Clinical Psychologist: Community Adult Asperger’s Service, Band 7

Job content

At Dorset HealthCare we’re on a mission to empower people to make the most of their lives through our outstanding, joined-up healthcare services. We’re a dynamic, forward-looking Trust, running 12 community hospitals, specialist inpatient facilities and a wide range of integrated community and mental health services for a population of almost 800,000 people.

We like to do things differently here – it’s one of the reasons the CQC rated us ‘outstanding’ in 2019. It’s also why 95% of patients across our services say they have a good or very good experience of our services and 89% of staff feel they can really make a difference. Whether you’re looking to work with us in one of our bustling market towns, a vibrant urban location, thriving seaside spot, or the among the rolling hills of a stunning rural setting, there are a lot of ways you can make a difference in our local communities.

Our 7,000-strong workforce is at the heart of what we do and our success is a testament to our brilliant people. We’re all about building a workplace for the future – we believe in equal opportunities and we celebrate diversity. We’re an inclusive workplace, where everyone is welcome, everyone can be authentic, and we are all encouraged to be the best version of ourselves.

Working with us you’ll be part of a strong team. You’ll challenge yourself, build a career, and teach us what we don’t know. And you’ll be working towards our vision to be better every day through excellence, compassion and expertise in all we do.

This is a very rare opportunity to work within this specialist service. Although small, the Community Adult Asperger’s Service (CAAS) is comprised of a supportive and eclectic team of professionals who really do care about the client group as well as each other. Retention of team members has been consistently high since the inception of the service back in 2010. The post would suit a newly qualified or recently qualified clinical psychologist, or a more experienced psychologist wishing to gain specialist assessment skills with adults referred to CAAS. Given that it is a part-time post, it would also sit well alongside a role within another service within DHFT.

This post is ideal for a motivated and passionate clinician who either has, or is, developing a specialist interest in neurodevelopmental difference, and a respect for how important Autism assessments can be to underpin wider clinical formulations of need as well as gaining access to the right specialist support e.g. in an educational or work setting.

The post will involve completing high quality, NICE compliant assessments for Autism. The service also runs post-diagnostic groups for newly diagnosed people who are on the spectrum, so that they can learn about their diagnosis and how it affects them uniquely as individuals. Clinicians within the team include other Clinical Psychologists, Occupational Therapists (who provide very specialist sensory assessment and treatment as well as functional assessment, vocational support and dyspraxia assessment), a Nurse Specialist, Assistant Psychologists, and a highly skilled Team Assistant and Administrative Assistants.

The post is part time,15 hours per week.

CAAS is a Primary Care Service but works closely with other secondary, tertiary and specialist care providers throughout Dorset, offering weekly specialist consultation to a range of professionals who are also working with adults who are on the Autism Spectrum.

This would be an excellent opportunity to gain specialist Autism assessment skills as well as developing a knowledge base of how Autism can affect other areas of mental health need and how therapy can be adapted to suit each person’s unique profile.

Dorset HealthCare is the first mental health trust providing community services in the South to be given an Outstanding rating by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) – and one of only a small handful nationally.

Employment in this post requires an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check, which the Trust will cover the cost of.

Applicants who subscribe to the DBS update service are able to present a valid DBS certificate instead of requiring a new check.

A car is essential for working in this service, which covers the whole of Dorset, although currently, due to covid, a significant amount of our work is completed remotely.

For further details / informal visits contact:

Name: Adrian Edwards

Job title: Deputy Clinical Lead

Email address: adrian.edwards2@nhs.net

Telephone number: 01202 605875

What working for us will provide:

• 27 days of annual leave, rising to 33 over ten years
• Excellent NHS pension scheme
• Health and wellbeing services
• Flexible working options, including family-friendly hours
• Free training and one-to-one career coaching to reach your career goals
• Preceptorship programme for newly qualified nurses and AHPs
• Access to nine staff networks – have a voice and transform our Trust
• Relocation costs where applicable
• Salary sacrifice scheme opportunities – including childcare vouchers, car lease and cycle scheme, home technology equipment, and buying and selling annual leave
• NHS discounts to save on your shopping, gym membership and more
  
  

Visit our careers website to learn more about our culture, staff stories, benefits, development programmes and opportunities.

What you need to do:

Before applying for this post, please do ensure that you have read the job description and person specification requirements. If you think you have everything we’re looking for, then we’d love to hear from you, alternatively if you would like more information about the role please do not hesitate to contact us.

After applying via NHS Jobs your application will be imported into our preferred third party recruitment system, TRAC. All information about your application will come from apps.trac.jobs. You won’t be able to track progress of your application or receive messages through NHS Jobs. By applying for this post you are agreeing to Dorset HealthCare transferring the information contained in the application to Trac and accept a privacy notice under the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR).

Applicants who require sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome & will be considered alongside all other applications, where this is not possible you will not be able to apply for the role . Please note that from January 2021, to work in the UK candidates who are not UK or Republic of Ireland (RoI) nationals require sponsorship unless you have permission to work via another route. Further guidance can be found on the gov.uk website.