Consultant Adult Liaison Psychiatrist MH Crisis Assessment Hub

NELFT North East London Foundation Trust; Ilford; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 93,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading mental health service provider in Ilford is seeking a Consultant Adult Liaison Psychiatrist to support a multidisciplinary team at Queens Hospital and Goodmayes. This role includes managing patients in crisis, leading clinical teams, and delivering high-quality mental health care. Ideal candidates will have approved clinician status and be eligible for the Specialist Register. The position offers flexible working arrangements, including potential for job share and part-time options.

Qualifications

• Inclusion in Specialist Register for Psychiatry or eligibility within 6 months.
• Approved Clinician status or eligibility for it.
• Excellent clinical and communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Work as the senior clinical lead in multidisciplinary teams.
• Demonstrate clinical and strategic leadership.
• Contribute to the culture of relational care.

Job description

Consultant Adult Liaison Psychiatrist – Queens Hospital & Goodmayes 24hour Mental Health Crisis Assessment Hub (across both sites)

Closing date: 05 January 2026.

Job title: Consultant Adult Liaison Psychiatrist – Queens Hospital & Goodmayes 24hour Mental Health Crisis Assessment Hub (across both sites).

Substantive. Flexible working available – including job share, part-time, remote sessions considered.

Base: Queens Hospital, Barking, Havering and Redbridge. University Trust (BHRUT), Rom Valley Way, Romford, RM7 0AG and Block 8, Goodmayes Hospital, Barley Lane, Ilford, IG3 8XJ.

Main duties of the job

This is a new Consultant Adult Liaison Psychiatrist post created when an established consultant in the Psychiatric Liaison Service at Queen’s Hospital reduced their hours for work‑life balance and the available PAs were added to Consultant Programmed Activities in our new 24‑hour Enhanced Crisis Assessment Hub on the Goodmayes Hospital site.

It is funded as ten Programmed Activities (10 PAs) with 7.5 Direct Clinical Contact activities (DCC) and 2.5 Supporting Professional Activities (SPA). The post is currently filled with a locum at both sites. It is a full‑time substantive post and we would consider requests for flexible working, job share or fixed‑term arrangements if preferred.

The expectation of the post holder is to support their teams, the Directorate and the organisation to follow the Trust’s Values in their day‑to‑day work.

• We are kind
• We are respectful
• We work with our communities

About us

This is a Consultant Adult Liaison Psychiatrist role across two mental health teams aligned to the crisis pathway; the Psychiatric Liaison Service at Queens Hospital and the newly expanded 24‑hour Mental Health Crisis Assessment Hub offering a co‑designed space with assessment and therapeutic intervention for patients presenting with a mental health crisis as an alternative to Emergency Departments. Both services benefit from excellent, stable, multidisciplinary teams including professions such as peer support workers as well as nurses, psychologists, and other clinical roles.

Rationale for post: This is a new post created to support the acute mental health care pathway in the Emergency Departments and provide alternatives for A&E attendance by delivering quick assessment of patients in crisis and formulating management plans that support recovery and reduce admission where possible.

On‑call responsibilities: The post holder will be part of the Senior Psychiatrist on‑call rota covering out‑of‑hours for Mental Health Services in NELFT. The on‑call covers Adult and Older Adult services. This is currently a 1:50 rota with a 3% Category A salary supplement. The Trust also has a daytime (9 am‑5 pm) Section 136 rota with an approximate frequency of 1 day every 3 months, with all Section 12 approved doctors expected to take a lead on emergency Mental Health Act assessments in the Section 136 suite on the Goodmayes site.

Job responsibilities

The post holder will be a Consultant Psychiatrist with Approved Clinician (AC) certification and is expected to contribute to the culture of relational care and collaborative working in the Psychiatric Liaison Service of Queens Hospital and the 24‑hour Mental Health Crisis Assessment Hub at Goodmayes. You will work as the senior clinical lead in the multidisciplinary teams, including direct clinical care to patients.

You are expected to demonstrate clinical and strategic leadership and provide supervision to clinicians where appropriate. You will work clinically with patients and their families, and liaise as appropriate with BHRUT colleagues, the local community mental health services, and inpatient and Home Treatment Team colleagues. You will develop good working relationships with our Emergency Department (ED) colleagues in Queens Hospital to continually improve care delivered to our patients.

You will work alongside current consultants in Liaison at Queens; two General Adult Consultant Psychiatrists (Dr Gavin McKay and Dr Sally Daly), and Old Age Consultant Psychiatrists (Dr Stephen OConnor and Dr Gareth Smith), plus two Specialty Doctors who work across old age and general adult psychiatry, a senior trainee in old age psychiatry and a Foundation doctor. There is also a Specialty Doctor placed in the 24‑hour Enhanced Crisis Assessment Hub who you would be expected to clinically supervise.

We have a Health‑Based Place of Safety (HBPoS) designated Section 136 suite at Goodmayes. The Section 136 rota covers activity for MHA assessments in the HBPoS, but there are occasions when patients who have been assessed need further consultant review and this would be within the remit of this post, arranged during times you are based at the Hub. You will also be expected to take a lead on emergency Mental Health Act assessments of Adults subject to Section 136 within the ED liaison setting during your ED working hours, although these presentations are not encouraged as the preferred route is via the Health‑Based Place of Safety. The post holder will direct, support or conduct the assessment and treatment planning for patients presenting in crisis at Queens ED or at the Crisis Assessment Hub. There is 24‑hour duty doctor cover across the Liaison teams and the Assessment Hub out of hours.

Person Specification

Qualifications

• Inclusion in, or eligibility for inclusion in the Specialist Register for Psychiatry or within 6 months of obtaining CCT
• Approved Clinician status, or eligibility for it

Experience

• Mastery in the management of a broad range of mental disorders in adults
• Experience in managing patients from different cultural backgrounds
• Working with interpreters and translators

Knowledge

• An awareness of NHS strategic and clinical governance priorities
• Understanding of change management

Clinical Skills

• Excellent clinical skills
• Excellent communication skills both verbally and written

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.

Address

Queen’s Hospital, (BHRUT) & Goodmayes Hospital

Queen’s Hospital, (BHRUT) & Goodmayes Hospital