Senior Paediatric Clinical Psychologist

JOB PURPOSE To provide a high-quality specialist paediatric psychology service to children and young people with cancer, their families and groups, across the cancer pathway, in line with best, evidence-based practice, Trust care pathways, and national cancer service guidance. This includes offering interventions in a range of formats; including to individuals, families and groups. To be responsible for holding and managing a clinical caseload, including complex, high-risk and time-sensitive referrals within paediatric oncology, and to exercise autonomous professional responsibility for the planning and prioritising of own workload and the assessment, treatment and discharge of patients, within the bounds of the service operational policy. To use analytical and judgement skills and be responsible for taking clinical management decisions in complex clinical issues, including psychological distress related to life-threatening illness, treatment adherence difficulties, and trauma responses. To analyse and interpret highly complex assessment findings, feedback assessment findings to children, young people and their families, give psychological recommendations to parents/carers and other professionals, formulate and implement formal clinical recommendations and treatment interventions and complete professional reports. This will involve regularly communicating highly complex and sensitive information. To clinically supervise assistant psychologists, trainee psychologists and junior psychologists, psychological therapists or counsellors and other staff as appropriate. To professionally supervise and, when appropriate, manage assistant psychologists and trainee psychologists. To provide consultation, mentorship, supervision and advice about clinical psychology issues to other members of the paediatric oncology MDT and other professionals working with service users, across a range of agencies/settings as appropriate. To work autonomously within professional guidelines and exercise responsibility for the systematic governance of psychological practice within the service/team, ensuring alignment with national cancer service specifications, NICE guidance and professional regulatory standards. To contribute to the development, evaluation and monitoring of the teams operational policies and services, through the deployment of professional skills in research, service evaluation and audit, and to advise both service and professional management on those aspects of the service where psychological and/or organisational matters need addressing. To utilise research skills to undertake service evaluation, audit and research as appropriate, with particular focus on improving timely access to psychological support, reducing waiting times, and ensuring equitable provision for children and young people with cancer and their families.