Consultant Psychiatrist for Older adults in Juniper Ward

Job overview

This is an existing post which has arisen due to the current consultant moving to a different role. The post holder will cover Juniper Ward in Bowmere Hospital, Countess of Chester site, Chester 1.0 WTE.

Juniper Ward is a mixed category open age inpatient mental health ward caring for people aged 18 and above in West Cheshire. They provide service to patients presenting with different mental disorders including affective disorder, psychosis and personality disorder where patients can be admitted informally or detained on the Mental health Act.  It has a fully functional Multidisciplinary team with input from resident doctors including foundation trainees, core and higher trainees, Psychology, Occupational therapy team, and Pharmacy. The post holder will be the inpatient consultant and the responsible clinician for people who are detained under the Mental Health Act in the ward. The post holder will be expected to enhance current care pathways for inpatient care and will work closely with the Home Treatment Team and CMHT to support care and treatment.

The consultant will participate in the West Consultant Psychiatrist on-call rota. On call rota is of low frequency and not less than one in 13.

Shortlisting for this vacancy is due commence on 17th December 2025 and the proposed interview date is 11th January 2026

Main duties of the job

The post-holder will be responsible for delivering consultant psychiatric input to older adult patients referred to and admitted to Juniper ward and provide medical input into SPA, with the agreed Acute Service Operational Policy. This includes:

• It is expected for post holder to provide Consultant Psychiatrist input and Responsible Clinician cover for service users in Juniper ward.
• The post holder is expected to be involved flexibly and creatively with colleagues as part of a multidisciplinary team promoting informed risk taking and anti-discriminatory practice

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Please download a copy of the job description (see ‘documents to download’ section below) for full details of the main responsibilities for this role.

At CWP, our recruitment selection processes are based on both competence (see person specification for details) and values.

CWP recruits people that can demonstrate the Trust’s Values in their everyday life and we use a values-based approach in our interviews, which explores not only what you do but how and why you do it.

Before applying, we encourage you to review the Trust’s Values and think about how these align with your own personal values. The supporting information section in your application should reflect your understanding of the Trust’s Values and associated behaviours and you should provide examples from your work experience and/or personal life which demonstrate these values through your behaviours.

An applicant guide to help and support you through your recruitment journey can be accessed at the bottom of this page. Further help and support for completing your application can be accessed via our website. If you need any further guidance to help you complete your application, contact our recruitment team via email at: [email protected] or by calling 01244 393100.

If you have a disability that meets the definition set out in the Equality Act 2010, and you can show that you meet the ‘essential’ criteria described in the person specification for an available position, please answer ‘YES’ to the question: ‘Do you wish to be considered under the Guaranteed Interview Scheme?’

Please inform the team if you have any special support needs to be considered as part of the interview and selection processes.

The trust offers a Guaranteed Interview Scheme to any armed forces community applicants who meet the essential criteria for the post and encourages applications from armed forces reservists or cadet force adult volunteers.

Please note applicants will be required to pay for their DBS check. Costs are deducted from salary following appointment. You are encouraged to enrol for the DBS Update Service. A small annual fee of £16 per year applies.

New entrants to the NHS will commence on the minimum of the scale stated above.

Applicants are advised to apply early as if a large number of applications are received for this post we reserve the right to close the vacancy prior to the advertised date.

Good luck with your application. We hope to welcome you to Team CWP very soon!