Job summary
We are looking for a Consultant Forensic Psychiatrist to cover a period of maternity leaver at Ashworth High Secure Hospital (HSS) which is one of the 3 high secure hospitals in the country. This post is initially for a 12-month period and may be extended.
The post holder will be part of a comprehensive MDT with good trainee medical support. They will manage a caseload of 20 +/- 2 male inpatients within the Personality Disorder service and be involved in managing referrals and completing assessments. They will maintain responsibility for the patient throughout his journey through the hospital and will lead the multidisciplinary team
Main duties of the job
The Appointee will act as Responsible Clinician within a multidisciplinary team. They will take part in assessments of new referrals, pre-admission planning, management of inpatients and discharge planning.
The Appointee will be required to undertake assessments of individuals referred for admission from a variety of sources including Medium secure units, Low Secure Units, general adult or old age mental health services, Courts or Prisons. Liaison with other agencies, including the Ministry of Justice, police, probation, social care and other mental health services.
The Appointee will exercise statutory responsibilities as a Responsible Clinician within the meaning of the Mental Health Act 1983 (Amended 2007) for patients detained under Restriction Orders, including completing statutory reports to the Ministry of Justice. For both non-restricted and restricted patients under his/her care he/she will be responsible for providing reports regarding Consent to Treatment and providing reports to, and attending, Tribunals and Managers' Reviews.
The Appointee will be expected to be approved under Section 12(2) of the Mental Health Act 1983 for the purposes of recommending admission to hospital and be an Approved Clinician
About us
Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust provides specialist inpatient and community mental health, learning disabilities, addiction and acquired brain injury services for the people of Liverpool, Sefton and Kirkby, Merseyside. We also provide community physical health services in Liverpool, Sefton, secure mental health services for the North West of England, the West Midlands and Wales and specialist learning disability services across Lancashire, Greater Manchester, Cheshire and Merseyside.
Our ambition is to deliver perfect care to become the world's leading organisation in holistic health and well being.
Mersey Care's vision and values of Continuous Improvement, Accountability, Respect, Enthusiasm and Support (CARES) drive our organisation and the way we work together to deliver services. Applicants will be expected to demonstrate, during recruitment and any subsequent employment with the Trust, that their behaviour supports our values.
Job description
Job responsibilities
Clinical Responsibilities
The Appointee will be responsible for leading a multidisciplinary team in the care and treatment of a full caseload 20 +/-2 inpatients. The actual number of inpatients and their location will be subject to agreement between the Appointee and Clinical Director and will be clearly identified in the job plan. The multi-disciplinary team will usually comprise of the consultant, a trainee doctor, clinical psychologist, social worker, occupational therapist and nursing staff. There is also access to a senior pharmacist.
Referrals for Admission
The Appointee will be expected to visit other hospitals and prisons for the purposes of assessing new referrals and their suitability for admission to high security.
Ashworth Hospital receives approximately 70 referrals for admission annually. The appointee will be allocated referrals on an equitable rotational basis.
Referrals for admission to the hospital are always assessed by one of the hospital consultants. The authority for admission to a high secure hospital has been devolved to a local admissions panel which is chaired by a senior psychiatrist with a multidisciplinary membership. The Appointee will be expected to liaise with this group regarding his/her recommendations for admission.
Transfer or Discharge of Patients
The Appointee will be expected to make recommendations on behalf of his/her clinical team regarding the suitability of patients for transfer or discharge from and within the Hospital.
Management
The Appointee will be expected to participate in the management of the wards where his/her patients are based and attend patient care team meetings and other ward-related meetings as appropriate.
Please see job description for further details.
Job description
Job responsibilities
Clinical Responsibilities
The Appointee will be responsible for leading a multidisciplinary team in the care and treatment of a full caseload 20 +/-2 inpatients. The actual number of inpatients and their location will be subject to agreement between the Appointee and Clinical Director and will be clearly identified in the job plan. The multi-disciplinary team will usually comprise of the consultant, a trainee doctor, clinical psychologist, social worker, occupational therapist and nursing staff. There is also access to a senior pharmacist.
Referrals for Admission
The Appointee will be expected to visit other hospitals and prisons for the purposes of assessing new referrals and their suitability for admission to high security.
Ashworth Hospital receives approximately 70 referrals for admission annually. The appointee will be allocated referrals on an equitable rotational basis.
Referrals for admission to the hospital are always assessed by one of the hospital consultants. The authority for admission to a high secure hospital has been devolved to a local admissions panel which is chaired by a senior psychiatrist with a multidisciplinary membership. The Appointee will be expected to liaise with this group regarding his/her recommendations for admission.
Transfer or Discharge of Patients
The Appointee will be expected to make recommendations on behalf of his/her clinical team regarding the suitability of patients for transfer or discharge from and within the Hospital.
Management
The Appointee will be expected to participate in the management of the wards where his/her patients are based and attend patient care team meetings and other ward-related meetings as appropriate.
Please see job description for further details.
Person Specification
Education/Qualifications
Essential
- oFull GMC registration or eligible for full GMC registration
- oInclusion on the Specialist Register (or within 6 months of obtaining CCST), eligible to be on the Specialist Register in the specialty of forensic psychiatry
- oSection 12 MHA Approval/RC/AC, Eligible to apply for approval.
- oApproved Clinician (AC) status
Desirable
- oAdditional higher educational qualifications (MD / PhD) relevant to the post
- oMBA, Postgraduate Diploma (PGDip) or Certificate (PGCert) in Management
- oTeaching qualifications (MSC, PGDip or PGCert)
- oMRCPsych or equivalent qualification
Previous Experience
Essential
- oBroad experience of general and forensic psychiatry
- oWorking within a prison environment
- oMedico-legal work to include experience of writing court reports and providing oral evidence
Desirable
- oExperience in a consultant post of service development and leadership (preferably within secure services)
- oExperience of working with females with complex mental health needs
Skills, Knowledge, Abilities
Essential
- oSufficient knowledge to offer expert clinical opinion on a range of problems, with regard to forensic and general psychiatry
- oKnowledge and understanding of the research process within psychiatry
- oExperience of applying audit skills in psychiatry
- oKnowledge of a range of innovative models of delivering mental health services and secure provision in particular
- oUnderstanding of current medical issues
- oSympathetic to the problems and needs of the patient population
- oKnowledge of current statutory psychiatric issues
- oKnowledge of managing self harm behaviour and risk to others
- oAbility to communicate well in verbal and written formats
Desirable
- oUnderstanding of the value of IT and information systems (All patient records at Ashworth are electronic).
- oKnowledge of the challenges of negotiating and developing links with a wide range of agencies
Attributes, Aptitude, Personal Chatacteristics
Essential
- oTo work in accordance with the GMC's guidance "Duties of a Doctor"
- oAbility to provide clinical leadership within and motivate a multi disciplinary team
- oAbility to lead and support developments in the Service and clinical practice
- oAbility to demonstrate good negotiating skills and presentation skills
- oAbility to be flexible and able to adapt to rapidly changing demands
Desirable
- oPersonal skills to represent the service in a wide range of settings and to a range of other professionals.
Person Specification
Education/Qualifications
Essential
- oFull GMC registration or eligible for full GMC registration
- oInclusion on the Specialist Register (or within 6 months of obtaining CCST), eligible to be on the Specialist Register in the specialty of forensic psychiatry
- oSection 12 MHA Approval/RC/AC, Eligible to apply for approval.
- oApproved Clinician (AC) status
Desirable
- oAdditional higher educational qualifications (MD / PhD) relevant to the post
- oMBA, Postgraduate Diploma (PGDip) or Certificate (PGCert) in Management
- oTeaching qualifications (MSC, PGDip or PGCert)
- oMRCPsych or equivalent qualification
Previous Experience
Essential
- oBroad experience of general and forensic psychiatry
- oWorking within a prison environment
- oMedico-legal work to include experience of writing court reports and providing oral evidence
Desirable
- oExperience in a consultant post of service development and leadership (preferably within secure services)
- oExperience of working with females with complex mental health needs
Skills, Knowledge, Abilities
Essential
- oSufficient knowledge to offer expert clinical opinion on a range of problems, with regard to forensic and general psychiatry
- oKnowledge and understanding of the research process within psychiatry
- oExperience of applying audit skills in psychiatry
- oKnowledge of a range of innovative models of delivering mental health services and secure provision in particular
- oUnderstanding of current medical issues
- oSympathetic to the problems and needs of the patient population
- oKnowledge of current statutory psychiatric issues
- oKnowledge of managing self harm behaviour and risk to others
- oAbility to communicate well in verbal and written formats
Desirable
- oUnderstanding of the value of IT and information systems (All patient records at Ashworth are electronic).
- oKnowledge of the challenges of negotiating and developing links with a wide range of agencies
Attributes, Aptitude, Personal Chatacteristics
Essential
- oTo work in accordance with the GMC's guidance "Duties of a Doctor"
- oAbility to provide clinical leadership within and motivate a multi disciplinary team
- oAbility to lead and support developments in the Service and clinical practice
- oAbility to demonstrate good negotiating skills and presentation skills
- oAbility to be flexible and able to adapt to rapidly changing demands
Desirable
- oPersonal skills to represent the service in a wide range of settings and to a range of other professionals.
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.
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see
NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
Additional information
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.
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see
NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
