Consultant Psychiatrist - Acute Hospital Liaison, Swindon

We are seeking two Consultants to join our Acute Hospital Liaison Service in Swindon. These are two newly created posts based within the Mental Health Unit at the Victoria Centre on the site of Great Western Hospital.

These are two 0.8 posts but there is flexibility on the number of sessions.

The role of the psychiatrist is for diagnostic and treatment advice as well as supporting the wider team for patients attending GWH. The consultant will have a key clinical leadership role, with service improvement and development, alongside the team manager. In addition, there is a significant teaching and training aspect to this role, for general hospital staff.

Main duties of the job

Following fresh investment into the medical workforce, we are recruiting two consultant colleagues to join the Mental Health Liaison Team (MHLT) attached to the Great Western Hospital (GWH) in Swindon.

The posts are envisaged to be two part-time posts of 8 sessions each. This is the preferred option; however, the trust is committed to working flexibly if we find two suitable candidates. For example, one post can be full-time provided we are able to appoint a substantive colleague for 6 sessions.

The post holder will be based at the Victoria Centre, co-located at the GWH.

GWH is a 670-bedded District General Hospital with a 24/7 emergency department.

The team provides rapid, prioritised, and proportionate assessment of mental health needs for patients admitted to the GWH. The service accepts referrals for patients aged 18 and over from both the wards and the Emergency Department.

On average, the team receives about thirty referrals on a weekly basis. These include about twenty General Adult referrals and about ten referrals for older adult service users. The post holder is expected to attend a daily MDT meeting in the morning with team members, triage these referrals, and see as appropriate. Usually, it averages to about three to four face-to-face patient contacts on a daily basis.

About us

We are AWP (Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust), a diverse organisation with over 5,000 dedicated staff providing inpatient and community-based mental health care. We provide services from a range of locations to approximately 1.8 million people living in Bath and North East Somerset (B&NES), Bristol, North Somerset, South Gloucestershire, Swindon, across the county of Wiltshire and in parts of Dorset. Our outstanding people promote mental health and wellbeing. The expertise and resources within AWP are dedicated to a person-centred approach for those who use our services and for all employees. We recognise that happy and fulfilled employees give better care.

Job responsibilities

Please refer to the accompanying job description for full details on the roles and responsibilities of this post.

Person Specification Qualifications

• MB BS or equivalent medical qualification
• Relevant Higher Degree e.g. MD, PhD, MSc or other additional clinical qualifications
• MRCPsych or MRCPsych equivalent approved by the Royal College of Psychiatrists.
• Fully registered with the GMC with a licence to practise at the time of appointment
• Included on the GMC Specialist Register or within six months of gaining CCT
• Approved clinician status or able to achieve within 3 months of appointment
• Approved under S12 or able to achieve within 3 months of appointment
• CCT in General Adult Psychiatry

Experience

• Experience of assessing and treating patients in an inpatient/community setting.

Personal Skills

• To possess leadership skills and be able to work collaboratively in a multidisciplinary team.
• Ability to manage own time, workload and prioritise clinical work.
• Able to demonstrate excellent communication skills, in order to effectively work with patients, carers and staff.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.

Clinical Skills

• Ability to assess and treat psychiatric problems in adults of working age and to deal with crisis situations.

Knowledge

• Understanding of the management skills required to function successfully as a Consultant.

Teaching

• Commitment to and experience of undergraduate and postgraduate learning and teaching.
• Understanding principles of teaching.

Research and Audit

• Experience or involvement in a research project and publication.
• Experience of carrying out an audit project.

Management

• Evidence of management/leadership skills training.

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.