Consultant Core CYPMHS inc Learning Disability Services inLeeds inLeeds PUBLISHED WED 16 OCT 2024

Join CYPMHS in Leeds during an exciting redesign phase, where your leadership, enthusiasm, and strategic vision will be vital in addressing challenges and shaping the service's future. We are looking for a Consultant who will engage children and young people across a range of presentations within our Core and Learning Disability services.

You will manage a caseload, conduct new assessments and reviews, and provide clinical leadership and support to both local and full-service multi-disciplinary teams (MDTs). This role offers 10 sessions per week, but we welcome part-time and job-share applicants. The position includes on-call responsibilities and flexibility to work citywide, with a designated base.

Essential skills include excellent communication and adaptability. While prior experience with healthcare systems is an advantage, training will be provided. Your role will require adherence to GMC guidelines on multi-agency and MDT collaboration and a flexible approach to emerging service needs, ensuring high-quality patient care.

This position also includes opportunities for postgraduate teaching, professional development, and the chance to pursue research interests. Candidates must be on the Specialist Register and able to travel.

For more information, please contact Dr. Jon Barrett, Consultant Child & Adolescent Psychiatrist, or Sara Clarke, Head of Service.

In this role, you will provide strategic direction and clinical leadership, delivering high-quality care to diverse communities across the city and ensuring a positive experience for our service users. Key responsibilities include:

• Delivering clinical care and maintaining high standards of record-keeping per Trust policies.
• Supporting collaborative clinical and operational decision-making.
• Working closely with managers and colleagues to ensure efficient, smooth-running services.
• Actively engaging in local and service-wide meetings and forums, contributing to essential discussions.
• Collaborating with Consultant colleagues to provide medical insights in management.
• Leading and supporting service improvements through a quality-focused approach.
• Managing, appraising, and supervising junior medical staff as agreed, fostering a supportive learning environment.

Additional responsibilities include participating in Trust and service policies, escalating concerns as needed, and fulfilling Mental Health Act and Responsible Clinician duties. You'll also provide specialized prescribing support for complex cases, attend system meetings both in person and remotely, and contribute consultant input into our Learning Disability Team.

Please review the attached Job Description and Person Specification for complete role details. Interviews are scheduled for 4th December 2024.

About us

• Clinical Duties of Post Holder

  The consultant will have responsibility, together with their consultant colleagues, for the provision of psychiatric services to children and young people living in Leeds. The CYPMH Service is currently undergoing a full redesign and you will help define the consultant role once in post. The exact clinical duties may differ slightly from the list below but are expected to include:

  Medical review of patients as agreed in multi-disciplinary meetings.

  Attendance by telephone or in person at system meetings.

  Advice, consultation and supervision to the team

  Attending weekly team meeting/leadership meetings.

  Attending management and academic meetings

  Supervision of nurse prescribers.

  Giving clinical advice to team members as and when needed.

  Responsibility for supervision of second on call doctor in assessment of emergencies, including assessment under the Mental Health Act 1983 and Section 136 assessments as part of on-call rota.

  Participation in supporting daytime unplanned work

  Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychiatrists work closely with the multidisciplinary team. The consultant will support the young person and family alongside the multidisciplinary team.

  The consultant would be expected to see new patients for assessment, this may be alongside another member of the multidisciplinary team. You will also provide advice, support and supervision to trainees and the multidisciplinary team.

  2. Training Duties

  Up to six ST4-6s in Child & Adolescent Psychiatry are placed in the Leeds CAMH service. ST4-6s are placed by the programme director and training committee of the Yorkshire Regional Rotational Scheme and there is usually one higher trainee placed within the Crisis and Liaison Team and Outreach Team.

  CT1-3s, who are part of the Leeds, Wakefield and Pontefract Psychiatric Rotation, are currently allocated placements within the service. The number of core trainees within the service may vary by rotation. Core trainees are allocated to an identified team during their rotation with Leeds CYPMHS. Each team will not usually take more than one core trainee, however there may be exceptions if the number of trainees is high.

  The postholder will be encouraged to access training and gain approval as a clinical supervisor. Once approved as a clinical supervisor, the applicant would be expected to provide clinical supervision to either a specialist trainee or core trainee in the community team. consultants usually alternate on a yearly basis between providing supervision for core and specialist trainees however this will vary depending on the number of trainees and requirements within the service.

  The Associate Medical Director for Medical Education within the Trust is Dr Farah Chaudhry.

  3. Clinical Governance and Quality Assurance

  The appointee will be expected to participate in Audit and Clinical Governance within CYPMHS, in collaboration with the CYPMHS Clinical and Medical Leads, and to abide by all clinical and corporate governance procedures and policies as laid out by the organisation. You are likely to directly contribute to the quality agenda by representing your team at relevant and appropriate forums.

  4. Quality Improvement

  It is expected that the post holder will:

  Lead and manage a team in a way that supports the development of a culture of continuous improvement and learning.

  Utilise a quality improvement approach to think systemically about complex problems, develop potential change ideas and test these in practice using a systematic QI methodology.

  Empower the team to resolve local issues on a daily basis using the tools and method of quality improvement without staff having to seek permission.

  Promote awareness and understanding of quality improvement and share learning and successes from quality improvement work.

  The CYPMH service has developed a number of clinical protocols to ensure consistency of quality across the city. Consultant medical staff are expected to follow these protocols as are all other staff within the service. Areas covered include referral pathways and management, assessment and treatment of ADHD, assessment of autistic spectrum conditions.

  The supervision protocol requires all staff to access clinical, child protection, caseload management and operational managerial supervision. The existing consultants afford each other peer supervision, and in addition all teams have frequent and regular well-developed and valued multidisciplinary case-based discussions. All staff also have access to a service wide multi-disciplinary case discussion meeting. Consultants provide valuable input to these discussions and you will be expected to actively participate in citywide forums as appropriate.

  5. General Duties

  To manage, appraise and give professional supervision to junior medical staff as agreed between consultant colleagues and the medical director and in accordance with the Trusts personnel policies and procedures. This may include assessing competences under the Modernising Medical Careers framework.

  To ensure that junior medical staff working with the post holder operate within the parameters of the New Deal and are Working Time Directive compliant.

  To undertake all administrative duties associated with the care of patients.

  To record clinical activity accurately and comprehensively, and submit this promptly to the Information Department.

  To participate in service and business planning activity for the locality and, as appropriate, for the whole mental health service.

  To participate in annual appraisal for consultants.

  To attend and participate in the academic programme of the Trust, including lectures and seminars as part of the internal CPD programme.

  To maintain professional registration with the General Medical Council, Mental Health Act Section 12(2) approval, and to abide by professional codes of conduct.

  To participate annually in a job plan review with the Clinical Team Manager, which will include consultation with a relevant manager in order to ensure that the post is developed to take into account changes in service configuration and delivery associated with modernisation.

  To work with local managers and professional colleagues in ensuring the efficient running of services and share with consultant colleagues in the medical contribution to management.

  To comply with the Trusts agreed policies, procedures, standing orders and financial instructions, training request and study leave process, and to take an active role in the financial management of the service and support the Medical Director and other managers in preparing plans for services.

  6. External Duties, Roles and Responsibilities

  The Trust actively supports the involvement of the consultant body in regional and national groups subject to discussion and approval with the Medical Director and, as necessary, the Chief Executive Officer.

  7. Other Duties

  From time to time, it may be necessary for the postholder to carry out such other duties as may be assigned, with agreement, by the Trust. It is expected that the post holder will not unreasonably withhold agreement to any reasonable proposed changes that the Trust might make.