Specialty Doctor in Liaison Psychiatry

Job summary

This will be a new substantive role for an SAS doctor working 1.0 WTE in the Acute Hospital Liaison Service (AHLS), flexible working options are welcomed and will be considered.

AHLS currently provides a Core-24 Liaison Psychiatry service to Harrogate District Hospital. This services sits within the whole systems model in the Harrogate, Hambleton and Richmondshire area. This includes:

There are two multi-Disciplinary Community Mental Health Teams (CMHTs) covering Harrogate, Knaresborough and Ripon, which includes nurses, occupational therapists, psychologists, social workers and community support workers with consultant psychiatrist input.

An Early Intervention in Psychosis Service covering Harrogate, Hambleton & Richmond (HHRD) area with dedicated consultant time.

A 24 hour Crisis Assessment Service and seven days Home Based Treatment Service, which has dedicated consultant time.

A Community Perinatal Service, led by 0.6 WTE consultant which covers the whole of the HHRD area.

An Approved Mental Health Professional rota to ensure the need for Mental Health Act assessments can be met during working hours and out of hours.

Good quality service user and independent sector led community support, housing and inclusion services.

Main duties of the job

To contribute to the provision of a liaison psychiatry service for adults aged between 18 years and over at HDH including initial assessments and reviews for patients in the Emergency Department and inpatient wards.

To provide medical expertise within a multi-disciplinary team that will include the assessment, diagnosis and management of individuals referred to liaison psychiatry.

To contribute to and work as part of these multidisciplinary teams, being available and accessible and providing support and supervision when appropriate.

To attend morning huddle and MDT meetings.

To attend team meetings and leadership cell meetings.

To liaise with doctors and other clinicians working in the general hospitals, general practitioners, colleagues from other disciplines and agencies, to ensure a comprehensive approach to patient care and treatment.

To maintain knowledge and skills appropriate to working in the general hospital and to participate in continuing professional development. The Trust will support appropriate study leave expenses.

To be approved under s12 of the MHA 1983 at time of appointment or within 6 months.

To support and participate in clinical governance and audit.

To contribute to ensuring the Trust achieves its performance targets agreed for the directorate.

To comply with all Trust policies and procedures.

These duties are subject to review from time to time in light of the changing requirements of the service.

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. Our medical staffing shortage puts strain on services and puts strain on workforce wellbeing and costs extend beyond the financial. 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).