Consultant Psychiatrist General Adult Psychiatry Liaison Service

Job details

• Branch: Belfast Area (SEHSCT)
• Location: Ulster Hospital
• Directorate: Adult Services & Prison Healthcare
• Functional Area: Mental Health
• Salary: (See job details)
• Contract Type: Permanent
• Opening Date: 04/06/26
• Closes: Mon, 29 June 2026 @ 4:00 PM

Notes

Supporting C.Vs can be emailed to: leigh.simmons@setrust.hscni.net

JOB DESCRIPTION

POST: Consultant Psychiatrist. General Adult Psychiatry

Liaison Service

LOCATION: South Eastern Health and Care Trust

Ulster Hospital

DIRECTORATE: Mental Health Adult Services

REPORTS TO: Associate Clinical Director Inpatients/Acute

RESPONSIBLE TO: Clinical Director for Psychiatry

JOB SUMMARY

The South Eastern Trust wishes to appoint a full time (10 PA) consultant in General Adult Liaison Psychiatry, based in the Ulster Hospital. This post is part of a planned expansion of the service.

The General Adult Psychiatry Liaison Service (GAPLS) is a multidisciplinary team based in the Ulster Hospital with responsibility for the assessment of patients both in the acute wards and in the Emergency Department. The successful candidate will be working alongside a less than full time consultant colleague as well as an SAS doctor and a resident doctor. There is a dedicated liaison service for the over 65 population (OAPLS) with 1.4 consultant colleagues and an SAS doctor.

This is a full time post, however applications from practitioners who wish to contract for a reduced number of planned activities, or on a job share basis are welcome.

Profile of the South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust

The South Eastern Health & Social Care Trust (SET) is an Investors In People (IIP) accredited organisation, employing approximately 12,500 Staff. The Trust is excellently placed to offer integrated health and social services which are accessible, appropriate and of the highest quality.

It is an integrated Trust, incorporating acute hospital services, community health and social services. The Trust serves a population of 440,000 people approximately 70,000 of whom are aged over 65-years-old. This number is expected to rise to 90,000 within the next 10 years.

The Trust covers a wide geographical area from Bangor in the North, Portaferry in the East, to Newcastle in the South and Moira in the West. The main hospital base is the Ulster Hospital, Dundonald with local hospitals in Lisburn and Downpatrick. A community hospital is based in Newtownards with associated outpatient services. There are also outpatient services in Bangor.

In addition to its geographical spread, there is also a noticeable diversity in population characteristics, embracing areas of relative wealth and prosperity as well as pockets of considerable deprivation and need.

The North Down and Ards sectors have a predominantly rural catchment area with a population of 161,300. The main centres of population are concentrated in the market towns of Bangor, Newtownards and the small expanding town of Comber, five miles from Newtownards.

The Down and Lisburn sectors of the Trust have a combined population of 201,100. The Lisburn sector incorporates the northern part of the Trust which is more urban and includes the city of Lisburn and large housing estates on the fringe of West Belfast. This sector includes geographical wards which have high deprivation measures. The Down sector is mainly rural but does have geographical wards with high measures of deprivation and relative poverty.

The Ulster Hospital

The Ulster Hospital is the major acute hospital for the Trust and delivers the full range of acute services for the population. This includes a type 1 Emergency Department which is open 24/7 (23/24 ~135k new & unplanned attendances), a comprehensive range of diagnostic services, the full range of outpatient, inpatient and daycase medical and surgical services, cancer care, coronary care, obstetrics, paediatric services and a psychiatric inpatient unit. The regional Plastic and Maxillo-Facial services are mainly delivered from the Ulster site.

The Ulster Hospital has undergone significant redevelopment. In February 2017, the new inpatient ward block (IWB) was opened with 288 single en-suite rooms, 4 day surgery theatres and 3 endoscopy rooms.

The new Inpatient Ward Block (IWB) was opened in February 2017 with 288 single en-suite rooms, 4 day surgery theatres and 3 endoscopy rooms.

The Acute Services Ward Block (ASB) is now operational. It includes 213 single en-suite rooms, a new X-ray department including CT, MRI and Nuclear Medicine imaging. The Emergency Department, which completes the final stage of the £280m Phase B redevelopment project, opened on the 6 September 2023.

A new Urgent Care Centre opened at the Ulster Hospital in June 2025, providing a modern, purpose-built facility to access and treat a range of minor injuries and patients requiring urgent care. It is located below the Emergency Department, open 8am - 6pm and is Consultant led.

The Ulster Hospital is a major teaching hospital associated with Queens University of Belfast and with the Ulster University. The library is linked to Queens University Medical Library and comprehensive on-line search facilities and other resources are provided through library connections. Facilities for Med-line and Cochrane Database are also available. Research opportunities are also being developed, particularly in the field of bronchiectasis, lung cancer and health related technology.

Lagan Valley Hospital

Lagan Valley Hospital is located in the city of Lisburn, a 30-minute commute from the Ulster Hospital. It is situated close the M1 motorway, with easy access from Belfast. The Emergency Department team operate an Urgent Care Centre, which is a phone first system (appointment only), which is open 8am-6pm Monday-Friday (closed at weekends).

The hospital also has 84 inpatient medical beds, maternity services via Midwifery led Unit, inpatient medical services as well as outpatient, diagnostic, day-case services for the local population.

The Downe Hospital

The Downe Hospital is located in the culturally historic town of Downpatrick, a 40-minute commute from the Ulster Hospital. The Emergency Department team operate an Urgent Care Centre which is open 8am-6pm Monday-Friday.

The hospital has 40 inpatient beds for a range of medical conditions and Frail Elderly Rapid Assessment Clinic staffed 0900-1800 Monday to Friday. The Downe provides the Trust wide Bowel Screening Service and Sexual Health Service, as well as a range of outpatient, diagnostics and day-case services, such as cataract surgery. Two GP practices are located on the first floor, along with community and dental services.

Downshire Hospital

The Trust’s psychiatric rehabilitation and continuing care service is located in the Downshire Hospital along with a Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit and the inpatient Addictions Treatment Unit.

Ards Hospital

Ards Community Hospital provides a comprehensive range of health, primary and social care services, including an X-Ray Department, GP Ward, Medical, Surgical, Gynaecology and Psychiatry Outpatients Department. The Trust’s breast screening service is delivered from a new building on the site.

Bangor Community Hospital

Bangor Community Hospital provides a range of health, social and primary care services, including an Outpatients Department, a Therapy & Rehabilitation Centre, and an X-Ray Department. Gynaecology outpatients and urogynaecology clinics are held on this site. The continence service for the area is based in Bangor Hospital and urodynamic studies are performed on an outpatients basis.

Trust Medical Management Structure

Medical Director – Professor Stephen Kirk

Associate Medical Directors- Mr Bob Darling, Mr Sean McGovern Dr Craig Renfrew (Director of Medical Education)

There is support for the medical staff as a whole through this structure and there is a well-organised Revalidation office to support the process of appraisal and revalidation for all medical staff.

Mental Health Adult Services Directorate

The Senior Management Team for comprises

Dr Gail Walker, Clinical Director for Psychiatry

Dr Róinin McNally, Associate Clinical Director for Old Age Psychiatry

Dr Heather Hawthorn, Associate Clinical Director for General Adult Psychiatry (Acute)

Dr Gary Woods, Associate Clinical Director for General Adult Psychiatry (Community)

Dr Mark Finnerty, Educational Supervisor

Dr Catherine Boucher, Educational Supervisor

Ms Rachel Gibbs, Director of Adult Services and Prison Healthcare

Ms Fiona Dagg, Assistant Director for Community Services

Ms Kiera Lavery, Assistant Director for Acute Services

The Directorate has an active and dynamic medical staff group and the Medical Staff Committee meets monthly. The Chair of the committee is Dr Kathy Hadden with other members holding positions to support the committee.

The Trust is in the process of integrating a number of its programmes into a single Mental Health Directorate. During this period of transition, the Mental Health Service for Older People will join the Adult Mental Health Service, Addictions Service, Psychology Service (including Clinical Psychology for Older People) and the recently established Mental Capacity Act Service to deliver treatment and care to patients based on their assessed needs.

The Mental Health service is split into three sectors. The North Down and Ards sector has a population of 161,300 and incorporates the towns of Newtownards and Bangor and the mostly rural Ards peninsula. Community Mental health services for this sector are based at Ards Hospital with acute inpatient beds at the Ulster Hospital which is a large teaching hospital.

The Lisburn sector has a population of around 105,000 and has a combination of rural and urban catchment including the city of Lisburn and parts of West Belfast. Mental Health community and inpatient services are based at Lagan Valley hospital in Lisburn.

The Down sector has the smallest population size at around 95,000 and is a mostly rural catchment. Community services are based at Finneston House in Downpatrick with acute inpatient beds in the Downe Hospital which is a small district general hospital. There are also some PICU and non –acute mental health beds based in the Downshire hospital. Administrative and managerial base for the Mental Health service is also based at the Downshire hospital. Finneston House, the Downe hospital and the Downshire hospital are located on adjacent sites.

All three sectors have an assessment centre model. In this model a team of staff (MHAC) provide the first point of contact for people referred by their GP for mental health assessment. The team provide a mostly standardised face to face triage assessment and signposting. The team is led by a Clinical co-ordinator. The MHAC provides a small liaison function to the Downe Hospital.

Each sector also has a Home Treatment Team which provides treatment at home as an alternative to hospital admission or to facilitate early discharge.

Well-developed Community Mental Health Teams exist in each sector and are based in a variety of locations.

Mental Health Services in Down, Lisburn and Newtownards sectors

Lisburn

Mental Health services in the Lisburn sector serve a population of approximately 110,000. There is a 21 bed adult psychiatry inpatient unit at Lagan Valley Hospital, Lisburn as well as a 16 bedded inpatient unit for older people with dementia and mental illness.

The current staffing for the Lisburn sector includes: Four consultant General Adult Psychiatrists, and three (2.6 wte) consultants in Psychiatry of Old Age. Each consultant team consists of junior medical staff and dedicated secretarial support. There is also a social worker attached to each consultant team. The sector’s Assessment Centre has a dedicated speciality doctor. In addition, there is a Home Treatment Team, staffed by five nurses and a specialty doctor.

The consultants in the Lisburn sector have traditionally been GP aligned, and provide community, including Home Treatment, Day Hospital, and inpatient services.

Dr Heather Hawthorn GAP

Dr Darran Carson GAP

Dr Michael McMorran GAP

Dr Stephen Moore GAP

Dr Brid Kerrigan POA

Dr Angela Wilson POA

Dr Mark Macauley POA

Dr Leo Tumelty POA

Dr Roisin Smith CAT

There are SAS doctors working in MHAC, Home Treatment and older people’s services

Dr Sally Moran HTT

Dr Nicholas McAlinden MHAC

Dr Julie Forth POA

Dr Carol Mullan POA

Down Sector

The current staffing for the Downpatrick sector includes: Four consultant General Adult Psychiatrists, a part time consultant in rehabilitation and a consultant in Psychiatry of Old Age. In addition, there is an associate specialist (0.7 wte), and a speciality doctor (0.8 wte).

There are twenty-four acute beds and a further 20 bedded dementia assessment unit at the Downe Hospital serving a population of 95,000 in the Down/ Annalong/ Kilkeel districts. This ward also takes overflow from the Ards community area. On the Downshire hospital site, as well as the sub-regional addiction ward, there is a six bedded PICU ward. The Down sector also provides the trust’s ECT service.

Consultants in this sector are divided between outpatient and inpatient functions.

Dr Ashley McGrady GAP inpatients

Dr Mark Finnerty GAP inpatients

Dr Kathleen Hadden GAP HTT and community

Dr Michael McParland GAP community

Dr Laura Somerville GAP rehabilitation

Dr Lynn Agnew POA

Dr Liz Dawson POA

Dr Siobhan Flanagan addictions inpatient and CAT

SAS doctors in this sector

Dr Clare Robinson MHAC and HTT Down

Dr Abier Assal SAS POA

Newtownards Sector

There is a 24 bed inpatient unit at the Ulster Hospital, Dundonald, together with inpatient beds at the Downe Hospital, Downpatrick.

The current staffing for the Newtownards sector includes: Six General Adult consultant Psychiatrists and four Psychiatry of Old Age consultants. There are three Liaison consultants and two Perinatal consultants (1WTE). Each consultant team is supported by a trainee doctor and dedicated secretarial support. The MHAC and Crisis Response Home Treatment Team each have a dedicated specialty doctor:

Dr Sinead O’Neill MHAC

Dr Fiona Gorman HTT

There are four SAS doctors working in the community mental health service for older people: Dr Gabrielle Hasson

Dr Joanne Younge

Dr Darryl Trainor

Dr Ryan McIlwaine

Services in the sector have been developed along functional lines.

The Crisis Response/Assessment Centres in each sector provide both emergency and routine assessments of individuals referred from primary care. This provides a single point of access to secondary psychiatric services.

Specialist eating disorders service, neuropsychiatry, forensic psychiatry, psychiatry of learning disability, and services for children and young people are purchased from the Belfast Trust.

Consultant Staff

Dr Catherine Boucher GAP Dr Roinin McNally POA

Dr Gail Walker GAP Dr Graeme Young POA

Dr Gary Woods GAP Dr Stephanie Campbell POA

Dr Sara Maguire GAP/ADHD Service Dr Ruth Grant POA

Dr Rachel Smylie GAP Dr Siobhan Flanagan CAT

Dr Claire Coulter ADHD Service and HTT Dr Roisin Smith CAT

Dr Carolyn O’Connor PNMH

Dr Riona McCann PNMH

Dr Jacinta McLaughlin GAP Liaison

Dr Pratibha Nirodi OAP Liaison

Dr Dearbhail Lewis MCA/OAP Liaison

The Post

This post is full time 10PAs.

The successful candidate will provide medical leadership to the General Adult Psychiatry Liaison Service alongside another consultant colleague. They will provide liaison services to the wards and the Emergency Department of the Ulster Hospital and to the Downe and Lagan Valley hospital wards when required.

The GAPLS Team currently consists of

1 Consultant Psychiatrist (0.9 WTE)

1 SAS Doctor 0.8 WTE

1 Resident doctor

1 B7 Team Lead – Ms Annmarie Scott

4 Practitioners

Administration support and office space are provided. The Trust provides access to desktop computer facilities as well as iPads and a mobile telephone to facilitate mobile working. Digital dictation devices are available.

While this post is for a liaison consultant it is expected that the post holder will be competent to provide psychiatric care to patients in a variety of inpatient and community settings. It is not possible to predict how services will be organised during the full course of the post holder’s future employment. The successful post holder should expect to work in different ways as services evolve over time. Future plans include the development of a single mental health inpatient unit on the Ulster Hospital site.

The successful post holder will work in partnership with the Acute inpatient teams, Community Mental Health Teams (CMHT) and the Home Treatment Teams (HTT).

Summary of duties of the post

Clinical

Provide medical leadership to the General Adult Psychiatry Liaison team.

Undertake responsibility for the assessment and review of patients referred to the General Adult Psychiatry Liaison Service (GAPLS) to include assessments in the Emergency Department, on medical/surgical wards or in Intensive Care/High Dependency Units.

Attendance at liaison team meetings and huddles, and bed management meetings.

Pre-admission review of patients awaiting admission to mental health inpatient wards as well as regular review of patients on the GAPLS caseload.

Attendance at meetings relevant to patient care including multidisciplinary team meetings, case discussions, safeguarding meetings.

Lead multi professional reviews, including discharge planning meetings when appropriate.

Maintain a high level of communication with other parts of the service, including inpatient teams, CMHTs, HTTs, primary care and acute hospital teams.

Provide education and training in common psychiatric disorders and their management to acute hospital staff.

Be an approved doctor for the purpose of Part II of the MHO(NI) 1986.

Maintain training in the use of the Mental Capacity Act (2016).

The post holder will be required to participate in the consultant on-call rota. The on call rota is remunerated as category A low frequency. Frequency will be expected to vary usually between 1in 10 and 1 in 24. There is a first on call rota of doctors in foundation and core training. These doctors cover the seven inpatient facilities on three sites. There is a joint 2nd on call rota shared with the Southern Health and Social Care Trust staffed by senior trainees. These doctors provide support to the first on call doctors and to the mental health practitioners working in emergency departments and home treatment. The consultant on call provides support to all of these systems as well as carrying out senior decision-making alongside the manager on call.

Completing mental health forms at weekends and public holidays is a core duty of the consultant on call.

The Trust is committed to delivering a person-centred, recovery-based metal health service. The active participation of service users and carers is fundamental to this objective. Successful candidates will be expected to facilitate such participation in the planning, delivery and monitoring of the service

Teaching and Training

The post holder will maintain trainer status, provide clinical supervision to 1 trainee.

The post holder will actively participate in the education of medical students.

Governance

The post holder will be encouraged to be committed to development and improvement of the service where they work but also in the development of mental health services overall. He/she will be a member of the Directorate Medical Staff Committee which they will be encouraged to attend and actively contribute to.

The post holder will be expected to work within the Mental Health Adult Services Directorate structure, which is led by the Clinical Director. This will mean attendance at Directorate meetings and willingness to progress developments or quality initiatives agreed by the Directorate.

The post holder will have involvement with Trust incident review procedures.

Audit and QI are expected aspects of appraisal and revalidation. These are supported through the directorate medical Governance and patient safety monthly meeting. Through this meeting there is an active programme of reflective practice, Morbidity and Mortality Reviews, safety, quality improvement and audit. There is a Trust audit department which can support audit design and data collection. There is a dynamic SQE department which encourages and supports quality improvement activity.

Fulfilment of Continuing Professional development (CPD) is a requirement by the Royal College of Psychiatrists. Practicing evidence-based medicine and effective team working within the multi-disciplinary team is essential. Participation in clinical audit and appropriate quality assurance exercises is a contractual requirement. The post-holder will be expected to attend / participate in ‘rolling’ medical audit meetings, and be involved in regional audits.

Job Plan

The job plan below is preliminary and will develop, according to needs, in negotiation with the Clinical Director.

Time

Activity

PA’s

DCC

SPA

MONDAY

0900-1000

1000-1300

1300-1500

1500-1600

1600-1700

Morning Huddle/preparation

Patient assessments and reviews

Supervision of trainee

Admin/meetings

0.25

0.75

0.5

0.25

TUESDAY

0900-1000

1000-1300

1300-1600

1600-1700

Morning Huddle/admin

Patient assessments and reviews

Consultation re: complex cases/staff training

Afternoon Huddle and admin

0.25

0.75

0.25

WEDNESDAY

0900-1000

1000-1300

1300-1500

1500-1700

Morning Huddle/admin

Patient assessments and reviews

Admin/meetings

Audit/Qi activity

0.25

0.75

0.5

THURSDAY

0900-1000

1000-1300

1300-1600

1600-1700

Morning Huddle/admin

Patient assessments and reviews

Patient reviews/meetings/discussion re: complex cases

Afternoon Huddle/admin

0.25

0.75

0.25

FRIDAY

0900-0930

0930-1130

11.30-1230

1230-1300

1300-1600

1600-1700

Admin and travel

Management meetings 2-3/4

Academic meeting

Admin/travel

Patient reviews

Afternoon huddle and admin

0.125

0.75

0.25

0.5

0.25

Total

8.5

1.5

10 PAs

If required to work at a different site this will be factored into the pa allocation/ job plan of the successful applicant. The job plan will be subject to regular review (within 3 months in the first instance and no less than annually thereafter) to ensure that the allocation of PA’s, and in particular the split between DCC and SPA’s remains appropriate. Any changes will be made with agreement between the post holder and clinical management.

Teaching, Research, Audit and Quality Improvement

The Ulster Hospital is a major teaching hospital, that receives a large number of medical students. It is affiliated with the Queen's University Belfast and the Ulster University. The successful candidate will be expected to take an active interest in the teaching of undergraduates and resident doctors.

The post holder should undertake training to obtain and maintain their status as a Medical Trainer recognised by the General Medical Council. They will be expected to provide clinical supervision for resident doctors, SAS doctors and members of the multidisciplinary team. If formal roles incorporating teaching and or supervision of additional resident doctors are agreed with the post-holder the job plan will be reviewed and adjusted accordingly.

There are dedicated Educational Supervisors for the Specialty

Dr Mark Finnerty and Dr Catherine Boucher.

Dr N. Leonard (University Sub-Dean) is supported by 4 undergraduate medical education leads (Dr M. Finnerty, Dr H. Hawthorn, Dr R. McNally and Dr G. Woods) and 3 SAS Teaching Fellows (Dr F. Gorman, Dr C. Mullan and Dr S. O’Neill) to organise placements in Psychiatry and supervise and assess undergraduate medical students from the Queen’s University of Belfast and Ulster University. The post holder will assist with the provision of teaching and clinical supervision for these students. They will also actively participate in the teaching and clinical supervision of resident doctor in other medical specialities and staff receiving training in the care of older people with mental illness or dementia.

The Innovation, Research and Development (IRD) department offers a comprehensive service designed to support research activity within the Trust. The IRD office can assist with new research proposals by helping to secure approvals from regulatory authorities and providing support during the course of the project. Dr P. Donnelly is the Clinical Director for Research and Innovation. Dr G. Woods is the Trust lead for the Northern Ireland Clinical Research Network’s (NICRN) Mental Health clinical management group.

In addition to their own personal research activities, the appointee will be expected to encourage the research activities of resident doctors. If necessary, the job plan will be reviewed and adjusted accordingly.

Participation in clinical audit is a contractual requirement and, together with quality improvement activities, contributes to medical appraisal and revalidation. The Directorate supports an active programme of clinical audit which includes local, regional and national projects. The post holder will contribute to this programme and support resident doctors with their audit projects. The Trust’s audit department can provide expertise on audit design, give practical support with data collection and advice on presentation of findings.

The post holder will be a member of the Mental Health Directorate Committee which meets quarterly. They should provide advice on planning, monitoring, resource allocation and service delivery to the Chief Executive and senior manager colleagues. They will be expected to support service developments and quality improvement initiatives agreed by the Directorate.

The Trust has established a Quality Improvement Academy to support staff with quality improvement and innovation work. The post holder will collect data relating to their own clinical activity and that of the service to inform further improvement and development.

There is a Trust subscription to the Royal College of Psychiatrists CPD Online service and all members of the Psychiatry Medical Staff can access this.

All psychiatrists are expected to be members of a peer group to support their maintenance of a certificate of good standing with the Royal College of Psychiatrists. There are several local peer groups in the Trust and new post holders are always welcome to join these or to maintain peer group membership with colleagues in other Trusts.

Pastoral and Wellbeing support

The Trust is committed to supporting the wellbeing of all staff and to the goal of successful and satisfying careers. Informal support is strong among the very collegiate medical staff group in psychiatry.

Formal pastoral support following a significant event or other need will normally be provided by the Clinical Director or other nominated colleague as agreed. Some consultants access reflective practice or Balint groups outside the Trust and this can be funded through the study leave budget. There are Balint groups available for trainees and the development of an in- service group for consultants is under consideration.

The Trust has an active wellbeing programme which provides an excellent selection of free courses and activities for staff from stress management to yoga and couch to 5K groups. The Trust also provide staff with access to Inspire a free, confidential and immediate support 24 hours a day helpline.

Occupational Health

The Occupational Health & Well-being Service aspires to provide services which are professionally sound, ever improving and innovative to facilitate to the highest degree the physical, mental and social well-being of its employees.

The Occupational Health Team undertakes to always respect the individual of those receiving service and to offer choice through provision of a confidential and complete service, facilitating health at work, appropriate return to and rehabilitation back to the workplace

The service will endeavour to provide services which are convenient and easy to use and strive to ensure the suitability of the workplace environment to the employee's physiological and psychological needs.

CONDITIONS OF SERVICE

These posts are subject to the National Terms and Conditions of Service for Consultants (2004) and updated 2013.

Remuneration: As per the current salary scale under National Terms and Conditions of Service for Hospital staff as updated via DoH circular on rates of pay, the most recent HSC (TC8) 05/2025 with effect from 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026 and all uplifts thereafter.

This full-time appointment will be for 10 PAs per week.