Consultant Psychiatrist - Older Adult In-patients

We seek an enthusiastic and skilled age psychiatrist for one of our two older adults wards at Highgate East Mental Health Centre.

We are looking for an old age psychiatrist with an interest in dementia and related conditions. Garnet Ward is a 16 bed older adults ward.

As a result of our ECT service expanding we need additional consultant input into that service. This post includes one session for ECT (the other older adults consultant also has one PA session for this). This post is a fixed term post, initially for six months, with the possibility of extension. It would suit either an experienced consultant or a new consultant who has just gained their CCT. Ideally, we are looking for doctors with a CCT in old age psychiatry. Psychiatrists with a CCT in general adult psychiatry would also be considered. The post holder would be based in Highgate East in which there are two older adults mental health wards, three rehabilitation wards and a liaison service. There is a supportive group of consultants there., Please see attached job description and person spec for job details about Consultant Psychiatrist – Older Adult In-patients role., The post-holder will provide clinical leadership to Garnet ward and ECT (on average) one session per week.

Garnet Ward

Garnet ward is a 14 bedded ward for older adults with a primary diagnosis of an organic mental illness. The post-holder is expected to review patients together with the MDT on the ward on a regular basis. They will act as the Responsible Clinician for patients on Garnet ward who are detained under the Mental Health Act. They will also be expected to provide clinical supervision to the trainee doctors working on the ward.

The ward is managed by a full-time ward manager and 2 full-time charge nurses. There is a full time OT and activities co-ordinator that are shared between Garnet and Pearl (our other Older Adult ward) and also input from a psychologist.

The ward is based in the newly built Highgate East Mental Health Unit. This unit opened in January 2025. There are five wards in Highgate East: two older adults wards and three rehabilitation wards. The Liaison service is also based in Highgate East. Highgate West Mental Health Unit is approximately a 2 minute walk away from Highgate East. In Highgate West there are ten wards: 8 acute wards and 2 PICUs. At Highgate West there is also a Place of Safety and a Mental Health Crisis Assessment Service. Together Highgate West and East make up the Highgate Campus.

Medical cover for Garnet is 0.3 of a higher trainee, a full time core trainee and also a full time foundation doctor.

The ward is part of an integrated acute care pathway with our Camden and Islington older people’s community health teams, community recovery centre for older people and award-winning Home Treatment Team for Older Adults. There is a weekly bed management meeting between all of these teams which is attended by the senior clinical leads. The pathway has been very successful in increasing the number of older adults that have been able to be treated in their own homes over the last few years with a reduction of 33% in older adults occupied in-patient beds.

North London NHS Foundation Trust (NLFT) is committed to improving mental health care across North London to deliver excellent services to our local people.

Our Five-Year Strategy:

1. We will provide consistently high-quality care closer to home.

2. With our partners in North London and each borough we will ensure equity of outcome for all

3. We will offer great places to work, providing staff with supportive environment to deliver outstanding care.

4. We will be more effective as an organisation by pioneering research, quality improvement and technology.

Why NLFT?

· We develop and retain our staff through leadership behaviours and managers programme and many more opportunities.

· We promote flexible working and support staff with a range of health and wellbeing initiatives.

· NHS Discounts, generous annual leave and NHS pension scheme

· Excellent internal staff network

In order to meet the needs of the Trust you may be required from time to time to work at different locations to your normal place of work. This may mean that you are required to work at any location that fall under Barnet, Camden, Enfield, Haringey or Islington. The Trust reserves the right to require staff to work at such other places or locations as it considers reasonable and necessary on a temporary or permanent basis.