Consultant Psychiatrist in General Adult

Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust; Watford; On-site; GBP 80,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading NHS Foundation Trust in Watford is seeking a Consultant Psychiatrist to provide clinical leadership within the Acute and Urgent Care Division. The role involves conducting assessments and treatment for patients facing severe psychiatric conditions, supervising junior staff, and collaborating with multidisciplinary teams and various agencies. This position requires strong clinical skills, comprehensive knowledge in psychiatry, and the ability to manage complex cases. Join an outstanding organization dedicated to delivering exceptional mental health care.

Benefits

Excellent learning and development opportunities

Supportive work-life balance environment

Competitive salary and benefits

Qualifications

• Must have GMC registration and license to practice.
• Experience in general adult psychiatry required.
• Ability to collaborate with social care agencies is essential.

Responsibilities

• Provide clinical leadership to a multi-disciplinary team.
• Conduct assessments for complex patient presentations.
• Supervise junior medical staff and support their development.

Skills

Clinical leadership

Assessment skills

Collaboration with agencies

Communication skills

Ability to manage complexity

Education

MB BS or equivalent medical qualification

MRCPsych or equivalent

CCT in Psychiatry

Fully registered with GMC

Job description

Overview

We are currently seeking a Consultant Psychiatrist to join our busy division of Acute and Urgent Care Division in Hertfordshire. The post holder will work alongside the multi-disciplinary team, including SAS & Trainee doctor allocated to SWCRHTT. People receiving services from the crisis & home treatment services are predominantly experiencing mental health crisis or stepping down from inpatient services. Therefore, active and regular involvement of the consultant psychiatrist in the process of assessment and care programming is vital. The post holder will be expected to work independently on a day-to-day basis and to support SWCRHTT with Clinical/Medical Leadership (also refer below for details about Role and responsibilities). The post holder will be based at Colne House, Watford and will be expected to do regular home visits across the catchment area. The successful candidate would be supporting the multidisciplinary team in providing diagnostic assessments and treatment to patients with severe, complex, and high-risk psychiatric conditions. The Consultant in the Team would be expected to undertake / support detailed assessments of clinical risks and liaising closely with community and acute care pathway colleagues as well as GPs and carers. The post holder is expected to provide regular supervision to Junior staff (Trainees/SAS/Associate specialist).

Responsibilities

• Provide clinical leadership to the multi-disciplinary team.
• Provide expert clinical input, including assessment, for patients with complex presentations.
• Oversee initiation of clinical treatment plans for service users awaiting mental health admission.
• Regularly review service users awaiting admission to ensure changing needs are reflected, implementing appropriate changes to management plans to offer least restrictive treatment options.
• Provide multi‑agency support and manage frequent attenders to the acute pathway.
• Work jointly with Mental Health Liaison teams, Mental Health Urgent Care Centre, Adult Community Mental Health teams in Watford and Borehamwood, PATH first episode Psychosis teams and inpatient wards to support smooth transitions of service users between services.
• Work jointly with partner organisations in the wider system to support joined‑up working, policy and safe practice development and collaborate with stakeholders to enhance the service, including local Drug & Alcohol service provider CGL, local housing, police, probation, primary care, ambulance services and voluntary sector providers as needed.
• Jointly oversee performance, quality and safety of the service with team leaders and the service manager.
• Attend regular patient flow meetings within HPFT and relevant acute trusts, and oversee clinical development and training of the team with team leaders.
• Provide clinical supervision to junior medical staff (trainees, SAS, associate specialists).
• Work closely with the enhanced patient flow team, inpatient teams and crisis/community teams to ensure smooth handover of treatment plans during service user transfers.
• Contribute to broader workforce development (teaching/training on mental health issues) to the general hospital workforce.
• Lead local team meetings and practice governance meetings.
• Engage with trust-wide teaching programmes to support further training of psychiatric trainees and trust-wide research teams to contribute to relevant research projects.
• Undertake administrative duties related to patient care and record clinical activity accurately and comprehensively in a timely manner.
• Participate in annual appraisal, academic programme of the trust and internal CPD programme.
• Maintain professional registration with GMC, Mental Health Act Section 12(2) approval, and abide by professional codes of conduct.
• Participate annually in a job plan review with the clinical manager and consult with relevant managers to ensure the post is developed to accommodate changes in service configuration and delivery.
• Work with local managers and professional colleagues to ensure efficient running of services and contribute to medical management.
• Comply with trust's policies, procedures, standing orders and financial instructions, and take an active role in financial management of the service, supporting the medical director and other managers in preparing service plans.

Qualifications

• MB BS or equivalent medical qualification.
• MRCPsych or an MRCPsych equivalent approved by the Royal College of Psychiatrists.
• CCT in Psychiatry; or inclusion on the GMC Specialist Register in psychiatry; or within six months of achieving CCT/CESR at the time of interview.
• Section 12 approval.
• Fully registered with the GMC with a licence to practise at the time of appointment.

Desirable Qualifications

• Qualification or higher degree in medical education, clinical research or management.
• Relevant higher degree (e.g. MD, PhD, MSc) or other additional clinical qualifications.
• Good standing with GMC (no warnings or conditions on practice).
• Approved clinician approval.
• Experience of the full range of clinical responsibilities expected of a consultant in general adult psychiatry.
• Experience of close collaborative working with social care and other agencies.
• Experience of working with service users who have complex needs within adult psychiatry.
• Excellent clinical skills using a bio‑psycho‑social perspective and wide medical knowledge.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills.
• Able to manage clinical complexity and uncertainty.
• Make decisions based on evidence and experience including the contribution of others.
• Wide range of specialist and sub‑specialist experience relevant to the post within the NHS or comparable service.
• Excellent degree of medical knowledge in relation to working‑age adults.
• 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.
• Holds a full valid driving licence and access to a car (unless disability as defined by the Disability Discrimination Act 1995).
• Able to plan and deliver undergraduate and postgraduate teaching 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.
• Experience of organising and overseeing psychotherapy training programmes for psychiatry trainees.

Additional Information

Candidates who require a Skilled Worker visa to work in the United Kingdom can assess the likelihood of obtaining a Certificate of Sponsorship for this position by reviewing the criteria on the Check if you need a UK visa – GOV.UK website. We encourage all applicants to review the criteria carefully to understand their eligibility for sponsorship.

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

About HPFT

Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (HPFT) is an exceptional organisation with big ambitions; our aim it to be the leading provider of mental health and specialist learning disabilities within the UK. With a workforce of over 4,300 people and an annual income of some £330 million this year, the Trust provides integrated health and social care services through a network of community and inpatient settings, serving diverse communities across Buckinghamshire, Essex, Hertfordshire and Norfolk.

As a University NHS Foundation Trust, HPFT continues to develop strong links with the University of Hertfordshire, providing excellent learning and development opportunities, as well as strengthening our clinical research capability. Whilst it is a challenging period of the NHS, there has never been a more exciting time to join HPFT following our CQC rating of Outstanding award in 2019.

We are currently undertaking our "Great Together" strategy for 2023 to 2028. This strategy has been meticulously developed and co‑produced in collaboration with our service users, carers, staff, partners, and local communities. It gives us a well‑defined roadmap to realise our vision of providing exceptional care and achieving outstanding outcomes. We are dedicated to addressing inequalities and equity, developing our workforce, and fostering a dynamic learning environment, all while engaging in robust partnerships to deliver the highest quality care.

HPFT is rated by the Care Quality Commission as an Outstanding provider of mental health and learning disability services. In 2021, we won the prestigious Health Service Journal award for Mental Health Trust of the Year, with the judges saying we were "blown away" by our people's achievements and that everything we saw "sings and hums." This year, our staff rated us the 4th best mental health and learning disability trust to work for out of all 52 trusts in the country. Our staff tell us that they are proud to be part of the HPFT team, proud of the standard of care we provide, and proud that service users are our top priority. Our people feel supported through a great development, wellbeing and work‑life balance offer and a highly compassionate, values‑driven culture. We are equally proud of our staff, who live our values of being welcoming, kind, positive, respectful and professional.