Tees Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust

Specialty Doctor in Adult Mental Health - Liaison

The closing date is 19 March 2026

Job summary

The Durham and Darlington Liaison service is one of the largest liaison services in the North East and Cumbria. It covers acute hospital services in Durham and Darlington, which are provided by County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust (CDDFT). Although encompassing patients of all ages, the service is operationally managed as part of Adult Mental Health Urgent Care services.

The two main sites are University Hospital of North Durham (533 beds) located in the city of Durham, and Darlington Memorial Hospital (433 beds) in Darlington. Both operate as District General Hospitals with the full range of emergency, medical and surgical services. This post is based at Darlington Memorial Hospital.

Some planned surgery and rehabilitation takes place at Bishop Auckland General Hospital. Additional rehabilitation wards are based at Sedgefield Community Hospital. There are also small cottage hospitals in Stanhope and Barnard Castle, with medical support predominantly being provided by local GPs (Weardale Community Hospital and Richardson Community Hospital).

Main duties of the job

The post holder will work with the acute hospital liaison team to provide specialist clinical input in older peoples mental health. This will include seeing patients in County Durham and Darlington Foundation Trust, providing specialist input to the team, and providing teaching and training for acute Trust colleagues.

In particular the post holder will provide follow up appointments for patients that have previously been assessed in the ED, work with the ward-based teams providing assessment, treatment and discharge planning for people with a co-morbid mental health problem. It is anticipated that the average number of face-to-face contacts per week will be in the region of 15 (including planned follow-up clinics).

Whilst specialist consultant input for old age patients will routinely be provided by the Consultant Liaison Old Age Psychiatrist, a degree of cross cover will be necessary to cover absences. Any additional specialist advice for these patients would be provided by Old Age Psychiatrists in the locality if required.

The post holder will be expected to be involved in mental health act assessments within the acute trust (on average 2 per week).

The post-holder is expected to prioritise Mental Health Act Assessments for their own patients during working hours. The postholder will be expected to have a familiarity with important relevant legislation affecting the care of adult people with mental illness.

About us

We are one of the largest specialist mental health and learning disabilities trusts in the country, with an annual income of £320m and a workforce of some 6,700 staff operating from around 100 sites in Durham, Teesside, North Yorkshire and York and Selby. We provide a range inpatient and community services to 2m people living in County Durham, the Tees Valley, Scarborough, Whitby, Ryedale, Harrogate, Hambleton and Richmondshire. We also provide additional specialist services to other parts of Northern England.

We are a multi-award winning trust and are included within the Health Service Journals Best 100 Places to Work. The trust take a positive and proactive approach to support staff in their personal development and has embedded the Talent Management approach within the Trust.

Psychiatrists are essential contributors to the majority of our mental health teams. Service users expect and are justified to expect collaborative relationships with dedicated psychiatrists who work consistently as part of effective services. The Medical Directorate and Medical Development Team are striving to improve medical workforce recruitment and retention in a variety of ways and the cornerstone of these efforts is The TEWV Charter for the Medical Workforce. (Please see attached Supporting Document).

Details

Date posted

19 February 2026

Pay scheme

Hospital medical and dental staff

Grade

Specialty Doctor

Salary

£61,542 to £99,216 a year

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time, Flexible working

Reference number

C9346-AMH-340M

Job locations

Darlington Memorial Hospital

Hollyhurt Road

Darlington

County Durham

DL3 6HX


Job description

Job responsibilities

Please see the attached job description for further information on this post. Please note that this job description has not yet been approved by The Royal College and therefore subject to change.

Job description

Job responsibilities

Please see the attached job description for further information on this post. Please note that this job description has not yet been approved by The Royal College and therefore subject to change.

Person Specification

Teaching & Training

Essential

  • Able to deliver undergraduate or postgraduate teaching and training.

Desirable

  • Evidence of achievement in education, research, audit and service improvement: awards, prizes, presentations and publications.

CPD & Appraisal

Essential

  • Participated in continuous professional development.
  • Evidence of annual appraisal and commitment to appraisal and revalidation.

Qualifications

Essential

  • MB BS or equivalent medical qualification.
  • Fully registered with the GMC with a licence to practise at the time of appointment.
  • At least 4 years postgraduate experience, including at least 2 years in a core psychiatry training programme in UK or abroad
  • Approved under S12 of MHA OR able to achieve within 6 months of appointment.

Desirable

  • MRCPsych or equivalent postgraduate qualification.

Clinical Knowledge & Skills

Essential

  • Good knowledge of psychiatry.
  • Excellent clinical skills using bio-psycho-social perspective and wide medical knowledge.

Desirable

  • Able to manage clinical complexity and uncertainty.

Research, Audit & Quality Improvement

Essential

  • Has actively participated in clinical audit.

Desirable

  • Shows commitment to quality through knowledge of quality improvement and lean thinking methodology.
  • Participated in research and/or service improvement.
Person Specification

Teaching & Training

Essential

  • Able to deliver undergraduate or postgraduate teaching and training.

Desirable

  • Evidence of achievement in education, research, audit and service improvement: awards, prizes, presentations and publications.

CPD & Appraisal

Essential

  • Participated in continuous professional development.
  • Evidence of annual appraisal and commitment to appraisal and revalidation.

Qualifications

Essential

  • MB BS or equivalent medical qualification.
  • Fully registered with the GMC with a licence to practise at the time of appointment.
  • At least 4 years postgraduate experience, including at least 2 years in a core psychiatry training programme in UK or abroad
  • Approved under S12 of MHA OR able to achieve within 6 months of appointment.

Desirable

  • MRCPsych or equivalent postgraduate qualification.

Clinical Knowledge & Skills

Essential

  • Good knowledge of psychiatry.
  • Excellent clinical skills using bio-psycho-social perspective and wide medical knowledge.

Desirable

  • Able to manage clinical complexity and uncertainty.

Research, Audit & Quality Improvement

Essential

  • Has actively participated in clinical audit.

Desirable

  • Shows commitment to quality through knowledge of quality improvement and lean thinking methodology.
  • Participated in research and/or service improvement.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

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 (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Certificate of Sponsorship

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. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).

Additional information

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

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 (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Certificate of Sponsorship

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. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).

Employer details

Employer name

Tees Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Darlington Memorial Hospital

Hollyhurt Road

Darlington

County Durham

DL3 6HX


Employer's website

https://www.tewv.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)

Employer details

Employer name

Tees Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Darlington Memorial Hospital

Hollyhurt Road

Darlington

County Durham

DL3 6HX


Employer's website

https://www.tewv.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)

Employer contact details

For questions about the job, contact:

Medical Staffing Advisor

Rosie Wheadon

rosie.wheadon@nhs.net

Details

Date posted

19 February 2026

Pay scheme

Hospital medical and dental staff

Grade

Specialty Doctor

Salary

£61,542 to £99,216 a year

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time, Flexible working

Reference number

C9346-AMH-340M

Job locations

Darlington Memorial Hospital

Hollyhurt Road

Darlington

County Durham

DL3 6HX


Supporting documents

Privacy notice

Tees Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust's privacy notice (opens in a new tab)