Royal Edinburgh Hospital
Job Title: Principal Clinical Psychologist
Grade: Band 8A
Location: Royal Edinburgh Hospital
Hours: 18.50 (0.50 wte)
Contract Duration: Fixed Term (30 June 2026)
This is an exciting opportunity for a Clinical Psychologist that would suit an individual who is interested in working with patients presenting with acute, severe and complex mental health problems. The post is located in the acute inpatient service at the Royal Edinburgh Hospital and the postholder will be working with clients who are in crisis or otherwise at risk and requiring admission to the hospital.
You will be involved in providing a highly specialist service to the clients admitted to the acute inpatient service and you will be involved in the application of a psychological model and associated therapies to the in-patient service at Royal Edinburgh Hospital. In addition to the provision of individual and group therapies you will be required to provide support to the multi-disciplinary staff team through shared assessments, psychological formulation and consultancy. Teaching and training for the acute service more generally will also be expected as part of the role. The post holder will additionally be expected to engage in audit and research activity.
We would be interested in receiving applications from people who might wish to work within the acute Psychology service.
The Lothian Psychology service hosts trainees from a range of universities including Edinburgh University.
There is also a strong commitment to professional development of staff within the service.
Informal enquiries to:
Please note: we anticipate a high level of interest in this position and may close the vacancy early once a sufficient amount of applications are received. Therefore, please make sure you complete and submit your application at an early stage.
We will fully support disabled candidates, and candidates with long-term conditions or who are neurodivergent by making reasonable adjustments to our recruitment policy and practices.
To work in the United Kingdom, there is a legal requirement for an individual to demonstrate that they have the relevant permission to work in the country. This permission is, without exception, granted by the UK Visa and Immigrations Service. Further information on what NHS Scotland Boards are required to do to check this as well as what your responsibilities include can be found in the further information for this vacancy.
This post requires the post holder to have a PVG Scheme membership/record. If the post holder is not a current PVG member for the required regulatory group (child and/or adult) then an application will need to be made to Disclosure Scotland and deemed satisfactory before they can begin in post.
Due to legislative changes from 1 April 2025, this post may require a different level of criminal records check done than is currently the case. If the post is assessed as a 'regulated role', your appointment will be subject to joining the Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) Scheme. If there is any change to what is currently required, this will be confirmed by either the Hiring Manager or the Recruitment Team. For more details on these changes please visit: Disclosure Scotland Changes.
Please note: As this post is part-time, the salary will be pro-rata.
NHS Scotland is committed to encouraging equality and diversity among our workforce and eliminating unlawful discrimination. The aim is for our workforce to be truly representative and for each employee to feel respected and able to give their best. To this end, NHS Scotland welcomes applications from all sections of society.
- Urban Practice