Emma Lord

As the Project officer I provide project management for mental health clinical performance and activity by working with the Mental Health Service Group staff to embed sustainable systems and support monitoring and reporting requirements regarding clinical performance and activity-based funding.

This role provides support and education around the Outcome measures including Health of the Nations Outcomes Scale (HoNOS / HoNOSCA / HoNOS65+) and Mental Health Phase of Care.

The role includes managing and analysing data related to consumer outcomes, improve quality and quantity of outcome collections, embed change management as well as optimising revenue generation and resource allocation within our healthcare system, including the increase in multi-phasing during episodes of care.

• Provide high level, flexible mental health clinical services to young people who have complex and severe mental health problems, display high risk of self-harm, aggression or vulnerability or are at risk of deterioration due to a severe mental illness.
• Provide a collaborative, system-based care to high risk and difficult-to-engage adolescents to treat mental illness, reduce emotional distress and promote function within the community.
• Provide Intensive, developmentally appropriate, community-centred, mental health interventions and ongoing assessment for adolescents who require higher-intensity services. The overall treatment plan includes risk assessment, crisis/safety planning and management, and rehabilitation and support to recover from mental illness.
• Co-ordination and establishment of collaborative links with other community service providers including other health care providers, education, child safety, housing, police, youth justice, and alcohol and other drugs services.
• Facilitation and support of a safe transition to more functional or independent living in the community.
• Backfill in October 2021

• Improve the integration of mental health services into the correctional, watchhouse and court settings and provide specialist mental health assessments and forensic risk assessments using a high degree of independent judgement and problem-solving skills.
• Apply advanced clinical knowledge, skill and professional judgement to complex cases.
• Triage referrals on the basis of urgency and clinical need and respond within set time frames ensuring KPI targets are being maintained.
• Work autonomously in an environment where there is limited direct clinical practice and liaise with the team leader and psychiatrist when required.
• Liaise with the MDT and other relevant services including prison mental health, youth justice and child safety, young people and their families when facilitating care for consumers.
• Provide teaching and support to colleagues, other health professionals and service providers to build stronger working relationships and partnerships.
• Hold portfolios on triage of referrals, morning meeting management, Suicide Risk Assessment Team (SRAT) process and the Mental Health Act 2016.

• The service provides mental health and alcohol and other drug services to young people accommodated in the Cleveland Youth Detention Centre or engaged in the criminal justice system. Over 90% of the young people engaged with our service are of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander background. The young people with whom we provide therapeutic support often present with a background of complex trauma and a range of bio-psychosocial issues. The role provides operational supervision to a multi-disciplinary team of mental health clinicians including, Nurses, Occupational Therapists, Psychologists and Social Workers as well as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Workers.
• A solution focused and strengths-based approach to service delivery challenges and the ability to work collaboratively and regionally with various stakeholders, demonstrating collaborative principles to improve and co-ordinate service provision.
• Able to manage budgets, meet key performance indicators, financial reporting and performance reporting requirements.
• Holiday relief

• Provide high level, flexible mental health clinical services to young people with Early Psychosis (EP) and other emerging non-psychotic disorders within a multidisciplinary team environment.
• Provide advice, support, education, and guidance to all staff within the multidisciplinary team with regards to assessment and treatment of young people with emerging complex disorders.
• Model expert clinical leadership and professional development.

• Aim to improve the integration of mental health services into the general hospital system and provide specialist mental health assessments.
• Facilitate linkages and continuity of care between the general hospital and mental health services.
• Triage referrals on the basis of urgency and clinical need and provide teaching, training and support to colleagues throughout the general hospital.

• Prioritise, deliver, review, communicate and document clinical information professionally and in the prescribed formats.
• Participate appropriately in a multidisciplinary team within the nursing scope of practice, respectfully and courteously to others at all times.
• Maintain a culturally safe environment.
• Plan the shift accordingly at commencement of shift to ensure continuity of patient care and complete all relevant patient assessments.
• Act as a care coordinator for a group of allocated consumers and work in collaboration with the nursing team.
• Initiate and participate in emergency response.
• Work with client s to assist in the management of activities of daily living.
• Provide education, information and counselling and support consumers, families, other care providers and support services.
• The ability to work effectively as a member of a multidisciplinary team, with the ability to consult and liaise with a wide range of stakeholders.
• Able to provide guidance to less experienced staff members and education to students.

• Provide leadership in the management of the clinical team to maximize and develop their clinical skills.
• Provide coordination of clinical services and the management of human, physical and material resources
• Apply contemporary leadership principles and maintain an effective and motivated team.
• Demonstrate evidence of positive, professional role modelling.
• Demonstrate sound knowledge and ability to participate in a positive and contemporary workplace, upholding and ensuring compliance with professional standards and codes of nursing practice.
• Collaborate and coordinate with the Clinical Nurse’s to support staff learning and development needs identified through performance appraisal and development processes.
• Utilise management skills and knowledge to lead workforce planning and resource management in a multidisciplinary environment.
• Establish and maintain systems and processes that facilitate the evaluation of clinical service delivery, and manage clinical risks, ensuring safe and effective care.

• Provide ongoing assessment and support to consumers whilst promoting a holistic approach to mental health and wellbeing.
• Actively involve consumers, families and carers in all aspects of care by utilizing promotion, prevention and early intervention strategies.
• Prepare MHRT reports and attend tribunals to ensure that consumers who are highly vulnerable are safe guarded by the MHA 2000.
• Ensure consumers under Involuntary Treatment Orders are managed in the least restrictive and intrusive manner whilst ensuring their adherence to Limited Community Treatment Plan.
• 10 week Secondment

• Comprehensive assessment of consumers presenting with a mental illness and often in crisis.
• Perform risk assessments and develop management plans of at-risk consumers presenting on the unit.
• Management of consumers admitted to the unit by attending clinical reviews with the multi-disciplinary team, management, and administration of medication, completing outcomes measures such as HONOS.
• Utilizing and promoting a recovery-based model of care whilst utilizing and encouraging the consumer recovery journal workbook.

• Worked in an acute in-patient unit for adult mental health for people aged 16 years and over and rotated between the Acute unit and the Intensive Psychiatric Unit (IPC).
• Provided quality specialized mental health nursing care to consumers and their family in a safe and secure environment.
• Encouraged consumers to take an active role in decisions about their care and enabled independence whilst also actively involving family and practicing in a manner that is deemed culturally safe.
• Undertook comprehensive and accurate nursing assessments of service users in a variety of settings whilst continually evaluating the consumers progress towards expected outcomes in collaboration with the consumer.
• Established, maintained and concluded therapeutic interpersonal relationships with consumers.

• Worked in a mixed sex acute in-patient unit for adult mental health for people aged 16 years and over which then changed to a male only unit.
• Developed a good clinical knowledge of mental health illness and issues within mental health and developed my clinical knowledge of psychiatric medications.
• Involved in the multi-disciplinary team review of consumers care and treatment and had to submit reviews on the consumers progress to present to the MDT.
• Regularly coordinated the shift and was responsible for the daily running of the ward and providing support and guidance to staff, postgraduates, and students.
• Used a key worker system and I worked closely with consumers, carers, and their families in order to develop care plans and identify and meet consumer’s needs.
• Coordinated care with other members of the MDT and was involved in using the Care Plan Approach (CPA’s) which assisted me to develop effective communication skills within the MDT.
• Regularly liaised with outside agencies such as social workers, case managers, mental health officers, support workers and in some circumstances the Police.