Consultant Psychiatrist - Older Adults Inpatients (Irwell Ward)

Consultant Psychiatrist - Older Adults Inpatients (Irwell Ward)

As a Consultant Old Age Psychiatrist working for Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust, you will be responsible for ensuring that our service users' needs are met through the delivery of high quality care.

As a leader of the inpatient multi-disciplinary team at Irwell ward, Clock View Hospital, you will provide clinical care to older adults who require specialist inpatient care. You will work closely with a wide range of clinical and professional disciplines in order to deliver holistic care by completing assessments of new admissions to Irwell ward and managing their treatment and ensuring safe discharges back to the community.

Main duties of the job

The post holder will be responsible for completing assessments and formulating treatment plans for service users admitted to Irwell ward from the community. Irwell ward is a 17-bedded functional older adult complex care ward at Clock View Hospital. As a substantive Old Age Psychiatry Consultant on Irwell ward, you will work closely with other members of the multidisciplinary team including Social Services, Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy, acute hospital medical specialties, and Primary Care. You will be the Responsible Clinician for patients admitted to Irwell ward, which will involve managing patients detained under the Mental Health Act, requiring a sound knowledge of Mental Health Act law. This includes completing relevant Mental Health Act documentation and capacity assessments as required.

The post holder will be expected to lead the multidisciplinary team at Irwell ward in a supportive manner to foster positive working relationships. The post holder will complete ward rounds throughout the week and provide clear communication and documentation regarding assessment outcomes and management plans. They will also be expected to provide leadership and training to trainee doctors and medical students placed on Irwell ward, taking an active part in the clinical work of the team and a lead role in the development of 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 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, as well as 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 costs as we do so.

Flexible working requests will be considered for all roles.

Job responsibilities

The post holder will cover Irwell ward at Clock View Hospital, which is a 17-bedded acute assessment ward for service users aged 70 and over with a functional mental health problem. Exceptions would be needs-based. Irwell ward's catchment area covers Liverpool and South Sefton. There are two dementia inpatient units in the Trust: Fern ward at Leigh Moss Hospital in Liverpool and Kingsley ward at Hollins Park Hospital in Winwick, Warrington. At Clock View Hospital, there are a total of six inpatient wards: Alt ward, Dee ward, Irwell ward, Morris ward, Newton ward, and Prenton ward. Prenton ward is a Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU), and apart from Irwell ward, the others are for adults of working age. In addition to the inpatient units, there is a Community Mental Health Team, Psychology, and urgent response mental health teams based at Clock View Hospital. Currently, there is a long-standing locum Consultant, Dr Sumanth Kumar, who is the Consultant Old Age Psychiatrist for Irwell ward.

The post holder will be responsible for the assessment and management of all service users admitted to Irwell ward, as well as the supervision of trainee doctors assigned to the ward. There will be a need to work closely with the wider multidisciplinary team caring for the service users on the ward, including the ward Manager, Nursing staff, Healthcare Assistants, Occupational Therapists, Physiotherapists, Psychologists, Social Workers, and the Community Mental Health Teams. Discharge planning for inpatients is completed during ward rounds, with close liaison taking place with the relevant Community Mental Health Teams, inviting the service user's allocated practitioner from the CMHT to attend ward rounds to agree on discharge plans and arrangements for a smooth transition from the ward to the community in terms of care. The Trust has fully electronic patient record (Rio), prescribing (EPMA), and mental health act administration systems (Thalamos) in place.

Please see job description for further details.

Person Specification

Registration

• Full registration with General Medical Council
• Inclusion on or eligible for inclusion on the Specialist Register of the General Medical Council or within 6 months of CCST/CCT or equivalent in Old Age Psychiatry at the date of interview
• Section 12 (2) Approval + Approved Clinician Status or demonstrated ability to gain approval
• In good standing with GMC with respect to warning and conditions on practice

Qualifications & Training

• MbChb, MBBS or equivalent
• Qualification or higher degree in medical education, clinical research, or management
• Additional Qualifications
• Membership of the Royal College of Psychiatrists or equivalent
• Undertaken 'Train the Trainer' and 'Equality and Diversity' Training

Transport

• Holds valid UK driving licence and will use own car for work-related travel OR provides evidence of proposed alternative

Clinical Skills, Knowledge & Experience

• Excellent clinical knowledge in specialty
• Excellent clinical skills using a 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
• Experience in working previously in similar roles at a relevant level
• Training or worked as a DoLs assessor
• Experience in management and service development; Knowledge and use of IT systems

Academic Skills & Lifelong Learning

• 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
• Able to plan and deliver teaching and training relevant to this post
• Reflected on the purpose of CPD undertaken
• Experienced in clinical research and/or service evaluation
• Has led clinical audits leading to service change

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) & 1% on call.