Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS)
Liaison Psychiatry
Job Specification
Job Title and
Grade
Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) - Liaison Psychiatry
Grade Code: 2625
Campaign
Reference
NRS0351
Closing Date
Thursday 23rd June 2011 at 5pm
Proposed
Interview date(s)
Week Commencing 11th July 2011
Taking up
Appointment
To be decided at Job Offer stage
Organisational
Area
Health Service Executive (HSE) Dublin North East
Location of Post
Dublin North East
Initial immediate vacancies in Dublin North
Liaison Psychiatric Services, Beaumont Hospital
Details of Service
North Dublin Mental Health Service provides a wide range of hospital and community
based services. These are delivered through the multidisciplinary teams in Adult
Psychiatry, Rehabilitation, Psychiatry of Later Life as well as Liaison Psychiatry.
Reporting
Relationship
Is professionally and clinically accountable to the Director of Nursing in Mental Health or
his / her designate.
Will report on clinical matters to the Consultant Psychiatrists in Liaison Psychiatry.
Purpose of the
Post
The CNS Liaison Psychiatry will play a key role in the multidisciplinary liaison psychiatric
team. He/she will provide expertise in developing a model of care in the area of deliberate
self harm, eating disorders and in a wide variety of other psychiatric referrals. He/ she will
undertake assessments of patients referred to the Liaison Psychiatric Services in
Beaumont Hospital and undertake appropriate clinical interventions as well as providing
support and advice to the patient and significant others. He / she will be responsible for
ensuring that patients have access to the most appropriate available services and are
supported throughout this process.
He/she will provide advice and support to health professionals in Beaumont Hospital
regarding appropriate interventions for patients who are experiencing mental health
difficulties
He/she will be a source of information and support for patients and their families.
He/she will liaise closely with clinical management teams in Beaumont Hospital and with
the Community Mental Health Teams in Dublin North Mental Health Services including in
the Approved Centre, St. Itas Hospital. He/she will work closely with voluntary and
statutory agencies.
He/she will participate in the development and maintenance of psychiatric databases,
research and clinical audit.
He/she will have an important educational role relating to patient and clinical staff.
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Principal Duties
and
Responsibilities
DIRECT CARE
The CNS Liaison Psychiatry will:
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Provide a psychiatric nurse liaison service between A/E, in-patient psychiatric
services and appropriate community services in line with professional & evidence
based practice guidelines, using a holistic triage framework, to include
assessment, planning specific interventions, and evaluation strategies
Undertake joint or single assessments of patients who present to the A/E with
mental health problems using standardised evidence based assessment tools
Undertake ‘risk assessments’ on potentially suicidal patients and patients using
threatening behaviour
Undertake joint or single assessments of patients who are admitted to the wards
for medical reasons and who may need a mental health intervention
Ensure that each patient has a clear clinical plan for follow-up and further
treatment if required
Carry a small caseload of patients who are deemed to be at high risk of self harm
and who need to be monitored and supported urgently and on a regular basis until
they can be seen in their local services.
INDIRECT CARE
The CNS Liaison Psychiatry will:
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Liaise with other disciplines in psychiatric hospitals, Community Mental Health
Nurses, G.P.’s, Social Workers, Probation Officers and families of patients who are
in hospital with a view to giving advice, promoting good communication and
ensuring that patients from Accident and Emergency are accessing appropriate
services
Ensure that all referrals, assessments and follow-up visits are accurately recorded
in the nurse dependency system and that all patients have a clear plan recorded
for follow-up
Utilise available and appropriate community resources to avoid unnecessary
admissions to inpatient psychiatry
Participate in multi-disciplinary team meetings in the Accident and Emergency
Department, Clinical Nurse Manager meetings in Dublin North Mental Health
Services and undertake ward rounds with the Liaison Psychiatric Team
Refer patients to voluntary and statutory and other support systems as appropriate
Participate in the formulation of best practice guidelines and protocols for nurses
working in Liaison Psychiatry
Develop and manage a referral and follow up system
Establish a database for service planning purposes
Carry out other relevant responsibilities and duties designated by the Director of
Nursing.
CONSULTANCY
The CNS Liaison Psychiatry will:
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Provide a consultancy service inter and intra disciplinary, both within and outside
the service in order to promote improved patient management and quality care
Provide support, advice and education to other clinical staff
Provide a high level of professional and clinical leadership and demonstrate
innovative practice in the provision of care, in line with the Scope of Practice
Document (An Bord Altranais, 2000) and service needs.
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EDUCATION AND TRAINING
The CNS Liaison Psychiatry will:
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Have an active teaching role in under-graduate and postgraduate nurse education
and other disciplines as required
Identify and evaluate and update learning opportunities for student nurses
Use relevant educational opportunities to maintain standards and to up date the
care offered to patients in Liaison Psychiatry
Develop nursing strategies for health promotion for both clients and families
attending the Liaison Psychiatry Services
Initiate, facilitate, participate in and evaluate continuing education programmes on
matters relating to Liaison Psychiatry
Access, utilise and disseminate current relevant research to advise and ensure the
provision of informed evidence based practice.
AUDIT AND RESEARCH
The CNS Liaison Psychiatry will:
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Keep up to date with clinical research that supports best practice and utilise same to
influence care
Participate in the audit of clinical care, compile statistics and submit reports as
requested
Contribute on a regular basis to the multidisciplinary journal club
Identify areas within Liaison Psychiatry relevant to nursing practice that would benefit
from research
Use such research findings to influence care within the speciality
Identify areas where scope of practice can be advanced. In conjunction with the
Assistant Director of Nursing, outline strategies to achieve this aim
Access, utilise and disseminate current relevant research
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
The CNS Liaison Psychiatry will:
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In consultation with the line manager, identify further educational requirements to
meet personal and professional development
Demonstrate a commitment to professional development through continuous
education and training.
The above Job Description is not intended to be a comprehensive list of all duties
involved and consequently, the post holder may be required to perform other duties
as appropriate to the post which may be assigned to him/her from time to time and
to contribute to the development of the post while in office.
Eligibility Criteria
Candidates must:-
Qualifications
and/ or
experience
Be Registered in the Psychiatric Nurses Division of the Register of Nurses kept by An Bord
Altranais or be entitled to be so registered.
And
Have at least 5 years experience in psychiatric nursing of which 2 must be in the specialty
or related area
And
Have the ability to practice safely and effectively fulfilling his/her professional responsibility
within his/her scope of practice
And
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Have undertaken formal recognised post registration education relevant to his/her area of
specialist practice at Higher Diploma level or equivalent (level 8) on the NQAI framework
And
Have the clinical, managerial and administrative capacity to properly discharge the
functions of the role.
Health
A candidate for and any person holding the office must be fully competent and capable of
undertaking the duties attached to the office and be in a state of health such as would
indicate a reasonable prospect of ability to render regular and efficient service.
Character
Each candidate for and any person holding the office must be of good character.
Age
Age restrictions shall only apply to a candidate where he/she is not classified as a new
entrant (within the meaning of the Public Service Superannuation Act, 2004). A candidate
who is not classified as a new entrant must be under 65 years of age.
Post Specific
Requirements,
additional
qualifications
and/or experience
required
Skills,
competencies
and/or knowledge
Candidates must demonstrate:
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A strong clinical focus incorporating assessment, planning, delivery and evaluation
of care and services offered to service users
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Good communication skills, organisational skills, team working skills, networking
skills, decision making skills and psychotherapeutic interventions
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Clinical leadership skills and have the ability to inspire others through leading by
example
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A strong clinical focus to include triage and the management of clinical crises such
as episodes of deliberate self harm and drug abuse
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Competence in the utilisation of evidence based assessment tools, brief
intervention strategies and evaluation frameworks in the delivery of care to provide
the best possible outcome for service users
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An ability to develop and maintain close links with the services users and clinical
professional and be a source of information and support for patients, families and
health care professionals as well as being able to work closely with voluntary
agencies
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An ability to access and utilise available and appropriate community resources to
avoid any unnecessary admissions
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Competence in compiling succinct nursing documentation and reports that are
adequate, accurate, up to date and in keeping with best practice
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Good presentation skills to deliver complex information in understandable terms.
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Good knowledge of mental health services, mental health / psychiatric services
and primary care services
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Other
requirements
specific to the
post
Campaign
Specific Selection
Process
Shortlisting /
Interview
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Good clinical knowledge of mental health, psychiatric illness, mental health needs,
mental health / psychiatric nursing and intervention frameworks
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Good knowledge of professional issues and legislation influencing service delivery
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Competence in the development of databases, research and clinical audit
Short listing may be carried out on the basis of information supplied in your application
form. The criteria for short listing are based on the requirements of the post as outlined in
the eligibility criteria and skills, competencies and/or knowledge section of this job
specification. Therefore it is very important that you think about your experience in light of
those requirements.
Failure to include information regarding these requirements may result in you not being
called forward to the next stage of the selection process.
Those successful at the short listing stage of this process (where applied) will be called
forward to interview.
Code of Practice
The Health Service Executive will run this campaign in compliance with the Code of
Practice prepared by the Commission for Public Service Appointments (CPSA). The Code
of Practice sets out how the core principles of probity, merit, equity and fairness might be
applied on a principle basis. The Code also specifies the responsibilities placed on
candidates, feedback facilities for candidates on matters relating to their application, when
requested, and outlines procedures in relation to requests for a review of the recruitment
and selection process, and review in relation to allegations of a breach of the Code of
Practice. Additional information on the HSE’s review process is available in the document
posted with each vacancy entitled “Code Of Practice, Information For Candidates”.
Codes of Practice are published by the CPSA and are available on
www.hse.ie/eng/staff/jobs in the document posted with each vacancy entitled “Code of
Practice, Information For Candidates” or on www.cpsa.ie.
The reform programme outlined for the Health Services may impact on this role and as structures change the job
description may be reviewed.
This job description is a guide to the general range of duties assigned to the post holder. It is intended to be
neither definitive nor restrictive and is subject to periodic review with the employee concerned.
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Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS)
Liaison Psychiatry
Terms and Conditions of Employment
Tenure
The appointment is pensionable.
Appointment as an employee of the Health Service Executive is governed by the
Health Act 2004 and the Public Service Management (Recruitment and
Appointment) Act 2004.
Remuneration
The Salary scale for the post is: €47,089 -€55,852 as at 01/01/2010
Working Week
The standard working week applying to the post is: To be decided at Job Offer
Stage
HSE Circular 003-2009 “Matching Working Patterns to Service Needs
(Extended Working Day / Week Arrangements); Framework for Implementation
of Clause 30.4 of Towards 2016” applies. Under the terms of this circular, all
new entrants and staff appointed to promotional posts from Dec 16th 2008 will
be required to work agreed roster / on call arrangements as advised by their
line manager. Contracted hours of work are liable to change between the hours
of 8am-8pm over seven days to meet the requirements for extended day
services in accordance with the terms of the Framework Agreement
(Implementation of Clause 30.4 of Towards 2016).
Annual Leave
The annual leave associated with the post is: 28 working days (pro rata)
Superannuation
Membership of the HSE Employee Superannuation Scheme applies to this
appointment.
Existing Members who transferred to the HSE on 1st January 2005 pursuant to
Section 60 of the Health Act 2004 are entitled to superannuation benefit terms
under the HSE Scheme which are no less favourable to those to which they
were entitled at 31st December 2004.
Appointees to posts in the Mental Health Services which formerly attracted fast
accrual of service should note that the terms of Section 65 of the Mental
Treatment Act 1945 do not apply to New Entrant Public Servants as defined by
Section 12 of the Public Service Superannuation (Miscellaneous Provisions)
Act 2004.
Probation
Every appointment of a person who is not already a permanent officer of the
Health Service Executive or of a Local Authority shall be subject to a probationary
period of 12 months.
Health
A candidate for and any person holding the office must be fully competent and
capable of undertaking the duties attached to the office and be in a state of health
such as would indicate a reasonable prospect of ability to render regular and
efficient service.
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Character
Each candidate for and any person holding the office must be of good character
Age
Age restrictions shall only apply to a candidate where he/she is not classified as a
new entrant (within the meaning of the Public Service Superannuation Act, 2004).
A candidate who is not classified as a new entrant must be under 65 years of age.
Protection of Persons
Reporting Child Abuse Act
1998
This post is one of those designated in accordance with Section 2 of the
Protection of Persons Reporting Child Abuse Act, 1998. You will remain a
designated officer for the duration of your appointment in this post or for the
duration of your appointment to such other post as is included in the categories
specified in the Ministerial Direction. Such officers will, on receiving a report of
child abuse, formally notify the Senior Social Worker in the community care area
in which the child is living.
Infection Control
All HSE employees must have a working knowledge of HIQA Standards as they
apply to the role for example, Standards for Healthcare, National Standards for
the Prevention and Control of Healthcare Associated Infections, Hygiene
Standards etc.
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