Consultant Psychiatrist - South Bristol Crisis Team

Avon And Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership Nhs Trust; Bristol; On-site; GBP 79,000 - 91,000; Full time

Job summary

A forward-thinking NHS Trust in Bristol is seeking a Consultant for the South Bristol Crisis Team. The successful candidate will provide emergency assessments, work closely with inpatient teams, and lead the development of acute care services. Candidates will be integral to a multidisciplinary approach, engaging effectively with a diverse patient population. This role involves visibility, leadership responsibilities, and a commitment to promoting mental health and well-being.

Qualifications

• Ability to conduct emergency assessments and provide direct interventions.
• Experience in coordinating admissions and working with inpatient teams.
• Strong communication skills to engage with diverse patients.

Responsibilities

• Deliver direct interventions to service users at varying intensities.
• Participate in daily handover meetings and acute care pathways.
• Provide leadership and contribute to service strategic development.

Skills

Emergency assessment

Leadership

Collaborative working

Patient engagement

Education

Medical degree and appropriate specialty training

Job description

Consultant – South Bristol Crisis Team

Come and join a forward-thinking NHS Trust in an exciting new role as Consultant for the South Bristol Crisis Team. This well-established team embraces a multidisciplinary approach integrating doctors, non‑medical prescribers, senior nurses, a psychotherapist, and support workers. We also work closely with our Recovery Team colleagues and the Complex Psychological Interventions service, both based in the same building as the Crisis Team, fostering close working relationships with direct communication. The team is based at the Petherton Resource Centre, located in the Hengrove area of South Bristol.

This brand‑new post was conceived and developed from a recent medical workforce implementation project. The post holder will join a full‑time Consultant Psychiatrist to expand and develop the service. The Crisis Team is the gatekeeper for hospital admissions. The post holder will develop close working relationships with the inpatient teams to coordinate admissions and work towards facilitated discharges.

The doctors are integral members of the team and currently comprise one 1.0 WTE general adult Consultant. This post will introduce further Consultant time, three days per week, and the team has an F1/F2 trainee two days per week. In total, this makes for a strong, friendly and lively medical base within the team.

The Consultant will deliver direct interventions, including emergency assessment, to service users at a level of intensity according to need, including those who require an assertive approach or are difficult to engage. This will include ongoing assessment, diagnosis and treatment. You will provide visible and clear leadership at team level. You will participate in gate‑keeping and attend MHA assessments where appropriate. The Consultant is expected to work flexibly and see up to eight patients per week, including one to two urgent patients. The Consultant will also carry out telephone reviews when indicated.

The Consultant is expected to contribute to the development of acute care services in line with best practice and nationally accredited standards. Active participation in acute care pathways meetings, identifying service users who require access to inpatient or recovery services in a timely manner and identifying potential discharges from the inpatient ward. The Consultant will attend the daily handover meetings and will be required to provide cross‑cover to other Consultants in the sector. The post holder will be expected to provide medical leadership and participate in strategic development within the service.

We are AWP (Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust), a diverse organisation with over 5,000 dedicated staff providing inpatient and community‑based mental health care. We provide services from a range of locations to approximately 1.8 million people living in Bath and North East Somerset (B&NES), Bristol, North Somerset, South Gloucestershire, Swindon, across the county of Wiltshire. Our outstanding people promote mental health and wellbeing. The expertise and resources within AWP are dedicated to a person‑centred approach for those who use our services and for all employees. We recognise that happy and fulfilled employees give better care.

At AWP we actively encourage applicants from all backgrounds; we are particularly keen to encourage applications from people from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds, those with disabilities and from the LGBTQ+ community. We want people to bring their unique blend of experiences, backgrounds, perspectives and knowledge to AWP, as diversity makes us stronger.

Please note that Avon & Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust is not currently a sponsor under the GMC Sponsorship Scheme. As a result, we regret to inform you that we are unable to consider applications from individuals who require GMC sponsorship.