Position overview

This position is open to Social Workers and Occupational Therapists.

Mental Health, Justice Health and Alcohol and Drug Services (MHJHADS) provides support to people via inpatient and outpatient settings, community health centers, justice health facilities and other community settings, including people’s homes. These services include:

• Adult Acute Mental Health Services
• Adult Community Mental Health Services
• Alcohol & Drug Services
• Justice Health Services
• Child & Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS)

Adult Community Mental Health Services (ACMHS) includes:

Intake services:

• Access Mental Health Service
• Home Assessment & Acute Response Team (HAART)

Community Recovery Services:

• Gungahlin
• Belconnen
• City
• Woden
• Tuggeranong

Community Specialty Services:

• Assertive Community Outreach Service (ACOS)
• Older Persons Community Mental Health Team
• Mental Health Link
• Therapies
• Neuropsychology

This position is primarily located within the Community Recovery Services (CRS) but staff may be required to work across all of Adult Community Mental Health Services to meet operational demands.  CRS teams operate across the Australian Capital Territory, adhering to the Adult Community Mental Health Model of Care.

CRS are a multi-disciplinary team of Nurses, Allied Health Professionals, Psychiatry Registrars and Consultant Psychiatrists, and Administration Service Officers.

CRS provide a recovery-focused, strengths-based approach to clinical case management to improve wellbeing and enhance functioning in the community for adults who:

• Are experiencing complex mental illness/disorder or psychological distress which is associated with significant functional impairment and/or significant risks.
• May be subject to a Psychiatric Treatment Order under the Mental Health Act 2015.
• Have multidisciplinary treatment needs that cannot be met elsewhere in the community or less intensive service.
• Require regular service contact over a medium to longer-term episode of care.

Key Responsibilities

Specific responsibilities include, but are not limited to, the following:

Under close supervision of the Team Leader and delegate, you will perform clinical activities in collaboration with the multidisciplinary team and the people who access the service. You will:

1. Undertake clinical assessment, treatment and management of consumers using established principles, techniques, and methods to persons with a known or suspected mental illness / mental dysfunction and intellectual disability.
2. Provide support, consultation, liaison and education to consumers, families, direct care and non-direct care workers and agencies concerning the special needs of individuals who experience mental illness.
3. Develop and maintain collaborative cross-agency relationships.
4. Active contribution in the implementation of clinical governance activities, quality improvement projects, research programs, and health promotion in the field of dual disability.
5. Participate in supervision, continuing professional development and performance appraisal and development.
6. Undertake other duties appropriate to this level of classification which contribute to the operation of the organisation.

Competencies

To be successful in this position, it is expected that you will have the following attributes:

• Work with people living with complex mental health conditions.
• Provide competency based safe and high-quality allied health professional clinical services, performed under the close supervision of senior allied health professionals.
• Awareness of and adherence to risk management processes.
• Exercise independent professional judgement on basic matters, working under direct supervision for more complex tasks, with the level of supervision decreasing and accountability increasing commensurate with level of experience
• Work within established routines, methods and procedures.
• Able to complete own work under close supervision and ask for assistance when needed.
• Over time, develop the ability to undertake more complex tasks.
• Work in a team, build relationships within a team, work as a supportive and cooperative team member.
• Ability to manage confidential and sensitive information whilst working towards achieving positive outcomes for people who access the service.
• Ability to respond to and prioritise competing and often urgent requests in a calm and efficient manner while also maintaining high work standards and accuracy.
• Comply with policies, procedures and practice guidelines.

Qualifications

Specific responsibilities include, but are not limited to, the following.

Essential

• Tertiary qualifications in Occupational Therapy or Social Work.
• Where relevant, unconditional registration or eligibility for registration with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) or eligibility for membership with the AASW.
• Hold an ACT drivers’ licence.

Desirable

• Have an understanding of how the National Safety and Quality Health Service (NSQHS) indicators align with this role.

Experience

Essential

• N/A

Desirable

• Experience or knowledge of the CHS Exceptional Care Framework, and all other related frameworks.

Prior to commencement

Appointment to this position is conditional on being granted and retaining appropriate clearances:

• Pre-employment National Police Check.
• Comply with Canberra Health Services Occupational Assessment, Screening and Vaccination policy.
• Current registration issued under the Working with Vulnerable People (Background Checking) Act 2011 is required.
• Comply with CHS credentialing and scope of clinical practice requirements for allied health professionals.

Important information

All employees are required to:

• Adhere to the Canberra Health Services Values and the ACT Public Service Code of Conduct.
• Act in accordance and comply with all relevant Safety and Quality policies and procedures.
• Comply with all relevant clinical and/or competency standards.

CHS is leading the drive to digitally transform health service delivery in Australia through the implementation of a territory wide Digital Health Record. Computer literacy skills are required which are relevant to this role as you will be responsible for completing required documentation and becoming a proficient user of the Digital Health Record and/or other Information Technology systems; once proficient, you will need to remain current with changes, updates, and contingencies.

What you Require (Key Selection Criteria)

These are the key selection criteria for how you will be assessed in conjunction with your resumé and experience.

1. Under professional supervision, ability to assess persons with mental illness / mental disorder and to devise and/or co-ordinate the implementation of interventions and strategies across agencies.
2. Demonstrated ability to effectively communicate, liaise and consult with consumers, families, carers, other health professionals and agencies.  Sound administrative and computer skills.
3. Ability to work as a member of a multidisciplinary team and to foster and maintain inter-agency relationships, providing liaison, consultation, education, and training.
4. Demonstrated commitment to and experience of clinical governance through quality improvement activities, research programs and health promotion in relevant areas.
5. Demonstrates understanding of, and adherence to, safety and quality standards, Work Health and Safety and the positive patient experience. Displays’ behaviour consistent with CHS’s values of reliable, progressive, respectful, and kind.

Work environment description

The following work environment description outlines the inherent requirements of the role and indicates how frequently each of these requirements would need to be performed. Please note that the ACT Public Service is committed to providing reasonable adjustments and ensuring all individuals have equal opportunities in the workplace.