Consultant Psychiatrist and adult CMHS

We are seeking a permanent, full time (10 PA) Consultant Psychiatrist, to join us as part of a team of three community consultants covering the South Somerset area (Yeovil East, Yeovil West and Chard).

This post is the Chard section of the CMHT.

This post makes up a total team of 3 consultants and 3 associate specialists/speciality doctors covering the south somerset Community Mental health service for working age adults.

The community psychiatrists work together as a team, offering general support, cross cover arrangements for leave and have offices grouped together. The responsible doctors are determined by GP alignment.

The working pattern is Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm with some flexibility. With an optional on call requirement, subject to availability.

Routine and urgent referrals from GPs and other sources are dealt with through a single point of access. Referrals are processed through a streaming meeting, and more complex cases may come to a Local leadership Group (LLG) meeting. Referrals for doctors can be reviewed individually by the doctor to ensure good practice. Medical staff take a proportion of referrals as clinically indicated either for joint assessment with a team member or more usually as individual outpatient assessments.

Draft Job Plan would include:

Four outpatient clinics per week

Domiciliary visits/Urgent assessments (0-3 per week)

Attending one weekly CMHT MDT meeting

There is an established once weekly liaison meeting with the Inpatient team

Mental Health Act Assessments, including section 136 assessments at the place of safety, Rowan Ward. (approximately 0.5 PA per week)

Additional work is generated by Mental Health Act (MHA) assessments. A small number of patients are managed under a Community Treatment Order or under Section 37/41 and this gives rise to a requirement for reports and occasional review hearings. Numbers vary from 0-5 cases on average.

All teams are based at Summerland's hospital site and the CMHT, CRHTT, AOT and STEP teams share the same open plan office. All outpatient clinics associated with this post are undertaken on site. All patients for this post reside in Chard, surrounding villages or Yeovil.

At Somerset NHS Foundation Trust, we're committed to supporting our employees with a range of benefits designed to enhance your professional and personal life. We offer:

• Flexible working options to help you balance work and life
• NHS pension scheme for long-term financial security
• Generous annual leave allowance to recharge and relax
• A strong focus on career development to help you grow and achieve your potential

Additionally, you'll gain access to our Blue Light Card, unlocking exclusive discounts on shopping, dining, and leisure activities, as well as NHS-specific perks to support you both inside and outside of work.

We are proud to foster a diverse, skilled, and inclusive workforce, and we encourage applications from all backgrounds.

Why Somerset? Somerset offers the perfect blend of idyllic countryside, outstanding areas of natural beauty, and breathtaking coastlines, with vibrant cities like Bristol, Bath, and Exeter just a short drive away - and only two hours to London.

The region is home to excellent educational facilities, and with affordable housing compared to other parts of the country, it's a great place to build both your career and your future.

Somerset truly has it all - the peaceful countryside and cosmopolitan city life, with something for everyone to enjoy.

The post holder is expected to provide the following:

The clinical work will involve the assessment and psychiatric treatment of patients either directly, or through the supervision of other team members.

The consultant caseload will include patients with SMI, complex cases with medical comorbidities, diagnostic assessments, joint worked cases, cases with specific medication supervision requirements, ADHD with significant comorbidity.

The Consultant will be expected to offer clinical leadership to the CMHT and to act as an advisor to the team, particularly with respect to patients whose mental health needs are complex and / or carry high risk.

Special interests can be developed through discussion and agreement in job plan review meetings. There are no external duties, however, these would be considered through job planning if necessary.

The post-holder can opt to join the senior out-of-hours on-call rota subject to availability. This is a 1 in 11 rota operating 5pm to 9am on weekdays; at weekends the rota operates from 9am on Saturday morning to 9am on Monday morning. This rota provides senior medical cover including Responsible Clinician duties to all the in-patient wards in the Trust. If the doctor does not have AC approval cover for this can be arranged.

It therefore covers all inpatient services. Hence it includes duties for patients within the following specialties: general adult, old age, rehabilitation and learning…