ARFID Pathway LeadNHS

Job summary

The post holder will provide senior clinical leadership of the ARFID Pathway, working closely with the General Manager and the wider CEDS-CYP leadership team to lead the day-to-day clinical operation of the pathway. This is a highly specialist, multi-professional leadership post and is open to applicants from a range of relevant clinical professional backgrounds, including Nursing (Mental Health or Paediatric/Child), Occupational Therapy, Dietetics, Psychological Professions, Social Work and other relevant Allied Health Professions. Applicants will be required to demonstrate highly specialist experience and/or knowledge relevant to ARFID, feeding and eating disorders, and neurodevelopmental and sensory presentations in children and young people.

The post holder will provide highly specialist assessment, formulation, triage and consultation for children, young people and their families presenting with ARFID or suspected ARFID, including those with complex, heterogeneous presentations such as learning disability, global developmental delay, sensory sensitivities, neurodevelopmental conditions and physical health comorbidities, in line with the pathway's inclusion and exclusion criteria.

Main duties of the job

The post holder will provide leadership, supervision and day-to-day coordination of the ARFID MDT (including Psychology, Dietetics, Nursing, Occupational Therapy, Speech & Language Therapy, Paediatrics and Psychiatry), ensuring the pathway operates safely, consistently and in line with the agreed clinical model, MEED risk framework and NICE guidance.

The post holder will lead on the development,implementation and audit of the ARFID pathway to ensure it remains in line with national and local strategies and priorities, and will support the delivery of agreed KPIs across access, clinical quality, outcomes, experience, system impact and equity.

The post holder will require a high degree of professional autonomy and self-management, will be required to account for their professional practice through appraisal and audit, and will contribute to the wider functions of the team including triage of new referrals and the duty rota.

The post holder will be responsible for the management, development and leadership of assigned staff within the pathway, including those from different professional backgrounds and training. They will be responsible for the recruitment, selection and retention of assigned posts, and will contribute to the investigation of complaints, grievances, capability and disciplinary procedures as required by senior managers.

Job description

The ARFID Pathway is a dedicated, community-based specialist pathway within CEDS-CYP for children and young people aged 818 years with Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID) or suspected ARFID. The pathway delivers early, evidence-based, multidisciplinary assessment, consultation and brief intervention, addressing the gap between paediatric and mental health services, improving clinical outcomes, reducing fragmentation of care and preventing avoidable escalation to acute hospital or Tier 4 services. The model incorporates FBT-ARFID and CBT-AR approaches within a structured, time-limited (68 session) treatment model, supported by MDT formulation, and is aligned with system partners including North East London NHS Foundation Trust (NELFT).

• Toprovide highly specialist clinical leadership of the ARFID Pathway within EL CEDS-CYP, working across Nursing, Occupational Therapy, Dietetics, Psychology, Speech & Language Therapy, Psychiatry and Paediatrics.
• To provide highly specialist assessment, triage and formulation for children and young people aged 818 with ARFID or suspected ARFID, in line with the pathway's inclusion criteria (declining weight, nutritional deficiency, physical sequelae, MEED Red/Amber risk, ONS or NGT feeding) and exclusion criteria.
• To evaluate and monitor eating disorder-related clinical risk on an on-going basis, including physical and psychiatric risk, using the MEED risk framework, and to undertake or oversee basic physical health checks (e.g. height, weight) as part of risk assessment.
• To lead the MDT formulation process for children, young people and their families with complex ARFID presentations and comorbid.

About us

The East London Community Eating Disorders Service (CEDS-CYP) is a multidisciplinary team including Therapies (family therapy, clinical/counselling psychology, assistant psychology), Medical (psychiatry and paediatrics), Nursing (mental health and paediatric nursing), Dietetics, Occupational Therapy, Speech & Language Therapy, Support Workers and Administrative and Operational staff.

Our mission is to make a positive difference to people's lives by improving the quality of life for all we serve. Our values are: We Care, We Respect, We are Inclusive - so we are looking for people who live and breathe these qualities when supporting service users and carers, and in their relationships with colleagues in the Trust and our partner organisations.