Consultant Forensic Psychiatrist - Low Secure Unit

Consultant Forensic Psychiatrist - Low Secure Unit

The Trust is seeking to recruit a full-time Consultant Forensic Psychiatrist based at Rathbone Low Secure Unit in Liverpool. The service has 32 male beds across two wards and provides assessment and management for patients from North and South Liverpool, South Sefton (up to Southport) and part of Kirkby. The population covered is approximately 1/3 million. The service provides low secure forensic care for detained patients with a mental disorder who present a significant risk of harm to others and cannot be managed in a non-secure environment. The service forms part of the secure services pathway within Mersey Care.

The vacancy is an established permanent post which has arisen due to retirement. The post holder will join a comprehensive MDT with good trainee medical support including a full-time substantive staff grade doctor and core trainee. There is also a full-time substantive Physician Associate. They will manage a caseload of 16 male inpatients and will maintain responsibility for the patient throughout his journey through the unit. There is a second substantive consultant who has responsibility for the other inpatients.

The post currently attracts a 10% R&R payment which will be reviewed in 2025.

Main duties of the job

The post holder will act as Responsible Clinician within a multidisciplinary team. They will lead on the management of a caseload of 16 male inpatients. This will include preadmission planning, MDT meetings, CPA reviews and discharge planning. The post will require liaison with other agencies, including the Ministry of Justice, police, probation, social care and other mental health services. They will exercise statutory responsibilities for patients detained under Restriction Orders, including completing statutory reports to the Ministry of Justice. For both non-restricted and restricted patients under their care they will be responsible for providing reports regarding Consent to Treatment and providing reports to, and attending, Tribunals and Managers' Reviews.

The post holder will lead on the assessment of individuals referred for admission from a variety of sources including other secure services, general adult services, courts or prisons. These are discussed at the weekly referral meeting. The postholder will participate in the panel meetings which are also held weekly and review referrals for admission to low secure and forensic step-down beds across the Merseyside and Cheshire region.

The post holder will be expected to participate in the management of the service and attend clinical team meetings and other service-related meetings as appropriate. They will also provide supervision to the junior doctors and / or Physician Associate working in the service.

About us

Mersey Care is one of the largest trusts providing physical health and mental health services in the North West, serving more than 1.4 million people across our region and are also commissioned for services that cover the North West, North Wales and the Midlands.

We offer specialist inpatient and community services that support physical and mental health and specialist inpatient mental health, learning disability, addiction and brain injury services. Mersey Care is one of only three trusts in the UK that offer high secure mental health facilities.

At the heart of all we do is our commitment to 'perfect care' - care that is safe, effective, positively experienced, timely, equitable and efficient. We support our staff to do the best job they can and work alongside service users, their families, and carers to design and develop future services together. We're currently delivering a programme of organisational and service transformation to significantly improve the quality of the services we provide and safely reduce cost as we do so.

Flexible working requests will be considered for all roles.

Job responsibilities

The post holder will manage the care and treatment of 16 male in-patients within the LSU. This will include patients across both wards (Allerton and Childwall). This will include preadmission planning, MDT meetings, CPA reviews and discharge planning. The post will require liaison with other agencies, including the Ministry of Justice, police, probation, social care, and other mental health services.

The post holder will lead on the assessment of individuals referred for admission from a variety of sources including other secure services, general adult services, courts, or prisons. The service on average receives 2-3 referrals for assessment for admission a month.

The post holder 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 postholder 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.

The post holder will be expected to participate in the management of the service and attend clinical team meetings and other service-related meetings as appropriate.

Person Specification

Qualifications

• MB BS or equivalent medical qualification.
• Qualification or higher degree in medical education, clinical research or management.
• Additional Clinical qualifications.
• Fully registered with the GMC with a licence to practise at the time of appointment.
• Included on the GMC Specialist Register OR 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.

Transport

• Holds and will use valid UK driving licence OR provides evidence of proposed alternative.

Clinical Skills, Knowledge & Experience

• 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 & Lifelong Learning

• Able to deliver undergraduate or postgraduate teaching and training.
• Ability to work and lead team.
• Demonstrate commitment to shared leadership & collaborative working to deliver improvement.
• Participated in research or service evaluation.
• Participated in continuous professional development.
• Able to use and appraise clinical evidence.
• Has actively participated in clinical audit and quality improvement programmes.
• 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.
• Has led clinical audits leading to service change or improved outcomes to patients.

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.

£105,504 to £139,882 a year plus 10% R&R (non contractual) and on call.