About this role
Job summary
As a Clinician within the Alcohol Care Outreach Team (ACOT), you'll hold a caseload of 15-18 patients who are high users of emergency and inpatient services.
Working alongside these patients, you'll help identify what matters most to them, support their recovery on their own terms, and reduce the unplanned hospital admissions that disrupt their lives and their health. This is assertive, relationship-driven outreach where persistence and compassion change outcomes.
You'll join the team at an exciting moment. ACOT is expanding across South London including Lewisham, Bexley, Greenwich, and Bromley -- as part of a regional initiative integrating care across acute hospital sites and community services. You'll be helping to build something new.
You'll be assigned a primary hospital at one of our participating sites:
Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Woolwich Lewisham Hospital We'd encourage you to share your site preferences on application and at interview. While we'll do our best to take these into account, final placements are determined by service capacity and need. Travel to the teams main base in Southwark will be required weekly and ss the team grows, some cross-site working across the wider area should also be expected as service needs dictate.
The role also offers the chance to develop your leadership: you'll provide day-to-day supervision and support to Band 5 clinicians as delegated by senior colleagues, offering guidance and oversight as they grow in the role
Main duties of the job
Manage a small caseload of clients with complex and multiple needs, including assessment, care planning, implementation, and regular review. Conduct assertive outreach visits in the community, including attending clients' homes and other agreed locations, to maintain engagement and support those reluctant to access services. Proactively engage clients in alcohol treatment pathways, including structured psychosocial and/or pharmacological interventions, using motivational and trauma-informed approaches. Act as an advocate for clients--supporting access to services related to housing, benefits, physical and mental health, and social care--while helping remove barriers to engagement. Undertake dynamic risk assessments to ensure the safety and wellbeing of clients, staff, and volunteers in varied community and hospital-based settings Maintain up-to-date and accurate clinical documentation, sharing relevant information with partner agencies to ensure coordinated care and risk management. Support and supervise volunteers and contribute to informal guidance for Band 5 colleagues, ensuring safe and effective involvement across the service. Contribute to service evaluation, quality improvement, and research projects aligned with the AAOT's evidence-based model. Participate in regular supervision, appraisal, and ongoing professional development, including fulfilling all mandatory training requirements.
About us
South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust (SLaM) provide the widest range of NHS mental health services in the UK as well as substance misuse services for people who are addicted to drugs and alcohol. We work closely with the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience (IoPPN), King's College London and are part of King's Health Partners Academic Health Sciences Centre. There are very few organisations in the world that have such wide-ranging capabilities working with mental illness. Our scope is unique because it is built on three major foundations: care and treatment, science and research, and training.
By coming to work at SLaM, you will gain experience of being part of an organisation with a rich history and international reputation in mental health care. You will have access to professional development and learning opportunities, and have the chance to work alongside people who are world leaders in their field. SLaM delivered more than 14,000 training experiences in 2014; providing an extensive range of learning opportunities for staff at all levels. In addition, our working relationship with King's Health Partners allows those working at the Trust to get involved in academic research.
Job description Job responsibilities
The post holder will be assigned a primary hospital base at one of the participating sites:
University Hospital Lewisham Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Woolwich Candidates should express their site preferences on the application and during the interview; while these will be considered, final placements will be determined based on service capacity and needs.
In line with the teams growth, there is an expectation that some work will be carried out across the area, as service needs dictate. The role will also include the supervision and support of Band 5 clinicians as delegated by senior colleagues, offering day-to-day guidance and oversight.
Person Specification
Qualifications Essential
Registered Nurse (RMN/RGN), Qualified Social Worker, Occupational Therapist, or other relevant health/social care professional registration (A) Or oSignificant and relevant experience in both Addictions and Assertive Outreach
Desirable
Post-registration qualification relevant to the client group or setting Evidence of continued professional development
Experience Essential
Recent and relevant experience working with alcohol-dependent or mental health clients in a community setting (A/I) Demonstrated clinical knowledge of alcohol dependence and associated co-morbidities, gained through training and/or direct work (A/I) Experience of inter-agency or multi-disciplinary working
Desirable
Experience of managing a caseload autonomously Experience using clinical or case management databases to record activity Experience supporting carers and/or working with volunteers Experience of mentoring or supervising junior staff or peers
Knowledge Essential
Understanding of structured alcohol interventions, brief interventions, pharmacological treatment options, and motivational interviewing Awareness of the physical health risks related to alcohol use and ability to recognise deterioration in physical health Familiarity with the Mental Health Act and Mental Capacity Act, particularly in the context of clients with alcohol dependence and complex needs Insight into the challenges faced by clients with multiple and complex needs Access to a car - or ability to travel between sites and patients' homes in a timely manner
Disclosure and Barring Service Check This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Certificate of Sponsorship Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
Employer details Employer name South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust
Address Marina House
113 Denmark Hill
London
SE5 8AZ
United Kingdom
Employer's website https://www.slam.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)