Locum Consultant Psychiatrist - Bristol North Assessment & Recovery

The Consultant Psychiatrist will provide clinical leadership within the Assessment and Recovery Service, delivering assessment, diagnosis and treatment for adults with complex mental health needs. Working within a multidisciplinary team, the post holder will provide direct clinical care, including for service users who are difficult to engage, and act as Responsible Clinician where appropriate.

The role includes supervising and supporting medical colleagues, contributing to caseload management, and ensuring safe, effective, recovery-focused care. The Consultant will work closely with acute services to support seamless care pathways, timely access to intensive support and effective discharge planning.

The post holder will undertake specialist assessments from primary care and other agreed referral routes, providing expert bio-psycho-social formulations to guide treatment. They will support strong partnerships with primary care, promote recovery principles and contribute to rapid re-access and step-down pathways.

The Consultant will contribute to Mental Health Act assessments, multidisciplinary reviews, service development, quality improvement and implementation of best practice. As a senior clinical leader, they will help shape local and Trust-wide services while having opportunities to develop specialist interests, research and innovation. AWP offers strong support for CPD, peer supervision and career development.

Please refer to the accompanying job description for full details on the roles and responsibilities of this post.

We are AWP (Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust) a diverse organisation with over 5,000 dedicated staff providing inpatient and community-based mental health care. We provide services from a range of locations to approximately 1.8 million people living in Bath and North East Somerset (B&NES), Bristol, North Somerset, South Gloucestershire, Swindon, across the county of Wiltshire and in parts of Dorset.

Our outstanding people promote mental health and wellbeing. The expertise and resources within AWP are dedicated to a person-centred approach for those who use our services and for all employees. We recognise that happy and fulfilled employees give better care.

Please note that Avon & Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust is not currently a sponsor under the GMC Sponsorship Scheme. As a result, we regret to inform you that we are unable to consider applications from individuals who require GMC sponsorship.

Essential: - MB BS or equivalent medical qualification

Desirable: - Relevant Higher Degree e.g MD,PHD,Msc or other additional clinical qualifications; - MRCPsych OR MRCPsych equivalent approved by the Royal College of Psychiatrists.

Essential: - Fully registered with the GMC with a licence to practise at the time of appointment; - Included on the GMC Specialist Register OR within six months of gaining CCT; - Approved clinician status OR able to achieve within 3 months of appointment; - Approved under S12 OR able to achieve with 3 months of appointment

Desirable: - CCT in General Adult Psychiatry

Essential: - Experience of assessing and treating patients in a community setting.; - Knowledge and evidence of participation in CPD; - Evidence of effective multidisciplinary team involvement

Essential: - To possess leadership skills and be able to work collaboratively in a multidisciplinary team.; - Ability to manage own time, workload and prioritise clinical work; - Ability to appraise own performance as a Consultant.; - Able to demonstrate excellent communication skills, in order to effectively work with patients, carers and staff.; - Excellent written and oral communication skills

Desirable: - Evidence of specific achievements that demonstrate leadership skills

Essential: - Ability to assess and treat psychiatric problems in Adults of working age and to deal with crisis situations.

Essential: - Understanding of the management skills required to function successfully as a Consultant.; - Awareness of current issues in mental health service provision, policy and legislation.

Desirable: - Knowledge of alternatives to inpatient admission care approaches

Essential: - Commitment to and experience of undergraduate and postgraduate learning and teaching.

Desirable: - Experience as an Educational Supervisor for trainees

Essential: - Experience or involvement in a research project and publication.; - Experience of carrying out an audit project.

Essential: - Evidence of management/leadership skills training.

Desirable: - Previous management experience including that of other junior medical staff