By 
St Thomas’ Hospital, London
Evelina London Cleft Service – Summer Placement June-September 2022
The Evelina London Cleft Service (ELCS) has a summer placement available for undergraduate psychology students. This placement is unpaid for 4 days per week (exact days can be flexible), ideally for an undergraduate student who is between years 2 and 3 or 3 and 4. Further information about the team and the placement is below.
If you would like to be considered for this placement please send a cover letter and CV to:
Dr Jen Rundle (Clinical Psychologist)
Email: jen.rundle@gstt.nhs.uk
If you have any questions please contact Jen via email or by phone (020 7188 7188 ext 51839) or mobile (07714398863)
Closing date: Friday 8th April 2022
More information
The Evelina London Cleft Service
Cleft lip and/or palate is a congenital deformity with an incidence in the UK of approximately 1 in 700 live births and with a range of presentations. Successful management of patients born with cleft lip and/or palate involves multidisciplinary, highly specialised treatment from birth to early adulthood. The Evelina London Cleft Service (ELCS) provides highly specialised care to all patients with a cleft lip and/or palate in the South Thames region. The service is currently delivered through outpatient and inpatient sites at Guys and St Thomas’ Hospital (GSTT) and at out-reach clinics throughout the region.
There are currently around 4000 active patients in the Cleft Service, with approximately 140 babies with cleft lip and/or palate being born each year in the network. The service follows the entire patient care pathway, from before the birth of the child through to twenty years old and to adults returning for further care.
Evidence suggests that 20-30% of children and young people with cleft lip and/or palate experience significant cognitive, behavioural and/or emotional problems. They may also have additional difficulties related to other associated medical conditions and syndromes. Issues such as social isolation and social phobia, poor self-esteem and self-confidence, anxiety and depression are relatively common. Parents require support during the antenatal period, immediately after their child’s birth and onwards as they adjust to their child’s diagnosis, appearance and any related difficulties and as they make decisions about and support their children through surgical procedures.
Clinical Psychology makes an important contribution to patient care and thus, the need to develop, monitor and audit psychology developments is particularly important in this area. Within the ELCS there is a significant commitment to service development and the placement student will be expected to be committed to audit and research and to keep up-to-date with developments in cleft and more widely in paediatric psychology and related child and adolescent mental health issues.
Guy’s & St Thomas NHS Foundation Trust
Guy’s and St Thomas’ is one of the largest hospital trusts in the country. The Trust comprises two of London’s oldest and best known teaching hospitals. The hospitals have a long history, dating back almost 900 years, and have been at the forefront of medical progress and innovation since they were founded.
Placement Summary
The successful applicant will join the specialist Clinical Psychology service to the Evelina London Cleft Service at St Thomas’ Hospital which currently consists of three clinical psychologists (two full time and one part time). There is also occasionally a Clinical Psychologist in training on placement with the team.
The post holder will be part of the Clinical Psychology team, joining case discussions and meetings and, where appropriate, joining and observing clinical work. They will assist in a range of duties to support the clinical work of the psychologists in the team. This will include conducting literature searches and preparing clinical resources and teaching. The post holder will be line managed by the lead clinical psychologist and supervised by a permanent member of the clinical psychology team.
Part of the role may also include completing or contributing to a research project within our team. There are various research projects available in relation to a number of new pathways and projects that have been conducted over the last couple of years. The role of the placement student may for example involve collecting, analysing and reporting on qualitative and/or quantitative outcomes for these projects and the experiences of patients who have taken part. Any work such as this will be conducted alongside and supervised by a qualified clinical psychologist.
This post is offered for three months between June and September however we can be flexible around term dates and other commitments. This placement is unpaid (travel expenses provided) for 4 days per week (exact days can be flexible).
Key Relationships
The post holder will have regular contact with the qualified Clinical Psychologists within the ELCS as well as the Trainee Clinical Psychologist. The post holder will also have regular contact with other members of the multi-disciplinary health team (e.g. Speech and Language Therapists, Nurses, Surgeons, Dentists and Orthodontists) and will be linked in with other clinical psychologists across the trust through the trust-wide psychology network.
Duties and Responsibilities
- To work effectively as a member of the Evelina London Cleft Service & Clinical Psychology Service across Paediatrics, whose aim is to deliver comprehensive clinical and multidisciplinary care to patients.
- To communicate skilfully, tactfully and sensitively complex and sensitive information with children and families, young people and adults, taking account of sensory and cultural barriers to communication.
- To maintain the highest standards of clinical record keeping and report writing, according to professional and trust guidelines, including electronic data entry and recording.
- Policy and service development.
- To contribute to the consultation and engagement of service users in planning and developing services.
- If appropriate, administer routine psychology assessments/interviews in order to collect necessary audit information.
- To contribute to the development of services through undertaking service evaluation and audit.
- There may be the opportunity to disseminate results of audit and/or research to the cleft team and to other psychologists within the paediatric psychology at relevant meetings, and possibly published articles/posters.
General
- To ensure own Continuing Professional Development in line with the university undergraduate degree course.
- To maintain an up-to-date knowledge of current developments in professional and clinical practice and of relevant legislation and policies.
- To comply with the BPS/HPC Code of Conduct, the Division of Clinical Psychology’s Professional Practice Guidelines and Trust policies and procedures.
- To follow Trust policies and procedures.
Review of this placement description
This job description is intended as an outline of the general areas of activity and will be amended in the light of the changing needs of the organisation. To be reviewed in conjunction with the post holder.
Address:
Evelina London Cleft Service
1st Floor, Staircase C, South Wing,
St Thomas’ Hospital,
Westminster Bridge Road,
London, SE1 7EH