Job summary
The national CYP Mental Health and CYP Transformation Programme teams jointly released funding in 2023/24 to enable systems to come together to collectively support CYP with mental health needs who present in acute paediatric settings, as well as supporting the clinical teams that manage these patients. One of the initiatives NHSE is funding is the establishment of Mental Health Champion in each provider that admits children and young people by Autumn 2023/24 to ensure that all children are appropriately supported in paediatric settings, with parity of esteem for mental health. This funding has now been confirmed for 2026/2027.

The Trust is expected to use the funding to establish at least one Mental Health Champion across the three hospital sites of North Middlesex University Hospital, Barnet Hospital and The Royal Free Hospital. The Trust will recruit to the role a senior clinician who can admit children and young people to a paediatric ward, and/or who holds clinical responsibility for children and young people in acute settings in the provider that admits paediatric patients. This is likely to be a Paediatrician, senior paediatric nurse, or senior paediatric allied health professional.

Main duties of the job

• Facilitating improvements in joint working across their trust and wider system
• Increasing the confidence of their colleagues in supporting these children and young people and their families/carers, through sourcing, signposting, and supporting training and education opportunities, and ensuring clear pathways are in place across teams.
• Improving the experience of children and young people and their families/carers.
• Advocating for mental health across paediatrics, the individual should help facilitate join-up between CAMHS, mental health liaison teams, mental health nurses, learning disability and autism services, and other key partners.
• To contribute to the development, evaluation and monitoring of the team's operational policies and services and participate in the development of high quality, responsive and accessible services.
• To undertake, together with colleagues, audit, and research to help develop and improve the service budget.
• To ensure resources are managed effectively within timescales and budget.
• To keep up to date comprehensive notes and prepare formal documents and reports as required.

About us
The Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust is one of the UK's biggest and most innovative trusts. Across three main hospitals, our dedicated army of staff care for over 1.6million patients, treat more than 200,000 in A&E, deliver over 8,000 babies and carry out over 17million tests. Our size, scale and influence offer you unrivalled career opportunities and a forward-thinking approach to working that works around your lifestyle. From flexible hours and generous benefits, to next level training, we make it easier to take your career to the top. For more information please follow link https://www.royalfreelondonjobs.co.uk

Job responsibilities
The Mental Health champion will deliver four key functions:
Build team confidence and morale across the department

• Departmental case-based discussions, debriefing around complex and challenging cases, and mental health support for staff.
• Providing peer supervision and shadowing opportunities

Encourage uptake of training

• Ensuring staff within the department are trained in mental health first aid.
• Integrating education opportunities with children and young people's mental health colleagues wherever possible to enhance the learning and strengthen working relationships.
• Advocating for access to and availability of appropriate training in recognising and supporting the mental health needs of children and young people
• Dissemination of relevant external learning by staff members across the department

Facilitate joint working across mental health and physical health

• Working with paediatric clinical leads and executive leadership to encourage 'parity of esteem.
• Working with children and young people's mental health clinicians to support the provision of physical healthcare in mental health settings.
• Building supportive and collaborative relationships with colleagues in local children and young people's mental health teams and with local authority services, such as social services. This would facilitate joint assessment and management of children and young people presenting to paediatric services with mental health needs.
• Networking with others in similar roles across local systems, regionally and nationally, to enhance dissemination of information from NHSE, Royal Colleges and professional bodies; sharing of good practice and feedback 'from the ground' to facilitate problem solving and further development nationally.
• As needed, working with NHS provider trusts of children and young people's mental health care and Provider Collaboratives to develop new pathways for children and young people; this may include the development of admission and discharge pathways and supporting joint escalation policies.

Provide leadership and link into trust governance structures

• Influencing departmental attitudes, clinical pathways for children and young people, and education programmes for medical/nursing staff
• Working cohesively with the clinical director of paediatric services and the paediatric ward matron or children's nursing lead
• Linking into wider ICB and wider trust governance structures, including mental health and Provider Collaborative governance structures

Person Specification
Qualifications - Essential

• Registered Children's Nurse or Medical Consultant
• First level health-related part 8, or 15
• Evidence of continued professional development
• Registration with the HCPC or RCN as applicable.
• Degree or Diploma in appropriate AHP role.
• Masters level study

Qualifications - Desirable

• Recent attendance on leadership programme
• Child Protection Training.
• PNA or BCS Facilitator

Experience - Essential

• Ability to communicate effectively with children and young people with mental health issues and/or neurodivergence
• Significant experience in a senior Paediatric leadership post.
• Significant CAMHS experience in an acute/non-acute Paediatric Setting.
• Evidence of collaborative professional networking beyond organisational level; i.e., CYP Mental Health teams, local authorities, and social services.
• Experience in risk management
• Development of guidelines, SOPs and policies

Experience - Desirable

• Audit experience

Personal qualities - Essential

• Enthusiastic and motivated
• Accountability - Takes responsibility for own actions and promotes good team working.
• Openness - Shares information and good practice appropriately
• Mutual respect - Treats others with courtesy and respect
• Good interpersonal skills

Other - Essential

• Ability to work in a hospital setting
• Ability to work across various hospital sites.
• Ability to form good working relationships with others in a multidisciplinary setting
• Ability to identify and employ mechanisms of clinical governance as appropriate, to support and maintain clinical practice in the face of regular exposure to highly emotive material and challenging behaviour

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website.

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website.