Fitzmary 1 ward provides psychiatric assessment and treatment for female inpatients, and averages 5 admissions and discharges per week. A quality improvement programme is underway to help improve the quality of care and flow of patients through the acute services at the Trust. The post-holder will work closely with colleagues in other services in the Croydon Directorate including in the community mental health teams, Home Treatment Team and Rehabilitation services.

The medical staffing on Fitzmary 1 comprises a Consultant Psychiatrist (this post) and two full-time junior doctors. Candidates with a suitable educational portfolio will be supported to have allocated trainees. There is a full-time ward manager and nursing team, and access to ward administrative support. In addition, the Directorate is committed to providing psychology, occupational therapy and specialist housing support to all wards.

Fitzmary 1 is based on the Bethlem Royal Hospital Site in Beckenham, alongside the other Croydon acute wards and an inpatient rehabilitation ward. The ward is also supported by the Croydon Home Treatment Team based on the same site, which provides in-reach and assessment to facilitate early supported discharge where appropriate. The consultant has a separate office on FM1 ward which has a dedicated PC with IT access and can also request a Trust mobile phone should they need one.

Main duties of the job

Croydon/BDP is a directorate whose excellence has been recognised at this year's inaugural RCPsych London awards, where they won awards for Psychiatrist, Educator and Team of the year respectively.

The main duties of this 10 PA consultant post are to provide psychiatry consultant leadership and to act as Approved Clinician to the Fitzmary 1 ward. The post holder will provide clinical cover for the other Croydon borough Consultants and vice versa. Fitzmary 1 is a 14-bed acute mental health ward for women aged 18-65 years.

• To provide enthusiastic, and flexible, joint clinical leadership and consultant input into the Fitzmary 1 ward, alongside the ward manager.

• To take Consultant responsibility for Fitzmary 1 ward patients, acting as Approved Clinician and assessing or supervising assessment and management of patients and devising or helping to devise appropriate treatment plans and medication regimes, providing prompt medical response, and advising and work closely with other members of the multidisciplinary team.

• To offer expert risk assessment and management skills in complex care of people with severe acute mental illness.

• To ensure excellence in the delivery of evidence-based treatments.

• To act as a source of support, advice, and information to current or prospective patients and their carers, referrers, team members and other professionals.

About us

The post holder will be employed by the South London and Maudsley NHS Trust. The Trust is part of King's Health Partners Academic Health Sciences Centre (AHSC). KHP is responsible for seeing 2 million patients each year, has 25,000 employees and 19,500 students, and a £2 billion annual turnover. It brings together the best of basic and translational research, clinical excellence, and world-class teaching to deliver ground-breaking advances in physical and mental healthcare. There are excellent opportunities for teaching, training, supervising, and mentoring medical students and trainee doctors, participating in audit and quality improvement projects, and getting involved in research. The appointed Consultant will work very closely with their fellow Consultants and be encouraged to participate in and be part of the famous Maudsley Grand rounds as well as be an active member of the Croydon MAC (Medical Advisory committee) where they will have the opportunity to regularly network with and seek support from your Consultant colleagues.

Job description Job responsibilities

Leadership and service improvement

• Support staff wellbeing and development, working flexibly and creatively with the multidisciplinary team to promote a culture which develops and improves the mental healthcare for patients and informed risk-taking and anti-discriminatory practice
• Support the team leadership in ensuring the service meets CQC standards, comply with the Trusts clinical and operational policies and procedures, and take an active role in business planning with senior managers, including participation in management and operational meetings as appropriate
• Keep themselves and their team informed of developments in commissioning and NHS strategy (e.g. the Community Mental Health Framework for Adults and Older Adults, the NHS Long Term Plan), and attend London-wide and national general adult psychiatry meetings as appropriate.
• Contribute and lead on teaching, research, audit and service improvement, using a Quality Improvement and evidence-based approach to inform the development of the service to meet the needs of patients, the team and local stakeholders, including the direct supervision of students and junior doctors
• Participate in the Trust Clinical Governance Programme, including investigation and management of incidents and complaints, and attending the Quality Governance Committee when appropriate
• Act as a source of support, advice and information for current and prospective service users and their carers, referrers, team members and other professionals.

Clinical responsibilities

• Provide consultant input and Responsible Clinician duties for inpatients on Gresham 1 Ward
• Ensure excellence in the provision of mental health assessments and evidence-based treatments to all referred patients to the service in line with Trust policies
• Establish a reliable and accessible work schedule with the team and be readily available by mobile phone during work hours
• Work collaboratively with SLaM colleagues in community and inpatient settings concerning the timely care and transfer of patients as necessary
• Ensure appropriate administration and documentation in relation to the duties of the post, including recording clinical activities in the Trust electronic patient record system (ePJS).
• Liaise with primary care services as appropriate about patients physical and mental health care, including social care needs
• Help coordinate further support and/or management between different services as service users needs may dictate

On-call and cover arrangements

• Participate in the Croydon General Adult Psychiatry on-call rota, which is approximately 1 in 12 (pro-rata). The consultant is third on-call after a CT trainee and ST trainee; on-call work is remunerated at 1% of annual salary.
• Consultants are expected to participate in reciprocal cover arrangements with colleagues when taking leave, including arranging swaps for on-calls

Fitzmary 1 ward is paired with Gresham 1 ward at Bethlem Royal Hospital, with the consultants providing reciprocal nominal cover for SPA sessions.

Person Specification Qualifications Essential

• Full registration with the General Medical Council with a licence to practice
• Included on the GMC Specialist Register or within 6 months of eligibility
• Approved Clinician status AND Approved under S12 of the UK Mental Health Act (1983), or able to achieve these within 3 months of appointment

Desirable

• In good standing with GMC with respect to warning and conditions on practice
• Membership or Fellowship of the Royal College of Psychiatrists
• Deanery approval to supervise psychiatric trainees

Clinical Skills and experience Essential

• Worked in inpatient psychiatric services
• Experience of supervising junior psychiatry trainees

Desirable

• Worked in Home treatment teams or mental health liaison
• Worked in community mental health teams
• Given written (e.g. a medical report) and oral evidence to Mental Health Review Tribunals

Personal Skills Essential

• Evidence of multi-disciplinary approach to clinical work and of valuing the contributions of others
• Confident in taking the lead in clinical decisions when necessary

Desirable

• Experience of managing difficult professional relationships or situations
• Evidence of innovation, e.g. a self-initiated improvement in clinical practice or service

Learning and service improvement Essential

• Actively participate in continuous professional development
• Excellent oral and written communication skills in English

Desirable

• Participated in clinical governance processes, e.g. responding to service-user complaints, or investigating Serious Incidents using an RCA framework
• Experience of teaching at either undergraduate or postgraduate level

Academic skills and interests Essential

• Some experience of research (for those applying for academic affiliate programme with IoPPN)

Desirable

• Named author or contributor in a relevant academic publication

Any attachments will be accessible after you click to apply.

334-CRY-4160970-JA-A