Consultant Psychiatrist in Eating Disorders, Northgate Centre inColchester inColchester PUBLISHED MON 9 DEC 2024

**THE JOB DESCRIPTION FOR THIS POST IS PENDING ROYAL COLLEGE APPROVAL**

Would you like to be part of leading health and wellbeing service in the provision of mental health for inpatient and community care? Why not join Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust for the opportunity to flourish and excel in your career and be part of our dedicated medical team.

We are offering a generous relocation package up to £8,000 and recruitment and retention premia up to £15,000 is available (T&Cs apply)

EPUT is looking to appoint to the Essex Community Adult Eating Disorder Service an enthusiastic Consultant Psychiatrist with experience in leading expert medical input. The post specially covers the north team which includes West, Mid and North east Essex and the post is based at the Northgate Centre, Colchester.

The trust is actively supportive of newly qualified consultants continuing professional development seeking to deepen and broaden their skills. As well as making a clinical difference, we believe that your development is key so you will be supported to enable you to pursue educational and research interests which go hand in hand to provide a high quality of care and safety to our patients. We have excellent links with the medical school at ARU and other educational establishments where we have shared appointments in teaching and research. We also offer generous relocation package.

Given the psychological approach to formulation and treatment within this Service, we are looking for someone who thrives on team working and thinking in a psychologically informed way about this patient group whilst providing medical expertise. The post holder will be expected to provide leadership and medical advice to the team. The post holder will work flexibly in consultation with the team and service manager, local operational leads and other consultants. In addition to the clinical duties associated with a post of this type, it is expected that the post holder will take on additional responsibilities including close working with partners and stakeholders, service development work, service evaluation and a clear responsibility for service leadership in conjunction with the head of service and operational managers.

The post holder will be a GMC registered clinician responsible for patients allocated to them and will assess, manage, plan and deliver care, including being professionally and legally accountable.

You must have full GMC registration and be on the Specialist Register, with an appropriate CCT or equivalent or be within six months of obtaining your CCT on the date of the AAC.

About us

• Attend the weekly clinical MDT meeting as well as taking part in MDT discussions around high-risk clients.
• Liaise with acute hospitals and specialist eating disorders units, psychiatry colleagues in local Mental Health teams, and with general practice.
• Provide formulation of complex cases with medical and psychiatric needs, and for SET-CAMHS CYP transitions as indicated.
• Provide comprehensive assessment and management of complex and co-morbid presentations, including eating disorder and non-eating disorder psychopathology, g. those with significant additional Mental Health or Physical Health needs, including the prescription and titration of medications, or to closely advise the patients GP where necessary.
• Lead in the monitoring and treatment of the physical complications of eating disorders in collaboration with other health professionals, including general practitioners, acute sector colleagues and dieticians. To liaise with appropriate professionals regarding patients blood investigations and refer to appropriate services for further management of complications, if any.
• Supervise the team in charge of the medical monitoring and management of high risk patients (ordering investigations, interpreting results and liaising with GPs and acute specialisms where required).
• Provide Psychiatric input to the development of appropriate pathways in and out of acute care settings for ED patients.
• Maintain an active involvement in the treatment of patients who are admitted in medical/psychiatric wards whose primary diagnosis is an Eating Disorder and the patient is open to Essex CAEDS, working closely with the other mental health teams from the Trust for those service users who require joint care.
• Assess and manage risk including vulnerability, suicide risk, risks to health and safety and risk of harm to others.
• Contribute to the co-production and update of care plans with service users and their loved ones as appropriate, using an approved Patient Reported Outcome Measure.
• Liaise with and provide feedback to families and carers.
• Work closely with consultant colleagues to provide office hours cover and annual, study or special leave cover across all the eating disorder services delivered by EPUT.
• Write reports for patients in education, training, work and/or accessing benefits.
• Participate in multidisciplinary discussions regarding the most appropriate treatment settings for patients, including community or intensive day care treatment, or referral to a regional specialist inpatient unit.
• Ensure that they are in good medical standing for CPD, that their practice is up-to-date and in line with the GMCs Good Medical Practice Guidelines and best practice guidelines and able to evidence this for the purposes of annual appraisal.
• To actively promote the eating disorder services core values of evidence-based treatment, close multidisciplinary team working, shared care with other services and effective risk management.
• Work with operational and clinical colleagues in managing the overall clinical performance of the team.
• Lead and participate in audit and research.
• To be involved in strategic planning and development.
• Contribute to the direction of the clinical management of eating disorders within the team, following the principles of evidence-based medicine.
• Promote the involvement of all stakeholders - including patients, carers, primary care, acute hospitals, universities, etc. - in service feedback and improvement. This will include participation in Regional ED network meetings in relation to a new care model for eating disorder inpatient units and other regional meetings.
• Work in accordance with Trust and service policies and guidelines.
• Liaise with clinical and managerial leaders in commissioning and providing services with the aim of improving and developing services, in liaison with MDT colleagues.
• Provide specialist input to contract negotiations.