Greenwich Mental health Assessment Area - Staff Nurse | Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust

Posting date:	02 July 2025
Salary:	Not specified
Additional salary information:	£34,521 - £41,956 pa inc
Hours:	Full time
Closing date:	02 August 2025
Location:	Woolwich, SE18 4QH
Company:	Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust
Job type:	Contract
Job reference:	7317966/277-7317966-AAC

Summary

In partnership with the Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust at Queen Elizabeth Hospital and Oxleas Foundation Trust, a dedicated modular assessment Area has been set up to support the assessment and management of Working Aged Adults and Older Adult mental health patients (WAA/OA) who do not require medical intervention.

The Mental Health Assessment Area (MHAA) is a dedicated Area which is in the Queen Elizabeth Hospital near the Urgent Care Centre. We will provide care for patients requiring adult mental health support in line with National emergency care access standards.

The Mental Health Assessment Area will operate within the same time boundaries as the ED (24/7) providing a space to meet the varied needs of patients presenting with a range of mental health problems and operate within the same time boundaries as the Emergency Department (24/7). The aim is to nurse patients presenting with mental health problems in an environment that is calm, therapeutic, and safe, for patients who have been assessed or awaiting assessment by the Psychiatric Liaison Team.

As a Registered Nurse you will provide direct personal care to service users/ patients, without direct supervision, and co-ordinate the care given by colleagues.

The post holder will deliver high quality safe nursing care, ensuring consistently high standards of practice and clinical excellence which comply with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) code of professional conduct.

The role includes leading the delivery of comprehensive service user assessment, planning, implementation and evaluation of person-centred care in a collaborative way. The post holder will co-ordinate a first class service that includes assessment and monitoring of physical health, maintaining service users rights, supervising junior staff and students, working collaboratively with the Multi-Disciplinary Team and maintaining a safe and therapeutic working environment and accurate records.

Band 5 nursing roles are only open to staff with a nursing registration, obtained as a result of completing a qualification recognised by the Nursingand Midwifery Council (NMC).

Oxleas offers a wide range of NHS healthcare services to people in community and secure environment settings. Our services include community health care such as district nursing and speech and language therapy, care for people with learning disabilities and mental health care such as psychiatry, nursing and therapies. Our multidisciplinary teams look after people of all ages and we work in close partnership with other parts of the NHS, local councils and the voluntary sector and through our new provider collaboratives. Our 4,300 members of staff work in many different settings including hospitals, clinics, prisons, secure hospitals, children’s centres, schools and people’s homes.

We have over 125 sites in a variety of locations in the South of England. In London we operate within the Boroughs of Bexley, Bromley Greenwich and into Kent. We manage hospital sites including Queen Mary’s Hospital, Sidcup and Memorial Hospital, Woolwich, as well as the Bracton Centre, our medium secure unit for people with mental health needs. We are the largest NHS provider of prison health services providing healthcare to prisons within Devon, Dorset, Bristol, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire, Kent and South London. We are proud of the care we provide and our people.

Our purpose is to improve lives by providing the best possible care to our patients and their families. This is strengthened by our new values:
• We’re Kind
• We’re Fair
• We Listen
• We Care
• Assessing individual care needs, develop care plans, deliver nursing care and evaluate outcomes
• Being an effective communicator, observer & listener
• Maintaining patient confidentiality at all times.
• Adhering to all organisational, policies, procedures and guidelines.
• Ensuring good working relationships with patients, carers, relatives, other professionals and the public.
• Demonstrating understanding and use of clinical supervision to reflect upon and modify own and others practice.
• Ensuring that own practice remains within legal, ethical and professional parameters and is open to scrutiny from peers.
• Must hold a current, valid first level registration with the Nurses & Midwives Council.


Leadership
• To be accountable to the director of adult mental health and learning disability services.
• Provides Leadership, mentorship and supervision for Senior Support Workers and Student Nurses as appropriate.


Clinical• Responding to the needs of people in an honest, non-judgemental and open manner, which respects the rights of individuals and groups.
• Actively engaging with patients in the provision of holistic, needs-led care, which takes account of the physical, psychological, emotional, social and spiritual needs of individuals and groups.
• Demonstrating a commitment to equal opportunities for all people.
• Understanding the impact of social & cultural diversity on patients’ and carers’ experiences of mental illness and mental health services.
• Responding to the needs of people sensitively with regard for age, culture, race, gender, ethnicity, religion and disability, especially regarding patients’ privacy and dignity.
• Understanding the rights of patients and carers and assisting them in exercising those rights, where appropriate.
• Undertaking daily care in support of a written plan of care, reporting on care delivery and documenting it in a timely manner.
• Having a good understanding of the relevant parts of the Mental Health Act 1983 and their responsibilities.
• Having a good knowledge of referral, assessment and admission processes.
• Demonstrating the ability to work collaboratively with other professionals and managers to deliver high quality services for patients.
• Demonstrating professional self-awareness and the ability to explore and manage personal values and beliefs in mental health settings.
• Contributing to the provision of a range of therapeutic social, occupational and leisure activities through a ward-based programme.
• Encouraging and supporting individual advocacy, user forums, carers groups and patient councils.
• Demonstrating good verbal and non-verbal communication skills, also able to facilitate communication with the older person although patients may have difficulties in hearing or seeing, or different language.
• Demonstrating good observational skills and be aware of different levels of observations and implications. Adhere to accurate reporting and documenting, On allocation basis carry hourly check, 15minutes and 1:1 observations for patients requiring close monitoring.
• Facilitating patients’ use of effective treatment through negotiation skills, provision of information, assessment, management and systematic monitoring of side effects.
• Demonstrating good understanding and functioning as a role model of the causes and utilising skills in the prevention and management of violence and aggression.
• Demonstrating abilities to assist patients with social and practical activities, such as work, education, leisure and financial management.
• Advising and assisting patients in maintaining daily living skills such as personal hygiene, self-care skills, social skills, and nutritional management, and management of patient’s bladder and bowel continence and incontinence.
• Advising and assisting patients in developing and maintaining personal and social networks with families, carers, and others.
• Actively participating in professional development through personal development reviews.
• Actively participating in training and education identified in personal development plans.
• Ensuring that all complaints are reported to the appropriate nurse manager according to trust policy.
• Refusing any gift, favour or hospitality, which might be interpreted as seeking to exert undue influence or obtain preferential treatment.
• Demonstrating an ability to develop therapeutic relationships incorporating limit & boundary setting and therapeutic confrontation of patients’ behaviours.
• Undertaking or assisting with a range of physical procedures based on individual need such as able to take and record blood pressure, temperature, respirations, weight, food and fluid charts, to be able to take urine samples and screen for abnormalities and drug testing, to withdraw blood test for blood glucose levels and able to ascertain anomalies and to manage it.
• May be required to hold the bleep when the Band 6 Psychiatric Liaison Nurse Shift Co-ordinator is engaged in assessment.
• Demonstrating knowledge of the various explanatory models of mental health and the evidence, which underpins them.
• Developing effective working relationships with patients, families and carers by facilitating engagement and therapeutic co-operation using flexible and responsive strategies.
• Developing a problem-solving approach to and utilising strategies for the management of patient alcohol and illicit drug abuse.
• Assist psychiatric liaison nurses with the completion of GP letters.
• To implement infection control policies to prevent cross infection and supervise other junior staff adhere to the same.
• To do EPR (Electronic Paper Record) Training and be able to competently transfer notes to King’s system.
• Responsible for recording and safe keeping of property.
• Responsible for the safe handling, storage and administration of medication. Able to administer injections to challenging adults with mental health needs.
• Responsible to psychiatric and physical emergencies e.g cardiac arrest and competent to start immediate life saving procedures until more assistance can be summoned.
• To chair team meeting in the absence of the manager.




This advert closes on Tuesday 15 Jul 2025

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