Lead Clinical Neuropsychologist - Warrington, United Kingdom - Bridgewater Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

Bridgewater Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
Bridgewater Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
Verified Company
Warrington, United Kingdom

2 weeks ago

Tom O´Connor

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Tom O´Connor

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Description

Job Purpose:

To ensure the systematic provision of a high quality clinical neuropsychology service within a highly specialist service area, across all sectors of the organisation.

To practice as an autonomous independent specialist professional clinical practitioner and assume continued responsibility for a caseload of clients with the most complex difficulties, exercising full clinical responsibility for their psychological care both as a clinician and supervisor for other professionals.

To work within professional guidelines and exercise responsibility for the systematic governance of psychological practice within the service/team and to ensure that systems are in place and working effectively for the clinical and professional supervision and support of all other psychologists within the service/sector for which the post holder has designated professional responsibility, including clear systems for professional appraisal, and the identification of CPD needs across the service/sector.

As a major requirement of the job to act as a highly specialist resource to the wider professional community and to carry out audit, policy and service development and research activities and/or programmes.

To propose and implement policy and service development changes within the area served by the team/service. To be a Mental Capacity Lead in the Trust, providing guidance on implementation of policy and pathways.


Duties and Responsibilities:
Clinical Duties: 1.

Working within a highly specialised clinical area, to provide highly developed specialist neuropsychological assessments of clients with neurological conditions based upon the appropriate use, interpretation and integration of complex data from sources including psychometrics, scans, medical reports, neuropsychological tests, self report measures, psychological models, direct and indirect structured observations and semi-structured interviews with clients, family members and others involved in the clients care, and decide upon treatment options taking into account both theoretical and therapeutic models and highly complex factors concerning neurological, historical and developmental processes that have shaped the individual, family or group.


  • To work with a vulnerable group including individuals with long term health conditions, severe and enduring mental health difficulties, challenging behaviours, family breakdown and victims of child sexual abuse and formulate plans for the formal psychological treatment and/or management based upon an appropriate conceptual framework of the clients problems, and employing methods based upon evidence of efficacy, across the full range of care settings. 3. To utilise advanced specialist assessments and diagnostic techniques based on acute medical data (Glasgow Coma Scale, PTA), neuroanatomical, neurophysiological, psychometric and psychosocial factors and formally make a diagnosis in conditions which require a specialist assessment of developmental, medical, psychological and cognitive histories, including offering a specialist second opinion and/or independent advice.
  • To communicate using the highest level of interpersonal and communication skills, in skilled and sensitive manner, highly complex information about cognitive functions and neurological diagnosis, to patients and their families as well as communication regarding clinical consequences and restrictions due to acquired disability. Due to the nature of the information and the client group, this can be in a hostile, antagonistic or more frequently, highly emotive situations (patients with mental illness, challenging behaviours, physical illness and psychological trauma). This may be within the context of out-patient clinics, day care services, specialist units, prisons and patients own homes.
  • To utilise the highest level of communication skills to deliver and manage diagnosis and prognosis around terminal and degenerative diseases, which may require end of life planning with acute services, community facilities and specialist agencies such as hospices and palliative care. This involves supporting the family and care staff, as well as clinical case management in supporting staff delivering palliative care plans where care is delivered in the community. 6.


To undertake first line risk assessment for relevant individual clients and to provide both general and specialist advice for psychologists and other professionals on psychological aspects of risk assessment and management.

This may include individuals who may be in post-traumatic amnesic states and therefore aggressive, agitated or sexually disinhibited, presenting with challenging behaviours or those with severely compromised capacity.

Also devise appropriate risk management for individual clients and to provide general advice to other professionals on psychological aspects of risk assessment and management within a complex patient group with elevated levels of risk associated with impulsive verbal and p
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