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

• Child & Adolescent Mental Health
• Adult Inpatient Mental Health
• Adult Community Mental Health
• Older Persons Mental Health
• Forensic Mental Health
• Alcohol & Drug
• Justice Health

Older Persons Mental Health Services (OPMHS) is a specialist service recognising the unique needs of older adults with mental health conditions. The team provides person-centered, strength-based, evidence-based and holistic care, promoting dignity, choice and wellbeing. OPMHS includes:

• Older Persons Mental Health Community Team
• Banksia inpatient unit

This position is located within OPMHCT. OPMHCT operates across the Australian Capital Territory, adhering to the OPMHS Model of Care.

OPMHCT is a multi-disciplinary team of nurses, allied health professionals, Psychiatry Registrars, Consultant Psychiatrists, and administration staff. The team provides assessment and diagnostic clarification, care planning, care co-ordination, and evidence-based interventions within the stepped care model to people who:

• Are 65 years and older or 50 years and older if Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander,
• Are experiencing complex mental illness/disorder or psychological distress which is associated with significant functional impairment and/or significant risks including those complicated by age-related conditions such as physical frailty or diagnosed neurocognitive disorder,
• 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 a less intensive service, and
• Require regular service contact over a medium to longer-term episode of care.

The successful applicant will be responsible for a caseload of consumers, providing comprehensive assessment, specialist clinical intervention, and targeted support to reduce functional impairments, promote independence, enhance wellbeing, and improve overall quality of life. You will be supported by an allocated psychiatrist, the multidisciplinary team, and strong governance.

The successful applicant will deliver face to face care and treatment to consumers, partnering with consumers, families, and carers throughout the consumers episode of care, and you will work in collaboration with the consumers GP and government and non-government health and aged care services.

At this level, the successful applicant will have sound clinical knowledge, provide clinical duties and achieve positive outcomes for consumers under routine supervision, contribute to the multidisciplinary team processes, undertake professional development and professional supervision including the provision of supervision to staff at level RN1, Enrolled Nurses and students, and participate in quality initiatives. The successful applicant will undertake Clozapine training and support the team to deliver the teams Clozapine Clinic.

Selection may be appointed using the written application alone.

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

1. Provide assessment, care and relapse prevention planning, and evidence-based interventions to consumers presenting with complex and moderate-risk mental health conditions with outcomes to reduce functional impairments, promote independence, enhance wellbeing, and improve overall quality of life.
2. Whilst upholding privacy and consent laws, work collaboratively with the persons family, carers, government and non-government sector, and GPs.
3. Exercise independent clinical judgement on routine matters and perform novel, complex or critical tasks with decreasing professional supervision.
4. Work collaboratively with the Team Manager to work within the governance structures and policy frameworks relevant to this position, including the completion of routine key performance indicators.
5. Develop and maintain collaborative cross-agency relationships. Provide supervision to and support of EN’s and nursing students.
6. Actively contribute to the implementation of clinical governance activities, quality improvement projects, divisional safety and quality initiatives, and health promotion.
7. Complete clinical and administrative data collection and evaluation to a high standard and undertake other administrative tasks upon request.
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.

• Have clinical experience and/or specialised skills in mental health care
• Accountable for the delivery of safe clinical practice and professional advice, being accountable for own standards, actions, and the outcomes of own nursing practice, professional advice given and for activities delegated to RN1s, ENs, nursing students or other healthcare workers.
• Practices independently/autonomously.
• Apply evidence-based guidelines to achieve positive consumer outcomes, is an active participant within the team, provides leadership in clinical decision making, to give and/or coordinate care to consumers.
• Able to function in more complex situations while providing support and direction to RNs, ENs and other healthcare workers.
• Adhere to established guidelines, protocols, procedures, standards, policies, and legislation.
• Understand and apply obligations for risk identification and safe practice.
• 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.

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

Essential

• Tertiary qualifications in Nursing
• Registered or eligible for registration with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA).
• Hold a current driver’s licence

Desirable

• Experience or knowledge of the CHS Exceptional Care Framework, and all other related frameworks.
• Have an understanding of how the National Safety and Quality Health Service (NSQHS) indicators align with this role.

Specific responsibilities include but are not limited to the following.

Essential

• Minimum of 4 years fulltime equivalent post registration experience in relevant field.

Desirable

• Prior experience working in older persons mental health will be highly desirable
• Sound understanding of older persons community mental health services.
• Proficient user of the Digital Health Record and/or other Information Technology systems

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.

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. Please provide a written application addressing all the key selection criteria. It is important that you provide as much detail as possible to assist with the shortlisting process.

Written applications must not be longer than three pages.

1. Under routine supervision, demonstrated ability to undertake relevant mental health assessments, collaborative care and relapse prevention planning, and delivery of evidence-based interventions to people with complex, moderate to severe mental health conditions and demonstrated good judgement about when to escalate a deterioration in a consumer’s condition.
2. Demonstrated ability to manage a caseload of people with complex mental health conditions, within and whilst utilising the multi-disciplinary team, and responding to unexpected clinical and operational demands that demonstrates good time management and problem solving.
3. Effective communication skills, an understanding of and willingness to participate in, research, quality improvement activities and clinical supervision. An ability or willingness to use electronic health records.
4. Demonstrated sound understanding of legislative and policy frameworks relevant to this position.
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.

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	Occasionally
Sitting at a desk	Frequently
Standing for long periods	Occasionally

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

Physical demands	Frequency
Distance walking (large buildings or inter-building transit)	Occasionally
Working outdoors	Occasionally

Psychosocial demands	Frequency
Distressed People e.g. Emergency or grief situations	Frequently
Aggressive & Uncooperative People e.g. drug / alcohol, dementia, mental illness	Frequently
Unpredictable People e.g. Dementia, mental illness, head injuries	Frequently
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	Occasionally
Exposure to extreme temperatures	Occasionally
Operation of heavy machinery e.g. forklift	Never
Confined spaces	Occasionally
Excessive noise	Occasionally
Low lighting	Occasionally
Handling of dangerous goods/equipment e.g. gases; liquids; biological.	Never
Slippery or uneven surfaces	Occasionally

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