Consultant Child & Adolescent Psychiatrist ARFID Pathway

Job overview

part-time (0.4 WTE) community post in child and adolescent eating disorder psychiatry, working within the ARFID Pathway of the East London Community Eating Disorder Service for Children and Young People (EL CEDS-CYP).

The ARFID Pathway is a dedicated, community-based specialist pathway for children and young people aged 8–18 years with Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID) or suspected ARFID, delivering early, evidence-based, multidisciplinary assessment, consultation and brief intervention (6–8 structured sessions), supported by MDT formulation. The pathway addresses the gap between paediatric and mental health services, reduces fragmentation of care, and prevents avoidable escalation to acute hospital or Tier 4 services.

The post holder will provide senior medical input to the ARFID Pathway, working closely with the ARFID Pathway Lead and the wider CEDS-CYP multidisciplinary team, including Psychology, Dietetics, Nursing, Occupational Therapy, Speech & Language Therapy and Paediatrics.

Main duties of the job

• Provide consultant psychiatric leadership and support the continued development of the ARFID Pathway.
• Ensure that children, young people and families consistently receive high-quality care that adheres to best practice guidelines (including NICE) and achieves high professional standards.
• Undertake all work in the context of a recovery- and family-centred approach, placing the child, young person and their family at the centre of planning and decision-making.
• Provide a key role as the senior medical clinician within the ARFID Pathway, supporting the wider work of the multidisciplinary team, working closely with and providing specialist psychiatric advice and support to non-medical members of the team.
• Provide comprehensive psychiatric assessment of complex referrals, including consideration of ARFID and non-ARFID psychopathology, neurodevelopmental presentations and comorbid mental health difficulties.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• Lead, in collaboration with paediatric colleagues, on the monitoring and treatment of physical complications associated with ARFID, including growth, nutritional status and MEED risk.
• Provide oversight and support to the team in the medical monitoring and management of higher-risk children and young people on the pathway.
• Liaise with community paediatricians, GPs, acute paediatric consultants and acute psychiatric colleagues as required.
• Contribute to MDT formulation and care planning meetings and participate in the development and maintenance of care plans for children and young people, in line with the pathway's non-care-coordinating model.

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.