Consultant Psychiatrist in Forensic Psychiatry

NHS; Tees Valley; On-site; GBP 80,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading healthcare trust in England seeks a Consultant Psychiatrist for a low secure female learning disability ward. The position involves attending MDT meetings, writing statutory reports, and providing clinical leadership. Candidates must have GMC registration and relevant experience in forensic psychiatry. The trust offers support from a multidisciplinary team and fosters staff development.

Benefits

Support for personal development

Multidisciplinary team collaboration

Work in a prestigious healthcare trust

Qualifications

• GMC registered with a license to practice.
• Included on the GMC Specialist Register for Old Age Psychiatry.
• Approved clinician status achievable within 3 months.

Responsibilities

• Attend weekly MDT meetings for the ward.
• Write statutory reports as Responsible Clinician.
• Manage clinical cases in a forensic psychiatry context.

Skills

Excellent clinical skills using bio-psycho-social perspective

Excellent oral and written communication skills in English

Able to manage clinical complexity and uncertainty

Decision-making based on evidence and experience

Able to meet duties under MHA and MCA

Education

MBBS or equivalent medical qualification

Qualification in medical education or management

Job description

Consultant Psychiatrist in Forensic Psychiatry

The closing date is 05 December 2025

This is a replacement post. The post is located at Roseberry Park Hospital, Middlesbrough, where inpatient forensic beds and clinical and managerial offices are all co‑located.

There is a need for a Consultant on Ivy/Clover/Kestrel ward, a low secure female learning disability ward.

Main duties of the job

There is a system of weekly MDT meetings for the ward which the post holder is expected to attend, in addition to meetings for CPA (6 monthly), formulation and risk management meetings. The length of stay currently on the ward is around five years.

The consultant will be supported by a ward manager, clinical lead working on each ward. In addition, they will receive support from an occupational therapist, psychologist and social worker. A pharmacist will attend when support is required. A SAS/trust doctor, which is shared (50% time), will be supporting the post holder. The post holder can be the identified supervisor for the junior doctor. There will be opportunity to become a trainer for trainees in the future.

All patients will be detained under the Mental Health Act. As Responsible Clinician, the post holder will be expected to write statutory reports and attend First Tier Tribunals, Hospital Manager Hearings, S117 and MAPPA meetings as appropriate.

Referral rates for the ward are anticipated to be 4 per year from both internal and external sources. They can be seen jointly with the other staff members (psychologist/nursing staff). The average length of stay on the ward is approximately 5 years.

Within the Secure Inpatient Services Directorate, the post‑holder will be working alongside 14 consultant colleagues, 4 specialty‑grade doctors, and up to 3 core trainees. The local Tutor for SAS doctors is Dr Sandeep Kumar.

About us

We are one of the largest specialist mental health and learning disabilities trusts in the country, with an annual income of £320 m and a workforce of some 6,700 staff operating from around 100 sites in Durham, Teesside, North Yorkshire and York and Selby. We provide a range inpatient and community services to 2 m people living in County Durham, the Tees Valley, Scarborough, Whitby, Ryedale, Harrogate, Hambleton and Richmondshire. We also provide additional specialist services to other parts of Northern England.

We are a multi‑award winning trust and are included within the Health Service Journals Best 100 Places to Work. The trust takes a positive and proactive approach to support staff in their personal development and has embedded the Talent Management approach within the Trust.

Psychiatrists are essential contributors to the majority of our mental health teams. Service users expect and are justified to expect collaborative relationships with dedicated psychiatrists who work consistently as part of effective services. Our medical staffing shortage puts strain on services and puts strain on workforce well‑being and costs extend beyond the financial. The Medical Directorate and Medical Development Team are striving to improve medical workforce recruitment and retention in a variety of ways and the cornerstone of these efforts is The TEWV Charter for the Medical Workforce. (Please see attached SupportingDocument).

Job responsibilities

Please see the attached job description for further information on this post. Please note that the job description for Ivy/Clover/Kestrel ward has not yet been approved by The Royal College and therefore is subject to change.

Person Specification

Clinical Knowledge & Skills

• Excellent knowledge in specialty
• Excellent clinical skills using bio‑psycho‑social perspective and wide medical knowledge
• Excellent oral and written communication skills in English
• Able to manage clinical complexity and uncertainty
• Makes decisions based on evidence and experience including the contribution of others
• Able to meet duties under MHA and MCA
• Wide range of specialist and sub‑specialist experience relevant to post within NHS or comparable service

Academic Skills and Lifelong Learning

• Able to deliver undergraduate or postgraduate teaching and training
• Participated in continuous professional development
• Participated in research or service evaluation.
• Able to use and appraise clinical evidence.
• Has actively participated in clinical audit.
• Able to plan and deliver undergraduate and postgraduate teaching and training relevant to this post
• Reflected on purpose of CPD undertaken
• Experienced in clinical research and / or service evaluation.
• Evidence of achievement in education, research, audit and service improvement: awards, prizes, presentations and publications.
• Has led clinical audits leading to service change.

Leadership

• Reflects on own performance and behaviour, seeking and acting on feedback.
• Able to influence and persuade to improve services
• Able to take on leadership role in multidisciplinary team.
• Knowledge of structure and management of the NHS and the Trust.
• Shows commitment to quality through knowledge of quality improvement and lean thinking methodology or able to achieve within one year of appointment
• Able to adapt to and lead service change.
• Able to take on a leadership role outside the multidisciplinary team.
• Understanding of NHS & wider health economy and its implications for the work of the Trust.
• Trained to standard equivalent to level 2 in TEWV Trust Quality improvement system

Qualifications

• MBBS or equivalent medical qualification.
• Qualification or higher degree in medical education, clinical research or management.
• Experience
• Fully registered with the GMC with a licence to practise at the time of appointment.
• Included on the GMC Specialist Register for Old Age Psychiatry or included within six months.
• Approved clinician status or able to achieve within 3 months of appointment
• Approved under S12 or able to achieve within 3 months of appointment
• In good standing with GMC with respect to warning and conditions on practice

Experience

• Describe your clinical experience relevant to this job role
• Any other experience that may be applicable

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exception 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.

Tees Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust