Locum Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist-Learning Disability

We are currently looking for a 2 PA locum consultant child and adolescent psychiatrist to work within our Learning Disability Team in Harrow CAMHS (CNWL) for 12 months to cover maternity leave and provide additional support to the team. This is an exciting opportunity for an energetic, innovative and dedicated doctor with interest/experience in LD and creative ideas for service development, keen to work with dynamic and passionate consultant colleagues and MDT clinicians and to collaborate with paediatricians, schools, children's services, Tier 4 services and allied health professionals.

Main duties of the job:

• This 2 session post is within the Harrow CAMHS LD team. The Learning Disability Team in Harrow CAMHS see young people with a moderate or severe learning disability presenting with significant mental health problems and/or challenging behaviour and offers assessment and management of comorbid neurodevelopmental disorders.

Working for our organisation:

Central and North West London (CNWL) specialises in caring for people with a wide range of mental and physical health needs and is one of the largest mental health trusts in England. Each CAMHS service has its own local management structure: Harrow CAMHS has a Lead Psychiatrist, Therapies lead and team manager who work closely with their service manager (who is responsible for Harrow, Hillingdon and Westminster CAMHS). Each sub-team has a psychiatry and therapy lead and they, together with the team and service manager form the local senior management team which meets monthly. The postholder will be part of the SMT. The Harrow CAMHS team is well established and staffed by a large multi-disciplinary team of clinicians. We aim to provide an accessible, flexible and responsive local service for patients and professionals working with children in the area using a range of therapeutic interventions including behaviour, systemic, CBT, IPT-A, DBT, psycho-dynamic and group therapies as well as psychopharmacological approaches. Harrow CAMHS is a Tier 3 service, accepting referrals from GPs, paediatrics, schools and Children’s Services. The service has active service user groups for young people and parents. The team has a monthly CPD session and local care quality meeting, a doctors meeting twice a month which includes peer group case discussions, a weekly local consultants meeting and a monthly senior management meeting which the postholder will be part of.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities:

This post will involve leadership of and clinical work within the LD team. The LD team are a multi-disciplinary team (including psychologist, nurse, behavioural analyst and an assistant psychologist). A holistic approach is offered with medication part of this, combined with psychological interventions. The team sign up to the STOMP/STAMP principles. The current caseload is approximately 16 cases on medication at present. The post holder will provide psychiatric assessments and reviews and oversee pharmacological treatment and will provide leadership to the LD team.

Person specification:

• Education and Qualifications: Primary Medical Degree, Full GMC Registration, Section 12 MHA Approved, Approved Clinician status or willing to apply for approval, GMC Licence to Practice, An additional post graduate qualification of relevance to working with children and Adolescents, Inclusion on the Specialist Register for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (or CCT expected within 6 months of interview date).
• Experience, Skills and Abilities: Competence in psycho-pharmacology and also non-medication therapeutic approaches, Experience and training in the assessment and management of neurodevelopmental disorders including cases with psychiatric comorbidity, complex presentations and associated high risk, Knowledge of Clinical Governance/Care Quality, Able to participate in Medical Audit and Quality Improvement, Experience of teaching and supervision of junior staff and other disciplines, Experience working with young people who have moderate/severe LD, Management Training, Experience of Research Publication in peer-reviewed journal, Experience in Paediatrics, ADI-R training.
• Personal Skills & Qualities: Excellent communication and empathic skills with a range of different people, Demonstrable leadership skills, Experience of team working, Sound organisational skills, Ability to work on own initiative, Ability to cope with considerable pressure and adapt to new demands, Ability to balance competing demands and prioritise, Cultural Sensitivity and ability to work in multi ethnic environment.
• Other: Computer Literate, Full UK car driving licence.

CNWL (Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust) has almost 8,000 staff providing integrated healthcare to a third of London's population, Milton Keynes and areas beyond. We involve service users, carers, the public, staff and partner organisations in the way that we are run. We are committed to providing services that meet the needs of the people who use them, and we actively encourage involvement from local people who can help make a difference. We’re proud of our diversity and we continue to undertake new initiatives to advance equality for LGBT+, BME and people with disabilities to promote good relations and understanding between our staff. We offer a generous relocation package (subject to eligibility assessment) and flexible working options, including bank assignments for most roles. CNWL NHS Foundation Trust are committed to safeguarding all children and vulnerable adults and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. We follow safe recruitment practices to protect children and vulnerable adults.