Eating Disorder Locality Lead - Taunton

We are pleased to offer an excellent opportunity for an experienced clinician to join our Eating Disorders Service for Adults (EDSA) as the Eating Disorder Locality Lead. In this senior role, you will support the delivery of high quality, evidence based interventions for adults experiencing eating disorders, ensuring safe, effective and compassionate care across your locality.

You will join a warm, passionate and highly skilled multidisciplinary team comprising nurses, psychologists, dietitians, psychological therapists, clinical practitioners and support workers. The service works in partnership with the Somerset and Wessex Eating Disorders Association (SWEDA) and accepts referrals directly from primary care.

The team aims to work, wherever possible, within the FREED model, supporting young adults to access rapid and effective treatment for first episode eating disorders. As a locality lead, you will contribute to service development and have access to ongoing professional training and development opportunities.

Main duties of the job

• Provide clinical leadership across your locality, ensuring high quality, evidence based care for adults with eating disorders.
• Hold a specialist caseload, completing assessment, care planning and delivery of psychological and physical health interventions.
• Support physical health monitoring and management of high risk patients, including those requiring MEED related assessment.
• Triage referrals and coordinate locality workflows to support timely access to treatment.
• Offer specialist clinical advice, consultation and supervision to colleagues within the EDSA team and wider Trust services.
• Liaise with primary care, inpatient teams, acute hospitals, voluntary sector partners and out of area specialist units where required.
• Facilitate or cofacilitate therapeutic groups such as MANTRA, Emotional Skills and psychoeducation sessions.
• Contribute to service development, care pathway improvement, training delivery and clinical governance activity.

About us

At Somerset NHS Foundation Trust, we're committed to supporting our employees with a range of benefits designed to enhance your professional and personal life. We offer:

• Flexible working options to help you balance work and life
• NHS pension scheme for long-term financial security
• Generous annual leave allowance to recharge and relax
• A strong focus on career development to help you grow and achieve your potential

Additionally, you'll gain access to our Blue Light Card, unlocking exclusive discounts on shopping, dining, and leisure activities, as well as NHS-specific perks to support you both inside and outside of work.

We are proud to foster a diverse, skilled, and inclusive workforce, and we encourage applications from all backgrounds.

Why Somerset? Somerset offers the perfect blend of idyllic countryside, outstanding areas of natural beauty, and breathtaking coastlines, with vibrant cities like Bristol, Bath, and Exeter just a short drive away - and only two hours to London.

The region is home to excellent educational facilities, and with affordable housing compared to other parts of the country, it's a great place to build both your career and your future.

Somerset truly has it all - the peaceful countryside and cosmopolitan city life, with something for everyone to enjoy.

Job responsibilities

As the Eating Disorder Locality Lead, you will deliver and oversee specialist clinical care for adults with eating disorders, ensuring a coordinated approach to both psychological and physical health needs. You will assess and manage a caseload, develop treatment plans, provide evidence based interventions and take a key role in monitoring physical risk.

You will act as a source of expert advice within your locality, offering supervision, consultation and clinical guidance to colleagues across services. You will support the triage of referrals, liaise with external partners, and ensure safe and effective transitions between community, inpatient and specialist services.

The role involves contributing to service and pathway development, participating in audits and outcome monitoring, and supporting the delivery of training packages across the Trust. You will maintain high quality clinical records, adhere to all Trust policies and safeguarding standards, and travel across the county as needed to support service delivery.

Person Specification

Qualifications

• Registered mental health nurse. (RMN) Or Registered Nurse (RN)
• Commitment to continuing professional development in the field of eating disorders e.g. attending relevant MSc modules or equivalent.
• Non-medical prescribing or a willingness to undertake appropriate training.
• Specialist Eating Disorder training at MSc level or equivalent.
• Evidence of recent relevant training.

Experience

• Experience in mental health provision and a working knowledge of eating disorders underpinned by relevant bio/psychosocial clinical models.
• Significant experience in working with people with complex clinical and risk presentations.
• Experience of offering clinical supervision in a variety of settings.
• Working with clients in the community and inpatient settings.

Additional Criteria

• Knowledge of physical health complications of eating disorders.
• Must be a car driver with a valid driving licence or have access to transport with appropriate business insurance in order to travel throughout the Trust, to meet the needs of the service.

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.

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