to home, in 2017 we also opened a cancer centre and a kidney treatment centre at Queen Mary’s Hospital in Sidcup. St Thomas’ has one of the largest critical care units in the UK and one of the busiest emergency departments in London. It is also home to Evelina London Children’s Hospital.
Evelina London cares for local children in Lambeth and Southwark and provides specialist services across south east England including cardiac, renal and critical care services. We lead a number of specialist service networks aiming to ensure children are treated locally where possible, but have access to specialist expertise when they need it. Our community services include health visiting, school nursing and support for families of children with long-term conditions.
Our adult community services teams deliver care at the heart of the local communities we serve, working in partnership with GPs, local authorities and other healthcare and voluntary sector organisations. Working with our partners in Lambeth and Southwark, we are focusing on new ways of working to improve care for local patients.
In February 2021 the Royal Brompton and Harefield joined Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, bringing together world-leading expertise in the care and research of heart and lung disease. Our merger provides a once in a generation opportunity to build a lasting, world-renowned heart and lung centre, providing the highest quality care for patients and conducting world-leading research.
We have a reputation for clinical excellence and high quality teaching and research. We are part of King’s Health Partners, one of eight accredited UK academic health sciences centres. In partnership with King’s College London we have dedicated clinical research facilities including an MHRA accredited Phase I clinical trials unit.
Patients are at the heart of everything we do and we pride ourselves on ensuring the best possible patient experience as well as safe, high quality care. We are proud to have one of the lowest mortality rates in the NHS. Following a comprehensive Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspection in 2019 we maintained our overall rating of ‘good’. Our adult community services achieved a rating of ‘outstanding’.
The commitment of our 23,500 staff is key to our success. We are one of the largest local employers and we aim to develop and support all our staff so they are able to deliver high quality, safe and efficient care. The 2019 NHS staff survey results show that we have one of the most engaged and motivated workforces in the NHS. We know this has a positive impact on the care provided to our patients.
We have one of the most ambitious capital investment programmes anywhere in the NHS.
Job overview
This is an exciting opportunity for a candidate with a strong interest in working in a physical health setting to join the Psycho-Oncology Support Team (POST).
Many people accessing our service will have severe and enduring mental health difficulties, past/current trauma, difficulties accessing lifesaving medical treatments, very short prognoses/facing end of life, complex risk and safeguarding needs and changing physical health conditions. This POST holder will hold key responsibilities for a number of core service delivery priorities including Specialist suicidal risk and safeguarding screening role component,
The post holder will also support our early intervention post diagnosis pathway, which will focus on building pathways to ensure timely access for patients to information and psychoeducational input to facilitate self-management and access to psychological support as required.
As well as the two key parts of the role, the post will provide one: one psychological therapy, Level 2 group supervision to AHP/CNS workforce, staff management and supervision of junior colleagues within POST.
There will be opportunities to utilise research skills for audit, policy, service development and research .
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Our service is trauma informed and aims to provide patients with care that is safe, clear, consistent and relational. This POST holder will hold key responsibilities for a number of core service delivery priorities including
Specialist suicidal risk and safeguarding screening role component
We have seen an increase in people with significant mental health needs and other vulnerabilities, e.g. trauma, gender-based violence, substance misuse, isolation/homelessness, accessing our service. This role will cover supporting triage delivery where there is biopsychosocial complexity, risk of suicide and vulnerability. It includes direct contact with a patient & liaison with community/MDT services involved. You will contribute to delivering and shaping the triage components of the service.
Psychological support for early diagnosis
You will focus on building pathways to ensure timely access for patients to information and psychoeducational input to facilitate self-management and access to psychological support as required. You will bring your creativity, ideas skills and focus to inform, develop and deliver this work. You will work with others to create and build upon these new service developments, incorporating co-production.
As well as the two key parts of the role, the post will provide one: one psychological therapy, Level 2 group supervision to AHP/CNS workforce, staff management and supervision of junior colleagues within POST.
Working for our organisation
Dimbleby Cancer Care
Dimbleby Cancer Care is a dedicated information and support service based at Guy’s Cancer Centre, London and at Guy’s Cancer at Queen Mary’s Hospital, Sidcup. We are part of the Cancer a Surgery Clinical Group at GSTT. We provide a range of support for patients and significant others, including:
· cancer information,
· psychological support,
· benefits advice and
· complementary therapies
Our service is available for both outpatients and inpatients, and to those bereaved, and who have received support from our palliative care teams at Guy’s and St Thomas.’ As well as direct clinical work we also provide staff training, supervision and support. The service operates Monday to Friday. As well as, direct clinical work, we provide staff training, supervision, and support to ensure high-quality, compassionate service delivery.
We are committed to providing a responsive and compassionate service which is inclusive and accessible for patients and their loved ones, and our staff.
The Psycho-Oncology Support Team (POST).
You would be a senior member of the POST team, a large group of psychological therapists including psychiatry, assistant psychologists, clinical and counselling psychologists and psychotherapists. We work from a range of psychological perspectives and approaches and value the richness of diverse ways of supporting patients.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Clinical:
1. To be a key senior member of the triage team, with responsibilities including
a. Supporting assistant psychologist/students in triage work
b. Attending triage meetings and contributing to key decisions regarding patient referral management, eligibility, assigning priority and allocation to clinicians/pathways.
c. supporting triage delivery where there is biopsychosocial complexity, risk of suicide and vulnerability. This will include direct patient consultation/assessment and formulation, supporting decisions regarding who is best paced to meet clinical need and MDT liaison.
d. Liaison with community services, palliative care, GPs, internal referrals including medical MDTS, CNSs, AHPs, and other GSTT psychology pathways
e. Supporting our admin/support colleagues regarding wait list management, patient queries and operational pathways as needed.
2. To provide specialist psychological assessments of patients referred to the team based upon the appropriate use, interpretation and integration of complex data from a variety of sources including psychological tests, self-report measures, rating scales, direct and indirect structured observations and semi-structured interviews with patients, family members and others involved as necessary.
3. To collaboratively formulate and implement plans for the psychological management of a patient’s psychological adjustment and mental health problems using a range of approaches, based upon an appropriate conceptual framework of their problems, and employing methods based upon available current evidence of efficacy and effectiveness, across the full range of care settings.
4. To be responsible for implementing a range of psychological interventions for individuals, carers, families and groups, within and across teams employed individually and in synthesis, adjusting and refining psychological formulations drawing upon different explanatory models and maintaining a number of provisional hypotheses.
5. To evaluate and make decisions about treatment options taking into account both theoretical and therapeutic models and highly complex factors concerning historical and developmental processes that have shaped the individual, family or group.
6. To exercise autonomous professional responsibility for the assessment, treatment and discharge of patients whose problems are managed by creative and flexible psychologically based care plans.
7. To provide specialist psychological advice guidance and consultation to other professionals contributing directly to clients’ formulation, diagnosis and treatment plan.
8. To contribute directly and indirectly to a psychologically based framework of understanding and care to the benefit of all clients of the service, across all settings and agencies serving the client group.
9. To undertake risk assessment and risk management for individual clients and to provide advice to other professions on psychological aspects of risk assessment and risk management. You will support triage practices that adopts the principles recommended by Staying Safe from Suicide: Best Practice Guidance for Safety Assessment, Formulation and Mangement (NHSE 2025). It acknowlegdes that suicidal thoughts and behaviours fluctuate and can change quickly. The intention is to keeple people safe from suicide through collaborative engagement with the person, using a trauma informed, personalised and holistic approach.
10. To act as care coordinator of a persons’ psychological care in cancer, and consulting with internal; and external professionals/agencies to help support a person’s mental health needs
11. To communicate in a respectful, considered, timely, and sensitive manner, information concerning the assessment, formulation and plans of clients under their care and to monitor progress during the course of both uni- and multi-disciplinary care.
Teaching, training, and supervision
1. To deliver training packages when indicated.
2. To support MDT/ referrers through consultation regarding individual patients care and contribution to learning/training sessions for referrers regarding POST processes and work.
3. To receive regular clinical professional supervision from a senior applied psychologist.
4. To gain any additional highly specialist experience and skills relevant to applied psychology and/or the service (as agreed with the professional psychology manager).
5. To develop skills in the area of professional post-graduate teaching, training and supervision and to provide reflective practice or supervision to other members of the multidisciplinary team as appropriate.
6. To provide professional and clinical supervision of junior colleagues.
7. To contribute to the pre- and post-qualification teaching of clinical, health and/or counselling psychology, as appropriate.
8. To provide advice, consultation and training to staff working with the client group across a range of agencies and settings, where appropriate.
Management, recruitment, policy and service development
- To support the early intervention part of our service: may include
- Develop and implement psychoeducation workshops for patients
- Support education and training for referrers
- Contribute to pathways that support referrers to complete Level 2 psychological assessment and make onward decisions around psychological support
- Contribute to resource development and co production of resources to support patients to navigate the challenges of a cancer diagnosis, treatment decisions and impacts of treatment/surgeries,
2. Support triage SOP/process development and implementation including risk and documentation processes.
3. To contribute to the development, evaluation and monitoring of the team’s operational policies and services, through the deployment of professional skills in research, service evaluation and audit.
4. To contribute to the consultation and engagement of service users in planning and developing the psychology service.
Research and service evaluation
1. To contribute to the development of services, both locally and nationally, through initiating, undertaking and supervising complex service evaluation and audit.
2. To utilise theory, evidence-based literature and research to support evidence based practice in individual work and work with other team members.
3. To undertake project management, including complex audit and service evaluation, with colleagues within the service to help develop service provision.
4. To ensure that comprehensive service evaluation is undertaken including ascertaining the views of service users and referrers to the service along with senior team.
5. To initiate, design and recruit to psychological research studies within the context of the Team and assist with writing up.
6. To disseminate research and service evaluation findings through publications in peer reviewed journals and oral presentations internally and at national and international conferences.
7. To utilise theory, evidence-based literature and research to support evidence based practice in individual work and work with other team members.
General
1. To have established an area of specialist clinical or research skills relevant to work within the adult cancer setting through personal development plans agreed with the post-holder’s manager.
2. To contribute to the development and maintenance of the highest professional standards of practice, through active participation in internal and external CPD training and development programmes, in consultation with the post holder’s professional and service managers.
3. To have developed skills in clinical supervision, in selection and recruitment, and in other areas of service development appropriate to the post, through attending relevant courses and through collaboration with more senior colleagues.
4. To contribute to the development and articulation of best practice in psychology across the service, by continuing to develop the skills of a reflexive and reflective scientist practitioner, taking part in regular professional and clinical supervision and appraisal and maintaining an active engagement with current developments in the field of applied psychology and related disciplines.
5. To maintain the highest standards of clinical record keeping including electronic data entry and recording, report writing and the responsible exercise of professional self-governance in accordance with professional codes of practice of the Health Care Professions Council, British Psychological Society, and Trust policies and procedures.
6. To maintain up to date knowledge of legislation, national and local policies and issues in relation to both the specific client group and mental health.
Guy’s and St Thomas’ celebrates, respects and values the diversity of its staff and patients. We review our policies, procedures and practices to ensure that all employees, patients and carers are treated equitable according to their needs. We are actively committed to ensuring that no one who applies for a job, works or study’s at the Trust, or accesses our services is discriminated against on the grounds of race, ethnicity, nationality, disability, religion or belief, age, gender identity , gender reassignment, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity/paternity, or marital/civil partnership.
Applications are welcomed from applicants with a disability. We can make reasonable adjustments and offer support and advice in a variety of ways throughout the application process. Equality of opportunity is our policy.
As an organisation we are committed to developing our services in ways that best suit the needs of our patients. This means that some staff groups will increasingly be asked to work a more flexible shift pattern so that we can offer services in the evenings or at weekends.
Flexible working
We are committed to supporting all employees to achieve a healthy work life balance and to work in a way that is best for them and our patients. We will consider all requests to work flexibly, taking in to account the individual’s personal circumstances as well the needs of the service. We encourage all prospective applicants to discuss their individual circumstances with the recruiting manager as part of the on-boarding process.
Due to recent changes in the UK immigration rules which affect Skilled Worker Visas, Global Business Mobility, Higher Skill Level and Increased Salary Thresholds, please ensure that you are able to meet the requirements to live and work in the UK before applying. Further information about eligibility is available on the UK Government website.
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