no

SPECIALITY

AREA/HOSPITAL

TRAINER

1

General Adult

Core community

Bath

Intensive (Crisis/HT)

Dr Chris Lucchese

 

This is an exciting post in which the trainee will have the opportunity to experience and input to the BANES Intensive Service. The Intensive Service is a community mental health service based out of Hillview Lodge, on the Royal United Hospital site in Bath. This service provides daily support, 24 hour rapid assessment and treatment for those in crisis, “gate keeping” admissions and supporting discharge for patients leaving Inpatient services. The average caseload is between 15 and 25 but the turnover is   high with patients entering and leaving the Team each day.

The caseload mix is adults with acute presentations including psychosis, affective disorders and personality disorders often with associated substance misuse, physical health problems and social difficulties. The team typically assesses patients in their own homes, at Bath NHS House or at Hillview Lodge depending on circumstances.

The trainee will work within the multidisciplinary team (Doctors, RMNs, OTs, Social Workers, Clinical Psychologist and other HCPs) covering the caseload and is well supported by the Consultant Psychiatrist and Specialty Doctor. The post holder will be working with F2 and potentially CT1-3 doctors with opportunities to develop supervision skills if desired.

The role will include new patient assessments, reviews and discharges along with making referrals / liaising with other services. The trainee will be expected to develop their clinical management skills during the post. There is daily team discussion of all patients on the caseload and opportunity to undertake MHA assessments. There is particularly close liaison with Sycamore ward, the local general adult inpatient unit.

There will be the opportunity to become involved in Audits / QIPs, develop clinical leadership and management skills with opportunities to take on management projects. There is also the opportunity to develop teaching skills with the local trainees and students. A fortnightly academic meeting takes place at the Postgraduate Medical Centre along with a monthly journal club based at Hillview Lodge.

2

General Adult

Core community

Bath

Recovery

Dr Thom Proven

 

Based in Bath NHS House, The Recovery Team covers 28 GP practices for approx. 176,000 population in BaNES. There are two core trainee and two higher trainee posts within the team.

Core clinical work

The trainee will undertake clinical assessments and follow-up reviews of adults with severe and enduring mental illness under the care of the Recovery Service. This work will take place in outpatient clinic and home visits across the locality. There is ample opportunity for joint working with MDT colleagues, supporting other members of the team and liaison with other services.

This post is designed to offer a broad range of competencies in general adult psychiatry and provide a recovery-focused experience in community setting. The trainee will therefore gain experience in the assessment, formulation and management of a wide range and complexity of psychiatric presentations in adults. The trainee will regularly liaise with General Practitioners, and other mental health teams in the locality, as well as the voluntary sector and partnership organisations.

Throughout the rotation there will be the opportunity to pursue personalised learning experience identified in initial meetings. This could involve gaining experience in specific aspects of the Recovery team workload including legal aspects (CTO, tribunals, MHA work), long term medication management, clozapine, psychotherapy, rehab etc. etc. The post will also offer the opportunity to develop skills and competencies for your first consultant post including medical leadership and management roles within the team, complex decision making and supervising junior colleagues.

There will (of course) be an hour of timetabled supervision per week. There are lots of educational opportunities to pursue as well, including undergraduate teaching opportunities.

The Trainee will participate in the senior on-call rota (currently 1:15). The trainee will supervise the on-call core trainee and be the first port of call for advice from Intensive, Liaison etc. There is an on-call consultant second on call. The on-call rota is non-resident but trainees are expected to be within a reasonable travelling distance from Bath.

3

General Adult

Core community

Bath Early Intervention

Dr Liz Ewins

 

 

The EI team in BANES provides care for people aged 14-64 presenting to mental health services, often for the first time, with At Risk Mental States (ARMS) or First Episode Psychosis (FEP).

The trainee’s role will include undertaking specialist assessments of new patients, managing a caseload of patients with emerging mental illnesses and psychosis, and undertaking urgent referrals both in and out of hours (BANES on call rota is 1:15). The trainee will work with families, attend CPAs on the acute wards (private and NHS) and work closely with other mental health professionals and teams to jointly manage mutual patient’s care.

The excellent multidisciplinary team is highly innovative, and many opportunities are available for trainees, including within medical education, quality improvement, research, leadership and management. The trainee will be supported and strongly encouraged to become actively involved and to take a lead in such opportunities.

Additionally, there are a wide range of clinical special interest opportunities locally (including Specialist Drug & Alcohol Services, Autism Specialist Services, Liaison, Intensive Team) as well as a wide range of psychotherapy opportunities (including Art & MBT, EMDR, CBT).

4

General Adult

Core community

Bristol Central Recovery

Dr Simon Downer

 

 

 In this post, you will have the opportunity to work in an Inner City assessment and recovery service.

Inner City Psychiatry could be regarded as a subspecialty in its own right. You will work with the most diverse community in the Deanery, and begin to understand this population’s particular needs. You will be encouraged and supported to truly engage with the role of culture and context in mental disorder. There is ample opportunity to work with asylum-seekers and refugees, in many different ways, and to work closely with local GPs and understand the challenges and rewards this interface can bring.

You will join the senior clinicians in the team, and will be encouraged to see yourself as a clinical leader as well as a trainee. You have a lot to offer this team, and will be encouraged to get involved in service and team development.

You will also be able to undertake regular clinical work to further develop the skills you have acquired as a core trainee. This will include: completing regular initial assessments; taking on longer term individual work (if you would like to, and agree as part of their learning objectives for the post); reviewing patients at the request of care coordinators; completing emergency assessments; gaining experience producing reports for MHA managers or MoJ (if you wish); having the opportunity to attend MHAAs; attending regular assessment review meetings; attend team meetings (including reflective practice meetings); working closely with multiple other agencies.

The trainer is particularly interested in psychological and social approaches to serious mental disturbance, the historical and philosophical underpinnings of psychiatric practice, and tries to encourage a dialogue about conceptual and ethical issues. He is advisor ally for the Bristol Hearing Voices Network, a trustee of ISPS, and director of the Psychosis Health Integration Team.

Most importantly, in this post, hopefully you will be provided with an environment in which you can begin to explore how you want to practice as a psychiatrist. You will be supported to find your own way with clinical approaches that feel right for you.

5

General Adult

Core community

Bristol North

Recovery

Dr Dan Hodgson

 

This post will be based in the North Bristol Recovery Team based at the Greenway Centre.  The Recovery team covers a total population of approximately 175 000, with this being divided into three work streams (clusters), each with approximately 1.0 WTE consultant. There are 5 consultant psychiatrists working in the ageless recovery service (Drs Hodgson, O’Shea, Rees, Agrawal and Mundasad). The North Crisis team spoke is also based at Greenway with opportunities to be involved in home treatment if desired. North Bristol has a diverse urban population with wide variation in ethnicity and morbidity (reflected in mental health indices). Outpatients and specialist recovery services are based at Greenway centre but patients are seen in range of settings including GP practices. 

The role of the ST4-6 will be to gain experience in the diagnosis, assessment, and treatment of the full range of mental health disorders affecting adults of working age.  The team is an amalgamation of past CMHTS, AOT, Community Rehabilitation and Later Life functional illness. There are opportunities to gain experiences in a variety of settings, including inpatient unit, community base, general hospital and primary care.  The Assessment service is integrated within the Recovery team so a key role for the trainee is to become expert in assessing referrals from primary care. The service model promotes an increasing model of Primary Care liaison with interface meetings with GP practices with opportunities to evolve primary care liaison services. The Complex Psychological Interventions service (embedded) offer a range of interventions and trainees can gain experience and supervision accordingly.  The trainee will be directly supervised by Dr Hodgson, with weekly formal supervision.  

6

General Adult

Core Community

North Bristol

Crisis Service

Dr Syed Husain

 

  • Delivery of direct interventions, including emergency assessments, to service users experiencing a mental health crisis presenting with immediate high risk behaviours. This will include on-going assessment, diagnosis (including review and clarification) and treatment of mental and physical health needs.
  • Delivery of intensive home treatment and alternatives to hospital admission.
  • Provide leadership to the team, appropriate to the trainee’s level
  • Supervision, teaching and training of junior medical team and medical students.
  • Collaboration with the Inpatient teams to allow timely access for service users to inpatient services and for discharge through Facilitated Early Discharge role.
  • To participate in gate keeping and attendance at MHA assessments where appropriate.

7

General Adult

Core Community

Bristol Central

Recovery

Dr Jacek Kolsut

 

CMHT, full time post, regular clinics and new assessments as well as weekly GP liaison meetings. Medical Lead ( inpatient till June 2020, ML for Central Community Team since June 2021 )

Close links with all our GP surgeries, close links with the crisis team and local inpatient wards – opportunity to follow our patients across acute care pathways / recovery. I am link consultant for Bristol Homeless GP service and The Heaven ( Refugee Trauma Service ). The trainee will attend our local academic programme ( Southemad Hospital )

Opportunities to develop interest in cognitive and behavioural therapies ( ie CBT for anxiety, behavioural activation ) ; we work with a BABCP accredited psychologist, I am a trained CBT therapist ( Oxford CTC )

8

General Adult

Core Community

Bristol South

Recovery

Dr Ivan Nikolov

 

The trainee will have the unique opportunity to work with one of the most diverse and socio-economically mobile populations in Bristol. The trainer has well established links with local GPs some of whom have special interest and are engaged in the mental health service provision and there is a valuable opportunity for service development in truly collaborative way. The trainee doctor will have the opportunity to gain indispensable skills in primary care liaison and professional communication.

The trainer is a Member of British Association for Psychopharmacology and holds Clinical Certificate in Psychopharmacology, and there will be opportunity for the trainee to develop their expertise in biological treatment for mental disorder. The trainer also has special interest in neuropsychiatry and Mental Health Legislation.

There is a branch of the Complex Psychological Interventions (CPI) service based here at Petherton, and the trainee will have the opportunity to get involved in collaborative work with the Clinical Psychologists. The close proximity to Callington Road Hospital where the Medical Psychotherapy services are based, will make it suitable to arrange special interest sessions.

There are other Specialised Services conveniently based at Petherton Resource Centre and giving the doctor in training the opportunity to take special interest sessions and a varied and interesting learning environment.

9

General Adult

Core Inpatient

Bristol – Callington Road PICU

Dr Jochen Binder-Dietrich

 

 

This is an exciting opportunity for a core General Adult Inpatient placement where you will develop competency in the assessment of florid psychopathology, management, treatment and reduction of risks associated with acute episodes of mental illness in a contained, safe and closely supervised therapeutic environment.

ECH specialises in the assessment and comprehensive treatment of women with a broad spectrum of acute and enduring mental health needs. The main diagnoses of our patient group are psychotic episodes associated with affective and schizophreniform disorders, occasionally developmental and personality disorders.  We provide care and treatment to inpatients experiencing the most acute phases of their mental disorder; acute distress, absconding risk and suicidal or challenging behaviour needing a secure environment beyond that which can normally be provided on an open psychiatric ward. High staffing ratios including a wide range of therapists allow for intensive input to resolve issues quickly.

You will have the opportunity to learn and practice the preparation of tribunal reports and presenting your findings at hearings.  Also you will have time and flexibility in your timetable to access the many other inpatient services on the hospital site. The unit also liaises closely with our onsite ECT for the management of acute and therapy resistant mania.

Some of our patients require forensic input regarding the management of their risks to others. This interface will give you an insight into the forensic referral and assessment process and the criteria necessary for transfer to low or medium secure.

The ECH team is a tightly knit team who demonstrate that professionalism and well-rehearsed procedures in a challenging inpatient environment can be combined with a high level of caring and compassion for our patients.

The post comes with access to a desk with PC and lockable filing cabinet and all aspects of the job are well supported by a medical secretary and administrative staff.

10

General Adult

Core Inpatient

Bristol – Callington Road PICU

Dr Narendra Singh

 

A General Adult Psychiatry Senior Trainee Post is available at Hazel Unit an all-male 12 bedded purpose built Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit with high care and seclusion facilities.

Hazel Unit is situated within the grounds of Callington Road hospital Bristol with varied specialised inpatient facilities serving up to 122 psychiatric inpatients, including a female PICU, open acute, old age including dementia care, open rehabilitation and subacute units, OT, Psychology, ECT, Mental Health Act offices, Library, academic & therapies areas.

All Forensic, Prison, Courts, Community and Social service bases are within less than 3 mile perimeter of the Callington Road Hospital. Bristol Royal infirmary, Neuropsychiatric and Brain Injury Rehabilitation Units are also available in Bristol.

The role of the Senior Trainee will be to gain experience in the diagnosis, assessment and management of the full range of mental health disorders in some of the more complex and challenging clients in Psychiatry. The unit serves a wide geographical area with large population of various ethnicities and backgrounds.

The post offers experience in multi-disciplinary working, developing clinical leadership skills, learning intensive pharmacological and psychological approaches. Post holder is expected to learn nuances of liaison for complex needs patients with the Forensic, Prison, Courts, Community, Open Acute, Early Intervention, Drugs Services, Learning Difficulties, Elderly, Rehabilitation, Female Intensive Care, Neuropsychiatry, Neurology and Liaison services. There is opportunity to participate in mental health review tribunals and learn assessments and reports writing for tribunals/courts.

The post holder is expected to be important part of local management meetings, academic programme, supervising & teaching trainees, nursing/medical students, get involved with audits/research/quality improvement projects and contribute to pan Bristol-South Gloucestershire-North Somerset senior on call rota.

11

General Adult

Core Inpatient

Bristol –  Callington Road

Open Acute

Dr Phillip Charles

 

This is an exciting opportunity for a core General Adult Inpatient placement where you will develop competency in the assessment of acute psychopathology, management, treatment and reduction of risks associated with acute episodes of mental illness in a contained, safe and closely supervised therapeutic environment.

Silver Birch specialises in the assessment and comprehensive treatment of patients with a broad spectrum of acute and enduring mental health needs. We are a nineteen bed mixed gender ward. The main diagnoses of our patient group are serious mental illness specifically major affective disorder and psychotic disorders but there are often comorbid illnesses such as neurodevelopmental disorders, personality disorders, eating disorders, alcohol and substance misuse.  We provide care and treatment to inpatients experiencing the acute phases of their mental disorder, acute distress, absconding risk and suicidal or challenging behaviour needing an inpatient environment beyond that which can normally be provided via intensive community support. Furthermore, we are a diverse MDT including psychologists, art & music therapists, OTs, dieticians, physiotherapists, activity co-ordinator and active life practitioners to deliver a comprehensive assessment of individual need. Discharge planning is a fundamental aspect of the role and provides an opportunity to liaise with the wider treatment system to facilitate a safe and effective discharge into the community or further placement.

12

General Adult

Core community

South Glos (Bristol)

Recovery/EI

Dr Andrew Brindley

 

 

This is an exciting opportunity for a core General Adult Inpatient placement where you will develop competency in the assessment of florid psychopathology, management, treatment and reduction of risks associated with acute episodes of mental illness in a contained, safe and closely supervised therapeutic environment.

ECH specialises in the assessment and comprehensive treatment of women with a broad spectrum of acute and enduring mental health needs. The main diagnoses of our patient group are psychotic episodes associated with affective and schizophreniform disorders, occasionally developmental and personality disorders.  We provide care and treatment to inpatients experiencing the most acute phases of their mental disorder; acute distress, absconding risk and suicidal or challenging behaviour needing a secure environment beyond that which can normally be provided on an open psychiatric ward. High staffing ratios including a wide range of therapists allow for intensive input to resolve issues quickly.

You will have the opportunity to learn and practice the preparation of tribunal reports and presenting your findings at hearings.  Also you will have time and flexibility in your timetable to access the many other inpatient services on the hospital site. The unit also liaises closely with our onsite ECT for the management of acute and therapy resistant mania.

Some of our patients require forensic input regarding the management of their risks to others. This interface will give you an insight into the forensic referral and assessment process and the criteria necessary for transfer to low or medium secure.

The ECH team is a tightly knit team who demonstrate that professionalism and well-rehearsed procedures in a challenging inpatient environment can be combined with a high level of caring and compassion for our patients.

The post comes with access to a desk with PC and lockable filing cabinet and all aspects of the job are well supported by a medical secretary and administrative staff.

13

General Adult

Core community

South Glos (Bristol)

Recovery

Dr Avneet Sharma

 

This is an exciting post offering experience in General Adult Psychiatry in South Gloucestershire. . The South Recovery team South is based at Kingswood Civic Centre. The Recovery team case load typically consists of Psychosis, Mood disorders and Personality disorders who are managed by experienced    clinicians including senior Practitioners, CPNs, Social Workers, and Occupational Therapists. The overall approach is recovery oriented with a focus on empowering the patients and supporting them through personal and clinical recovery.

The advanced trainee will gain experience as senior medical member as follows:

  • Community reviews and work alongside the multi-disciplinary Recovery Team.
  • Urgent review of patients
  • Opportunity to work with a variety of patients in a variety of settings both urban and rural.
  • Opportunity to gain experience in treatments with a focus on using complex/combination interventions in patients who appear to ‘be stuck’ with in services.

Senior trainees (who have worked previously) have found the post as very useful learning experience in Clinical Psychiatry especially in gaining valuable confidence under a highly supportive environment in applying different treatment approaches including complex Psychopharmacology regimens. Post holder will also have the option of working with the local Primary care liaison team . The locality has the benefit of   an extremely well developed Psychotherapy Service offering  range of therapies .

The advanced trainee will be actively encouraged to attend all management meetings with senior management staff.  The trainee will have ample opportunities to be involved in teaching including teaching medical students and GP trainees.

14

General Adult

Core community

South Glos (Bristol)

Intensive Support Team

Dr Ruta Kuzminskyte

 

The trainee will be part of the team and will take part in joint assessments, including emergency referrals with other members of the team.  There will also be follow-up appointments.  There will be opportunity to assess patients, device treatment plans and follow the patients up in their journey of the episode of home treatment or, in cases where a hospital admission becomes necessary, follow the patients during and post admission and get the experience of acute psychiatry both in hospital and in patients homes. Assessments and follow-ups are usually carried out in patient’s homes. Occasionally patient will be seen at the team base, where rooms may be booked, but there is no routine outpatient clinic. Patients are usually referred to the IST by the Recovery teams, EI, the Primary Care Liaison Team, Mental Health Liaison teams in BRI and Southmead, Later Life team due to increasing risks, when more intensive treatment is required, as an alternative to hospital admission. The trainee will gain experience in risk assessment and management, acute psychiatric disorders and their management. The team works in a holistic way, incorporating mental health, physical health, social and psychological support. The trainee will have opportunities to practice psychotherapy skills in brief interventions and work closely with team psychologist. The team has adopted an SCM model working with patients with personality disorders. As part of clinical work the trainee will have opportunity to observe and later undertake Mental Health Act assessments.

15

General Adult

Core community

Swindon

Early Intervention

Dr Sherlie Arulanandam

 

This post is based with the Early Interventions in Psychosis Service (EIP) Swindon, which assesses and manages individuals between the ages of 14 and 65 who are experiencing first episode psychosis and monitors persons who present with At Risk Mental State (ARMS). The service also works with 14 – 18 year old service users and families in conjunction with the CAMHS service operated by Oxford Healthcare NHS Trust.

The EIP service works with individuals for up to three years during the ‘critical period’ to maximize the chances of a symptomatic and social recovery. The team uses a Multidisciplinary approach to this end. The team acts as a resource to the adult mental health community and inpatient services, by raising awareness of the needs of this client group, providing information and consultation about psychosis.

There are staff within the team who are trained and deliver CBT and Family interventions, as well as physical health assessments, in line with the national standards. Exercise and physical health are also major areas of focus with the team running several community groups (badminton, football, golf, rock climbing, gardening, etc)., The team is well resourced, to work a maximum caseload of 15 per WTE clinician.  The team is motivated and supportive; it comprises one consultant (0.7 wte), one team manager, one senior practioner, two clinical psychologists and a full multidisciplinary team comprising nurses, occupational therapists, social workers, dietitian, support workers and physiotherapist.

16

General Adult

Core community

Weston

Early Intervention in Psychosis

Dr Kristina Gintalaite

 

 This is a great opportunity to work with the integrated, experienced and enthusiastic team which is very supportive of trainees to provide evidence-based care for people aged 14-35 presenting to mental health services, often for the first time with First Episode Psychosis (FEP). The trainee’s role in the team will include undertaking specialist comprehensive assessments of new patients in outpatient and community settings, managing a caseload of clients with psychosis, and undertaking urgent referrals. The trainee will work with families, attend CPAs on the acute wards and work closely with other mental health teams to jointly manage mutual patients’ care and facilitate smooth transitions across different services. The timetable will be tailored to the needs of the individual trainee. Higher trainees will be encouraged to develop their full potential and be stretched in directions of their choice. There is a great opportunity to link with the local services such as We Are With You, Drug and Alcohol service (Weston – super – Mare), Learning Disability service (Weston – super – Mare), community Recovery service (Coast Resource Centre), Emotionally Unstable Personality Disorder team (working within the structured clinical management model, Coast Resource Centre, WsM), Family therapy service (Coast Resource Centre, WsM), hospital based Liaison service (Long Fox Unit) and community Liaison team (based in Long Fox unit).

17

General Adult

Core community

Gloucestershire

Recovery

Dr Simon Christopherson

 

This post provides exposure to community psychiatric practice with an enthusiastic trainer across a patch covering inner city and rural areas that encompass some of the most and the least deprived areas of Gloucestershire. This mix provides for a very varied caseload and the opportunity to develop skills in a variety of styles of management. The Recovery team is responsible for assessing and treating new referrals from primary care and other agencies and for the ongoing treatment of patients with complex mental health problems including severe and enduring mental illness.

Our setting, resource level and approach allow us to offer advanced trainees excellent and tailored opportunities for training and professional development that would suit both those transitioning from core to specialist training and those preparing to take a consultant post.

Trainees will be able to do independent and joint assessments (ie. with medics, our psychologist and other professionals) of routine and urgent referrals and, depending on their needs and experience, they will be able to build a caseload of patients care co-ordinated by other team members. Multidisciplinary working will be expected with patients in the community and it would be expected that the trainee would get opportunity to both work with patients referred to CRHTT and to do Mental Health Act Assessments. The post also has the opportunity to link up with other local teams, eg AOT, Older Adult, Eating disorders, Liaison etc.

The team is based at Avon House, Tewkesbury.  The trainee is encouraged to attend the local academic programme and will be facilitated to gain management experience. The timetable is flexible and there is the potential to pursue new or existing research, teaching or special interest commitments. A provisional community timetable is shown below, but elements can be switched out for inpatient or other relevant work as agreed in supervision.

Interested candidates are encouraged to call Dr Simon Christopherson 01684 861150

18

General Adult

Core community

Gloucestershire

Recovery

Dr Latha Guruvaiah

 

post will provide a broad exposure to community psychiatric practice; our patch covers the inner city area of Gloucester. Our team is responsible for assessing and treating new patients from primary care teams, inpatient units, other teams ( Crisis, early intervention, eating disorder and liaison teams), and step down from Assertive Outreach team,  as well as direct referrals from GPs. We provide ongoing treatment for patients with long-term severe and enduring mental illness and support them through recovery and social inclusion.

I believe we have an appropriate setting/location and adequate resource to offer a very good training job. I would support, guide and provide opportunities for trainees, both in terms of their training and professional development.  Within our team, trainees will have the opportunity to undertake both independent and joint assessments (with other professionals) of routine and urgent referrals.  Trainees will be able to build up their own caseload and would be expected to work within the multidisciplinary team setting. Trainees will have the opportunities to get involved in various psychological groups, based on their interests, that are run within Recovery/Complex Psychological interventions, such as DBT, Emotional skills groups etc.

There are opportunities to do joint work in the community: joint domiciliary visits with members of our team or crisis team and opportunities to do Mental Health Act assessments, managers’ hearings and tribunals for Community Treatment Order patients under my supervision.  There are some interesting opportunities for special interest sessions locally: Early intervention team, Perinatal team, Eating disorders team, Liaison team and Low Secure Unit. There will be opportunities for trainees to get involved in research and teaching activities.

The medical support for Team Severn is provided by me (full-time), a part-time staff grade doctor and a part-time GPVTS trainee.  The administrative support is provided by a full time Secretary. There will be weekly formal individual supervision.  The timetable offered is flexible, to pursue existing research, teaching projects and special interest commitments.  Interested candidates are encouraged to call me (Latha Guruvaiah) on 01452 894818.

19

General Adult

Core Community

Gloucestershire Recovery

Dr Olaniyi Olaniyan

 

The advanced trainee with be joining a team with an active caseload of about 300 patients covering 17 GP practices split over the Stroud , Cam and Dursley areas. They will only be expected to see patients from the Stroud area which covers 10 surgeries. Most patients are care co-ordinated on enhanced CPA. The team is responsible for the assessment and treatment of patients with chronic severe mental health conditions and we accept both internal and external referrals. We provide support to the primary care team and liaise with a variety of professional agencies. The post will provide an excellent opportunity to develop senior clinical management and leadership skills by engaging in assessing and managing patients with a diverse range of mental health difficulties, running outpatient clinics, providing multidisciplinary and inter agency support and advice, joint assessments, domiciliary visits and Mental health Act assessments.

There are also excellent opportunities to develop additional clinical skills and competencies through clinical special interest sessions in a variety of sub-specialties like the Crisis resolution and home treatment team, Early intervention team, Assertive Outreach team, Mental health liaison team, Eating disorders service and low secure forensic unit. The trainee would also be fully supported to identify and implement bespoke special interest sessions relevant to their training.

20

General Adult

Core community

Gloucestershire

Early Intervention

Dr Jon Haynes

 

The post is based with the Gloucestershire Recovery in Psychosis (GRIP) team, 2gether Foundation Trust, which assesses and manages individuals between the ages of 14 and 35 who are suffering first episode psychosis (FEP), and monitors persons who present with At Risk Mental State. (ARMS). The multi-disciplinary team covers the entirety of Gloucestershire (Population 600,000) and is divided into three sub-teams to cover different geographical areas. The consultant and specialty doctor provide medical input into each team; the trainee may choose to focus on one sub-team, or work across all teams.

The GRIP is well resourced, to work a maximum caseload of 15 per WTE clinician.  The team is motivated and supportive; it comprises 1 consultant, 1 specialty doctor, 1 team manager, 2 clinical psychologists, and a full multidisciplinary team comprising nurses, occupational therapists, social workers, support workers and sports therapist/ physiotherapist. Clinical duties are restricted to patients over the age of 18, and include assessments, MHA assessment, medication review and prescribing, and collaborative working to a recovery model with other team members. There is opportunity of preparing medicolegal reports under supervision. Risk assessment is core business for the team as the patient group are often impulsive and disturbed. 

Interested candidates are encouraged to call Dr Haynes on 01452 894862.

Locally research opportunities are available through the team, and through trust research committee. We have links with the EI research streams at the University of Bristol.

Teaching opportunities are available for medical students based in the Gloucester Academy, and to other professions.

Trainees will be invited to join the Medical Staff Committee on a monthly basis. There are opportunities to shadow Dr Haynes, as Clinical Director, and to take lead responsibility in management projects.

21

General Adult

Core Community

Gloucestershire

Crisis/Home Treatment

Dr Faisal Khan

 

The population of the County of Gloucestershire is approximately 623,000. The age profile of the area is equivalent to national averages for children, working age and elderly populations. On the whole the population enjoy a good standard of living and health with higher than average levels of life expectancy when compared to other areas of the south west and the rest of the UK. The mean Jarman Index is 24-29. However, despite the relative affluence of the area, with unemployment rates of 3.4% compared with 4.7% nationally, two wards in the county (both in Gloucester) fall within the 10% most deprived areas in England based on the 200 indices of deprivation. Numbers of people from ethnic minorities are below the national average in the county, but approaching this in Gloucester city (about 8%). In addition, the figures for people with a learning disability registered with a GP in Gloucestershire are significantly higher than the national average. This is due to people being placed in residential placements in Gloucestershire from other areas. The area covered by this post i.e. Cheltenham, Tewkesbury and North Cotswold is one of the most affluent areas of the county, if not the country.

This post would give trainees an excellent opportunity to work in a multidisciplinary team covering the beautiful areas of Cheltenham, North Cotswold and Tewkesbury. The post holder will work with Dr Faisal Khan, Consultant Psychiatrist, a GMC approved trainer for Core and Advanced training in psychiatry. Dr Khan is currently the Associate Medical Director for the Trust covering countywide services i.e. Crisis, Inpatients, Liaison, Psychotherapy/Eating Disorders, Rehabilitation Psychiatry and Assertive Outreach Teams. The trainee will also have the support of an SAS doctor 2 days a week and there is a core trainee in post as well. The trainee would also be expected to gain management experience and available opportunities would be explored and encouraged to take. The trainee would be expected to attend our local weekly academic programme and encouraged to present if possible. Excellent audit and research opportunities are available to trainees. Trainees also get opportunities to carry out Mental Health Act Assessments in the community and inpatient settings. Weekly supervision would be offered and accommodated in the trainees timetable. The local crisis teams and PICU have been rated excellent at national level.

22

General Adult

Core Community

Gloucestershire Recovery

Dr Theo Lerescu

 

This Gloucester City post will provide a broad exposure to psychiatric practice in the community. Our team is responsible for assessing and treating new referrals from primary care and other agencies, and for the ongoing treatment of patients with long-term severe and enduring mental illness.

I believe that the our setting, resources and location put us in the position to offer a very good training job with excellent support and supervision in the new Gloucester Hub, Pullman Place,  with Recovery Team 1. Gloucester Recovery team (which is divided in 3 subteams) has 25 members including 3 consultants, 2 OTs, 3 social workers, 10 band 6 CPNs, vocational workers and support workers. At present our team helps 800 patients living mostly in inner city Gloucester. Team 1 covers 7 busy surgeries serving a population of 70000 people. More then half of the patients suffer with SMI with a great variety of diagnoses and clinical presentations .Our team also runs Gloucester Clozaril clinic.

The medical support for Team 1 is provided by myself, a full time staff grade doctor and a GPVTS trainee. The administrative support is excellent; full time dedicated medical secretary ,personal laptop and mobile phone, in an office shared with the team. The trainee will have the opportunity to undertake assessments of new patients. There are other opportunities to do joint work in the community-joint DVs with members of our team or crisis team and opportunities to do MHA assessments. Our team has excellent links with other Gloucester functional teams: Crisis Team, GRIP, PMHT,OA,LD and AOT which are all based in Pullman Place hub building. Our team base is within 5 minutes walking distance to Wotton Lawn Hospital and the Redwood education centre. There are some interesting opportunities for special interest sessions locally: GRIP (early intervention team) and Montpelier Low Secure Unit. There will be weekly formal individual supervision. The timetable offered is flexible to pursue existing research, teaching projects and special interest commitments. Interested candidates are encouraged to call Dr Lerescu on 01452 894817.

23

General Adult

Core Community

Gloucestershire Recovery

Dr Raj Choudhury

 

This post would provide the trainee with an excellent breadth of training in developing clinical leadership in a multidisciplinary team that provides holistic ‘personal recovery’ oriented care and treatment of people in the community within a secondary mental health service. This post in based at Leckhampton Lodge in leafy Leckhampton in the regency town of Cheltenham. The trainee will have their own desk with computer and telephone in an office shared with 2 or 3 other doctors and full medical secretary support. The trainee would be expected to see no more than 8 patients in the six core clinical sessions per week, as I believe in deeper holistic learning by seeing few carefully selected patients and thereby develop adequate competence and confidence in managing patients with multidisciplinary and inter-agency support which would be the fundamental role of a Consultant Psychiatrist in the first few years in that role. In the core clinical sessions, the trainee would have opportunities to: assess and formulate treatment plans for patients across a range of psychiatric diagnoses; develop supervision skills by supervising medical students and junior trainees; learn to manage interface challenges across different services, and thereby develop negotiation skills; attend weekly local academic programme and the monthly medical staff committee meeting. The trainee would be expected to join the multidisciplinary team meeting on Tuesday mornings. The trainee would have ample opportunities for developing additional knowledge and competencies in other areas by doing ‘special interest sessions’ in the Gloucestershire Early Interventions Service for People with Psychosis, the Mental Health Liaison Team, the Crisis Service, Assertive Outreach Service, Eating Disorders Treatment Service, Low Secure Unit, ADHD and Autism Service, Medical Psychotherapy, Medical Education, Medical Management, Quality Improvement Projects etc. The trainee would be welcome to take an active role within the Fritchie Centre which is a specially developed research centre within Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust that manages both NIHR funded and commercial research studies and it is led by two consultant psychiatrists with extensive research experience. On-calls are 1:20, and on weekdays it is from 5 pm – 9 am and on weekends it is for 24 hours from 9 am till 9 am with Consultant supervision and support available for the whole period. On-call work covers all specialities which is an excellent learning opportunity as increasingly many Trusts expect Consultants to cover all specialities when on-call. Hour-long formal supervision will be provided weekly.

24

General Adult

Core Community

Gloucestershire Recovery

Dr Sarah Greef

 

This post provides exposure to community psychiatric practice with input from two trainers across a patch covering inner city and rural areas that encompass some of the most and the least deprived areas of Gloucestershire. There is a very varied caseload and the opportunity to develop skills in a variety of styles of management. The Recovery team is responsible for assessing and treating new referrals from primary care and other agencies and for the ongoing treatment of patients with complex mental health problems including severe and enduring mental illness.

Our setting, resource level and approach allow us to offer advanced trainees excellent and tailored opportunities for training and professional development that would suit both those transitioning from core to specialist training and those preparing to take a consultant post.

Trainees will be able to do independent and joint assessments (i.e. with medics, our psychologist and other professionals) of routine and urgent referrals and, depending on their needs and experience, they will be able to build a caseload of patients care co-ordinated by other team members. Multidisciplinary working will be expected with patients in the community and it would be expected that the trainee would get opportunity to both work with. patients referred to CRHTT and to do Mental Health Act Assessments. The post also has the opportunity to link up with other local teams, e.g. AOT, Older Adult, Eating disorders, Liaison etc.

The team is based at Avon House, Tewkesbury, but also works out of Leckhampton Lodge, Cheltenham. The medical support for the team is provided by Dr Christopherson, Dr Greef and Dr Milroy, Specialty Doctor. The multidisciplinary team consists of: 1 x team manager, 2 x 0.5wte OT, 1 social worker, 3 x band 6 CMHNs, 1 x band 5 CMHN, 1 x vocational worker, 1 x psychologist and 2 x support workers. GPVTS trainees and medical students are commonly present. The trainee is encouraged to attend the local academic programme and will be facilitated to gain management experience. The timetable is flexible and there is the potential to pursue new or existing research, teaching or special interest commitments. A provisional community timetable is shown below, but elements can be switched out for inpatient or other relevant work as agreed in supervision.

Interested candidates are encouraged to call Dr Sarah Greef and/or Dr Simon Christopherson on 01684 861150

25

General Adult

Core Inpatient

Gloucester

Dr Peter Dutton

 

Acute inpatients on mixed sex working aged adult ward.  Opportunity to develop skills and experience in assessment, formulation and management of acute adult mental illness including psychoses, severe mood disorders and personality disorders.   Development of clinical leadership skills in chairing MDT discussions and meetings with families/carers.  Experience of taking positive steps in managing risk/complex discharges.  Liaising with crisis teams and recovery teams.  Preparation for the role of Responsible clinician (under supervision) in use of S17 leave, consent to treatment, adhering to MHA CoP standards.

26

General Adult

Core community

Wells Somerset

Recovery

Dr Linda Heaney

 

This post in the Mendip Recovery Team is based at The Bridge in Wells. Wells is an attractive place to work, within easy commute from Bristol / Bath, a lack of traffic congestion and easy parking. There are three consultant psychiatrists working in the team: Dr Linda Heaney, Dr Philip van Driel and Dr Fatin Hussain, as well as three SASG Doctors. Each consultant covers a specified catchment area, with Dr Heaney covering Wells and Shepton Mallet. Inpatient services are based on the same site, as are the Home Treatment Team, Early Intervention and Later Life services, and two Wells GP practice, allowing for ease of primary care liaison.

The role of the Trainee will be to consolidate experience in the diagnosis, assessment, and treatment for the full range of mental health disorders affecting adults of working age, and starting to work more independently.  There will be ample opportunities to see patients with disorders ranging from schizophrenia through to personality disorders.  There are opportunities to gain experiences in a variety of settings, including the inpatient unit, community base, home treatment services, early intervention and assertive outreach services.  The trainee will have the opportunity to attend managerial meetings, and take on projects if desired.  The post will give the trainee opportunities to become experienced in MHA implementations as well as developing expertise in the pharmacological, psychological and physical treatment approaches to mental illness.  There are also ample opportunities to become involved with audit and quality improvement activities. Psychological therapies experience is also available.

27

General Adult Core community

Taunton Somerset

Recovery

Dr Sathya Cherukuri

 

This post will be based in the Taunton Community Mental health Team based at Foundation House, Wellsprings Hospital site at Taunton CMHT psychiatrists also provide medical input to the well-staffed Assertive Outreach Team (AOT); this service is expanding and has recently merged with the Dual Diagnosis service and offers intensive service to complex patients with significant substance use.  The community mental health services have expanded across the Trust with concomitant expansion in staff as we have built up a new service called Open Mental Health, in the last 2 years. This service works closely with primary care, the wider community and the voluntary sector. This service includes psychologists, assistant psychologists, liaison staff, eating disorder leads and support workers. This staff body is linked in closely with CMHTs through team meetings and supervision. This affords greater skill mix and appropriate input for patients depending on risk level, diagnoses and previous mental health treatment. This gives many more options for patients referred to or being discharged from mental health services.

The role of the Trainee will be to consolidate experience in the diagnosis, assessment, and treatment for the full range of mental health disorders affecting adults of working age, and depending on training level, starting to work more independently.  There will be ample opportunities to see patients with disorders ranging from schizophrenia through to personality disorders.  There will be opportunities to gain experiences in a variety of settings, including the community base, home treatment services, early intervention and assertive outreach services. 

There will be good experience in multi-disciplinary working, with the opportunity to develop clinical leadership skills. The trainee will have the opportunity to attend managerial meetings, and take on projects if desired. 

The post will give the trainee opportunities to become experienced in Mental Health Act implementations as well as looking at developing expertise in the pharmacological, psychological and physical treatment approaches to mental illness.  The trainee will be directly supervised by the Consultant, with weekly formal supervision and ongoing informal supervision on a day to day basis.  There are ample opportunities to be involved in the Academic Programme.  There are also ample opportunities to become involved with audit and quality improvement activities. Psychological therapies experience is also available.

28

General Adult Core

 Core Inpatient

Taunton Wellsprings

PICU

Dr Nathan Maynard

 

The trainee will be supervised by Dr N Maynard, Consultant Psychiatrist in General Adult Psychiatry on Holford Ward; a 10 bedded acute PICU unit on the Wellsprings Hospital site.  Also present on the site is a S136 suite, two 15 bedded GA inpatient wards Rydon 1 & 2, older adult wards, a CMHT base and ECT Suit.

The trainee will gain experience across a wide range of general adult psychiatric disorders, working with the supervising consultant and the MDT which includes nurses, psychologists and occupational therapists.

Experience will include assessment and treatment of inpatients as well as regular attendance at the ward review meetings and daily ward handover.  

There will be ample opportunity for Mental Health Act work, including assessments and Tribunal report writing and attendance.

The trainee will usually participate in the senior on-call which is non-residential and finishes at midnight for higher trainees with consultant support

There are opportunities to work in the difficult to treat depression service including use of rTMS, ECT and VNS as well as possible novel psychopharmacological interventions.

There are opportunities to work with the wider Mental Health team including STEPS (First Episode Psychosis) and CRHT (Crisis Team).

29

General Adult Core

 Inpatient

Taunton Wellsprings

Open Acute

Dr Wajid Iqbal

 

Rydon ward 1 is the adult inpatient acute psychiatric ward with 15 mixed sex beds. The ward covers Taunton and its surrounding area. It does not cover Bridgwater. 2/15 beds are also used by ministry of defence so there is opportunity to be involved in that. There is a full contingent of MDT including psychology, OT, wellbeing leads. There will be opportunities for higher trainees to lead on the care of patients with support from consultant and SHOs. The ward also has a specialty doctor working 3 days a week. Trainees can be helped to complete psychotherapy training. There are weekly post graduate sessions (online). The higher trainee will be encouraged to participate in tribunal hearings. A proactive approach will be taken to complete WPBA to prepare early for ARCP. Higher trainees will be encouraged and supported to develop leadership and management skills.

There is a Neuromodulation clinic nearby and trainees will be encouraged to gain experience subject to agreement from the lead clinicians.

30

General Adult Core

 Inpatient

Yeovil

Open Acute

Dr Roberta Orton

 

The post is in 16 bed Acute psychiatric ward, Rowan, based in Summerland Hospital Site, (56 Preston Road, BA20 2BX) in Yeovil. There is a dedicated place for Section 136 place of safety.

The medical team, consists of a 2 full time psychiatrists: Consultant and specialty doctor

There are FY1 and FY2 doctors. The ward is a psychiatric placement for Y4 medical students. The Advance trainee will receive weekly supervisions with Consultant.

There will be plenty of opportunities to improve skills to provide teaching, supervision for doctors and medical students.

The Advance trainee will participate in audit and research.

The Advance trainee will gain expertise in differential diagnosis for various acute mental health conditions.

The duties on the ward involves assessment and treatment of mental health disorders. The ward has strong psychology and occupational therapy teams

There are 2 ongoing groups (CBT and Emotional skills regulation). The advanced trainee can be involved in these groups and improve psychological intervention skills.

The post will give the advanced trainee a chance to observe and be a part of mental health act assessments and preparing reports for mental health tribunal.

Moreover the advanced trainee will develop expertise in psychopharmacological as well as physical and psychological approaches.

The team provides opportunities to develop management skills, vice-chairing meetings, family liaison meetings and planning patient’s pathway from admission to discharge.

We work closely with Home Treatment Team (HTT) and Community Mental Health Team (CMHT) who would allow the advanced trainee to develop skills in professional communication in providing information about the ward patient.

Somerset NHS Foundation Trust supports education. Every week we have educational meetings and this will be an opportunity to present difficult and interesting cases and will be supported for continuous professional development.

Consultant supports to develop all skills needed to reach goal and move smoothly towards ARCP and prepare for interviews for future posts.

31

Criminal Justice Liaison Service

 

Bristol

Dr Charlotte Illingworth

 

This post offers Advanced Trainees the opportunity to gain extensive experience of General Adult Psychiatry in the prison setting with an experienced, enthusiastic trainer.

This is very much a General Adult post, not a Forensic Psychiatry post, although we liaise with Forensic Psychiatry colleagues. The Advanced Trainee will join the Consultant (trainer), Core Trainee/s and an FY2 working with an AWP multi-disciplinary team in a prison setting. Feedback on the post from trainees of all grades has been consistently excellent.

You will gain experience of assessing and managing prisoners across a very varied range of mental disorders, including assessing and managing acute presentations of mental disorder. Risk assessment and management is another area in which your competency will further develop in this post. You will have the opportunity to make recommendations for hospital transfer under Sections 47 and 48 Mental Health Act (if Section 12 approved), under the Consultant’s supervision.

The mental health team comprises three integrated parts – a Crisis Team, a Therapies Team and a team of Non-Medical Prescribers. The Mental Health Team MDT colleagues you will be working include RMNs, support workers, NMPs, psychologists, a neurodevelopmental practitioner (currently out to recruitment), a dual diagnosis practitioner and a social prescriber. We will be developing a new perinatal mental health service at the prison, so the extended mental health team will additionally include perinatal practitioners.

You will also be working in partnership with a wider team – the Mental Health Team is integrated with Primary Care (Urgent and Planned), GPs in the prison and the Substance Misuse Team, which is an interesting model for the Advanced Trainee work within, opening up exciting opportunities for multi-disciplinary working and teaching.

In the prison you will be working in, there is a specialist personality disorders service (PIPE) run by psychologists.

There will be opportunities to deliver teaching to multi-professional groups, including prison officers.

You will be positively encouraged to develop your teaching portfolio during this post with a trainer who is committed to education and teaching.

You will also have opportunities to undertake Quality Improvement Projects (QIPs) and attend visits with the Quality Network for Prison Mental Health Services (QNPMHS), of which we are part.

A comprehensive Induction to the post will be provided.

Please be aware that the post is subject to clearance procedures (Enhanced DBS and HMPPS Clearance).

Enquiries from potentially interested Advanced Trainees are welcome. (Updated March 2021).

32

Addictions

 

Bristol/South Gloucestershire

Dr Ben Watson

 

This post offers a broad experience in addiction psychiatry including developing specialist skills in managing dual diagnosis and a range of treatments for persons with addictive disorders. The advanced trainee will have a diverse range of opportunities to develop as a clinical leader and gain experience in teaching, management, research and audit, all in preparation for applying and becoming a future NHS consultant.

The trainee will be a member of the integrated multidisciplinary team within the Bristol Specialist Drug and Alcohol Service (BSDAS), which is part of the Bristol ROADS service (Recovery Orientated Alcohol and Drug Service) that covers a population of approximately 500,000.

The trainee will be involved in the assessment and management of drug and alcohol abuse, dependence, and dual diagnosis in both community and inpatient settings. They will support the delivery of treatment plans as formulated following discussion with the multidisciplinary team, involving direct or shared care with GP’s and other doctors. They will provide support, advice and supervision to the multidisciplinary team, and through liaison to primary care services, local psychiatric teams and general medical hospitals.

33

Liaison

Bristol

Southmead

Dr Anish Patel

 

This post is based at Southmead Hospital within the NBT Mental Health Liaison Team. The post enables you to gain experience in Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry across the age range from 16+ in a large modern state of the art teaching hospital and receive their RCPsych endorsement in Liaison Psychiatry.

Clinical work typically falls into three categories: Emergency Zone, In-patient and Outpatient. Non-clinical areas of development that will run in parallel include medical education, quality & service improvement and management.

The work can be busy, but varied and exposes you to a comprehensive range of psychiatric presentations which will enhance and develop your skills in managing complex multiple pathologies relating to body, mind and brain, and encouraging an integrated approach to illness and disease.

General Adult Liaison Psychiatry: You will be able to experience the full range of psychiatric presentations in a general hospital across psychotic, affective and cognitive domains, as well as medically unexplained symptoms and addictive disorders. You will gain advanced experience in the management of depression in the setting of a physical illness; management of agitation in an acute setting, allowing safe prescribing whilst recognizing common drug interactions. Additional experience will be gained in the specialist opinion for complex capacity decisions for patients with mental disorder, care planning that limits the risk of deprivation of liberty, and risk assessment and management within the hospital.

Specific Liaison Psychiatry experience can also be obtained working with the regional services based in NBT including: Major Trauma, Renal, Plastic Surgery & Burns. There are allied services on site that link in with Liaison Psychiatry services including Perinatal Psychiatry, Eating disorders and Neuropsychiatry and opportunities to undertake out-patient clinics. Old Age Liaison Psychiatry: The trainee will gain particular experience in assessment informing diagnosis, treatment and management of existing or suspected new mental / neuropsychiatric disorder in older people admitted to the acute hospital (primarily dementia, delirium, depression and anxiety).

Education is a key part of the role and effectiveness of a Mental Health Liaison service and you will have opportunities to develop skills and experience in the delivery or development of bespoke educational training to general hospital staff across a variety of medical specialties.

There is plenty of scope for service development and joint QI ventures with fellow medical/surgical colleagues. Attendance with senior liaison clinicians to the Mental Health Operational group and STP level meetings will also assist developing higher management/leadership skills.

34

Liaison

Bristol

Southmead

Dr Amy Green

 

Southmead hospital is an 800 bed hospital with a large Emergency Department (ED). It is also a regional centre for Trauma, Renal Medicine, Plastic Surgery, Infectious Diseases and Chronic Pain.  The Mental Health Liaison Service (MHLS) provides an ageless service (16 years and upwards) to the ED and inpatient wards at Southmead Hospital. Liaison Psychiatry is an ideal learning environment for trainees, bridging learning from biomedical to bio-psychosocial care, whilst retaining links with allied medical specialties and colleagues within the Acute Trust. We see a diverse range of presentations in the context of physical illness, self-injury or trauma. Conditions commonly encountered in this post include; psychotic, affective, cognitive, organic, personality, anxiety, somatoform, factitious and eating disorders.

Core clinical work includes;

  • Specialist inpatient or ED assessments and reviews to inform diagnosis, treatment and management of existing or suspected new mental disorder. 
  • Providing advice to allied medical specialties about psychotropic prescribing in patients with co-morbid medical conditions.
  • Assisting in Acute Trust care planning meetings, best interest meetings and professionals meetings.
  • Trainees will also have the opportunity to observe or undertake Mental Health Act assessments in the Acute Trust.

Dr Green is the Undergraduate Unit Tutor at Southmead and there are many opportunities to teach medical students, develop workshops and input into the design of the Undergraduate student placement. She also has strong educational links to the Core Medical Trainee, Acute Medicine Trainee and Emergency Medicine Trainee programme providing opportunities to improve the care of patients with mental health problems through teaching other professionals.

Projects for trainees to develop their leadership and management skills are always available as the team is growing and expanding its remit within the Acute Trust. Previous leadership projects include implementing guidance in the Acute Medical Unit about patients admitted with medical complications of severe Anorexia Nervosa, and leading the team accreditation to the Psychiatric Liaison Accreditation Network.

35

Liaison

Bristol

BRI

Dr Nicola Taylor

 

This post is based at Clinic A214, Bristol Royal Infirmary and enables the post holder to gain experience in Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry and receive their Royal College endorsement in Liaison Psychiatry. 

The work is fascinating and varied. There is ample opportunity to gain experience in the assessment of DSH, medical and surgical referrals, medically unexplained symptoms and range of outpatient referrals. We have access to CBT therapists and trainee counsellors in the team, as well as a cohort of highly skilled nurses. We recognize the importance of close working relationships with our acute care colleagues, and want our trainees to foster those relationships further. We have a successful track record of supporting trainees to develop clinical services and business cases as part of their special interest which has resulted in recurrent funding. 

We want to allow our trainees to acquire a scope of diverse skills and so would encourage them to take clinical and managerial leadership opportunities as appropriate with all necessary support and supervision. 

Education is at the centre of our team, and there are lots of chances to deliver formal and informal teaching sessions to a variety of people: from our regular medical students in 2nd. 3rd and 4th year, to consultant surgeons and physicians. The development of teaching programs is also encouraged and valued. We are a research active department, and there are often opportunities to work on recruitment for multicentre trials as well as smaller scale projects. Our team is moving to an ageless service, and are located with our administrative staff, and drug specialist nurses.. 

36

Liaison

 

Bath

Dr Bill Bruce-Jones

 

Ageless Liaison service based in the Royal United Hospital.  The trainee will be supervised by Dr Bruce-Jones who is consultant liaison psychiatrist at the Royal United Hospital in Bath (RUH). The RUH has nearly 600 beds and has a catchment population of around 500,000 in B&NES, Somerset and Wiltshire. The hospital has the full range of acute specialities and has a very busy Emergency department. Dr Bruce-Jones works with a growing team of specialist nurses working with patients of all ages above 18. Some of the nursing staff particularly work with older adults, especially with dementia. A half time consultant post was appointed in early 2013 to focus on this older patient group.

The Liaison Service in B&NES is collaborating with the University of Bristol in setting up a Self-Harm register and this will provide opportunities for service evaluation and research.

Dr Bruce-Jones also works with the Primary Care Liaison Service providing the trainee to gain experience in this growing area of mental health care should they wish.

Dr Bruce-Jones is Clinical Director for AWP mental health services in B&NES.

The trainee will be able to obtain training and experience in Liaison Psychiatry. This includes: Assessment of new patients presenting with the full range of mental health problems in the general hospital; Development of complex management plans including advice on medication, Mental Capacity Act & Mental Health Act; Opportunities to further develop the service in particular clinical areas eg. Gastroenterology, Perinatal, Neurology; Opportunities to develop innovative services eg. MUS; Provide support, advice and supervision to the liaison team; Management experience through working in a well functioning, multi disciplinary team.  Audit of clinical practice and research within the Clinical Governance framework.

37

Liaison

Gloucestershire

 

Dr Karen Williams

 

This post is based at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital and Cheltenham General Hospital and the post holder will be able to gain experience in Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry in an all age liaison service in these 2 district general hospitals and to achieve a Royal College endorsement in Liaison Psychiatry.

The work experience is varied and includes: the assessment of DSH, medical and surgical ward referrals, obstetric referrals, alcohol hospital liaison, older peoples hospital liaison, management of frequent attenders and medically unexplained symptoms outpatient and inpatient work. 

Our team works in an ageless service and we provide 24/7 cover for the hospitals. We have a separate self-harm team, an older people’s liaison team and alcohol liaison nurses. In addition we have a frequent attender worker.  The trainee would work in normal working hours.

The team enjoys good working relationships with the general hospital staff and the post would offer opportunities to engage in quality improvement projects, attendance at hospital liaison management meetings and other service development work.

Liaison psychiatry is an expanding field and our service is continuing to develop and there are plans for extending the scope of the team. Trainees would be encouraged to develop small projects to enhance the work of the team.

The consultant psychiatrist has an endorsement in addiction psychiatry and works with the family drug and alcohol court team and could offer special interest sessions in this if required. She is currently involved in a countywide project looking at pain management and liaison psychiatry.

The team is commissioned to provide formal training to medical, nursing and other staff in the general hospital and the post will provide ample opportunity to deliver training formally and informally to a variety of staff on different aspects of psychiatric liaison.

The team does have core trainees and also provides regular taster days to junior medical staff and to medical students. The post would offer opportunities to develop skills in mentoring and supervision.

We work with the Gloucestershire Hospitals Trust to develop protocols and guidelines for a variety of management issues include hospital transfer, rapid tranquilisation and management of substance misuse problems and are actively engaged with audit and QIP work in these areas.

The team works closely with other GHC services and the post gives opportunities to work across the interfaces and for example to have experience of MHA assessments and crisis team joint assessments.

The team uses Rio and we are using a digital dictation system

38

Liaison

Swindon

Dr Michael Obidia

 

 

This post is based at Great Western Hospital [GWH], a 530-bedded General hospital located in Swindon. The Liaison team is an accredited member of the Psychiatry Liaison Accreditation Network [PLAN] of the Royal college of Psychiatry.   

The post is designed to offer a broad range of Liaison psychiatry experience. Trainee will gain experience from exposure of working using full range of consultation-liaison model for an Ageless service at the ED/Inpatient wards at GWH supported by an experience multidisciplinary team. The post will provide excellent opportunity to develop senior clinical management skills by assessing existing or new patients presenting with diverse range of psychiatry problems ranging from Core Psychiatry difficulties inclusive of perinatal psychiatry and/or physical health illness presenting with neuropsychiatric symptoms and at the same time developing requisite skills around managing complex pathologies whilst integrating body and mind as one entity. Additional experience will be gained in complex capacity assessment and its interplay with Mental Health Act plus the added opportunities to undertake and experience many MHA assessments.  

There are several opportunities to become involved in new service developments such as the Medical Unexplained symptoms clinics or to help develop newer areas of practice for Liaison service needs or in collaboration with the General Hospital, according to trainee’s personal educational and developmental needs.  

The post will also offer trainees opportunities to develop skills and competencies for first consultant post including medical leadership, management experience, complex decision making, mentoring and provide supervision to junior colleagues [Core, GP and Foundation trainees]. Education is key component of the liaison team role to the Acute Hospital and there are vast opportunities to develop teaching skills and educational program packs. Trainee will be supported to participate in the locality academic program and Grand rounds at GWH. 

The Liaison team shares the same building with the prestigious Kingshill research centre and there are many opportunities for audits, quality improvement and research projects for interested trainees.  

39

Liaison

 

Taunton

Dr Siân Hughes

 

This post is based at Musgrove Park Hospital, a 500 bedded District General Hospital in Taunton.  We are a growing team, which has only been commissioned since 2017, representing a commitment to the establishment and expansion of Liaison Psychiatry in the county.  We gained PLAN accreditation in 2021.

You will gain experience of the full range of consultation/liaison psychiatry, for all patients aged 18 and over.  Ward referrals come via the intranet and are seen based on priority. Referrals come from all areas of the hospital including maternity.  Medical staff are involved in the most complex cases and work closely with physicians to develop multidisciplinary care plans.  There are opportunities for service development, for instance in developing  joint clinics with  other specialties.  We are also developing a service for medically unexplained symptoms, and looking at frequent attenders to the ED to reduce or prevent unnecessary admissions.  You will have the opportunity to take a lead role in one of our areas of practice according to your educational and developmental needs. 

There are opportunities for leadership and management experience working alongside colleagues in the general hospital to develop services as appropriate.  There may be the opportunity to provide supervision to junior colleagues (F2 and/or core trainees). 

The post offers ample opportunity for quality improvement, research, quality improvement projects and audit. All patients attending Musgrove Park Hospital due to self harm are offered a psychosocial assessment, and there are opportunities to develop close working relationships with ED and AMU staff, and to provide training and education to the general hospital.  You will have the opportunity to work in all aspects of Liaison psychiatry, across a range of specialties. 

Taunton Academy is teaching hub and has a well-stocked library and helpful librarians on site.  There are opportunities to contribute to teaching programmes for foundation doctors and medical students, as well as the local postgraduate medical education programme in psychiatry. 

40

Perinatal Psychiatry

 

Gloucestershire

Dr Sally Morgan

 

This post covers the county of Gloucestershire and offers experience in Community Perinatal Psychiatry. The Gloucestershire Perinatal Mental Health Team was commissioned following  GHCFT’s  (formally 2gether NHS Foundation Trust) successful bid for NHSE funding  available as part of the national phased, five-year transformation programme to increase access to specialist perinatal mental health services to ensure women  receive evidence-based treatment, closer to home, when they need it.

In Gloucestershire there are approximately 6500 births per year. 4% of women will experience severe and complex mental health needs during the perinatal period and 8% will require mental health support and/or appropriate onward referral. The Gloucestershire Perinatal Mental Health Team provides consultation, advice, treatment and liaison for women with a moderate to severe mental disorder who are planning a pregnancy or during the perinatal period (through pregnancy and up to 12 months postnatally). The service monitors, supports and provides safe effective care for mothers discharged from mother and baby units and as part of the Maternal Mental Health Pathway, works with GHCFT’s Contact Centre and other services to provide a triage response for referrals for women with mental health needs or who are at risk of developing mental illness in the perinatal period. The service also supports families of women who are accessing the service.

Assessments are undertaken in a variety of locations including the patient’s own home, maternity and mental health bases, working closely with other professionals involved in their care. Experience and skills will be gained in: - The ability to think about the mother’s needs, the infant’s needs, and the mother-infant relationship, as three distinct areas of interest for health and wellbeing. -   Common physical and psychological changes during pregnancy and the first postnatal year, issues around contraception and the importance of planning a pregnancy for women with a mental illness.  -   Identifying the various types of mental disorder, the treatments for each of these along with knowledge of prevalence and likelihood of occurrence and the impact on mother and baby.                 -   Knowledge of key risks to the mother and her infant during pregnancy and 1 year after the birth of the infant and what actions must be taken to protect the mother and her infant from injury. -  Knowledge of attachment and bonding and the importance of the mother-baby relationship in ensuring an infant’s wellbeing and development.                                                                                             -     Improved awareness of barriers to accessing care, including stigma, and the importance of good and effective multiprofessional and multiagency working.

41

Eating Disorders

 

Bristol

Dr Fran Burton

 

This post offers a broad experience with a specialist eating disorders service.

The STEPS service is commissioned to see adult service users with Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa, and Avoidant and Restrictive Food Intake Disorder. We also have CAMHS transition program where we work alongside CAMHS colleagues to support service users with severe eating disorders (from 17.5 years) who are being transferred to STEPS.

The trainee will work as part of the team managing patients on a 10 bed Eating Disorder Inpatient Unit as well as with the busy community team (where we currently have around 400 service users on the caseload).

The trainee will have a varied experience, seeing the range of FREED (early intervention for eating disorders) SEED (severe and enduring eating disorders) including service users with multiple and complicated pathologies (psychiatric and medical) which require liaison with other psychiatric specialties and branches of medicine. The advanced trainee will gain experience as a senior medical member of the multidisciplinary team, assuming responsibilities equivalent to the consultant role, under supervision of the consultant.

42

Psychotherapy

Bristol

 

Dr Thanos Tsapas

 

 

 This post is based at the Bristol Complex Psychological Interventions Service in Bristol (Callington Road hospital). The CPI service provides tertiary psychological assessment and treatment to patients under the care of all three Assessment and Recovery teams in Bristol. It offers a variety of therapeutic modalities, such as Psychodynamic Psychotherapy, Narrative Therapy, Art Psychotherapy, CBT, DBT, Compassion Focused Therapy, EMDR, Family Therapy and others.

The advanced trainee will have the opportunity to enhance their existing, and gain new, psychotherapeutic skills which s/he will be able to apply in General Adult settings (inpatient, community and emergency). The trainee will also become more confident in risk assessment and management with the use of psychoanalytic and other psychotherapy relevant theory. Additionally, they will become more skilled in understanding group and institutional dynamics. The trainee will become more familiar with the developmental perspective of psychological, psychiatric and psychosomatic presentations and with the holistic approach to mental health care that includes conscious and unconscious dynamics and emphasises autonomy. Overall, the trainee will have a number of opportunities to gain new skills and knowledge that would allow them to practice relational psychiatry.

The advanced trainee will have the following opportunities:

  • See 3-4 patients for psychodynamic psychotherapy and 1-2 patients (up to 6 in total) for Narrative Therapy with the help of weekly supervision in a group and individual setting
  • Co-facilitate an Art psychotherapy group, Metallisation Based Treatment group or a group within the Inpatient Arts Therapies service. This is dependent on the availability of such groups
  • Conduct assessments for psychotherapy
  • Participate in CPI referral meetings and liaise with the Recovery teams

The trainee is encouraged to undertake training in a psychotherapeutic modality, e.g. Narrative Therapy, during the year of the post.

The trainee will have protected non-clinical and clinical special interest sessions, which are often in General Adult Psychiatry, so that the General Adult Psychiatry and Medical Psychotherapy “training dialogue” is maintained.

The trainee is also expected to contribute to the Local Postgraduate programme and maintain their active interests in research, teaching and management / leadership.

43

Psychotherapy

Gloucester

 

Dr Svetlin Vrabchev

 

Medical Psychotherapy Post, based with the Medical Psychotherapy Trainees’ Team, Gloucestershire. The Team is a psychological therapy structure closely linked with the psychological therapy service (CPI) integrated within the secondary mental health services in the community and also linked to the primary mental health psychological therapies (IAPT). The team offers the clinical governance structure of psychiatric trainees delivering a psychological therapy under supervision and at times co-facilitating psychological therapy with another trained/registered therapist. The team takes patients referred by the primary mental health psychological therapy service and from the CPI.

The post will offer experience of evidence based psychological therapies – individual and group format. The post holder will take part in joint assessment with the Clinical Supervisor and will work towards reaching competence to complete such assessments under clinical supervision. There will be relevant training included in the time. The post holder will have a small caseload of patients that will be seen in time limited course of psychotherapy (group and individual). The post holder will gain experience in considering the suitability of referrals to the team.

The post holder will have the opportunity to experience a variety of psychotherapeutic modalities – CBT, CAT, psychodynamic psychotherapy, DBT and compassion focused trauma therapy. Some of the experience will be supervised by Dr Vrabtchev and some will be supervised by registered psychotherapists with the relevant services. The post-holder will have the option the consider the modalities of psychotherapy that will be most relevant to their future clinical roles as consultant psychiatrists in the NHS.

44

Rehabilitaton

Low Secure

Bristol

Dr Claire Taylor

 

The post offers experience in Rehabilitation in a Low Secure environment. The Advanced Trainee will be based at Wickham Unit which provides a forensic low secure inpatient services to 29 males for patients from across the AWP catchment area. It is based at the Blackberry Medical Psychotherapy Post, based with the Medical Psychotherapy Trainees’ Team, Gloucestershire. The Team is a psychological therapy structure closely linked with the psychological therapy service (CPI) integrated within the secondary mental health services in the community and also linked to the primary mental health psychological therapies (IAPT). The team offers the clinical governance structure of psychiatric trainees delivering a psychological therapy under supervision and at times co-facilitating psychological therapy with another trained/registered therapist. The team takes patients referred by the primary mental health psychological therapy service and from the CPI.

The post will offer experience of evidence based psychological therapies – individual and group format. The post holder will take part in joint assessment with the Clinical Supervisor and will work towards reaching competence to complete such assessments under clinical supervision. There will be relevant training included in the time. The post holder will have a small caseload of patients that will be seen in time limited course of psychotherapy (group and individual). The post holder will gain experience in considering the suitability of referrals to the team.

With a hub role the service also monitors approximately 35 male and female inpatients in a range of low secure provision. The service works with a service user group who experience long-term mental health problems and is therefore structured to offer an extended period of engagement to help individuals maximise their potential, over an average period of two years to a maximum of five years. The trainee will get experience in doing a range of assessments including Risk Assessments and pre admission assessments. They will be involved with the MDT in the development of appropriate treatment plans for those taken into service, regularly reviewing such treatment plans and promoting rehabilitation and recovery.  Preparing reports and attending Mental Health Review Tribunals will be encouraged as will reporting to the Ministry of Justice for any restricted patients.  There will be an opportunity for the trainee to gain experience of the development of assessment and treatment of patients who remain located in a custodial setting.

45

Rehabilitation

 

Bristol

Dr Will Hall

 

The rehabilitation services in Bristol comprise of a ten bedded inpatient ward (Alder Unit) at Callington Road Hospital and a Bristol-wide Community Rehabilitation Service, provided in Partnership with Second Step and based out of their offices in Brunswick Square, St Pauls. The trainee will work closely under the supervision of Dr Hall who is the full time consultant psychiatrist across both services.

Callington Road Hospital is a modern psychiatric inpatient facility opened in 2006 with general adult, older adult, PICU (male and female), step down and rehabilitation wards. It has a well-resourced therapies unit, library and a flourishing academic programme. Alder Unit looks after men and women with Severe & Enduring Mental Illness (SEMI), who often have complex needs and have often been in hospital for prolonged periods of time. There is a full multidisciplinary team and the ward works within the Safer Wards framework and has an emphasis on working positively with families and carers. The core training opportunity is to understand and develop skills in working with this group of people, in how their care is optimised, how to work with hope and recovery, and care pathways out of hospital into accommodation with sustainable support. The trainee would be involved in the multidisciplinary assessment of referrals to inpatient rehabilitation and could take a lead in providing senior medical input for to the unit for some people, if appropriate to their training needs. There is the opportunity to be involved in Mental Health Act work including writing reports and giving evidence at tribunals.

The Bristol Community Rehabilitation Service (BCRS) looks after about 100 people at any one time, most of whom are living in their own homes. The team is made up of clinical staff, staff whose primary experience is of working in the voluntary sector with a very wide range of skills, and peer workers whose expertise draws on their mental health experiences. There is a dedicated community home (Wellbridge House) which provides time-limited accommodation within a psychologically informed environment that enables work on engagement, assessment and recovery planning. The service won a national award for partnership working in December 2017.

46

Rehabilitation/Assertive Outreach

 

Gloucester

Dr Claudia Calciu

 

Gloucester Assertive Outreach Team is one of three Assertive Outreach Teams across the County of Gloucestershire.  There are two other Consultant led teams based in Cheltenham and Stroud.  The team has an enhanced skill mix of Band 6 clinicians with an activity coordinator, support works and dedicated clinical psychologist.

The team operates a 7 days service with extended hours.  Out of hours is provided by CRHT and Local Authority/non-statutory day services.  The aim of the AOT is to provide assertive clinical engagement for patients with serious and enduring mental health problems in Cluster 17 and 16.  To promote recovery and social inclusion (education, recreation, vocation & employment).  To provide specific interventions (e.g. psychological interventions, medication management, family work, etc).  To liaise and plan locality caseload mix, ongoing care with colleagues from Recovery, GRIP and inpatient teams.  To provide care management, undertake statutory duties under the Mental Health Act 1983/2007 and to assess and support carers.

As Dr Calciu is involved in research and audit projects, this placement is offering the post holder the opportunity to take part in such projects. Also, as one of the consultants within the team is the Medical Director, opportunities for enhancing knowledge on management and leadership could be pursued. The post holder will also have more opportunities to enhance their knowledge of the Mental Health Act usage due to the characteristics of the Assertive Outreach Team patient group, who often require the management of their care under a Community Treatment Order.

47

Rehabilitation

 

Gloucester

Dr Tom Edwards

 

The advanced trainee will be involved as part of the multi-disciplinary team in the ongoing assessment and treatment of patients at the two recovery units of Honeybourne and Laurel House. The advanced trainee will also participate in the weekly ward rounds for both recovery units. In addition, the advanced trainee will be able to be involved in team formulation meetings about the patients at the two recovery units, which is run by the Clinical Psychologist.

The advanced trainee will attend the weekly recovery unit referrals meeting and have the opportunity to undertake referral assessments for patients to Honeybourne and Laurel House, who have been referred from Wotton Lawn Hospital, Charlton Lane Hospital, the community or occasionally from out of area placements.

The advanced trainee will also have the opportunity, under supervision, to prepare the Mangers’ Hearing Reports and First Tier Tribunal Reports for patients detained under the Mental Health Act at Honeybourne and Laurel House.

The advanced trainee will have two clinical specialist interest sessions per week for additional experience in other areas of clinical work. In addition, the advanced trainee will have two non-clinical specialist interest sessions per week to pursue research and other interests.

48

Rehabilitation

Somerset

Dr John Barnes

 

 

The trainee will be able to obtain training and experience in rehabilitation psychiatry.

This includes:

Assessment of referrals to the low secure service including male patients most frequently with psychosis referred from Somerset’s acute services and from the South West Providers Collaborative, which the ward is part of.     Formulation of treatment plans prior to admission including the needs for rehabilitation in conditions of low security   Often in referrals there is a pattern of frequent readmissions and gradually escalating risk in the context of poor social functioning.  Other referrals have better functioning but greater forensic risk requiring assessment and amelioration of multiple contributing factors.     

Delivery of treatment plans as formulated following discussion with the Multi Disciplinary Team thorough ongoing assessment, maximising benefits of engagement with treatment including meaningful occupation, psychosocial treatments and medication.    Provision of a broad range of pharmacological treatments in major mental illness including treatment resistant schizophrenia.  Provide support, advice and supervision to the Multi Disciplinary Teams.

Management experience through working in a well functioning, multi disciplinary team, that works collaboratively with local community services and general psychiatric CMHT’s.

Audit of clinical practice and research opportunity within the Clinical Governance framework.

Knowledge of rehabilitation specialty service research and professional issues through opportunity to attend quarterly SW regional rehabilitation consultant peer meetings and annual Royal College Residential Rehabilitation faculty National conference held in November, which are held virtually during the pandemic.

Research and teaching are encouraged with medical student teaching occurring regularly in the service. The outlined timetable can be adjusted to suit individual trainee’s needs. Support will be available in conducting a research project in the field of psychiatric rehabilitation with a view to submission as oral or poster presentation at the Rehabilitation Faculty Conference and in submission to the Douglas Bennett research prize awarded by the Rehabilitation Faculty for trainee’s working in psychiatric rehabilitation;

ihttp://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/workinpsychiatry/faculties/rehabilitationandsocial/aboutus/prizesandbursaries.

49

Neurodevelopmental disorders

Bristol

 

Dr Dietmar Hank

 

This is a shared post between Adult ADHD and ASD.

The advanced trainee will have opportunities to acquire skills in the assessment and treatment of Adult ADHD. Initially the trainee will shadow practitioners of all disciplines in their assessment work and treatment approaches to get acquainted with the multiple facets of Adult ADHD. The trainee will be encouraged to undertake assessment under direct supervision of expert practitioners before conducting assessments independently. The trainee will work with the medical staff and independent nurse prescribers to learn the skill of prescribing medication for ADHD. Much of the work is currently undertaken through Attend Anywhere and, even when the COVID restrictions are lifted, it is anticipated that a large proportion of the work will continue remotely. The service is about to pilot an ADHD assessment and monitoring APP we developed in conjunction with an NHS specialist IT provider. There will be exciting opportunities to participate in the further shaping of this tool and its roll out to the wider ADHD service community. The trainee can participate in and co-lead short CBT based group interventions (Skills group) for ADHD. We enjoy a very active working relationship with the voluntary sector and attending peer support meetings offers additional insights into the world and experience of a person with ADHD.  

The ASD team (BASS) can offer experience in the assessment and management of adults with autism spectrum disorder including those with complex co-existing mental health problems, time with our highly regarded post diagnostic advice service, and training in how to screen and diagnose adults with ASD.  The team uses gold standard assessment tools including ADOS (Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule), ADI-R (The Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised) and the 3di (Developmental, Dimensional and Diagnostic Interview) alongside formal clinical and psychiatric interview. BASS have pioneered new video assessment tools that have allowed us to continue with remote diagnostic assessment. Trainees will get experience and training in these instruments, in addition to supervision from highly specialist, extremely skilled clinicians. BASS is a truly multidisciplinary service with involvement from specialist SALT, OT, Social Workers and Social Prescribers. We maintain links with a number of academic groups undertaking research in the diagnostic assessment of autism and treatment of co-existing mental problems, with opportunities for trainee involvement. At a national level we are involved with far reaching strategies to improve care pathways for autistic adults.

Both teams offer liaison experience with many other specialized services.