Consultant Psychiatrist - Bristol Inpatients - Cherry Ward

Main area General Adult Inpatient Grade NHS Medical & Dental: Consultant Contract Permanent Hours Full time - 10 sessions per week (per annum) Job ref 342-RVN134-BNSSG-DH

Employer Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust Employer type NHS Site Callington Road Hospital Town Bristol Salary £113,565 - £150,569 per annum Salary period Yearly Closing 28/09/2026 23:59 Interview date 05/11/2026

Consultant Psychiatrist - Bristol Inpatients - Cherry Ward

NHS Medical & Dental: Consultant

Job overview

Lead, innovate and transform acute mental healthcare.

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Consultant Psychiatrist to join Cherry Ward, AWP's modern 18-bed acute inpatient unit in Bristol.

Cherry Ward is a psychologically informed, recovery-focused service where multidisciplinary working, innovation and high-quality patient care are at the heart of everything we do. Supported by a Specialty Doctor and Core Trainee, you will provide clinical leadership for patients with complex mental health needs.

As Responsible Clinician, you will lead assessment, treatment and care planning, supervise the medical team, contribute to Mental Health Act processes and work closely with community and acute services to ensure seamless patient care and effective discharge planning.

You will join an experienced and enthusiastic team committed to continuous improvement, clinical excellence and achieving the best outcomes for patients and carers. Opportunities are available to contribute to service development, quality improvement, clinical governance and specialist interests.

AWP offers excellent professional development, leadership support and a highly competitive NHS benefits package.

Based in vibrant Bristol, you'll enjoy an exceptional quality of life, excellent transport links and easy access to London, South Wales, Devon and Cornwall.

Leadership. Innovation. Recovery. Your next opportunity starts here.

Main duties of the job

Why Join Cherry Ward?

As Consultant Psychiatrist, you will provide clinical leadership within our 18-bed acute inpatient service, delivering expert assessment, diagnosis and treatment for patients with complex mental and physical health needs.

As Responsible Clinician, you will lead the care of detained patients, undertake regular ward reviews and support recovery-focused treatment planning. Working within a skilled multidisciplinary team, you will supervise junior medical staff, contribute to Mental Health Act processes, prepare Tribunal reports and provide specialist medico-legal expertise.

You will work closely with Intensive and Community teams to ensure seamless patient pathways, supporting timely discharge through effective CPA planning and robust aftercare arrangements. The role also includes providing senior medical support to the Section 136 Suite during daytime hours.

Cherry Ward is committed to clinical excellence, innovation and continuous improvement. You will have opportunities to participate in Clinical Governance, audit and quality improvement projects while helping to shape the future of acute mental healthcare across the Trust.

Join a supportive and ambitious team committed to delivering outstanding care and improving outcomes for the people of Bristol.

Working for our organisation

We are AWP (Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust) a diverse organisation with over 5,000 dedicated staff providing inpatient and community-based mental health care. We provide services from a range of locations to approximately 1.8 million people living in Bath and North East Somerset (B&NES), Bristol, North Somerset, South Gloucestershire, Swindon, across the county of Wiltshire and in parts of Dorset.

Our outstanding people promote mental health and wellbeing. The expertise and resources within AWP are dedicated to a person-centred approach for those who use our services and for all employees. We recognise that happy and fulfilled employees give better care.

Please note that Avon & Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust is not currently a sponsor under the GMC Sponsorship Scheme.

As a result, we regret to inform you that we are unable to consider applications from individuals who require GMC sponsorship

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Please refer to the accompanying job description for full details on the roles and responsibilities of this post.

Person specification

Qualifications

• MB BS or equivalent medical qualification
• Relevant Higher Degree e.g MD,PHD,Msc or other additional clinical qualifications
• MRCPsych OR MRCPsych equivalent approved by the Royal College of Psychiatrists.
• 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 of gaining CCT
• Approved clinician status OR able to achieve within 3 months of appointment
• Approved under S12 OR able to achieve with 3 months of appointment
• CCT in General Adult Psychiatry

Experience

• Experience of assessing and treating patients in a inpatient setting.
• Knowledge and evidence of participation in CPD
• Evidence of effective multidisciplinary team involvement

Personal Skills

• To possess leadership skills and be able to work collaboratively in a multidisciplinary team.
• Ability to manage own time, workload and prioritise clinical work
• Ability to appraise own performance as a Consultant.
• Able to demonstrate excellent communication skills, in order to effectively work with patients, carers and staff.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills
• Evidence of specific achievements that demonstrate leadership skills

Clinical Skills

• Ability to assess and treat psychiatric problems in Adults of working age and to deal with crisis situations.

Knowledge

• Understanding of the management skills required to function successfully as a Consultant.
• Awareness of current issues in mental health service provision, policy and legislation.
• Knowledge of alternatives to inpatient admission care approaches

Teaching

• Commitment to and experience of undergraduate and postgraduate learning and teaching.
• Experience as an Educational Supervisor for trainees

Research and Audit

• Experience or involvement in a research project and publication.
• Experience of carrying out an audit project.

Management

• Evidence of management/leadership skills training.
• Previous management experience including that of other junior medical staff

We are proud to be fostering a diverse workforce that reflects our communities. A key commitment to this is improving staff representation from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities, those from the LGBTQ+ communities, people with ‘lived-experience’ of mental health conditions and people living with disabilities,– we are a ‘Disability Confident Employer’ offering a guaranteed interview to Disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria. This includes people with a variety of disabilities and neurodivergent conditions (for example autism, ADHD, sensory, physical and learning disabilities).

We encourage applications from people who wish to work on a flexible basis, recognising that flexibility may mean a range of different working patterns and hours, we do our utmost to work with our staff to meet their needs and the needs of our service users.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Name Dr Dan Hodgson Job title Divisional Medical Director Email address daniel.hodgson@nhs.net Additional information

We would welcome the opportunity to meet with any interested candidates prior to the interviews or submission of an application.

To discuss the post further or to arrange a visit to the hospital or community facilities please contact:

Dr Dan Hodgson via email: daniel.hodgson@nhs.net