Specialty Doctor HMP Wandsworth

Job overview

Learning opportunities

An excellent opportunity to understand prison mental health care and the wider CJS, and to develop your skills in areas beyond the usual psychosis dominated population in secure settings: update your clinical practice in neurodevelopmental disorders such as ADHD and ASD, substance misuse disorders, PTSD and other general psychiatric conditions. Court and parole board reports are prepared on a regular basis under supervision.

The Addison Unit is a 12 bedded mental health unit set within HMP Wandsworth. The unit consists of a Multi-Professional Team comprised of medical, nursing, OT and psychology staff. Care provision is delivered jointly with prison officers who manage the operational environment. The ward consists of a cohesive and multi-disciplinary team that utilizes a person-centred and recovery-focused model. The team demonstrates a wealth of experience and learning and development is viewed as paramount in supporting clinicians to become more informed and competent practitioners.

The Mental Health Team ethos includes supporting recovery in a safe and therapeutic environment, with a view to supporting transition back into the mainstream prison environment or, alternatively, transfer to a hospital inpatient facility.

Main duties of the job

• Assessing and reviewing prisoners; and working in collaboration with MDT and prisoners to formulate management plans that is then incorporated into individualised care plans.
• Liaising with services outside the prison to arrange CPAs, aftercare plans or transfers to hospital.
• Providing expert advice and guidance for individuals with complex mental state and risk presentation
• Involved in quality improvement initiatives, to be agreed with multidisciplinary colleagues and the supervising Consultant
• Participation in the weekly multi-disciplinary management rounds, CPA meetings and clinical review meetings
• Maintaining high-quality records for patients within the service
• Co-facilitating therapeutic groups with members of the multi-disciplinary team
• Under supervision, occasional preparation of reports for the Ministry of Justice and the Mental Health Review Tribunal

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The in-reach team holds a caseload of about 50. New assessments are normally slotted into prearranged out-patient Clinics if the new assessments are generated from the referral system. All referrals are triaged by the In-Reach Team. On average, 2-3 assessments per week are requested as an emergency from the wings or segregation unit.

Substance misuse service: The IDTS (Integrated Drug Treatment Service) is integrated along with mental health and primary care to provide a fully integrated health and wellbeing model of care. The primary aim being to provide better-integrated care for prisoners with closer collaboration between teams and a reduction in duplications of assessments and a more rapid access to care. The substance misuse service currently consists of a lead consultant dually trained in addictions and forensic psychiatry, working part time, an addictions specialist psychiatrist and a visiting addictions trainee psychiatrist ST 7 supported by a team of substance misuse nurses. The service has additionally recruited 1.5 NMP’s to support the addictions team. The clinical IDTS service works hand in hand with CGL who provide the psychosocial/recovery input to the prison.