Consultant Psychiatrist in Older Adults Inpatient and Liaison Service

We are looking for an enthusiastic and highly motivated Consultant Psychiatrist to join us in the heart of London! This is a new 10 PA substantive consultant post in Old Age Psychiatry, developed in response to changes within the Older Adults inpatient service and the wider transformation of older adult mental health services across Westminster and Kensington & Chelsea. The post combines responsibility for Kershaw Ward with dedicated older adult consultant input into the Liaison Psychiatry Service at St Mary's Hospital, creating a unique opportunity to work across inpatient and acute hospital settings while contributing to the future development of services for older adults.

Main duties of the job

• Provide senior medical responsibility for the assessment and management of patients on Kershaw Ward (currently 6 bedded unit) and liaison service in St Mary's Hospital psychiatric liaison service with a particular emphasis on older adult patients as part of older adult transformation.
• Act as Clinical supervisor to 1 CT resident doctor and 1 SASG doctor (Kershaw Ward) as well as one CT resident doctor (St Mary's Liaison, pending training scheme approval).
• Provide oversight of and contribution to robust care planning, risk assessment and risk management processes.
• Support recruitment and ensure optimal retention of team members and uphold morale.
• Ensure good service quality and performance.
• Ensure training needs of psychiatry trainees and medical students are met as well as supporting training of other junior clinical staff.
• Ensure own CPD.

About us

Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust (CNWL) is one of the largest Trusts in the UK, caring for people with a wide range of physical and mental health needs. We have approximately 7,000 staff that provide healthcare to a third of London's population and across wider geographical areas, including Milton Keynes, Kent, Surrey and Hampshire. As a Foundation Trust we involve service users, carers, the public, staff and partner organisations in the way that we are run and our future development.

The principal responsibility of the post-holder is to provide consultant leadership across both Kershaw Ward and the Liaison Psychiatry Service at St Mary's Hospital. The post-holder will provide high-quality psychiatric assessment, treatment and clinical leadership for older adults presenting across acute inpatient and acute hospital settings, ensuring safe, effective and person-centred care.

The post-holder will act as Responsible Clinician for all patients admitted to Kershaw Ward who are allocated to their care, including patients subject to the Mental Health Act. They will provide consultant expertise to the multidisciplinary team and contribute to the assessment, management and treatment of patients with both functional and organic mental disorders requiring inpatient care.

Within the Liaison Psychiatry Service, the post-holder will provide dedicated older adult psychiatric expertise across the Emergency Department and acute inpatient wards at St Mary's Hospital. The role will include close working with liaison psychiatry colleagues, acute hospital teams and the established dementia service, supporting high-quality mental health care for older adults within the acute hospital setting and helping strengthen pathways between physical and mental healthcare services.

The post-holder will provide clinical leadership within both services, supporting a culture of continuous quality improvement, multidisciplinary collaboration and evidence-based practice. They will be expected to contribute to service evaluation, quality improvement initiatives and the ongoing transformation of older adult mental health services across Westminster and Kensington & Chelsea.

The post-holder will work closely with consultant colleagues across inpatient, community, memory and liaison services. Appropriate consultant cross-cover arrangements are expected during periods of leave and absence, in accordance with local procedures and agreed job planning arrangements.

Working alongside lead nurses, ward managers and senior clinicians, the post-holder will contribute to the overall leadership and development of both services and will support the delivery of safe, effective and efficient care.

Person Specification

QUALIFICATIONS

• Essential: MB BS or equivalent medical qualification.
• Desirable: Qualification or higher degree in medical education, clinical research or management.

ELIGIBILITY

• Essential: Fully registered with the GMC with a licence to practise at the time of appointment.
• Included on the GMC Specialist Register OR within six months.
• Approved clinician status OR able to achieve within 3 months of appointment.
• Approved under S12.

CLINICAL SKILLS, KNOWLEDGE & EXPERIENCE

• Essential: Experience of assessing and treating older adult patients in acute and community psychiatric settings.
• Experience in leading a multidisciplinary team.
• Excellent clinical skills using bio-psycho-social perspective and wide medical knowledge.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills in English.
• Able to manage clinical complexity and uncertainty.
• Demonstrate the leadership skills required to function successfully as a Consultant Psychiatrist.
• IT skills relevant to working in a modern NHS environment.

TRANSPORT

• Essential: Ability to use public transport (for travel to see patients if indicated).