Job overview

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a healthcare assistant within a Child and Adolescent Mental Health Unit. Mill Lodge provides specialised inpatient care for young people between the ages of 13 and 17 with a range of mental health difficulties. Health care assistants work alongside registered nurses and wider MDT staff to deliver a range of interventions; such as building a therapeutic relationship, meal support, involvement in family work and supporting the young person to engage in activities. They are involved in formulations and discussions in order to support young people to be able to return to the community more able to manage their mental health difficulties.

Please note that we expect a large volume of applications to this vacancy and it may close early if the maximum number of applications is reached. We advise an early application. 

Main duties of the job

The successful candidate will be enthusiastic about working with young people, be able to show initiative and work within a nursing team alongside a wider multidisciplinary team. Clinical supervision will be provided on a regular basis and all relevant training will be available with opportunities to develop any particular interests. We use a range of therapeutic approaches at Mill Lodge with key ones being Trauma Informed Care, DBT skills and Systemic Family Therapy. 

You will work under the direction of the nurse in charge of each shift. The majority of your day will be working directly with young people engaging them in a range of therapeutic interventions. This will involve supporting them at mealtimes, supporting nurses to administer NG feeds, carrying out therapeutic observations, supporting young people to attend school and carrying out physical observations. You will help to support young people through periods of distress and will work with them to develop interpersonal, distress tolerance and emotion regulation skills. You will be expected to follow care plans developed by the team and be involved in reviewing these alongside registered nurses. You will be expected to document care provided to a high standard and will receive training for this. 

Working for our organisation

The Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (LYPFT) is the main provider of Mental Health and Learning Disability services in Leeds. We also provide specialist inpatient services in York and some highly specialised services across the country. As a teaching trust with strong links to local universities, we are a centre of excellence for teaching, research and development.

There are many benefits of working for LYPFT including fantastic employee wellbeing support, 27 - 33 days annual leave, flexible working and remote working arrangements, the NHS Pension Scheme, coaching, support and opportunities for career development and training and education support alongside a range of exclusive discounts and payment schemes including for cars, extra leave days and more NHS Discount Offers.

We also have an incredible bank department, offering variety of roles in nursing, allied health professions, healthcare support worker and administration clerical. Permanent employees are automatically added to bank. 

Applicants should be aware that any individual requiring a visa to work in the UK, the Trust provides sponsorship for registered healthcare practitioner roles only (this does not include Healthcare Support Workers/ Health Care Assistants). This is an essential requirement, and the Trust is unable to offer you a role if you do not meet Trust requirements for sponsorship and Home Office requirements for a visa.