Locum Appointment in Training in General Adult Psychiatry SJM

NHS Lothian

Locum Appointment for Training (LAT) post in Acute Inpatient  Psychiatry

NHS Lothian is committed to encouraging equality and diversity among our workforce and eliminating unlawful discrimination. The aim is for our workforce to be truly representative and for each employee to feel respected and able to give their best.

To this end, NHS Lothian welcomes applications from all sections of society.

Community Mental Health Services Community Psychiatry Services within the City of Edinburgh are separated into four sectors aligned to the four Integrated Joint Board (IJB) localities. These localities are aligned with all other health services and each locality comprises 2 GP clusters. Community Psychiatric Services are managed by the Edinburgh IJB, which combines funding from health and social care budgets into one structure.

LAT posts are usually fixed-term appointments of six months to one year but must be for a minimum of three months. Appointments will be by similar recruitment processes as for specialty training, adhering to the same national person specifications and in open competition. Where LAT appointments are made outside of the national recruitment process, there will be representation on the appointments panel from the Postgraduate Dean/Deputy.

LAT appointments are undertaken only in posts that have been approved for specialty training by the GMC. They are managed within specific specialty training programmes approved by the GMC, under the auspices of a specialty TPD.  LAT posts offer formal, approved specialty training, usually in the early years of a specialty curriculum, and can be used by doctors: i. in preparation for further specialty training ii. as a means of considering alternative specialty careers iii. to prepare them to work in career grade posts iv. as an employment opportunity with the potential to gain further experience and capabilities where it is appropriate and possible to do so

LATs are not usually available to provide formal training in advanced elements of the specialty curriculum. The four UK health departments with the advice of their Postgraduate Deans will each determine the extent of the availability of (and access to) such curricular elements. LAT posts do not confer a right of entry to core, higher or run through specialty training.

As for postgraduate doctors in training in core, higher and run-through training, LAT appointees are required to register with the appropriate College/Faculty in order to access the educational portfolio and assessment documentation for the specialty, and for the post to count towards specialty training.

LAT postgraduate doctors in training must have an educational supervisor with whom educational objectives are set, with regular appraisal, and a programme of Gold Guide version 10, August 2024 34 workplace-based assessments relevant to the curriculum being followed as well as full clinical supervision. Training and assessment must be provided on an equivalent basis to that provided in specialty training programmes.

At the end of each post, LAT postgraduate doctors in training should participate in the ARCP (section 4) and receive the appropriate annual assessment outcome documentation. LAT doctors are responsible for retaining copies of their ARCP outcomes as evidence of the capabilities they have obtained. A record of capabilities achieved by LAT doctors will also be retained by NHSE WTE, NES, HEIW and NIMDTA through the ARCP process.

A LAT postgraduate doctor in training should acquire additional experience, skills and capabilities beyond those specified at that level of the LAT post, which should be recorded and documented in the doctor’s educational portfolio. If the doctor subsequently competitively enters a relevant specialty training programme, this information/record will be shared with the receiving locality in NHSE WTE, NES, HEIW or NIMDTA and may be taken into account when considering the overall competence level of the doctor in the training programme.

LATs are undertaken in approved training posts, which can contribute towards a CCT once a postgraduate doctor in training has been competitively selected for a relevant training programme. Evidence from these posts can also be used by doctors in submitting their Certificate of Eligibility for Specialist Registration (CESR) application.

Enrolled LAT appointments of three months’ whole time equivalent or more should automatically count towards training where satisfactory progress is confirmed through the demonstration of achievement of capabilities (usually by ARCP), or unless otherwise notified by the host locality in NHSE WTE, NES, HEIW or NIMDTA.

By definition, a LAT must be for a minimum of three months. On occasions, a postgraduate doctor in training working in a LAT post may not complete this time before acquiring a numbered post or further LAT appointment. Under these circumstances, a period of less than three months worked in a LAT post will not count towards training unless it is linked seamlessly (i.e. no delay between exiting LAT and commencing new post) to an appointment to an ST3 post with an NTN, or to another LAT post in the same locality in NHSE WTE, NES, HEIW or NIMDTA, and the same programme.

The number of LAT posts undertaken by a postgraduate doctor in training has no GMC limits except that they can only count towards a CCT if the individual subsequently enters an approved specialty training programme via open competition. NHSE WTE, NES, HEIW and NIMDTA should keep a careful record of these appointments in the file of the postgraduate doctor in training. Those capabilities will be assessed at the first ARCP in the specialty training programme and the CCT date adjusted accordingly. Doctors cannot obtain a CCT with only LAT appointments. They can, however, use evidence of capabilities gained in LATs towards a full CESR application.

Applications are welcome for the above Fixed Term, full time/part time (40 hours per week) post based in Royal Edinburgh Hospital.

More detailed departmental and specialty information can be found in the job description available via email address / link below.

For an informal discussion please contact:

Dr Andrew Watson

Email : Andrew.Watson11@nhs.scot

Dr Jane Cheeseman

Email: Jane.Cheeseman@nhs.scot

If viewing from an external site, please visit https://apply.jobs.scot.nhs.uk for a job pack detailing the minimum requirements for this post and details of how to apply.

We cannot accept CV’s as a form of application and only a completed online application form will be accepted.  Personal information will not be sent with the application for short listing. The application form will be identified by the candidate number only to ensure that all applicants are treated equally.

***PLEASE NOTE: We cannot accept late applications so please ensure your application is submitted early***