Highly Specialised Clinical Psychologist

Employer heading

Highly Specialised Clinical Psychologist

Band 8b

Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is one of the busiest and largest NHS foundation trusts in the country, with around 15,000 staff and an annual budget of £1.6 billion.

We have a long history of providing high quality care, clinical excellence, and innovation in medical research regionally, nationally and internationally.

We’re in the top five providers of specialised health services in the country, supporting people with a range of rare and complex medical, surgical and neurological conditions, cancers and genetic orders.

Our staff oversee around 6,500 patient contacts each day, delivering high standards of healthcare.

We are committed to promoting equality and diversity and recognise the benefit in providing an inclusive environment. We value and respect the diversity of our employees and aim to recruit a workforce which reflects the communities we serve, and is equipped to deliver the best service to our patients. We welcome all applications irrespective of people’s race, disability, sex, sexual orientation, religion or belief, age, gender identity, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity and in particular those from under- represented groups.

Newcastle Hospitals are proud to be one of the exemplar organisations across the NHS on sustainability, with a long history of delivering Sustainable Healthcare in Newcastle (Shine) and the first healthcare organisation in the world to declare a climate emergency. Our strategy includes commitments to being Net Zero by 2030, for our direct carbon footprint, and Net Zero by 2040 for our footprint plus. Delivering these ambitions will not be possible without the help, support and action of every single member of our team.

Job Overview

The Psychology in Healthcare Department (Children and Young People) in undergoing a period of growth and development. As a result, we are looking to recruit a highly motivated and creative Clinical Psychologist to work alongside an enthusiastic team.

The successful candidate will be able to provide highly specialist psychological support to children, young people and their families who have life limiting and life-threatening conditions. The successful candidate will work closely alongside colleagues from the Children’s Palliative Care team and will offer support to professionals in this team. The candidate will be expected to contribute to service development and think about creative and innovative ways of working. They will be expected to provide supervision for and management of colleagues and contribute to teaching in the department and in wider systems. Working in this context requires the ability to form effective working relationships with colleagues in multidisciplinary teams and wider systems.

• Interview Date Monday 07 April 2025
• 37 Hours 30 Minutes/Week
• You will be redirected to Trac to apply for the vacancy. Please expand the job details section and read all of the information before applying for the vacancy
  
  

NO AGENCIES PLEASE

Main duties of the job

• To provide highly specialized psychological assessment, formulation and therapy to children, young people and their families.
• To provide advice and consultation to colleagues from other disciplines and work closely with multidisciplinary teams.
• To contribute to the wider department for example through service development and project work.
• To provide supervision and management for members of the health psychology team.
  
  

Working for our organisation

Our staff oversee around 6,500 patient contacts every day, delivering high standards of healthcare from the following sites:

• Freeman Hospital
• Royal Victoria Infirmary (RVI)
• Health Innovation Neighbourhood (on the former Newcastle General Hospital and Centre for Ageing and Vitality site)
• Newcastle Dental Hospital
• Newcastle Fertility Centre
• Northern Centre for Cancer Care, North Cumbria
• Northern Genetics Service
• Cramlington Manor Walks
  
  

These include a range of flagship services which deliver cutting-edge care (supported by state-of-the-art diagnostic services in both radiology and pathology) and are a catalyst for innovation to support pioneering clinical practice in the NHS.

We also have offices at Regent Point in Gosforth and community sites.

Please see attached information on what Staff Benefits we have to offer at our Trust under ‘Documents to download’ or ‘Supporting documents’.

For further information on The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust please visit: Careers | Newcastle Hospitals | NHS | Newcastle Hospitals and Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Detailed Job Description And Main Responsibilities

The Psychology in Healthcare Department (Children and young people) is a dynamic team comprised of qualified clinical psychologists, neuropsychologists and assistant psychologists. Staff use a variety of approaches including systemic, CBT, ACT and EMDR amongst others. Staff are supported in their continued professional development. The department values and supports staff wellbeing, for example we take regular lunch breaks, walk together, value thinking time and organize social events.

• Takes appropriate responsibility for clinical psychology provision to the service in which this post is located and supports the provision of a stand-alone service including demand/waiting list management, reporting and making recommendations regarding service provision. Is expected to manage the care of the most challenging and complex psychological presentations presenting within this part of the service. Is required to provide supervision of clinical psychologists and trainee clinical psychologists.
• Provides a qualified specialist clinical psychology service across all sectors of care to the population served by this post; providing specialist psychological assessment, formulation and therapy. Offering advice and consultation on patients’ psychological care to colleagues from other disciplines and to other, non-professional carers, working autonomously within professional guidelines and the overall framework of the team’s policies and procedures. To utilise research skills for audit, policy and service development and research within the area served by the team/service.
• Is expected to take delegated responsibility for aspects of service delivery from the Consultant Clinical or Neuropsychologist and deputise in the absence of the Consultant Clinical or Neuropsychologist.
  
  

As a flexible working friendly organisation, we want to be sure that you can work in a way that is best for us and for our patients, and for you. Speak to us about how we might be able to accommodate a flexible working arrangement. If it works for the service, we will do our best to make it work for you.

Person specification

Qualifications & Education

Essential criteria

• Doctoral level training in Clinical Psychology, including specifically, models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics and neuropsychology, two or more distinct psychological therapies and lifespan developmental psychology as accredited by the British Psychological Society
• HCPC Registration
  
  

Desirable criteria

• Post graduate qualification in psychological therapy
  
  

Knowledge & Experience

Essential criteria

• Post-graduate training relevant speciality e.g. neuropsychology, CBT, CAT
• Experience of specialist psychological assessment, formulation and treatment of patients across the full range of care settings
• Experience of working with a wide variety of patient groups, across the whole life course with presenting problems that reflect the full range of clinical severity
• Significant amount of consolidated post qualification experience and application of specialist psychological assessment, formulation and treatment of patients in health care services
• Additional knowledge of national good practice of working as a clinical psychologist
• Completed further training in supervision skills required to provide supervision for other psychologists and healthcare professionals
• Substantive experience of clinical supervision (post qualification)
• Doctorate level knowledge of research methodology, research design and complex, multivariate data analysis as practiced within the clinical fields of psychology
• Knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological therapies in the treatment of a wide variety of patient groups
• Knowledge of legislation and national guidance in relation to the patient group and mental health
• Experience of working within a multicultural framework
  
  

Desirable criteria

• High level of knowledge of the theory and practice of at least two specialised psychological therapies
• Clinical experience of working with the population served by this post
  
  

Skills & Abilities

Essential criteria

• Application of psychological knowledge to a population and whenever acting as team lead takes day to day responsibility for psychological input in relation to service in which post is located
• Use of complex methods of psychological assessment, intervention and management frequently requiring sustained and intense concentration
• Well-developed skills in the ability to empathise and communicate effectively, both orally and in writing, complex, highly technical and/or clinically sensitive information to patients, their families, carers and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS
• Providing consultation to other professional and non-professional groups
• Demonstrable skills in waiting list management
• Skills in audit, clinical governance and resource management
• Ability to teach and train others, using a variety of complex multi-media materials suitable for presentations within public, professional and academic settings
• Ability to identify and employ mechanisms of clinical governance as appropriate, to support and maintain clinical practice in the face of regular exposure to highly emotive material and challenging behaviour
• Computer literate – competent use of email/internet/software
• Ability to meet any travel requirements of the post
  
  

Desirable criteria

• Management and recruitment skills
• Leadership skills
  
  

Important note on completion of reference section of Application Form

All references from current and previous employers will be sought and must cover a minimum of 3 years employment. Therefore, when completing the reference section of your application form, please give the address, telephone number and work email address of each of your current/previous line managers that cover 3 years employment. Failure to complete this section may result in your application not being processed.

Please note it is a requirement of The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust that all successful candidates who require a DBS for the post they have been offered pay for their DBS certificate. The method of payment is a salary deduction from your first month’s pay.

Candidates who are shortlisted for interview will be contacted by e-mail. You should check your SPAM folders as well as your inbox. If you have not been contacted within 4 weeks of the closing date you should assume your application has been unsuccessful.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

Applicant requirements

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Documents to download

• JD & PS (PDF, 142.3KB)
• Newcastle Staff Benefits (PDF, 274.4KB)
• Behaviour and Civility Charter (PDF, 93.8KB)
  
  

Apply online now

Further details / informal visits contact

Name Fiona McKendrick Job title Consultant Clinical Psychologist Email address fiona.mckendrick@nhs.net Telephone number 0191 2824081