Position overview

Mental Health, Justice Health and Alcohol and Drug Services provides support to youth and adults via inpatient and outpatient settings, community health centres, justice health facilities and other community settings.

We partner with our health care consumers, their family, carers, government, and community organisations to ensure that they receive the best possible care during their treatment and recovery.

All care that we provide is driven by our values of being kind, reliable, respectful, and progressive. We’re also guided by contemporary mental health and human rights legislation which means we operate within a framework that ensures the rights and dignity of people are promoted and protected.

Forensic Mental Health Inpatient Services (FMHIS) including Dhulwa Mental Health Unit (DMHU) provides high quality inpatient mental health care to people from 18 to 65 years of age. The values and aims of FMHIS is outlined in the FMHIS Model of Care (2024).

The Dhulwa Mental Health Unit (DMHU) is a 25-bed forensic mental health facility that first opened in November 2016. DMHU provides 24-hour, contemporary, evidence – based mental health care for people who require secure inpatient treatment. This includes consumers transferring from custody for assessment and stabilisation and forensic consumers requiring longer term rehabilitation. DMHU provides a therapeutic and recovery-based approach, focused on individually tailored treatment programs to maximise mental health care outcomes for consumers.  The service aims to provide collaborative care involving the person, their carers, and other key services.

Forensic Mental Health Inpatient Services is part of the continuum of Forensic Mental Health Services (FMHS) in the ACT which also includes Custodial Mental Health Services and Community Forensic Mental Health Services and as such have access to professional support including clinical and group supervision from the broader FMHS program area.

Key Responsibilities

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

1. Provide appropriate skilled clinical assessment and intervention under limited supervision to people with complex and serious mental health issues within a therapeutic forensic environment.
2. Demonstrate communication skills to liaise effectively with other health professionals, consumers, families/carers, colleagues and other service providers, including an ability to promptly complete clinical documentation meeting data collection requirements.
3. Assist in the supervision and education of Psychologist 1 staff, students, technical and other non-professional staff and participate actively in education programs for area of clinical service delivery.
4. Participate in the development, analysis, evaluation and planning of psychological group programs in line with the therapy framework and contribute to the overall program.
5. Participate in the implementation of clinical governance activity, quality improvement projects, research programs, and health promotion in areas relevant to the service.
6. Participate in clinical supervision, continuing professional development, and performance appraisal and development.
7. Undertake other duties appropriate to this level of classification which contribute to the operation of the organisation.

Competencies

Specific responsibilities include but are not limited to the following.

• Ability to manage confidential and sensitive information.
• Ability to respond to and prioritise competing requests in a calm and efficient manner while also maintaining high work standards and accuracy.
• Works cohesively within a multi-disciplinary team and adapts quickly to a changing environment.
• Commitment to achieving positive outcomes for mental health consumers.

Qualifications

Essential

• Tertiary Qualification or related qualification in psychology.
• Registered or eligible for registration with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA).

Desirable

• Current drivers licence.
• Further training or experience in forensic mental health.
• Have an understanding of how the National Safety and Quality Health Service (NSQHS) indicators align with this role.

Experience

Essential

• One years’ work experience in a similar role and role environment.

Desirable

• Prior experience in public mental health or in a forensic setting will be highly 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.
• 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 and must be addressed in your application:

1. Proven ability to undertake relevant assessment, plan treatment, and provide interventions to mental health consumers experiencing serious and enduring mental illness.
2. Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively within a multidisciplinary team, applying the principles of recovery.
3. Effective verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to maintain clinical records and prepare reports for professional audiences.
4. Demonstrated knowledge of current mental health legislation, current professional standards guiding practice including the need to participate in regular supervision.
5. Demonstrates understanding of, and adherence to, safety and quality standards, work, health and safety (WH&S) 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.