Consultant in General Adult Psychiatry (Dove)

Consultant in General Adult Psychiatry (Dove)

The closing date is 19 July 2026.

We are seeking a Consultant in General Adult Psychiatry for the newly established Dove ward, a 16 bedded female only adult inpatient ward, and the adjacent 18 bedded male only Acute Assessment & Treatment Unit (AATU) at Kingfisher Court. The post holder will be one of five full time equivalent consultant psychiatrists providing medical leadership to these units.

Responsibilities

• Provide clinical leadership to the Dove AATU.
• Chair daily handover meetings to ensure robust clinical oversight of the multidisciplinary team and timely decision making.
• Conduct ward reviews for all new admissions, leading assessment, formulation, diagnosis and treatment of acute mental illness.
• Ensure treatment and care planning adhere to clinical pathways and NICE recommended treatment.
• Maintain adherence to principles of Purposeful Inpatient Admission, ensuring effective and timely assessments, reviews and treatment by the medical team and wider MDT.
• Oversee restrictive practice, aiming to reduce restrictive measures and observations through regular MDT reviews.
• Support 72 hour meetings for all admissions to clarify purpose of admission, agree patient defined discharge dates, and identify barriers to discharge.
• Engage patients, families and carers in ward reviews, care planning, risk assessments and risk management.
• Ensure robust discharge planning, safe discharge back to community or crisis teams, and confirmed 48 hour follow up plans.
• Ensure medical team keeps up to date clinical documentation on the EPR, including timely discharge notifications and summaries.
• Meet all legal and performance KPIs and document them in a timely manner.
• Collaborate with Team Leader, Clinical Nurse Specialist, Matron and consultant colleagues to maintain ward safety, quality and performance.
• Attend weekly leadership meetings, monthly team governance meetings and other relevant divisional meetings as necessary.
• Support the Patient Flow Management team one day a week, overseeing new requests for admission, attending daily bed demand capacity meetings and providing clinical oversight to a private block provider.

Qualifications

• MB BSc or equivalent medical qualification.
• MRCPsych or equivalent approved by the Royal College of Psychiatrists.
• Qualification or higher degree in medical education, clinical research or management.
• Relevant higher degree, e.g. MD, PhD, MSc or other additional clinical qualifications.

Eligibility

• Fully registered with the GMC with a licence to practise at the time of appointment.
• CCT in General Adult Psychiatry; or inclusion on the GMC Specialist Register in General Adult Psychiatry; or within six months of achieving CCT/CESR at the time of interview.
• Section 12/Approved clinician approval.
• In good standing with GMC with respect to warning and conditions on practice.

Clinical Skills, Knowledge & Experience

• Experience of the full range of clinical responsibilities expected of a consultant in general adult psychiatry, including working in acute adult inpatient wards.
• Experience of close collaborative working with social care and other agencies.
• Experience of working with service users who have complex needs within general adult psychiatry.
• Excellent clinical skills using a bio psycho social perspective and wide medical knowledge.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills.
• Ability to manage clinical complexity and uncertainty.
• Makes decisions based on evidence and experience, including the contribution of others.
• Wide range of specialist and sub specialist experience relevant to the post within the NHS or comparable service.
• Excellent degree of medical knowledge in relation to working age adults.

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.
• Ability/means to get to and from work in a timely manner.
• 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, presentations and publications.
• Has led clinical audits leading to service change.
• Experience of organising and overseeing psychotherapy training programmes for psychiatry trainees.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and therefore a submission for disclosure will be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Dove Ward, Kingfisher Court, Kingsley Green