Specialty Doctor - CAMHS Learning Disability Team

Job overview

We are recruiting a part-time Specialty Doctor to join our CAMHS Learning Disability Team on a 12-month fixed term contract based in Oxford. The role covers clinic bases in Banbury, Witney and Abingdon as well as specialist schools in Bicester, Banbury, Witney, Oxford City, Abingdon, Wantage and Henley.

You'll be working in a multi-disciplinary team inducing Psychiatry, Psychology, Nursing, OT and Behaviour Specialists to ensure the best outcomes for our young people. New requests for service into the team are generally steady and we work to a minimal waiting list. Some of our young people will remain on our caseload until their reach adulthood due to medication management and review. We have a Challenging Behaviour pathway which is highly skilled in assessing challenging behaviour and developing Positive Behaviour Support plans. As our Specialist Doctor, you will learn how to assess Challenging behaviour and how to contribute to the development of PBS plans. Caseload will vary depending on complexity and demands and be regularly reviewed in supervision (approximately 30-50).

We are looking for candidates who have full GMC registration, at least 3 years postgrad training with at least 2 in the relevant specialty and held hospital appointments in psychiatry at CT level or equivalent. Apply now to join a progressive and compassionate service and make a real difference to the lives of children, young people and their families across Oxfordshire.

Main duties of the job

• Assessment of referrals/admissions
• Care plan and treatment formulation, guidance on evidence-based treatment and effectiveness
• Routine medication reviews
• Complex case management
• Consultation to the wider team
• Liaison and collaborative working with other services/agencies
• Attendance at Team Business Meeting and Clinical Team Meetings
• Multi-disciplinary, multi-agency and partnership working
• Mental Health Act assessment, Mental Capacity Act Assessments
• For community posts, numbers of referrals, team meetings, supervision of team members
• Management of complex cases
• Clinical leadership of team

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Both counties are regarded as prosperous with relatively low socio-economic deprivation and associated morbidity indices. However, this general picture disguises significant pockets of deprivation and associated psychiatric morbidity in the urban centres of Aylesbury and Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, and of Banbury, Bicester, Didcot and Oxford in Oxfordshire. In each of these urban centres are populations characterised by relative socio-economic deprivation and higher psychiatric morbidity. These include ethnic minority communities and significant numbers of refugees in some settings.

Inpatient psychiatric facilities for Oxfordshire are provided in Oxford City at the Warneford Hospital (where the Highfield unit is situated), The Churchill (for older adults) and at the Littlemore Mental Health Centre. Community Mental Health Teams for Children and Young People operate from Oxford City (Slade House), Abingdon, and Banbury with outreach clinics in market towns.

CAMHS services are provided across Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Swindon, Wiltshire, Bath and North-East Somerset. CAMHS are managed in a coordinated way across the counties, but with separate services in each of the counties, relating to the local authorities and clinical commissioning groups. CAMHS has established good quality working links with local authority partner agencies in all counties, paediatric departments and mental health services for adults, all of which have been reflected in CAMHS strategy agreements within each county. Services for children with learning disabilities are integrated into CAMHS. The specialist team covers the county and provides care for young people with moderate to server learning disabilities and mental health needs. Oxfordshire CAMH Services sit within the Oxfordshire and BSW Mental Health Directorate, which is committed to always work in a way that respects, upholds and promotes children’s rights, including the right to be protected from significant harm. These principles are embedded within strategy, operational and staff appointment procedures, as well as clinical governance arrangements.

To address the transformation plans for children and other policy guidance, and to meet the expectations of Commissioners at a time of significant change, the Trust with CCGs, local authorities and other stakeholders are implementing a new model for CAMHS in Oxfordshire which started in 2017. Based on the Thrive Model, Community CAMHS delivers care with teams Getting Help, Getting More Help and Crisis and Risk Support and a single point of access with online and self-referral. In addition, there has been a recognised need for a separate Neuro-Developmental Clinic which was launched in November 2018. This has led to substantial changes in the model for service delivery, and to developments in the roles and responsibilities of psychiatrists. The Trust has ensured that these changes support the development of New Ways of Working as defined by the Royal College of Psychiatrists in conjunction with NIMHE.

Psychiatrists within CAMHS continue to contribute actively to the redesign of services in order to maximise the benefits for the populations served. The Trust was one of three national pilots with Reading University to deliver IAPT services for children and young people across Oxford Health areas, Bournemouth, Dorset and Poole, and Gloucestershire and continues to be involved.

Applicant requirements

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.