Consultant in Learning Disabilities for Ferndown and Purbeck
Dorset HealthCare University NHS Foundation TrustHerrison Rd, Charlton Down, Dorchester, South West
Overview
This is a NHS role (permanent) with Dorset HealthCare University NHS Foundation Trust based in Herrison Rd, Charlton Down, Dorchester. The advertised salary is £113,565 to £150,569. Applications close on 8 November 2026. GovJobs has indexed this vacancy from its official source — use the apply button to view the full advert and apply directly.
Job description
This is an exciting opportunity to join our service as a part-time (6 PA) Consultant Psychiatrist in Learning Disability Psychiatry, as part of the re...
You'll provide psychiatric leadership, assessment, diagnosis and treatment for adults with learning disabilities, alongside psychiatric input to patients supported by the IST. Clinical work will be a combination of clinics and home visits. The role includes medical cross-cover for annual, study and emergency sick leave with Consultant colleagues across the adult Learning Disability service.
We offer a £10,000 Recruitment & Retention Payment, paid monthly during your first year in post, alongside a relocation package of up to £10,000 if you are relocating to Dorset. You'll also benefit from flexible working, excellent NHS benefits, 10 days' study leave and an annual study budget of up to £1,000 - supporting you both professionally and personally.
You'll be offered the opportunity to participate in the county-wide senior on-call rota, which attracts a 3% on call availability supplement plus 0.75 APA per week. The on-call frequency is approximately 1 in 21.
Interested in finding out more? We'd love to hear from you. Contact Dr Cressida Manning, Medical Lead for Specialist Services at cressida.manning@nhs.net for an informal conversation about the opportunity.
At Dorset HealthCare we're on a mission to empower people to make the most of their lives through our outstanding, joined-up healthcare services. We're a dynamic, forward-looking Trust, running 12 community hospitals, specialist inpatient facilities and a wide range of integrated community and mental health services for a population of almost 800,000 people.
We do things differently here - it's one of the reasons the CQC rated us 'outstanding' in 2019. It's also why 95% of patients across our services say they have a good or very good experience of our services and 89% of staff feel they can really make a difference. Whether you're looking to work with us in one of our bustling market towns, vibrant urban locations, thriving seaside spots, or among the rolling hills of Dorset, there are lots of ways you can make a difference in our communities.
Our 7,000-strong workforce is at the heart of what we do and our success is a testament to our brilliant people. We're all about building a workplace for the future, we believe in equal opportunities and we celebrate diversity. We're an inclusive workplace, where everyone is welcome, everyone can be authentic, and we are all encouraged to be the best version of ourselves.
Working with us you'll be part of a strong team, challenge yourself, build a career, and teach us what we don't know. And you'll be working towards our vision to be better every day through excellence, compassion and expertise in all we do.
Essential: - General medical Qualification e.g. MBBS, or equivalent and hold a Licence to Practise.; - MRCPsych or recognised equivalent, e.g. membership of a psychiatry college in another country.
Desirable: - Qualification or higher degree in medical education, clinical research or management.; - Additional clinical qualification.
Essential: - Must be in possession or within 6 months of possession of a CCT in Psychiatry or on Specialist Register in Psychiatry.; - Section 12(2) approval and Approved Clinician approval or ability to obtain approval before starting post; - If no CCT in Psychiatry of Intellectual Disability / not on Specialist Register in Psychiatry of Intellectual Disability, then must demonstrate interest and ability to apply psychiatric practice to this patient group
Desirable: - Experience of medicine outside psychiatry e.g. general practice, medicine.; - CCT in Psychiatry of Intellectual Disability
Essential: - Excellent knowledge in specialty; - Evidence of effective multidisciplinary team involvement.; - Excellent clinical skills using bio-psycho-social perspective and wider medical knowledge.; - An understanding of how psychiatric issues and non-psychiatric issues may present as changes in behaviour, and competence in assessing mixed or unclear presentations.; - Competence in prescribing and deprescribing short and long term psychiatric medications.; - Able to meet duties under MHA and MCA; - Make decisions based on evidence and experience including contribution of others.; - Excellent written and oral communication skills.
Desirable: - Teaching Experience.; - Wide range of specialist and sub-specialist experience relevant to post within the NHS or comparable service.
Essential: - Proactive, respectful, supportive, reliable, trustworthy and positive.
Essential: - Understand principles of leadership and give examples of leadership in own practice.; - Able to provide clinical leadership to a multi-disciplinary team and while valuing and recognising the skills, training and experience of team members in allied professions in the community learning disability team, both health and social care.
Essential: - An understanding of the importance of Clinical Governance in the NHS organisations and importance in patient care.; - Awareness of current issues in mental health service provision, policy and legislation
Essential: - To have an understanding of own strengths and weaknesses and how these attributes affect professional functioning; - To have an understanding of the stresses involved in being a consultant psychiatrist and how to manage these appropriately.
Essential: - Knowledge of requirements for supervision and appraisal of junior medical staff.
Desirable: - Approved educational supervisor training.
Essential: - Experience of carrying out an audit project.; - Experience or involvement in a research project and publication.; - Ability to supervisor junior medical staff undertaking research projects.
Desirable: - Published audit project; - Ability to critically appraise published research.
Essential: - Understand the importance of working with managers in the interest of good patient care; - Able to manage priorities; - Evidence of management/Leadership skills training
Desirable: - Previous management experience including that of other junior medical staff
How this role compares
We hold 835 NHS vacancies in South West that publish a salary, and their median advertised starting figure is £32,073. This role pays more than about 92% of them.
There are 11,887 NHS roles open across the UK on GovJobs right now, 1,273 of them in South West.
You have 2 days left to apply. NHS adverts we hold typically run for around 33 days, so this is a shorter window than usual.
Dorset HealthCare University NHS Foundation Trust has 55 other vacancies open on GovJobs, with a breakdown of what they pay and the kinds of roles they recruit for.
These figures are calculated from the vacancies GovJobs currently holds, not from official pay statistics. They are a guide to the market, not a valuation of this post.
How to apply
GovJobs does not take applications or send your details to the employer. Use the apply button to open the official Nhs Jobs advert, then check the employer's instructions, attachments, person specification and closing time before applying.
This listing was last checked on 6 Nov 2026, 02:06. If the official advert has changed or closed, report it and we will review the listing.
Why this listing is on GovJobs
GovJobs indexes public-sector vacancies from official sources, normalises the title, employer, location, salary and deadline, and links back to the source so you can verify the advert yourself.
The source for this role is Nhs Jobs. Applications stay on the official employer or source website, not on GovJobs.
