Job summary
We are looking for an enthusiastic Community Nurse to join our Kingston and Richmond Early Intervention Service (EIS). Applicants need to be professionally qualified and committed to providing responsive and high-quality clinical services to mental health service users and their carers.

The Early Intervention Team provides a service for those people with first onset psychoses between the ages of 17 and 65 years. The aim of the service is to provide intensive care using the Assertive Community Team model, to prevent relapse, reduce the number of "revolving door" admissions, ensure effective treatment for resistant symptoms, reduce the incidence of suicide, and maximise an individual's personal and social functioning.

The post holder will work within a multi-disciplinary team comprising of Doctors, Psychologist, Social Workers, CPNs, OT, Support and Recovery Workers, Employment Specialists, a Team Manager and team administration staff.

Main duties of the job
Working autonomously within the parameters of the role leading and supporting junior staff and wider care team to implement the delivery of quality nursing care, contributing to the physical, psychological, social, recreational and spiritual care in a recovery-focused way through therapeutic engagement and activities, and taking steps to address any issues that arise.

Leading on and undertaking activities to ensure that the fundamentals of care are met - nutrition, hydration, hygiene, comfort, emotional and social support:

Co-ordinating and evaluating collaborative patient centred care; getting feedback and improving plans with the multi-disciplinary team (MDT).

Providing accurate information about care in an accessible format to patients and their relatives / carers.

Liaising and working positively with members of the multi- disciplinary team and partner organisations.

Administering, and monitoring the side-effects of, medication; monitoring service user compliance.

Safety; safe custody of medicines, sharps, clinical equipment, report all incidents following trust policy.

Leading and supporting/teaching junior staff on risk assessment and risk management that involves making decisions based on knowledge of the research evidence, knowledge of the individual service user and their social context, knowledge of the service user's own experience and clinical judgment.

About us
We are Proud to Belong at South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust.

We have expert services, a rich history and a clear commitment to providing the best quality care for those with mental ill-health. The Care Quality Commission already rates our services as 'good' - we aspire to be 'outstanding'.

This is a great time to join us. We are transforming the way we care for our communities to support our mission of Making Life Better Together. We have built two brand new mental health facilities at Springfield University Hospital, which are amongst the best in the world. More developments are planned across our sites and services as we invest a further £120m to upgrade and modernise our estate by 2027.

We are inclusive and diverse and strive to be actively anti racist. We want to attract people from all backgrounds and experiences to enrich the work we do together. We are proud to co-produce and involve our local communities in all that we do.

We offer flexible working, career development and a variety of benefits to enable a positive, welcoming environment in which our people and their careers can thrive.

Come and join our inclusive teams and help our patients on their recovery journey.

Location: Between Tolworth Hospital and Maddison Clinic

Unless expressly stated in the job advert the role is not subject to sponsorship, please be advised that all offers of employment are subject to evidence of right to work in the UK.

Job responsibilities

• To be accountable for the co-ordination of care plans for people who are in the early stages of psychotic illness between the ages of 17-65.
• To work closely with other members of the multi-disciplinary team.
• To assess health and social care needs and negotiate care plans with service users and their carers, remaining objective when working with diagnostic uncertainty.
• To undertake risk assessments according to Trust policy.
• To ensure delivery of care plans in partnership with multi-disciplinary colleagues and a range of health and social care agencies
• To engage service users and carers assertively and offer care/interventions within the least restrictive setting in normal community environments.
• To provide a service sensitive to age, culture, ethnicity, gender, sexuality and disability.
• To offer a range of evidence-based psycho-social interventions and proactive risk management approaches to help the service user and their family to reduce and manage symptoms, high risk behaviour and other disabling effects of psychosis and enable, as far as possible, full and sustained recovery.
• To ensure Kingston and Richmond Child Protection Guidelines and procedures are fully understood by self and others. To ensure the safety needs of children are met at all times and take appropriate action when a child is felt to be at risk or in need.
• To monitor treatment, support concordance and ensure prompt action is taken to alleviate unwanted effects.
• To provide access to and ongoing psycho-education regarding first episode psychosis to service users and families.
• To ensure basic needs are addressed i.e. housing, income, support in accessing education or training etc.
• To recognise the developmental needs of service users and enable a vocational/educational assessment within a specified time of their contact with the service, and to ensure the service user is supported in progressing plans made for education, training or employment.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in job applications

If you have used AI to support the preparation of your application, please briefly indicate how it was used within your supporting statement or application form.

Please remember, your application is your opportunity to tell us about your skills, experience and motivation for the role. We encourage applicants to complete their application and supporting statement in their own words wherever possible. We recognise that AI tools can be helpful in supporting accessibility, and for improving spelling, grammar and structure.

Applications that rely heavily on AI-generated content can become generic and fail to accurately reflect an applicant's individual experience. Applications that clearly demonstrate your own voice, reflections and experiences are often the most effective and help us better understand your suitability for the role.

Please be aware that information provided in your application and supporting statement may be explored further during the selection process. It is important that all applications accurately represent your own knowledge, skills and experience.

Experience
Essential

• Experience of care coordination
• Demonstrable experience of working with people who experience serious ongoing mental health problems
• Experience of assessing and managing crisis in people with severe mental health problems

Desirable

• Experience of working with/interventions for dual diagnosis (serious mental health problems and drug/alcohol misuse)
• Experience of working with people experiencing personality problems
• Experience of using and supervising others in the use of psychosocial interventions

Education and Qualification
Essential

• RMN, OT or Social Worker
• Evidence of post qualification training/education

Desirable

• Formal training in psychosocial interventions or equivalent

Knowledge & Skills
Essential

• Knowledge of Mental Health Law & NHS and Community Care Act 1990
• Knowledge of our business and how it supports patient care
• Ability to maintain and enhance effective working relationships both internally and externally, with a range of professionals and agencies
• Ability to assist the Manager to recruit, manage, motivate, supervise, appraise and develop staff

Desirable

• Ability to contribute to, monitor and implement changes and improvements to services
• Ability to monitor and control resources
• Basic computer skills in Word, Excel, Email

Disclosure and Barring Service Check
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.

Certificate of Sponsorship
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 (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).