Consultant in Forensic Psychiatry- Marlborough House

NHS; Milton Keynes; On-site; GBP 80,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job description

Consultant in Forensic Psychiatry- Marlborough House

As a Consultant Forensic Psychiatrist, you will be responsible for leading the care of patients detained under the Mental Health Act and looked after in a Medium Secure Unit in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire. The successful applicant will ensure that patients' needs are met through the delivery of high-quality care and offer a person-centred approach.

Main duties of the job

You will be responsible for leading multi-disciplinary teams at Marlborough House, and Responsible Clinician for approximately 12 inpatients, primarily from Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes. The post holder will also be the nominated medical lead to one ward at Marlborough House and work closely with senior mental health professionals from other disciplines. In addition, they will be responsible for supervising gatekeeping assessments to the inpatient service from other health and criminal justice settings.

About us

The Thames Valley Forensic Mental Health Service (TVFMHS) provides treatment in a range of inpatient settings across the region (Oxford, Aylesbury and Milton Keynes). In addition, supervision is provided to patients discharged from inpatient environments. The service also inputs into local prisons and provides services for the Offender Personality Disorder (OPD) Pathway in the community.

Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust holds a lead role across the whole South-Central Region, as part of the Thames Valley and Wessex Provider Collaborative, and there are opportunities to develop the Buckinghamshire forensic pathway.

The wider multidisciplinary team at Marlborough House is experienced and tight knit. This vacancy would suit a newly qualified Consultant Forensic Psychiatrist or General Adult Consultant with an interest in forensic psychiatry, a higher trainee within six months of their CCT date or a more experienced candidate. Free parking is available on site, along with a staff restaurant. Annual leave starts at 30 days a year plus bank holidays.

Job responsibilities

The post holder will be responsible for leading the multi-disciplinary team at Marlborough House. They will be Responsible Clinician for approximately 12 inpatients at Marlborough House. The post holder will be expected to lead and chair regular Clinical Team Meetings and CPAs, and this post will be specifically nominated as the medical lead to one ward MDT leadership team at Marlborough House. The post holder will also oversee a proportion of gatekeeping assessments, although these are usually carried out by higher forensic speciality trainees.

Cross cover is usually arranged with the other Forensic Consultants based at Marlborough House, although can come from other Consultants within the Thames Valley Forensic Mental Health Service.

Management

The post holder will be expected to contribute along with their consultant colleagues to the smooth running of the Forensic Service. This will include appropriate interaction with the management structures of the Division and the Trust as a whole.

Supervision

The post holder will supervise a specialty doctor. If interested and suitably approved, they can also supervise a higher forensic and / or core trainee. The Thames Valley Higher Forensic Training Scheme has six national training numbers, in addition to a dual Forensic and CAMHS post. The current Forensic Training Programme Director is Dr Hasanen Al Taiar. One higher trainee is always placed at Marlborough House and conducts the majority of gatekeeping assessments. There is one core psychiatric trainee placed at Marlborough House who is part of the Oxford Deanery core training scheme. The Director of Medical Education is Dr Alastair Reid.

Education and Training

Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust is a teaching Trust has close links to Oxford University. The Oxford University Department of Psychiatry is situated at the Warneford Hospital in Oxford. Further information may be obtained from the websites of the Oxford University Department of Psychiatry (https://www.psych.ox.ac.uk/). The department has an international reputation for medical teaching and as a centre for research and provides a wide range of academic opportunities.

The post holder will be expected to take an active part in the training programme and teaching sessions. There is also the opportunity to contribute to training events within the Division. Medical students are placed in clinical settings for three-week blocks during their fifth year of study, and if the Consultant appointed is interested in medical student education this can occur at Marlborough House. There are also opportunities to develop links with the University of Buckingham Medical School. The Consultant may also be expected to contribute to the development of other multi-disciplinary staff.

Continuing Professional Development is a requirement for all Trust consultants and Consultants are expected to maintain good standing with the Royal College CPD programme. CPD is supported by the Trust including access to study leave and expenses for attending conferences etc. The post holder will attend Trust Consultant meetings, and audit and academic events. They will maintain ongoing professional development through active membership of a PDP group and annual appraisal. Consultants new to the Trust are helped to identify a mentor; and suitable mentors will be nominated. Induction is arranged for all staff new to the Trust, through both the Trusts regular induction programme and in relation to the service with which they will work.

Forensic Psychiatry Consultants meet monthly on a Wednesday for peer supervision, and quarterly to review PDP, and the successful applicant can join the group.

There is a Forensic Psychiatry Academic Programme which runs during Oxford University Term time on a Wednesday afternoon. The successful applicant will be expected to both attend and contribute to this. The programme includes a visiting speaker component. In addition, there is a wide-ranging programme at the Department of psychiatry at the Warneford Hospital, Oxford on Tuesday mornings.

Research & Audit

It is expected that the post holder will contribute to service-related audit projects with the support of the multi-disciplinary team and Trust audit department.

The TVFMHS is committed to working increasingly closely with Oxford University to develop academic forensic mental health. There is the opportunity to collaborate on research projects, with the forensic psychiatry department based at the Department of Psychiatry at the Warneford Hospital site in Oxford, led by Professor Seena Fazel.

Mental Health Act Assessments

The Consultant will be expected to be eligible for Section 12(2) approval under the Mental Health Act. The Trust will support obtaining Section 12 approval and Approved Clinician status if required.

On-Call Responsibilities

The post holder will join the Forensic Consultant on-call rota. The current frequency of on-calls is 1 in 13.5, category A, low frequency, banded at 3.0%. The on-call rota attracts an additional 0.25PA payment for work done out of hours, mainly seclusion reviews at weekends. The on-call rota is exclusively for Forensic Psychiatry and covers the Thames Valley region.

Job Planning

The consultant will participate in annual job planning with the Forensic Associate Medical Director. There would be a job plan review involving bilateral consultation and negotiation in the event of any change to the job content or workload. Annual appraisal will be completed under the Trust appraisal process. The Consultant will ensure they are fit for revalidation.

The exact nature of the timetable will be agreed with the successful applicant by the Clinical Lead. The split of direct clinical care to supporting professional activities will be 7.5 to 2.5. SPA time is expected to include special interest clinical activities, CPD, peer group, teaching / training / supervision, governance and audit, service development / management / business planning, research and academia.

Appropriately qualified applicants interested in this post are encouraged to contact: Dr Robert Cornish, Associate Medical Director / Consultant Forensic Psychiatrist, Oxford Clinic, Littlemore Mental Health Centre, Sandford Road, Littlemore, Oxford, OX4 4XN (01865 902610) [e-mail].

This job is 8PAs. If interested, the successful candidate will be able to take on additional sessions to make it a full-time post in negotiation with the Forensic AMD.

If applicants would also like to be considered for the other available consultant post within the TVFMHS (Berkshire and Oxfordshire SCFT, HMP Bullingdon and Bucks and Milton Keynes SCFT) please indicate this in the application form.

Person Specification

Qualifications

• Full medical degree and registration or eligibility for registration with the GMC.
• Eligible for inclusion in the GMC Specialist Register in Forensic Psychiatry.

Experience

• Experience in forensic psychiatry to CCT level.
• Experience of working with patients with complex needs in a range of secure settings.
• Ability to work within a collaborative multidisciplinary framework, and to share leadership responsibilities with senior colleagues of other professions.

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.