Drug and Alcohol Clinical Nurse Specialist

Job overview

We are looking for a highly dedicated nurse to join our Liaison Psychiatry Service at Kingston Hospital in Kingston-Upon-Thames. Our team provides a comprehensive specialist service to patients in the general hospital setting including A and E.

You will be expected to work predominantly 9-5 but this can be flexible, we require a highly motivated individual to provide some teaching to the staff at St Helier hospital in relation to the treatment of patients with severe alcohol and drug dependence. You will need to establish strong connections with the local drug and alcohol services and be able to work autonomously and also to assist the team in psycho-social assessments where necessary

Main duties of the job

We have a very strong commitment to education, research and staff development.  As well as promoting your own professional development, we will expect you to participate in the teaching and training of nurses and other health professionals.

This is a challenging but rewarding role, offering an exciting opportunity to nurses who have strong assessment and therapeutic skills.  You will need the ability to work autonomously whilst still contributing to the team as a whole.  Previous experience of working in Liaison Psychiatry is desirable, although not essential.  We offer excellent staff support through clinical supervision and teamwork.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• The post holder will provide a specialist consultation liaison service to referring clinicians and clinical teams, assisting them in decision making in difficult and complex cases in order to help reduce the number of patients awaiting mental health assessment and to provide short term input including assessing and treating inpatients working intensively to support early discharge.
• The post holder will promote choice and hopefulness and ensure a recovery orientated approach.
• The post holder will promote and initiate any actions to safeguard vulnerable adults.
• The post holder will be responsible for the full assessment of care needs of patients presenting with a wide variety of clinical conditions without direct supervision. Following this, the post-holder will be responsible for planning and referring on for appropriate follow up where necessary.
• The post holder will provide a comprehensive consultation liaison service to the ED and individual inpatient areas/clinicians, particularly in assisting them develop emergency/longer term plans of care and make difficult decisions in cases where patients are exhibiting complex psychosocial needs and/or challenging behaviours.
• The post holder will be required to teach other nursing and non-nursing staff, both in formal and informal settings. Teaching will also be provided to pre-registration students.
• The post holder will be responsible for specific clinical projects and undertake all necessary work to complete these, including facilitating meetings, liaising and/or negotiating with other staff.
• The post holder will be expected to participate fully in quality assurance initiatives, with particular emphasis on a ‘patient first’ approach when required.
• The post holder will act as a role model in providing a service for people with mental health problems for all staff within the ED/main hospital.
• The post holder will initiate and participate in audit/research projects associated with the work of the service when required.
• The post holder represents Mental Health Trust in the general hospital setting and will play a vital role in communicating and maintaining a good working relationship between the Trusts.