Consultant in Adult Psychiatry - Dunstable CMHT

Dunstable Community Mental Health Team (CMHT) has undergone a process of transformation/redesign in order to focus on providing prompt assessment and intervention at the point of need. By separating out some of the functions of a traditional CMHT, the new structure will additionally allow more of a focus on recovery for those with enduring mental health problems and those accessing CPA, within a linked recovery service. Community mental healthcare will increasingly be provided closer to home, within primary care networks.

Main duties of the job:

• The post-holder will provide clinical leadership to a community mental health team serving adults with acute and severe mental illness.
• Key responsibilities include:
• Leading the Dunstable team and weekly MDT meetings.
• Conducting assessments, diagnoses, and treatment planning with a focus on recovery-oriented care.
• Offering clinical guidance to GPs and collaborating with crisis, inpatient, and specialist teams to ensure continuity of care.
• Fulfilling responsibilities under the Mental Health Act, including duties as an Approved Clinician and Section 12-approved psychiatrist.
• Ensuring performance targets (KPIs) are met and working towards HTAS accreditation.
• Supervising junior staff, delivering training, and leading quality improvement and audit activities.
• Participating in the consultant duty rota and engaging in regular appraisal and job planning.

Person Specification:

• Qualifications
• Essential: Fully registered with the General Medical Council; Eligible for inclusion in the GMC Specialist Register (or Specialist Registrar within 6 months of gaining CCT at time of interview); Membership or Fellowship of the Royal College of Psychiatrists or equivalent qualification; Eligible for Section 12 Approval (Mental Health Act)/ Approved Clinician or willing to apply for such approval once in post.
• Desirable: A higher degree such as MD or PhD.
• Knowledge and Experience
• Essential: Experience of clinical work in Adult Psychiatry at SpR, SASG or consultant level within the last 3 years; Excellent working knowledge and experience of the application of the Mental Health Act; Appreciation and understanding of ethnic minority issues and a commitment to developing culturally sensitive practices; Understanding of social factors relevant to psychiatry; Robust experience of working with severe and enduring mental illness and risk assessment, management.
• Desirable: Experience of service development and introducing new services in mental health; Experience of working at consultant level in a community environment.
• Organisational Skills/Abilities
• Essential: Leadership skills; Ability to work as a part of multidisciplinary, multi-model team; Ability to manage complex workloads and support others to do that; Consultation skills to services, teams and individuals; Commitment to working in multidisciplinary setting; Commitment to working with service users on service development.
• Desirable: Formal leadership and management training; Experience of team/service leadership; Experience of organisational development work; Project management ability.
• Clinical Skills and Supervision
• Essential: Ability to work in multi-disciplinary team and provide leadership for the team; Self-motivating and innovative; Expertise in risk assessment; Confident in therapeutic risk taking; Commitment to clinical governance.
• Desirable: Experience in supervising trainee doctors and SAS doctors.
• Teaching
• Essential: Experience in teaching junior staff; Good teaching and communication skills; Experience of teaching medical undergraduates and postgraduates; Experience of teaching non-medical mental health professionals.
• Desirable: Medical education qualification.
• Research and Audit
• Essential: Experience of research work, or be able to interpret research findings and apply them to clinical practice; Audit experience.
• Desirable: Experience of grant-funded project work; Publications in peer-reviewed journals in relevant academic fields.
• Other Requirements
• Essential: UK driving licence.
• Desirable: Car owner.

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

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications.