Associate Medical Director for Mental Health

THIS POST IS SECONDMENT FOR 6 MONTHS DUE TO MEET THE NEEDS OF THE SERVICE

Welsh Health Specialised Services Committee which works on behalf the 7 Health Boards in Wales to commission specialised and highly specialised services are now looking to recruit an Associate Medical Director in Mental Health. This is a 6 month fixed term appointment following the retirement of the existing post-holder prior to recruitment into the substantive post.

This posts offer the opportunity to work at a senior level on an all Wales basis and would suit consultants in Mental Health or Learning Disability or qualified GPs with experience in the mental health sector who are keen to develop their leadership skills. The posts will be high profile and challenging; successful applicants will need to be able to demonstrate integrity, resilience and an ability to quickly establish professional credibility. In addition they will need to be strong team players, be able to assimilate and present complex information have excellent communication and influencing skills.

Welsh and/or English speakers are equally welcome to apply.

The post-holder will provide expert medical advice and leadership to support and inform an evidence-based approach within ethical frameworks for providing and developing high quality equitable services.

A key function of the AMD role will be to provide clinical leadership and advice to the Programme Team for Mental Health Services. This role will include attendance at the monthly Programme Team meetings as well as all relevant local and national meetings and groups that require clinical membership. The post holder will work closely with the Planning Manager for the relevant programme team to agree priorities and actions and to provide clinical input where necessary to support delivery.

Welsh Health Specialised Services Committee (WHSSC) is a Joint Committee of the seven Health Boards in Wales. It has an independent chair who is appointed by the Minister for Health and Social Care.

WHSSC is hosted by Cwm Taf Health Board and its headquarters are in Treforest, Pontypridd in South Wales. There is also an office in North Wales.

Each year, the Health Boards, through the Joint Committee, agree the range of services to be planned at an all Wales level through WHSSC and agree the budget and financial risk sharing arrangements for WHSSC to plan, fund and performance manage these services.

This is a consultant level appointment working for WHSSC.

The post offers hybrid home office working but will involve travel to clinical services in providers throughout Wales, to English Healthcare Provider Trusts, and for liaison work with Commissioners in England and Scotland as well as senior medical and pharmaceutical colleagues in Welsh Government.

The post-holder will be expected to be able to cope with multiple and changing demands and to meet tight deadlines. A high level of intellectual rigour, negotiation, motivational skills and flexibility are required to deal with highly complex medical issues in order to advise and make recommendations regarding services and patient care. A high level of tact and diplomacy is required and an ability to understand other cultures to enable effective working across organisational boundaries and influencing without authority.

The post-holder will be required to have expert knowledge of the organisation of health care services in Wales, and of the contribution that medical leadership and management can make to commissioning health and social care services.

The post-holder will provide expert medical advice and leadership to support and inform an evidence-based approach within ethical frameworks for providing and developing high quality equitable services.

A key function of the AMD role will be to provide clinical leadership and advice to the Programme Team for Mental Health Services. This role will include attendance at the monthly Programme Team meetings as well as all relevant local and national meetings and groups that require clinical membership. The post holder will work closely with the Planning Manager for the relevant programme team to agree priorities and actions and to provide clinical input where necessary to support delivery.

The post-holder will work with the Medical Director WHSSC to provide medical support for the Individual Patient Funding Request process operated by WHSSC including the All Wales IPFR Panel.

Working closely with relevant staff in the Medical Directorate, WHSSC as well as Public Health Wales, and with all other disciplines in WHSSC, s/he will develop and utilise information and intelligence systems to underpin medical/clinical action across disciplines and organisations, leading collation of clinical evidence and interpretation of relevant data.

The post-holder will be expected to be accountable on a day to day basis reporting to the Medical Director of WHSSC, and s/he will co-ordinate and provide expert medical advice to WHSSC in support of the com