Locum Consultant Forensic Psychiatrist- Bow Ward

Job overview

Locum Consultant Psychiatrist in Forensic Psychiatry

This 6 PA Consultant Forensic Psychiatrist post is based within the East London Forensic Service.  The successful candidate will work in the specialist female medium-secure service at the John Howard Centre.

The successful candidate will look after approximately 6-7 female patients on Bow Ward.  Another consultant, Dr Ratnam, has a similar caseload on the ward.

They will also conduct assessments of women referred for admission to either medium or low-secure care, and maintain liaison regarding the very small number of women in high-security.

The post is available from 17 August 2026 for 6 months.

Main duties of the job

• The Trust is seeking a Locum Consultant Forensic Psychiatrist to work in the women’s secure service at the John Howard Centre.  The role is based on Bow Ward. Female Services The successful candidate will, together with an existing part-time consultant, provide clinical leadership to a multidisciplinary team on Bow Ward, which is a 12 bedded medium-secure ward.  The ward provides care to a complex population including women with acute mental health needs, significant comorbidity (sometimes including those with a primary personality disorder) and those who are in a more rehabilitation phase of their treatment pathway. The other consultant psychiatrist (Dr Ratnam) works part-time; the successful applicant will provide cross-cover on Thursdays and Fridays for patients usually under Dr Ratnam’s clinical care. The role also involves seeing referrals for admission to female secure services (both Bow Ward and for gatekeeping purposes for women from the catchment area).  The referrals will be shared with other medical colleagues.  The Women’s Service as a whole receives typically fewer than five referrals a month.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Please see JD (Job Description) and PS (Personal Specification) for full details of role requirements.