Specialist Perinatal Practitioner

Job summary
The post holder will be part of a multi-disciplinary team, contributing to the effective provision of Perinatal Mental and Infant Mental Health Services to an identified caseload of women. The core purpose of the team in which the post-holder will work, is to deliver high quality, tailored interventions in maternal mental health and attachment-based Approaches to mothers and infants. The service will have a key role in raising the profile and standards of mental health care for expectant and newly delivered mothers across universal and specialist services.

Main duties of the job
Work collaboratively with women, families, and partner agencies to assess need, coordinate care, manage a caseload, and deliver specialist perinatal mental health interventions. Provide advice and support to professionals, contribute to safeguarding, clinical governance, audit, training and service development activities, maintain accurate records, and support the supervision of staff and students. Participate in team coordination, professional development, and statutory training requirements.

About us
Mersey Care is one of the largest trusts providing physical health and mental health services in the North West, serving more than 1.4 million people across our region and are also commissioned for services that cover the North West, North Wales and the Midlands.

We offer specialist inpatient and community services that support physical and mental health and specialist inpatient mental health, learning disability, addiction and brain injury services. Mersey Care is one of only three trusts in the UK that offer high secure mental health facilities.

At the heart of all we do is our commitment to 'perfect care' - care that is safe, effective, positively experienced, timely, equitable and efficient. We support our staff to do the best job they can and work alongside service users, their families, and carers to design and develop future services together. We're currently delivering a programme of organisational and service transformation to significantly improve the quality of the services we provide and safely reduce cost as we do so.

Flexible working requests will be considered for all roles.

Job responsibilities

• Communicate information in a way that makes it relevant and understandable for women and their families, working to the principles of the functions policy implementation guidelines and practice in line with the standards and values set out in them.
• Contribute to the development of standards for the perinatal mental health service
• Aim to uphold the principles and approach of CPA, whether people are formally in CPA or not.
• Work co-operatively with staff colleagues including accepting staff recent assessment of the client, if the client is transferred to them, in order to minimise the disruption to the client.
• Ensure a duty of care to your patients and clients, who are entitled to receive safe and competent care. The womans wishes, feelings, values and beliefs should be taken into consideration as well as the views of the people close to them.
• Take personal accountability for your own practice. This means that you are answerable for your actions and omissions, regardless of advice or directions from another professional.
• Ensure that you remain professionally competent by participating in your own and others clinical supervision.

Communication

• Women and their families/carers re assessment, care planning, treatment and review Primary care teams regarding womens care
• Multi-disciplinary teams within Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust, maternity services, health visitors and GPs to ensure the provision of consistent well coordinated care.
• External agencies also involved in the provision of care e.g.: voluntary and private sector, police, social services, housing, employment etc.
• Relevant community groups.

Person Specification
Shortlisting
Essential

• Registered professional qualification
• Multi-disciplinary and multi-agency working

Desirable

• Safeguarding Level 3 (or willingness to undertake)
• Community mental health experience
• Caseload management experience
• Perinatal mental health knowledge/experience

NMC Registration
Essential

• Educated to diploma/degree level and registered with an appropriate professional body (ie Registered Mental Health Nurse)
• Substantial experience of managing a busy caseload of clients with a range of mental health problems
• Ability to communicate with a wide range of professionals from various settings.

Desirable

• Training to level 3 in Safeguarding children and young people: roles and competencies for Health Care staff or willingness to undertake training.
• Specialist knowledge in perinatal mental health or willingness to undertake training.
• Working within a community mental health setting in either the statutory or voluntary sector.
• Experience of working in a multi-disciplinary and multi-agency environment

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.

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

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