Consultant Psychiatrist - Older Adults Inpatients (Dunes Ward)

Job overview

As a Consultant Old Age Psychiatrist working for Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust you will be responsible for ensuring that our service users’ needs are met through the delivery of high quality care.

As a leader of the inpatient multi-disciplinary team at Dunes ward, Hartley Hospital, you will work in a state of the art mental health facility, providing clinical care to older adults who require specialist inpatient care. You will work closely with a wide range of clinical and professional disciplines in order to deliver holistic care by completing assessments of new admissions to Dunes ward and managing their treatment and ensuring safe discharges back to the community.

Main duties of the job

The post holder will be responsible for completing assessments and formulating treatment plans for service users admitted to Dunes ward from the community. Dunes ward is a 20 bedded primarily functional older adult complex care ward at the Hartley Hospital. As a substantive Old Age Psychiatry Consultant on Dunes ward you will work closely with other members of the multidisciplinary team. You will be the Responsible Clinician for patients admitted to Dunes ward and this will invariably mean managing patients who have been detained under the Mental Health Act and therefore the post holder will require a sound knowledge of Mental Health Act law. This will include completing relevant mental health act documentation and completing capacity assessments as required.

The post holder will be expected to lead the multidisciplinary team at Dunes ward in an enthusiastic, supportive and approachable manner in order to foster positive working relationships and morale of ward staff.  The post holder will complete ward rounds throughout the week and provide clear communication and documentation in relation to assessment outcomes and management plans. They will also be expected to provide leadership and training to trainee doctors and medical students placed on Dunes ward. They will take an active part in the clinical work of the team and a lead role in the development of the service.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Regular reviews of inpatients to monitor the response to treatments will be required and the post holder will operate within multi-disciplinary integrated and co-located teams, which including Health staff and Social services staff. They will be expected to liaise closely with Social Services in order to ensure safe and timely discharge planning of inpatients and communicate promptly to primary care services by providing discharge summaries.

At times patients who are under General Adult teams in the community may be admitted to Dunes ward if this is deemed the most appropriate place for them at the time due to circumstances with bed availability in the Trust. The post holder will be expected to provide inpatient care through assessment and treatment as required whilst such patients await transfer to more suitable inpatient units, if required.

The post holder will be responsible for the overall assessment, management and safe discharge planning of inpatients on Dunes ward, working closely with other members of the multidisciplinary team including Social Services, Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy and Primary Care.

The team composition is as follows:

RMN Band 5 - 7.7 WTE

HCAs Band 3 17.99 WTE

2 x Band 4 Nursing assistant 2

1x Consultant Old Age Psychiatrist

1x Psychiatry Higher Trainee Doctor

1-2x Foundation/GP Trainee/Core Trainee Doctors

1x Ward Manager

2x Deputy Managers

1x Occupational Therapist

1x Physio

Several Part Time Occupational Assistants

Please see job description for further details.