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Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Main Duties of the Post

The main clinical duties are at the George Mackenzie House, Low Secure Unit, Fulbourn Hospital.

Working with forensic consultants, the postholder will provide day to day treatment of patients detained at the secure unit.

The postholder will have a high presence on the ward, attend daily handover meetings and engage in ward rounds, care programme approach meetings, and unit governance meetings.

The postholder will be involved in conducting assessments of new referrals to the unit, giving evidence before tribunals and preparing reports.

There will be some duties related to the three forensic beds on Mulberry Ward.

There is scope for the successful applicant to contribute to outpatient work in the community forensic service.

Other medical staff within the service include training grade doctors (CT and ST).

There are GP sessions to the secure unit.

Forensic Psychiatry in CPFT

The postholder will be part of the forensic psychiatry staff. Forensic mental health services managed by CPFT are of two main forms: services in hospital and services in the community (there is also the OPD pathway based at HMP Whitemoor).

George Mackenzie House is the CPFT 20 bed low secure unit providing inpatient treatment for men and women. The non-secure ward, Mulberry Ward has three forensic beds acting as ‘step down’ beds for the low secure unit as well as forensic admission beds from the community.

George Mackenzie House is part of the East of England Secure Services Provider Collaborative which also covers services in Norfolk, Essex, and parts of Hertfordshire. The Northside Clinic in Norwich and Brockfield House are the neighbouring NHS medium secure providers.

CPFT provides community forensic mental health services based in Peterborough (North) and Cambridge (South). Both community teams are multidisciplinary with community psychiatric nurses, occupational therapists, support workers and forensic psychologists.

The main purpose of the forensic community service is to assess and provide specialist treatment to people with mental disorder in the community who pose or could pose a significant risk of causing serious harm (usually physical) to others. Most, but not all, individuals registered with the service have been convicted of serious violent offending. The ethos is the safe management of risk through effective treatment and care.

Men and women from the locality who require low secure psychiatric inpatient care are detained at the Trust’s secure unit, George Mackenzie House.

Key Clinical Responsibilities

The postholder will provide psychiatry expertise and day to day treatment of inpatients under the direction of the three Responsible Clinicians at George Mackenzie House.

High visibility on the ward and engagement with daily handover meetings. Regular review of patient mental states and risk levels.

Active participation in ward rounds and CPA meetings. Preparation of reports and giving evidence before tribunals.

Treatment needs to be delivered in a timely and consistent manner in accordance with the recovery model. The postholder will provide or oversea ongoing treatments to patients which are evidence based and supported by NICE guidelines.

The postholder is expected to be committed to a multidisciplinary approach to care, contribute actively to multidisciplinary and formulation meetings, and work in close collaboration with team members, care coordinators, other CPFT services. Supportive and good working relationships are essential.

The postholder will undertake secure hospital access assessments under supervision.

The postholder is expected to play an active role in clinical governance in the unit and attend relevant meetings.

There will be clinical duties relating to the three forensic beds on Mulberry Ward under the direction of the Responsible Clinician.

There is scope for the involvement in outpatient work. The North and South forensic community services have well established multidisciplinary teams and have close working relationships with the forensic inpatient service. Many professional staff work across both the forensic community and inpatient services so that continuity of care is optimised, and patient care is progressed in a timely manner.

The postholder will be expected to contribute to the collection of clinical information to ensure further service developments and to enable audit.

The postholder is encouraged to undertake relevant research and there are links with the Institute of Criminology at Cambridge University.

Professional Responsibilities

The postholder will conduct themselves in a manner consistent with the GMC’s Good Medical Practise.

The postholder is expected to participate in the Trust’s annual appraisal process, job planning and GMC revalidation.  

The postholder will keep in good standing with the RCPsych annual CPD requirements. The postholder will complete relevant mandatory training.

The postholder undertakes, exceptionally, to be available for such irregular commitments outside normally rostered duties as are essential for continuity of patient care.