Consultant Psychiatrist Learning Disabilities

Job summary

The county of Herefordshire is a classic mix of rural and city living and can provide an excellent work-life balance. We are looking to recruit a dynamic Consultant to provide senior medical advice, support and clinical leadership in the Hereford Learning Disabilites Team. You will be joining a friendly and close-knit consultant body in the county.

Herefordshire & Worcestershire offer excellent living and working prospects. Nearby are the Wye Valley, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty; the Forest of Dean; the Malvern Hills; and the Brecon Beacons National Park; with easy access to the M5 and M50. Bristol, Birmingham, Cardiff and Cheltenham are all within easy reach of Herefordshire. The area also has the benefit of outstanding schools and a rich cultural life.

Main duties of the job

The Herefordshire Learning Disabilities Service is a countywide community and outpatient service. Herefordshire demographic information suggests about 4000 people have a Learning Disability within the county. Approximately 800 people in Herefordshire suffer from Autistic Spectrum Disorder. There are no specific in patient services for children, young people or adults in county and all beds are spot purchased out of county. The Worcestershire Learning Disability Service does however, run 2 replacement care services for adults and one for children which can be accessed by patients from Herefordshire.

The Trust views this existing post as an opportunity to ensure that services for adults with Learning Disabilities are concordant with current NICE Guidelines and the future agenda laid out in the NHS Long Term Plan. The community teams are working towards RCPsych QNLD accreditation alongside a number of other quality improvement initiatives.

There is a countywide Intensive Support Team (IST) (18 years onwards)

The community team comprise clinical psychology, LD community nurses, healthcare support workers, specialist physiotherapy, occupational therapists, speech and language therapists and behavioural nurse therapists. There are also LD acute liaison nurses who work at the acute hospital. There is one LD psychologist with specialist forensic knowledge and one LD nurse forensic practitioner. There is also an advanced nurse practitioner (ACP)

About us

At Herefordshire and Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust, we are working together to deliver outstanding care. We run community hospitals and community health services across Worcestershire and provide mental health and learning disability services across both Herefordshire and Worcestershire.

Our people (all 4500+ of them) provide services for people of all ages, experiencing both physical and/or mental health conditions from over 100 sites.

We will support you to thrive; offer flexible working options for a great work-life balance, help you fulfil your ambitions, and empower you to make positive changes within your team or service. We value diversity and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds, cultures, and ethnicities.

What we offer;

• 27 days leave plus bank holidays, increasing up to 33 days with long service
• Generous NHS pension and enhanced pay when you work unsocial hours
• Flexible and agile working opportunities
• Great maternity, paternity, and adoption support
• Wide range of supportive staff networks
• Health and wellbeing opportunities

If you would like to know more, please visit our website.

We encourage you to read the attached applicant guidance notes.

Sharing your data - As a data controller we may sometimes need to process your data to pursue our legitimate business interests, for example to request a survey from you (optional), to support the Trusts understanding of where you gained interest in working for the Trust.

Details

• Date posted: 16 July 2026
• Pay scheme: Hospital medical and dental staff
• Salary: Depending on experience
• Contract: Permanent
• Working pattern: Full-time
• Reference number: C9798-2459
• Job locations: Liverpool Court, 29-30 Commercial Road, Hereford, Herefordshire, HR1 2BG, United Kingdom

Job responsibilities

The post holder will:

Caseloads within the team are monitored through line management and caseload supervision. The current caseload for this post is approximately 100 patients. On average the team receives 3-4 referrals a month, which are triaged via the MDT Referral Panel, which meets every week. There is a referral protocol, with referrals being accepted from general practitioners and clinicians within the service. The post holder is responsible for managing any referrals sent to their team.

There is a robust system for clinical supervision and reflective practice.

The post-holder will be responsible for the assessment and treatment of outpatients, including the management of psychiatric co-morbidity and medical complications of learning disabilities. S/he will hold responsibility for providing clinical leadership to the outpatient team and medical support to non-medical members of the team. The post holder will provide consultation and advice to colleagues in primary and secondary care on the management of patients with learning disabilities and take part in assessmentsunder the Mental Health Act where appropriate. The post holder will liaise with primary care, acute hospitals, crisis and home treatment teams and community mental health teams.

CLINICAL DUTIES OF POSTHOLDER:

• The detailed responsibilities will be agreed in the Job Plan after appointment.
• Providing direct psychiatric services through comprehensive assessment, diagnosis and care plan and treatment formulation, guidance on evidence-based treatment and effectiveness.
• Providing psychiatrist leadership to the multidisciplinary team and clinical leadership in collaboration with the team leader. The Consultant Psychiatrists responsibilities include treatment planning and regular reviews through outpatient contact or a multidisciplinary care programme approach that comprehensively address patients biopsychosocial needs.
• Serving as psychiatric liaison with other agencies.
• Psychiatric liaison to specialist mental health services, including advice and consultation-liaison.
• Providing training for health care professionals.
• Ensuring the involvement of families and carers wherever appropriate in treatment planning.
• Mental Health Act work.
• To participate in the Consultant on call rota covering out of hours responsibilities including weekends.
• To work within appropriate governance frameworks will be necessary in the area of the Mental Health Act, Mental Capacity Act, choice and control and the safety of patients, carers, staff and the general community.
• The development of any other clinical interest could proceed on the basis of appropriate funding being available. The appointee will be expected to develop his or her clinical role within the framework of the Trusts strategy and within its financial constraints. Dedicated sessions may be available by agreement.
• Flexibility to shape and respond to changing service requirements.

For full details of the duties and criteria for the role please refer to the job description and person specification attached.