Job summary
This post is suitable for a Speciality Doctor in Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist who has passed their psychiatry examinations MRCPsych or equivalent and has interest and experience in working specifically with children and adolescents with a range of diagnoses including mood and affective disorders, psychoses, eating disorders, and neurodevelopment disorders of a severity and nature that meet the threshold for hospital admission. This includes the psychopharmacological management of children and adolescents with acute presentations. Due to the complexity of the client group, since many of our clients' have experienced adverse life events and complex trauma, it is essential the post holder possess experience working psychologically with young people, that they have an understanding of the complexities of gender identity, that they can work with complex family systems including working with young people who are looked after or on the edge of care, that they have a comprehensive understanding of safeguarding processes and can work as part of a multidisciplinary team.
Main duties of the job
The post holder's role will include clerking in patients and assessing their mental state and undertaking medical investigations at the start of and during their admission, attending morning ward rounds, reviewing and prescribing medication, contributing to weekly ward reviews, liaising with carers, liaising with the MDT and the referring consultant and teams from around the region, preparation of tribunal reports and writing discharge reports. The post holder will have an up to date understanding of the evidence base in the assessment and management of children and adolescents' mental health conditions.
Experience and knowledge of the Mental Health Act 1983 and the Code of Practice, the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and the Children's Act 1989 and their application to children and adolescents is desirable for this role.
The post holder will be responsible alongside the substantive Consultant Child and Adolescent psychiatrist and medical team in providing psychiatric consultation and assessment, clinical risk formulation and management and intervention.
About us
As an organisation, Somerset NHS Foundation Trust offers employees a wide range of benefits including flexible working, NHS pension scheme, generous annual leave allowance and a commitment to career development.
You will be eligible for our Blue Light Card and a wide range of NHS exclusive shopping & leisure discounts.
We are proud of our skilled, diverse workforce and as an inclusive employer we welcome applications from all backgrounds.
Working in Somerset enables you to enjoy the idyllic countryside, areas of outstanding beauty and stunning coastlines whilst still only being a stone's throw away from bustling city centres like Bristol, Bath and Exeter and only two hours away from London.
There are excellent educational facilities in the area and, when compared to other regions, house prices are reasonable.
Somerset offers the countryside and the cosmopolitan - there is truly something for everyone!
Job description
Job responsibilities
Responsibility for Patient / Client Care, Treatment & Therapy
Mental Health Act and Responsible Clinician approval. The post holder would be expected to have Section 12 MHA or be expected to undertake training to obtain Section 12(2) MHA/ as part of their essential duties and will be expected to renew this approval according to agreed procedures.
Accountability for the direct delivery of clinical care, by providing a visible, accessible, authoritative and professional clinical leadership to Wessex House ensuring high standards of clinical practice.
Provide evidence based specific psychiatric advice regarding the clinical formulation of children with complex neurodevelopmental presentations.
Experience of working with children and carers that have a range of serious mental health issues
Have understanding of neurodevelopmental disorders and how these presentations can affect how a young person presents during hospital admission
With other senior members of the team, responsible for ensuring referrals are risk assessed routinely
- With other senior members of the team, be responsible for ensuring there is effective communication both within the team and with referring and receiving teams
- To promote effective multi-disciplinary team working.
- To work co-operatively with colleagues and to respect and value their contribution to patient care.
- To maintain close relationships with Referring teams/Care Coordinators in the Community/Social care/ GPs / primary care.
- To work closely with colleagues in Education and Childrens Social Care as well as Drug and Alcohol Service (SDAS), Early Intervention in Psychosis (STEP), Talking Therapies and Adult Mental Health services
- To be available to patients, families and carers, to provide information and support.
- To participate in the development of arrangements to support the transition of young people into the adult mental health service
- Undertake Medical Audit and Multi-Disciplinary audit
- Fulfil the duties of the weekly timetable
- Provide middle grade cross cover to some of the other wards on site for annual leave/ sick leave during working hours
- The following is a provisional timetable to be negotiated during job planning with the Clinical Director
Sample Job plan if post holder works 10 PAs
AM
PM
Monday
9 am ward round
10 am YP reviews
2pm clinical formulation led by psychology
2 DCC
Tuesday
9am ward round
10am-13:00
YP reviews
Personal CPD (0.75 SPA)
Supervision with consultant (0.25 SPA)
1 DCC
1 SPA
Wednesday
9am ward round
Quarterly Trust Audit and Senior Management meeting (0.25 SPA)
Weekly Postgraduate medical education
(0.25 SPA)
DCC 0.5
Once monthly CAMHS CPD 2-3.30pm including case base discussions, prescribers forum
Audit
Service Development
Governance
Appraisal preparation
1 SPA
1 DCC
Thursday
9 am ward round
Reviews
DCC
Reviews as required
2 DCC
Friday
9 am ward round DCC
10am Paper work DCC
Tribunals, discharges paperwork
2 DCC
TOTAL
8 DCC
2 SPA
=10 PA
This is a sample job plan and will be adjusted based on the number of sessions the postholder would like to work; ensuring there is sufficient SPA time available core CPD time required for all psychiatrists.
There will be a job planning meeting that will take place within 3 months of starting your post with the operational manager and clinical director, and if there were to be any unexpected changes, such as cover arrangements, active caseload reviews and further job planning meeting would be scheduled.
CASELOAD
Wessex is a 12 bedded unit
TEAM COMPOSITION
Wessex House Team
Role
WTE
Consultant Child And Adolescent Psychiatrist
1
Specialty Doctor
1
CT3
1
Operational Manager
1 (advertised post)
Ward Manager
1
Family Therapy
0.8
Head of psychology
0.6
Psychologist
1
Assistant psychologist
1.8
Social Worker
1
Nursing Band 7
-
Band 6
3
Band 5
6.6
Occupational therapy
1
Health Care Assistants
21.7
JOB PLANNING
This job description will form a composite part of the job plan, which will be subject to annual review jointly between the post-holder, their line manager and service manager. It is expected that doctors will be flexible according to the changing needs of the service. It is planned it will take place within 3 months of the post holder commencing in post due to the fixed term nature of the post.
APPRAISAL
The post holder will be expected to participate and will be able to access an annual medical appraisal and be supported in fulfilling the requirements for annual appraisal and revalidation using an electronic portfolio system. Induction for appraisal for those new to medical appraisal is also provided. Somerset FT has a strong supportive appraisal and revalidation team and provides induction to appraisal for doctors new to appraisal and an active CPD programme for appraisers. As the Clinical Director for CAMHS is also the Medical Lead Appraiser for the Trust, we ensure that all CAMHS doctors have adequate opportunity for CPD, shared learning and reflection, case base discussions, evidence based practice, quality improvement opportunities, and time for preparation for Appraisal and this ethos is central to the culture of the Medical CAMHS peer group.
SUPERVISION
The post holder will receive weekly clinical supervision from the Consultant Psychiatrist Wessex House
Safeguarding specific training is provided regularly to clinical teams.
SECTION 12 and APPROVED CLINICIAN
Due to the nature of the role, even if the post holder does not currently possess this approval, the post holder would be expected to gain the experience and apply for S12 and if appropriate work towards AC approval.
CAREER DEVELOPMENT
The Trust has supported several doctors in non training grades through the Certificate of eligibility for specialist registration. The Royal College of Psychiatrists has 2022 CESR curricula advice on their website. All applicants will be able to access weekly postgraduate medical education programme for psychiatrists, and for all trust staff, the opportunity to attend hospital grand round and schwartz rounds.
COACHING and MENTORING
The Trust has a group of senior coaches and mentors that can support the post-holder new in post. The line manager will facilitate that the post holder has adequate SPA time to develop relationships, build networks and learn about their service and the wider service and multi agencies working alongside Wessex House.
All senior doctors new to the trust will be allocated a mentor.
WELLBEING
The Trust values doctors wellbeing, and recognise that during Covid-19 pandemic, this has placed additional pressures on our doctors. COVID-19 continues to impact on us personally, emotionally, socially, financially, within our communities in the UK and further afield. It affects our families, relationships and friends, and our teams
The Trust has a fully staffed Wellbeing team for Senior Doctors and a Colleague support team available for all staff 9am-5pm Monday Friday. The Wellbeing team contact all doctors regularly with advice to support wellbeing such as developing resilience, mindfulness, learning how to recognise burnout in oneself and others. They also offer a confidential colleague wellbeing support line and can provide individuals with additional wellbeing support. Additionally, there are effective local occupational health support delivered by Optima Health (confidential, includes modalities of self-referral, promoted regularly at induction and when in post) and there are proactive local organisational systems to support doctors wellbeing following serious incidents both from their team and confidential support from the Trust wellbeing team.
SFT colleagues have access to rapid access physiotherapy services.
It is recognised that due to acuity the CAMHS caseload, that supporting doctors in their role is paramount to the duty of care for our staff group.
The CAMHS substantive senior doctors have recently established a monthly Balint group facilitated by a Consultant Psychotherapist.
There are wellbeing ambassadors throughout the service that promote monthly wellbeing opportunities and initiative in the trust to support mental and physical wellbeing.
There is also specifically available training for teams regarding civility, inclusion and micro aggression.
If specific individuals and team are struggling with communication, there are senior medical leaders across the trust trained in conflict resolution and there is also advance communication skills training available.
All new doctors are offered an assigned mentor, experienced senior psychiatrist trained as a mentor/ coach and whom they will be able to meet with every 6- 8 weeks in the first year to 18 months of their post commencement. These sessions will be treated in confidence. All new senior doctors will have access to a formal SFT induction over 4 days (which includes senior doctors from all medical, surgical and psychiatry specialities) which will include orientation to wellbeing services, learning and development, appraisal processes and medical education facilities.
The Trust have several Freedom to Speak Up Guardians who work independently of the Trust leadership team. Their key role is to help raise the profile of speaking up and to provide confidential advice and support to colleagues in relation to concerns they may have about patient safety or their experience at work.In addition, they are here to learn lessons by listening to those who have experiences to share, both positive and negative. They then share those lessons and staff voices with the senior management team.
Person Specification
Knowledge
Essential
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.
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 .
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 .
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see
NHS Careers website .
Employer details
Employer name
Somerset NHS Foundation Trust
Address
Wessex House
Bridgwater
TA6 5YA