Specialty Doctor - Old Age Community Mental Health Team

Job overview

We are recruiting for a full-time Specialty Doctor in Old Age Psychiatry to join our Older Adult Community Service providing care to patients in Oxford City and Bicester on a 12-month fixed term contract.

You'll facilitate mental health recovery in the community for people over the age of 65 and those under the age of 65 with a diagnosis of dementia. In this role you'll provide specialist and holistic assessment, treatment and continuing care for older adults who suffer from a range of mental health problems including dementia.

Working collaboratively with the service users, their family, carers, and friends this role will be carried out in partnership with the community mental health team and other professionals involved in the care of the service user.

You'll work predominantly with the duty team carrying out urgent assessments independently or jointly with community psychiatric nurses, occupational therapists, and psychologists. There will be occasions of joint work with Adult Social Care and the Primary Care Team. Opportunities will be provided for supervision and training in running memory clinics independently.

We are looking for doctors who have full GMC registration, eligibility for Section 12 approval, and at least four years’ full-time postgraduate training at least two of which are in a specialty training programme in a relevant specialty. If this sounds like you, we would be delighted to receive your application.

Main duties of the job

• Clinical Assessment and treatment of patients over 65 and those under 65 with dementia in the community
• Provide support to non-medical staff attached to the team and contribute to the multidisciplinary working of the service.
• Conduct memory clinics according to level of experience and supervision needs
• Work alongside the team manager and Consultant Psychiatrists in the team to ensure the effective functioning and development of the service
• Provide direct clinical care and ensure medical involvement in the care planning process
• Work collaboratively with other agencies. In particular, liaison with staff from other teams to manage smooth and timely transfer into and out of the team.
• Providing timely written correspondence to relevant professionals documenting assessments, on-going management, progress, and eventual discharge using Trust IT and clinical records system – training will be provided where needed. Completion of care planning documentation when necessary.
• Contribute to the collection of data as required by the Trust and other relevant agencies. This includes the timely recording of clinical activity data, and participation in clinical audit with appropriate administrative support.
• Participate in both a CPD peer group and a clinical supervision group with fellow specialty doctor
• Maintain their own programme of training and CPD accreditation with the support of their Lead consultant/Associate Medical Director/Clinical Director

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The Older Adult service in Oxfordshire is divided into three localities (North, Central and South). The service is embedded within the Oxfordshire, Swindon, BaNES and Wiltshire Mental Health Directorate. The Central team provides mental health service to those over 65 living in Oxford and Bicester.

There is access to Older Adult inpatient beds at the Fulbrook Centre on the Churchill Hospital site.

The team works closely together with the Specialist Mental Health Social Work team within Oxfordshire County Council who take responsibility for the social care of patients in need for specialised social care input.