Consultant in Adult Psychiatry - Dunstable CMHT

East London NHS Foundation Trust; Dunstable; On-site; GBP 105,000 - 125,000; Full time

Job summary

East London NHS Foundation Trust is seeking a consultant adult psychiatrist to lead the Dunstable Community Mental Health Team for adults with acute and severe mental illness. The post-holder will run the team's weekly MDT, perform assessments and recovery-focused treatment planning, and advise GPs while liaising with crisis and inpatient services.

The post requires GMC Specialist Register eligibility or SpR within 6 months of CCT, Section 12 approval or Approved Clinician status, and experience

Qualifications

• Membership or Fellowship of the Royal College of Psychiatrists or equivalent.
• Full GMC registration with eligibility for Specialist Register (or SpR within 6 months of CCT).
• Section 12 approval or Approved Clinician status, or willingness to apply.
• Experience in clinical adult psychiatry at SpR, SAS or consultant level in the last 3 years.
• Audit experience and ability to translate research into practice.

Responsibilities

• Lead the Dunstable Community Mental Health Team and its weekly MDT meetings.
• Carry out assessments, diagnoses and recovery-oriented treatment planning.
• Provide clinical guidance to GPs and coordinate with crisis, inpatient and specialist teams.
• Fulfil Mental Health Act duties as an Approved Clinician and Section 12-approved psychiatrist.
• Meet performance targets (KPIs) and support HTAS accreditation.
• Supervise junior staff, deliver training, and lead quality improvement and audit.
• Participate in the consultant duty rota, appraisal and job planning.

Skills

Leadership

Teamwork

Risk assessment

Teaching/Mentoring

Clinical governance

Communication skills

GP liaison

Education

Membership or Fellowship of the Royal College of Psychiatrists

Job description

Consultant adult psychiatrist leading the Dunstable Community Mental Health Team at East London NHS Foundation Trust, serving adults with acute and severe mental illness. The post-holder runs the team's weekly MDT, carries out assessments and recovery-focused treatment planning, and advises GPs while liaising with crisis and inpatient services. The team has been restructured into front-end triage, recovery and ADHD caseloads, with more care moving into primary care networks. Fit turns on GMC Specialist Register eligibility and section 12 approval, or willingness to apply for it once in post.

What the job involves

• Lead the Dunstable team and its weekly MDT meetings
• Carry out assessments, diagnoses and recovery-oriented treatment planning
• Offer clinical guidance to GPs and work with crisis, inpatient and specialist teams for continuity of care
• Fulfil Mental Health Act duties as an Approved Clinician and section 12-approved psychiatrist
• Meet performance targets (KPIs) and work towards HTAS accreditation
• Supervise junior staff, deliver training, and lead quality improvement and audit
• Take part in the consultant duty rota, appraisal and job planning

What’s required

Qualifications

• Membership or Fellowship of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, or equivalent

Registration & licences

• Full GMC registration, eligible for the Specialist Register (or SpR within 6 months of CCT at interview)
• Section 12 approval or Approved Clinician status, or willingness to apply once in post

Experience

• Clinical adult psychiatry at SpR, SAS or consultant level within the last 3 years
• Experience of severe and enduring mental illness, including risk assessment and management
• Teaching junior staff, medical undergraduates and postgraduates, and non-medical mental health professionals
• Audit experience
• Research experience, or ability to interpret research findings and apply them to practice

Skills & knowledge

• Excellent working knowledge of the Mental Health Act and its application
• Understanding of ethnic minority issues and social factors in psychiatry, with culturally sensitive practice
• Leadership skills
• Working within a multidisciplinary team and managing complex workloads
• Expertise in risk assessment and confidence in therapeutic risk taking
• Commitment to clinical governance

Checks & eligibility

• UK driving licence

Other

• Commitment to working with service users on service development

Nice to have

• Higher degree such as MD or PhD
• Experience of service development and introducing new mental health services
• Experience of working at consultant level in a community environment
• Formal leadership and management training, or team/service leadership experience
• Experience supervising trainee doctors and SAS doctors
• Medical education qualification
• Publications in peer-reviewed journals
• Project management ability