Community CAMHS Consultant Psychiatrist

Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust; Folkestone; On-site; GBP 150,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

A regional NHS Trust in Folkestone is seeking a dedicated consultant to join their South Kent Community CAMHS team starting in April 2026. Successful candidates will have crucial roles in assessing and providing treatment for children's mental health. This position offers a £20,000 recruitment bonus, financial support for relocation, and the opportunity for ongoing professional development. Candidates must have appropriate qualifications and be ready to contribute positively to the community's mental health services.

Benefits

£20,000 recruitment bonus

Financial support for relocation up to £8,000

Generous annual leave and NHS pension scheme

Flexible working options

Access to independent counselling service

Free discounts through Blue Light Card

Qualifications

• Experience in assessing and developing care plans for complex patient needs.
• Ability to provide meaningful choices promoting dignity and quality of life.
• Knowledge of evidence-based practice and research.

Responsibilities

• Act independently and be accountable for unsupervised clinical actions.
• Assess and develop care plans for a variety of conditions.
• Provide education to patients and relatives.

Skills

MRCPsych or equivalent

Approved Clinician status

S12 approval eligibility

Education

Fully registered with the GMC

Job description

From spring 2026, our services will extend to include children and young people’s mental health services and all-age eating disorder services within the Trust.

We are looking for a dedicated consultant to join the South Kent Community CAMHS team from 1st April 2026.

The South Kent CAMHS Community team provides a service to children and young people (under the age of 18 years) living in Dover and Folkestone. Dover has a CYP population of 24 908, and Folkestone has a CYP population of 22 301.

The team is a generic Tier 3 CAMHS team who undertake assessment and treatment of a range of disorders in children and young people including ADHD, ASD, Mood disorders, Psychosis, PTSD, Anxiety disorders, emerging personality disorders and challenging behaviour.

Successful applicants will ideally have MRCPsych or equivalent and be on, or within six months of inclusion on, the Specialist Register. You will be fully registered with the GMC, and have Approved Clinician status and S12 approval under the Mental Health Act (or have eligibility for it and be able to achieve this on appointment).

Main duties of the job

1. To act as an autonomous, registered practitioner who is legally and professionally accountable for own unsupervised actions guided by the professional code of conduct and Trust guidelines and protocols.
2. The post holder will have full registration with a licence to practice on the General Medical Council (GMC).
3. Further professional knowledge will have been gained through accredited courses, workshops, study, and in-house training programmes.
4. To be responsible, and accountable, for service delivery to clients/patients.
5. To be able to assess and develop care plans to meet the complex needs of patients with a variety of conditions. This includes chronic, acute, and palliative care within own competencies, recognising own limitations and seeking advice when necessary. This will include continuously evaluating and acting on outcomes.
6. To be able to initiate referrals to other health professional specialist services and agencies.
7. To provide patients and relatives with information and education thus ensuring they have meaningful choices that promote dignity, independence, and quality of life.
8. To ensure practice is supported by research, evidence-based practice, literature, and peer review.

We are Kent and Medway Mental Health NHS Trust. We care for the mental health and wellbeing of people across Kent and Medway. Our teams support adults with a wide range of mental health needs. Because we cover the whole county and both hospital and community settings, we can make care more joined up and easier to access for the 1.8 million people of Kent and Medway. Rated ‘Good’ by the CQC, we care for over 2,000 people in our hospitals and 54,000 in the community each year.

Our vision is simple: We are here to help communities not just live with mental illness, but live well. It’s why we’re passionate about working with communities to make mental health care better for everyone. And everything we do is guided by our values caring, inclusive, curious and confident.

Join us - if you share our passion for better mental health care and want to be part of a team that's doing well together.

PLEASE NOTE: this job description is currently pending approval from the Royal College of Psychiatrists.

For detailed information regarding the role, please refer to the attached job description and person specification. The job description will provide you with the main duties and responsibilities of the role. The person specifications will detail the qualifications, knowledge, skills and experience required for the role.

Part time or job-share applications are welcome.

Our Benefits

• This post attracts a newly enhanced recruitment bonus of £20,000.
• Financial support for relocation of up to £8,000.
• Easy access to in-house research team and academic opportunity through Kent’s own Medical school.
• Generous annual leave and study leave entitlement and access to the fantastic NHS pension scheme.
• Holiday of a Lifetime Scheme – Bank your annual leave to save up for that all important extended break.
• Flexible working – just ask and we will try to help.
• Excellent Learning and Development opportunities – we offer doctors at all grades the chance to engage in leadership, educational, research, quality improvement development and seek growth opportunities tailored to their areas of interest.
• Free access to an independent counselling service.
• Blue Light Card – a discount service for the NHS, with thousands of amazing discounts.
• Car lease scheme.
• A variety of staff network forums which empower, support and encourage network members and allies, to reflect KMMH values and promote equality and diversity.

If you would like further information, or to know the full terms of the Recruitment Bonus and/or Relocation Allowance, then please contact our Medical Staffing Team: [e-mail]

This advert closes on Sunday 1 Feb 2026.