Job summary
- Main area
- Acute & Urgent Care Older Adults
- Grade
- NHS Medical & Dental: Consultant
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Full time - 10 sessions per week
- Job ref
- 367-HPFT-MEDICAL-519
- Employer
- Hertfordshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Watford General Hospital
- Town
- Watford
- Salary
- £109,725 - £145,478 Per Annum
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 26/10/2025 23:59
Employer heading
Consultant Psychiatrist in Older Adults
NHS Medical & Dental: Consultant
Values Based Screener
At Hertfordshire Partnership Foundation Trust we are looking for people to join us who share our values and those of the NHS. Before your application can be considered please take part on our online values questionnaire, which you can find below. When you have finished you will be sent a 'completion code' by email, which will be valid for 6 months and required to submit your application form.
Job overview
We are seeking a Consultant in Older Adult Psychiatry.
Watford General Hospital is a 650-bedded district general hospital, mainly serving the needs of the Hertfordshire population, although patients can also come from North West London, Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire. It has a busy Accident and Emergency Department as it is the only A&E in West Hertfordshire.
As a Consultant Older Adult Liaison Psychiatrist working alongside a Consultant General Adult Liaison Psychiatrist, the post holder will provide clinical leadership to a well-established multidisciplinary Liaison Psychiatry Team.
· The Watford Mental Health Liaison team is a multidisciplinary team. The team is commissioned to operate as a 24/7 service. The service receives referrals for any patients 18 and over presenting with mental health difficulties who have been admitted to Watford General Hospital or who are attending the Emergency Department at Watford General Hospital. The team currently receives an average of 275 individual referrals per month, with the majority (70 %) of referrals coming from the Emergency Department (ED) and the remainder (30 %) coming from the inpatient wards. The referrals include service users of both Working Age and also Older Adults.
Please note - the Job Description is under review with the Royal College.
Main duties of the job
· Providing Clinical Leadership and supervision to other members of the team and to the multi-disciplinary team. Also provide cross cover for the General Adult Consultant Liaison Psychiatrist.
· Providing expert clinical input (including clinical assessment) for patients with complex presentations. They will assess and review patients in the A&E department and wards and provide psychiatric expertise for complex cases, working with clinical staff in the Acute Trust to improve patient care and outcomes. The post holder will contribute to an ad hoc outpatient follow-up clinic where patients assessed by the Mental Health Liaison team and discharged home can be brought back for joint geriatrics review under delirium pathway (Ambulatory care)
· Regular review of service users waiting for MH admission to ensure review of changing needs and implement appropriate changes to management plan to offer least restrictive treatment options.
· Providing clinical leadership to daily referrals meetings and board round. The post holder will attend multidisciplinary professionals’ meetings and other multiagency meetings with clinical partners providing acute physical healthcare to provide an integrated approach. There is opportunity to develop specialised clinics in conjunction with other teams and provide input to focussed initiatives E.g.: High Intensity User Support Teams.
Working for our organisation
In 12 years, the Trust has been successful in acquiring the tender for the provision of specialist Learning disability services in Norfolk, North Essex and Buckinghamshire. The Trust covers a mix of rural and urban areas, including the City of St Albans, the large towns of Watford, Welwyn Garden City and Stevenage, and the smaller towns of Hemel Hempstead, Radlett, Berkhamsted, Harpenden, Hertford, Ware, Bishops Stortford, Hitchin and Letchworth.
Hertfordshire Social Services have divided the county into four areas. The county has three Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs). West Hertfordshire is served by Herts Valleys CCG and Dacorum and East and North Hertfordshire is served by East and North Herts CCG.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
· Participate in local leadership meetings and work with Unplanned Care operational and quality leads on service development and the improvement of quality of services.
· Multi-agency support and management of frequent attenders to acute pathway
· To jointly work Mental Health Liaison teams, Mental Health Urgent Care Centre, Specialist MH services for Older adults Watford and Borehamwood, EMDASS dementia services and older adult MH inpatient wards to support smooth transition of service users between services
· To manage, appraise and give professional supervision to junior medical staff as agreed by consultant colleagues and the medical director and in accordance with the Trust's personnel policies and procedures. This may include assessing competences under the Modernising Medical Careers framework.
· To ensure that junior medical staff working with the post holder operate within the parameters of the New Deal and are Working Time Directive compliant.
· To undertake the administrative duties associated with the care of patients.
· To record clinical activity accurately and comprehensively and submit this promptly to the Information Department.
· To participate in service and business planning activity for the locality and, as appropriate, for the whole mental health service.
· To participate in annual appraisal for consultants.
· To attend and participate in the academic programme of the Trust and the team including lectures and seminars as part of the internal CPD programme.
· To maintain professional registration with the General Medical Council, Mental Health Act Section 12(2) approval, and to abide by professional codes of conduct.
Person specification
QUALIFICATIONS
Essential criteria
- MB BS or equivalent medical qualification.
- MRCPsych OR MRCPsych equivalent approved by the Royal College of Psychiatrists.
Desirable criteria
- Qualification or higher degree in medical education, clinical research or management.
- Relevant higher degree, e.g. MD, PhD, MSc or other additional clinical qualifications.
ELIGIBILITY
Essential criteria
- Fully registered with the GMC with a licence to practise at the time of appointment.
- CCT in Old Age Psychiatry; OR Inclusion on the GMC Specialist Register in psychiatry; OR within six months of achieving CCT/CESR at the time of interview.
Desirable criteria
- In good standing with GMC with respect to warning and conditions on practice.
- Section 12/Approved clinician approval.
- Liaison Endorsement
CLINICAL SKILLS, KNOWLEDGE & EXPERIENCE
Essential criteria
- Experience of the full range of clinical responsibilities expected of a consultant in Older Adults Liaison psychiatry.
- Experience of close collaborative working with social care and other agencies.
- Experience of working with service users who have complex needs within Liaison and Older Adult psychiatry.
- Excellent clinical skills using bio-psycho-social perspective and wide medical knowledge.
- Excellent oral and written communication skills.
- Able to manage clinical complexity and uncertainty.
- Makes decisions based on evidence and experience including the contribution of others.
Desirable criteria
- Wide range of specialist and sub-specialist experience relevant to post within NHS or comparable service.
- Excellent degree of medical knowledge in relation to Older adult population
ACADEMIC SKILLS LIFELONG LEARNING
Essential criteria
- Able to deliver undergraduate or postgraduate teaching and training.
- Participated in continuous professional development.
- Participated in research or service evaluation.
- Able to use and appraise clinical evidence.
- Has actively participated in clinical audit.
Desirable criteria
- Able to plan and deliver undergraduate and postgraduate teaching and training relevant to this post.
- Reflected on purpose of CPD undertaken.
- Experienced in clinical research and / or service evaluation.
- Evidence of achievement in education, research, audit and service improvement: awards, prizes, presentations and publications.
- Has led clinical audits leading to service change.
- Experience of organising and overseeing psychotherapy training program for psychiatry trainees.
- Holds a full valid driving license and access to a car (Unless you have a disability as defined by the Disability Discrimination Act 1995).
Employer certification / accreditation badges
Applicant requirements
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.
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Dr Champa Balalle
- Job title
- Consultant Psychiatrist & Clinical Director
- Email address
- [email protected]
If you have problems applying, contact
- Address
-
The Colonnades
Beaconsfield Road
Hatfield
AL10 8YE
- Telephone
- 07971639527
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