Consultant Psychiatrist - Older Adults Inpatients (Dunes Ward) in Southport

We are seeking a forward-thinking Consultant Psychiatrist to join our dedicated inpatient team on Dunes Ward at Hartley Hospital. Dunes Ward is a 20-bedded specialist older adult inpatient unit providing assessment, treatment and recovery-focused care for people with complex mental health needs. Located within Hartley Hospital, the ward offers a modern therapeutic environment designed to support excellent patient outcomes and staff wellbeing.

This is an exciting opportunity to lead an experienced multidisciplinary team delivering high-quality care for older adults requiring specialist inpatient treatment. You will have the opportunity to shape service development, contribute to teaching and training, and play a key role in driving continuous improvement within a supportive and ambitious organisation.

At Mersey Care, we are committed to creating an inclusive, compassionate and innovative workplace where our staff can thrive. We offer a strong medical leadership structure, excellent professional development opportunities and a culture that values collaboration, wellbeing and work-life balance.

Main duties of the job:

• You will provide clinical leadership to a skilled multidisciplinary team delivering specialist inpatient care for older adults with complex mental health needs.
• You will be responsible for the assessment, diagnosis and ongoing management of patients admitted to the ward, acting as Responsible Clinician where appropriate and ensuring the delivery of safe, effective and recovery-focused care.
• Working closely with nursing, psychology, occupational therapy, pharmacy and social care colleagues, you will contribute to the development of personalised treatment plans and support timely, well-coordinated discharges back into the community.
• This role offers the opportunity to influence and shape the future development of inpatient older adult mental health services within Mersey Care.
• You will play a key leadership role within the ward, supporting a positive team culture and providing supervision, teaching and development opportunities for medical students and postgraduate doctors in training.
• You will contribute to service improvement, clinical governance and quality improvement initiatives, helping to ensure the highest standards of care for patients and their families.

About us:

Mersey Care is one of the largest trusts providing physical health and mental health services in the North West, serving more than 1.4 million people across our region and are also commissioned for services that cover the North West, North Wales and the Midlands. We offer specialist inpatient and community services that support physical and mental health and specialist inpatient mental health, learning disability, addiction and brain injury services. Mersey Care is one of only three trusts in the UK that offer high secure mental health facilities.

At the heart of all we do is our commitment to 'perfect care' - care that is safe, effective, positively experienced, timely, equitable and efficient. We support our staff to do the best job they can and work alongside service users, their families, and carers to design and develop future services together. We're currently delivering a programme of organisational and service transformation to significantly improve the quality of the services we provide and safely reduce cost as we do so.

Flexible working requests will be considered for all roles.

Person Specification:

• Registration: Full registration with General Medical Council; Inclusion on or eligible for inclusion on the Specialist Register of the General Medical Council or within 6 months of CCST/CCT or equivalent in Old age Psychiatry at date of interview; Section 12 (2) Approval + Approved Clinician Status or demonstrated ability to gain approval.
• Transport: Holds valid UK driving licence and will use own car for work related travel OR provides evidence of proposed alternative.
• Qualification and Training: MbChb, MBBS or equivalent; Membership of the Royal College of Psychiatrists or equivalent; 3 years higher professional training in Old age psychiatry.
• Clinical Skills, Knowledge and Experience: Excellent clinical knowledge in specialty; 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; Makes decision based on evidence and experience including the contribution of others; Able to meet duties under MHA and MCA.
• Academic Skills & Lifelong Learning: Able to deliver undergraduate or postgraduate teaching and training.

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.