Job Description

The post holder is expected to provide the following:

To support the existing staff in the assessment, diagnosis and management of referrals for adults presenting with mental health problems in Musgrove Park Hospital (MPH) as well as Yeovil Hospital (YH) To provide medical expertise and support to MPH and YH staff involved in looking after patients with functional and organic mental health problems presenting in the acute hospital. The Consultant will supervise the clinical caseload of the team members and the work of any trainee doctors who may be attached to the service. To support the existing liaison team in deciding the most appropriate intervention for patients referred to the service. This will include facilitating discharge planning and timely communication with Primary Care, CMHT's or Inpatient Services, as appropriate.



The clinical work will involve the assessment and psychiatric treatment of patients either directly, or through the supervision of other team members. The Consultant will be expected to offer clinical leadership to the Liaison Psychiatry team 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. *Act as the responsible clinician (RC) under the Mental Health Act for patients detained under the Mental Health Act at MPH and YDH. In case of annual leave or study leave of the other consultant, the RC responsibility will rest with this post.



To develop effective liaison with the medical, surgical, nursing and allied health professionals within the acute hospital setting. The Consultant is expected to support the acute trust by providing relevant advice regarding the use of the Mental Health Act and Mental Capacity Act if relevant. The post holder is expected to liaise effectively with other teams operating at MPH to ensure effective hand over of care when patients transfer between teams as part of the patient pathway. The post holder is expected to attend and develop regular interface meetings with his professional partners to improve pathways in and out of the Acute Hospital.

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. Duties include senior medical and RC cover for the inpatient wards and S12 MHA work both in Trust premises and in the community. 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 except the child and adolescent ward (Wessex House). It therefore covers inpatient services for adults of working age (Rydon 1 and 2 Wards in Taunton, Rowan Ward 1 and 2 in Yeovil), older people (Pyrland Ward in Taunton and Magnolia Ward in Yeovil), the PICU (Holford Ward in Taunton), and the rehabilitation and low secure wards (Willow and Ash Wards respectively in Bridgwater). Hence it includes duties for patients within the following specialties: general adult, old age, rehabilitation and learning disability. The senior on-call rota also involves MHA assessments in inpatient wards, the two Hospital Place of Safety suites (located in Yeovil and Taunton), the general and community hospitals, police custody centres and in the community.



The rota attracts a payment of 1.25 PA (for the S12 component) and a 3% salary enhancement for the RC / senior medical cover for inpatient wards. Section fees are also paid for assessments (excluding current Trust inpatients); The rota is frequently supported by senior trainees who accept calls before the consultant, but require consultant supervision and stop work at midnight; * Assessments in the Hospital Place of Safety are not routinely undertaken at night for patients arriving after 1am (at the discretion of the nurse in charge).