Forensic Mental Health Inpatient Service provides high quality Forensic mental health care to people in contact with or at risk of becoming in contact with the criminal justice system.

Dhulwa (DMHU) offers 10 assessment and Stabilisation care beds and 15 rehabilitation beds. DMHU is managed by Mental Health, Justice Health, Alcohol and Drug Services (MHJHDAS), Forensic Division.

At the level of Clinical Nurse Consultant (CNC) it is expected that you will be able to provide, under limited supervision of the Assistant Director of Nursing (ADON), high quality nursing care to achieve sound outcomes for people with various mental illnesses and at various stages of wellness. This role will also provide guidance and support to RN1 and RN2’s.

In this role you will be required to undertake professional development, supervision, participate in quality initiatives and contribute to the multidisciplinary team processes.

This position is responsible for driving service innovation and for the development of models of care for enhanced service provision.

This position is located within Forensic Mental Health; however, you may be required to work across all Adult Mental Health Inpatient Units to meet operational needs.

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

1. Provide high level clinical leadership for staff providing mental health inpatient care and maintain efficient clinical standards/practice within the service.
2. Allocate resources and monitor workload to ensure robust safety systems through the promotion of physical, procedural, and relational security measures.
3. Provide professional supervision for clinical staff as well as nursing students; and support staff to participate in orientation programs, therapy programs, professional development, and other training activities.
4. Ensure that best evidence-based practice principles are utilised in the delivery of clinical services by assisting in the development and monitoring of relevant operating procedures and policies, participating in program evaluation (e.g., achieving and reporting against key performance indicators) and clinical review.
5. Lead and participate in clinical governance, quality improvement projects, research programs and health promotion programs which support the intended Model of Care, adhere to the Mental Health Act 2015 and other relevant legislation.
6. Foster a working environment which is physically safe, non-judgmental, culturally sensitive, responsive to feedback and promotes high quality customer service.
7. Develop and maintain liaison, consultation and education with other government and non-government agencies, families and carers.
8. Undertake other duties appropriate to this level of classification which contribute to the operation of the organisation.

Specific responsibilities include but are not limited to the following.

1. Proven advanced clinical experience in a leadership role
2. Adaptability and flexibility to accommodate change and provide responsive services to meet patient and staff needs
3. Strong organizational skills with a high degree of drive

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

Essential

• Be registered or be eligible for registration with the National Nursing and Midwifery Board through the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA).
• Holds or is working towards post-graduate qualification in Mental Health Nursing or Forensic Mental Health Nursing

Desirable

• Fulfil the responsibilities of this role in alignment to the CHS Exceptional Care Framework and all other related frameworks.
• Current driver’s licence.

Specific responsibilities include but are not limited to the following.

Essential

• Minimum 5 years’ fulltime equivalent experience working in a Mental Health clinical role.
• Strong understanding of mental health services and demonstrated advanced clinical knowledge, skills and experience in the area of practice.
• Have an understanding of how the National Safety and Quality Health Service (NSQHS) indicators align with this role.

Desirable

• Recent 12-month experience working within a Forensic mental health setting.
• Experience working in acute mental health setting.

• Obtain Compliance Certificate from Occupational Medicine Unit (OMU) relating to assessment, screening & vaccination processes against specified infectious diseases
• Undergo a pre-employment National Police Check.

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.

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

1. Proven high quality clinical leadership of a multidisciplinary team and proven ability to provide oversight of recovery based clinical activities and therapeutic programs.
2. Demonstrated advanced clinical expertise and experience in the provision of mental health nursing interventions in an acute and/or rehabilitation context.
3. Proven expertise in the application of contemporary evidence-based clinical practice and sound knowledge of the current Mental Health Act 2015, other relevant legislation, and National Mental Health Standards.
4. Demonstrated strong leadership, negotiation, and communication skills for managing challenging behaviours and situations. With proven ability to develop and apply best practice principles, quality improvement and research strategies in the delivery of clinical services in a secure mental health facility.
5. Demonstrates understanding of, and adherence to, safety and quality standards, work, health and safety (WH&S) and the positive patient experience. Displays behavior consistent with CHS’s values of reliable, progressive, respectful and kind.

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.

Administrative	Frequency
Telephone use	Frequently
General computer use	Frequently
Extensive keying/data entry	Frequently
Graphical/analytical based	Frequently
Sitting at a desk	Frequently
Standing for long periods	Occasionally

Travel	Frequency
Frequent travel – multiple work sites	Occasionally
Frequent travel – driving	Occasionally

Physical demands	Frequency
Distance walking (large buildings or inter-building transit)	Never
Working outdoors	Never

Psychosocial demands	Frequency
Distressed People e.g. Emergency or grief situations	Frequently
Aggressive & Uncooperative People e.g. drug / alcohol, dementia, mental illness	Occasionally
Unpredictable People e.g. Dementia, mental illness, head injuries	Occasionally
Restraining e.g. involvement in physical containment of clients/consumers	Never
Exposure to Distressing Situations e.g. Child abuse, viewing dead / mutilated bodies; verbal abuse; domestic violence; suicide	Occasionally

Specific hazards	Frequency
Working at heights	Never
Exposure to extreme temperatures	Never
Operation of heavy machinery e.g. forklift	Never
Confined spaces	Never
Excessive noise	Occasionally
Low lighting	Never
Handling of dangerous goods/equipment e.g. gases; liquids; biological.	Never
Slippery or uneven surfaces	Never

Manual handling	Frequency
Lifting 0 – 9kg	Occasionally
Lifting 10 – 15kg	Never
Lifting 16kg+	Never
Climbing	Never
Running	Never
Reaching	Occasionally
Kneeling	Occasionally
Foot and leg movement	Occasionally
Hand, arm and grasping movements	Occasionally
Bending/squatting	Occasionally
Bend/Lean Forward from Waist/Trunk twisting	Occasionally
Push/pull	Occasionally
Sequential repetitive movements in a short amount of time	Frequently