Associate Specialist​/Speciality Doctor​/SHO; On-Call cover

The On-Call Doctor will provide out-of-hours medical cover for a psychiatric hospital, ensuring the safe assessment and management of patients during evenings, weekends, and bank holidays. The role involves responding to urgent clinical issues, supporting nursing staff, and maintaining continuity of care in line with hospital policies and relevant legislation.

You will be required to provide the necessary documents to meet compliance checks (, mandatory training, qualification, GMC registration, Indemnity Insurance)

Provide medical cover for inpatients during out-of-hours periods (evenings, weekends, and bank holidays).

Assess and manage urgent psychiatric and physical health issues.

Review and manage acute mental health presentations, including risk assessment and crisis intervention.

Prescribe medication and review treatment plans as clinically appropriate.

Attend the hospital on-site when required and provide telephone advice when appropriate.

Participate in emergency situations, including management of disturbed behaviour and medical emergencies.

Baldock Manor is a 40-bed hospital in north Hertfordshire that provides specialist psychiatric services for adults. The hospital has two female PICU (Psychiatric Intensive Care) wards and two acute wards.

Our PICU services provide care and support for women at crisis level with a severe mental disorder who require rapid assessment and stabilisation.

Our acute wards care for older adults, usually 55 years or older, who need a short-term hospital stay, where we can stabilise their mental health. The average stay in our acute wards is less than forty days.

The first line On-Call Doctor will provide out-of-hours medical cover for a psychiatric hospital, ensuring the safe assessment and management of patients during evenings, weekends, and bank holidays. The role involves responding to urgent clinical issues, supporting nursing staff, and maintaining continuity of care in line with hospital policies and relevant legislation.

• Full registration with the General Medical Council (GMC) with a licence to practise.
• Experience working in psychiatry or mental health settings.
• Competence in assessing and managing acute psychiatric presentations.
• Ability to work independently and make sound clinical decisions out of hours.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
• Knowledge of relevant mental health legislation.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.