The Specialist Health Visitor for Perinatal & Infant Mental Health will work as part of the Lancashire Healthy Young People & Families Service and to be responsible for leading, embedding up to date research and evidence-based practice and developing Perinatal and Infant Mental Health services to all Lancashire Healthy Young People & Families Service staff. The specialist Health visitor will ensure the efficient delivery of the Healthy Child Programme, transition to parenthood and perinatal & infant mental health and other local commissioning requirements. This will include provision/oversight of any required training and Clinical Audit to provide assurance of a competent confident workforce. To ensure, jointly with other services, the development of multi-disciplinary pathways, policies and procedures to address the mental health needs of parents and infants in the perinatal period, including auditing of service. The Specialist HV for PIMH will have a high level of relevant, expert knowledge & skill and will work in collaboration with other services such as SPCMHT, MBU, Adult MH services, Midwifery, NICU, GPs, Third sector organisations and the Local authority.
The Specialist Health Visitor will provide relevant specialist consultation, training and support to the universal children’s services in relation to Perinatal & Infant Mental Health, as well as the relationship of the parental couple. The emphasis will be on early identification, interventions, prevention of mental health difficulties, and the promotion of positive relationships between parents and their infants for a defined caseload.
Base
To work across the Lancashire footprint. Base can be negotiated
Package DescriptionAs a Specialist Health Visitor for Perinatal and Infant Mental Health, you’ll be part of our valued team at our Lancashire 0-19 service
You will feel valued as a Health Visitor within HCRG Care Group, receiving access to exclusive rewards and benefits including:
Band 7 with NHS Pension and full Agenda for Change terms and conditions
Free tea, coffee and milk at your base location
Membership of My Reward Hub, giving you access to discounts on every day purchases like grocery shopping as well as cashback and voucher offers for treats for you and those special to you
Access to your wages as you earn them to help cover life’s emergencies and avoid overdraft fees or high interest rates
Online and face to face help with your mental and physical wellbeing – from healthy recipes and activity challenges through to post trauma support, legal, debt and life management help, as well career coaching and counselling
Access to eLearning, bespoke career pathways and opportunities for continuing professional development through our ‘Outstanding’ learning and development team, The Learning Enterprise
An open, just culture where you’re encouraged to have and implement ideas which can help us deliver our purpose: changing lives through transforming health and care – backed up by at least £100,000 of ringfenced innovation funding each year
The pride of working for an organisation committed to the highest clinical and quality standards: with the majority of our rated services holding “good” or “outstanding” ratings from the Care Quality Commission
Main ResponsibilitiesClinical
Work as a specialist practitioner to manage, develop and lead family based care in the perinatal period where the parents have or are at risk of developing mental health difficulties and where these are likely to impact on their infant’s emotional development. This will supplement the care given by the universal health visiting service.
Act as an advocate for parents and their infants with perinatal and infant mental health difficulties to ensure they receive active and effective care. This will be done by liaison with adult mental health, perinatal services, maternity and other partner agencies through attendance at various weekly multi-disciplinary team meetings.
Undertake comprehensive specialist holistic assessment of parental mental health and the parent-infant relationship who are referred for additional support.
Initiate and lead on Perinatal and Infant Mental Health projects.
Provide a link between Health visitors, Midwives, GPs, Specialist Perinatal and Adult mental health services including other agencies in relation to families experiencing challenges within the parent infant relationship and/or significant mental health issues.
Provide Specialist HV PIMH support / link for the Mother and Baby Unit (Ribblemere ward) including a weekly child health clinic to facilitate continuity of universal HV service provision.
Liaison with appropriate services to improve perinatal mental health provision for families with the aim of promoting effective, collaborative and integrated services.
Develop comprehensive care pathways for women and families affected by mild, moderate and severe maternal mental health problems in active collaboration with colleagues, specialist mental health services and other providers of mental health services (eg GPs, Midwives, IAPT services).
Participate in professional and family meetings where appropriate.
To lead and develop the Perinatal & Infant MH Champions in their role. Encouraging contribution by creating an environment where colleagues have the opportunity to engage and influence universal perinatal policies and practice.
The Ideal CandidateEssential
Registered Nurse/Midwife
Specialist Community Public Health Nurse (Health Visiting) Minimal 3 years experience
Experience of facilitating high quality perinatal training to staff groups
Specialist knowledge and experience in maternal and infant mental health, developed through training and practice
In depth specialist knowledge of maternal/infant attachment theories
Experience of multi-agency working
Proven leadership skills
In depth knowledge of child development and family health
Evidence of the ability to influence and motivate others
Experience of leading Clinical Supervision
Ability to process and utilise research evidence to promote good practice
Ability to work effectively as part of a team
Experience of auditing and good analytical skills
Evidence of continued professional development in safeguarding children to level 3
IT Skills: Use of Microsoft Office programmes including Word, Excel, Powerpoint and Outlook
Car owner/driver – ability to travel across HCRG care group Lancashire footprint
Desirable
Experience of mentoring
iHV PIMH Champion
Trained in NBO/ NBAS
Additional qualifications in mental health/infant mental health/counselling
Experience in Solihull approach
Experience in PIIOS / Video interactive guidance.
About The CompanyWe change lives by transforming health and care.
Established in 2006, we are one of the UK's leading independent providers of community health and care services, working with health and care commissioners and communities to transform services with a focus on experience, efficiency and improved outcomes. We deliver and transform adult and children community health services, primary care services including urgent care, sexual health, dermatology and MSK services as well as adult social care and wellbeing services. Across England, we support communities of many millions and directly help more than half a million people each year - guided by our simple values: we care, we think, we do.
We're committed to equal opportunities and welcome applications from a broad, diverse range of people who want to join our team. We’re a Disability Confident Committed company, so we work to provide facilities, work environment adjustments and technical solutions to be as inclusive of everyone.
While it doesn’t happen often, sometimes a role is very popular, and we’ll need to close it earlier than the date we’ve shown here. If you’re keen to join our team, we’d love to hear from you so please apply as soon as you can.
As you’d expect, safeguarding and protecting the children, young people and vulnerable adults that we work with is of the utmost importance so we have policies and procedures in place to promote safeguarding and safer working practices and everyone who joins the team is subject to a safer recruitment process, including the disclosure of criminal records and vetting checks.
Finally, we need to let you know that the company you’ll work for is part of HCRG Care Group Holdings Limited and by applying for this job we’ll need to process and hold information about you. If you would like to know a little more about how we use your information, please see our website's privacy policy.
