Consultant Psychiatrist in Intellectual Disability-Little Plumstead

Job overview

We are seeking a Consultant Psychiatrist in the North Norfolk Community  Learning Disability Team.

The successful applicant for this post will be the North Norfolk Consultant Psychiatrist in Intellectual Disability.

There will be support for the post from a Specialty Doctor.

North Norfolk has a population of about 105,000. The current patient caseload for the Psychiatry team is 109. In the last year, there were a total of 52 new referrals for psychiatry opinion or treatment. In the 18 months since January 2023, 4 patients from the sector were admitted to the NHS in-patient assessment and treatment unit (Astley Court, Norwich) and none were admitted out of area. There may be 2-3 patients who are either conditionally discharged or on a community treatment order at any time.

The consultant psychiatrist will be part of a well-established medical department in Norfolk as set out below. In addition, there may be doctors working as core trainees in psychiatry and specialty registrars doing special interests in neurodevelopmental disorders. The whole medical team is based at Little Plumstead Hospital, Norwich.

Main duties of the job

Roles and responsibilities specific for this post

• Undertaking clinical assessments of referrals within the North Norfolk CLDT where there appears to be a complex mental disorder or complex challenging behaviour.
• Providing advice, within the CLDT about the management of highly complex mental disorder and complex challenging behaviour in people with intellectual disability.
• Supporting CPA and S117 review processes through outpatient clinics and domiciliary visits.
• Supporting the rehabilitation of patients from the North Norfolk locality who are within inpatient services by maintaining regular liaison with the treating service, and undertaking care reviews, with the aim to ensure that people do not stay in hospitals or out of area for longer than necessary.
• Acting as Responsible Clinician for patients with intellectual disability living within West Norfolk, and subject to conditional discharge or Supervised Community Treatment.
• Participation in multi-disciplinary, multi-agency and partnership working for the most highly complex cases, such as those who might be under the care of community forensic, or continuing healthcare, services.
• Ensuring patients are subject to best practice in the management of risk, and outcome measurement.
• Participation in the consultant on-call rota (Currently 1 in 6)

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Roles & responsibilities

• Undertake the clinical duties associated with the care of patients, including outpatient clinics, home visits and multidisciplinary case discussions.
• To record clinical activity accurately and comprehensively and submit this promptly to the Information Department.
• To manage, appraise and give professional supervision to junior medical staff as agreed by consultant colleagues and the medical director and in accordance with the Trust’s personnel policies and procedures. This may include assessing competences under the Modernising Medical Careers framework.
• To ensure that junior medical staff working with the post holder operate within the parameters of the New Deal and are Working Time Directive compliant.
• To undertake the administrative duties associated with the care of patients.
• To participate in service and business planning activity for the locality and, as appropriate, for the whole mental health service.
• To participate in annual appraisal for consultants.
• To attend and participate in the academic programme of the Trust and the team including lectures and seminars as part of the internal CPD programme.
• To maintain professional registration with the General Medical Council, Mental Health Act Section 12(2) approval, and to abide by professional codes of conduct.
• To participate annually in a job plan review with the clinical manager, which will include consultation with a relevant manager to ensure that the post is developed to consider changes in service configuration and delivery associated with modernisation.