Consultant Psychiatrist in Forensic Psychiatry

Applications are invited for a WTE consultant forensic psychiatrist to join an established secure hospital and community forensic service providing continuity of care in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.

You will share RC responsibilities with two forensic consultants at the low secure unit in Cambridge, provide clinical leadership for the treatment of a defined community caseload, and undertake specialist evaluations. You will be supported by junior medical staff and comprehensive multidisciplinary forensic teams. Service development, research and teaching are encouraged given the close links with the University of Cambridge. Informal enquiries to Forensic Clinical Lead, Dr Alan Smith (alan.smith@cpft.nhs.uk).

Main duties of the job

To provide forensic psychiatry expertise and clinical leadership to community forensic services in Cambridge and Peterborough. Responsible Clinician for inpatients at George Mackenzie House, Low Secure Unit, Cambridge.

To observe local and national employment directives for managed medical personnel and ensure adherence to appropriate NHS and Trust policies.

About us

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust is a health and social care organisation dedicated to providing high-quality care with compassion to improve the health and wellbeing of the people we care for, as well as supporting andempowering them to lead a fulfilling life.

Our clinical teams deliver many NHS services, not only via inpatient and primary care settings, but also within the community. These services include children's, adult and older people's mental health, forensic and specialist mental health, learning disabilities, primary care and liaison psychiatry, substance misuse, social care, research and development.

To achieve our goal, we look to recruit high-calibre candidates who share our vision and values. As an equal opportunities employer, we encourage applications from all sectors of the community, particularly from under-represented groups including people with long term conditions and members of our ethnic minority and LGBTQ+ communities.

For further information on CPFT, please visit our website at

Job description

Job responsibilities

This post provides continuity of care with clinical duties in the Cambridge and Peterborough forensic community mental health teams and inpatient consultant responsibilities at the George Mackenzie House, Low Secure Unit, Fulbourn Hospital. The post is based in Fulbourn Hospital, Cambridge with duties in Cambridge and Peterborough.

Working alongside forensic consultant colleagues, the postholder will provide clinical leadership to the forensic community mental health teams and exercise consultant responsibility for the treatment and risk management of a case load of patients registered with the service. The community services in Peterborough and Cambridge are known as the North and South services respectively.

The postholder will provide specialist forensic psychiatric evaluations and advice concerning individuals referred by agencies including general psychiatric services, other hospitals, prisons, probation and multi-agency public protection panels. The postholder will develop good links with other forensic service providers, criminal justice and voluntary agencies.

The community forensic service caters for adults with mental disorder (mental illness and personality disorder). It has recently been expanded to include a small caseload of patients with learning disability and/or autism.

Working alongside two existing inpatient forensic consultants, the postholder will be the Responsible Clinician for a caseload of patients at the low secure facility, George Mackenzie House, Fulbourn Hospital, Cambridge.

The postholder will be supported by non-consultant medical staff which includes SAS and training grade doctors (CT and ST).

Forensic Psychiatry in CPFT
The postholder will be part of the forensic psychiatry staff. Forensic mental health services managed by CPFT are of two main forms: services in hospital and services in the community (there is also the OPD pathway based at HMP Whitemoor).

George Mackenzie House is the CPFT 20 bed low secure unit providing inpatient treatment for men and women. The non-secure ward, Mulberry Ward has three forensic beds acting as step down beds for the low secure unit as well as forensic admission beds from the community.

George Mackenzie House is part of the East of England Secure Services Provider Collaborative which also covers services in Norfolk, Essex, and parts of Hertfordshire. The Northside Clinic in Norwich and Brockfield House are the neighbouring NHS medium secure providers.

CPFT provides community forensic mental health services based in Peterborough (North) and Cambridge (South). Both community teams are multidisciplinary with community psychiatric nurses, occupational therapists, support workers and forensic psychologists.

The main purpose of the forensic community service is to assess and provide specialist treatment to people with mental disorder in the community who pose or could pose a significant risk of causing serious harm (usually physical) to others. Most, but not all, individuals registered with the service have been convicted of serious violent offending. The ethos is the safe management of risk through effective treatment and care.

Men and women from the locality who require low secure psychiatric inpatient care are detained at the Trusts secure unit, George Mackenzie House
Key Clinical Responsibilities
The postholder will provide consultant clinical leadership to the forensic community and inpatient teams. The consultant will contribute to the assessment of patients referred to the service for diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders and support multidisciplinary team members who carry out assessments. The postholder will facilitate accurate diagnosis, assessment of risk and interventions to improve the mental health and risk management of those referred.

Treatment needs to be delivered in a timely and consistent manner in accordance with the recovery model. The postholder will provide or oversea ongoing treatments to patients which are evidence based and supported by NICE guidelines.

The postholder is required to maintain Section 12(2) and Approved Clinician status and have a comprehensive knowledge of the relevant legislative frameworks. The consultant will hold RC responsibilities for inpatients detained at the George Mackenzie House, Low Secure Unit and for community patients subject to statutory supervision such as s.41 of the MHA83 and community treatment orders.

The postholder will undertake and supervise others undertaking secure hospital access assessments.

The postholder is expected to play a key role within the provider collaborative arrangements, facilitating the repatriation of patients, and helping to reduce the need for hospital admission and length of stay.

The postholder is expected to be committed to a multidisciplinary approach to care, contribute actively to multidisciplinary and formulation meetings, and work in close collaboration with team members, care coordinators, other CPFT services. Supportive and good working relationships are essential.

The North and South forensic community services have well established multidisciplinary teams and have close working relationships with the forensic inpatient service. Many professional staff work across both the forensic community and inpatient services so that continuity of care is optimised, and patient care is progressed in a timely manner.

The postholder will be expected to contribute to the collection of clinical information to ensure further service developments and to enable audit. The postholder will participate in clinical governance activities.

Consultants are actively involved in planning and developing services, and there will be opportunities to engage in quality improvement work.

As a consultant, the postholder will be a member of the Medical Advisory Group for CPFT.

The postholder is encouraged to undertake relevant research and there are links with the Institute of Criminology at Cambridge University.

Person Specification

Education/Qualifications

Essential

• Full GMC registration and licence to practice
• MBBS or equivalent
• Approved Clinician Status or eligible to attend training

Desirable

• MRCPsych or equivalent

Entry criteria for the grade

Essential

• Specialty Registration in Forensic Psychiatry
• CCT in Forensic Psychiatry or within 6 months of attainment of Higher Training CCT at time of interview.
• Shall have equivalent experience and competencies recognised by GMC

Experience

Essential

• Experience of effective multi-disciplinary working
• Experience of teaching and supervision of doctors in training

Desirable

• Publications in the field of psychiatry

Skills/Ability/Knowledge

Essential

• Knowledge of policy and legislation relating to mental health.
• Management skills
• Ability to take a clinical lead
• Able and willing to represent department at Trust wide meetings.

Qualities/Attributes

Essential

• Able to demonstrate reflective practice
• Ability to demonstrate/develop and understanding of service within the wider context of NHS Mental Health Services and PCTs.

Desirable

• Experience of developing services in a constantly changing environment within tight budgetary restraints

Employer details

Employer name

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust

Address

George Mackenzie House

Fulbourn Hospital

Cambridge

CB21 5EF

Any attachments will be accessible after you click to apply.

310-MED-6165277- A #J-18808-Ljbffr

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