Consultant Psychiatrist (General Adult)
for Acute Inpatient Unit & MHAATS
FULL TIME
Salary Scale - £107,144 - £142,369 per annum
10 Programmed Activities
(6 sessions Acute General Adult Inpatient work, 2 sessions MHAATS, 2 SPA)
NHS Forth Valley: Where exceptional Psychiatrists can flourish and really feel at home
Psychiatry is in an exciting place in Forth Valley. We have recruited extensively in recent years and now have a dynamic team to help us achieve this goal. We are in a position to be able to focus on developing high quality services going forward. To support this, our Consultants will have sufficient SPA time in their job plans to help all parts of our service become accredited (for providing excellent care) according to the Royal College of Psychiatrists Centre for Quality Improvement Accreditation Standards. Our inpatient General Adult Psychiatry wards are functioning highly.
The Inpatient unit is purpose built and includes IPCU, two General Adult and two Older Adult acute wards. Our Acute Inpatient Services are located close to other teams providing perinatal, hospital addiction, psychiatric liaison, acute assessment and home treatment services. Working closely with these teams and liaising with colleagues in the wider mental health system is a core component to this post.
Ward 3 is a 20 bedded Acute Inpatient Unit covering Forth Valley North Sector, with input from a Specialty Doctor and another Consultant in addition to this post.
In Forth Valley we have a new model of working; our Mental Health Acute Assessment and Treatment Service (MHAATS), is the ‘front door’, who assess all same day emergency referrals and all referrals for admission to consider alternatives to admission, where appropriate; they additionally work with sector consultants in the inpatient unit to facilitate supported early discharge. The senior nursing staff in MHAATS assess all the liaison referrals. The liaison aspect of their work is supervised by the Liaison Consultants (2 WTE). This post covers the home treatment and assessment part of MHAATS. There are three other MHAATS part time Consultants (equivalent 1 WTE, in addition to this post) who supervise community and inpatient referrals for assessment and home treatment service. The rest of the team consists of 16 ANPs who carry out all the assessment work, 7 Band 5 and 1 Band 3 nursing staff who carry out IHTT and crisis work under supervision.
The team receives on average 80-100 liaison referrals a week mostly from A&E and acute assessment unit, GPs, Police, ward and other clinicians in the service and has in place a rapid assessment triaging service that is multi-disciplinary in nature, allowing assessment of all urgent cases on the day of receipt of referral. The referrals from other wards in the acute hospital may or may not be urgent. Non urgent referrals are seen in three days’ time.
Complicated cases are assessed by the Consultant Psychiatrist and they are expected to carry a compact caseload of the most complex and unstable cases on short term basis while the team is clinically involved but will also be available at short notice to provide consultation and advice to other team members, although they are not required to act as care co-ordinator.
While primarily responsible for delivering a quality clinical service, the Consultant Psychiatrist is also expected to be actively involved in the strategic development of the team and broader services, being involved with the team manager and locality manager in helping to steer the development of the service in line with the strategic direction of the organisation.
We are passionate about attracting the brightest and best students into Psychiatry and developing them into Consultants that will serve the needs of Scotland. Our local teaching and training programmes have been nationally recognised and we are keen to expand them further. We are home to the Scottish Centre for Clinical Simulation and Human Factors, one of the most advanced training facilities of its kind, where medical staff are able to hone their skills using computerised mannequins. Through this centre we have developed the award winning PSYCHSIM programme. This trains our staff in managing emergency situations that arise on Psychiatry wards. We are keen for additional Consultant leadership to help further expand and develop this programme. We will support time for these, and other teaching and training opportunities. The post holder will also be working with Consultant Psychiatrists with a national profile in Medical Education and so would have immediate links to regional and national teaching opportunities.
We are also able to offer innovative and bespoke job roles for candidates interested in combining sessions in General Adult Psychiatry with sessions in other specialities, availability permitting. We will work with the successful candidate(s) to develop a suitable job plan.
On call duties are non-resident and mainly consist of providing telephone advice and leadership to training grade medical staff. These duties are shared across the Consultant group on a 1 in 20 basis for a 10-session post.
Forth Valley offers an unrivalled quality of life. It is an area of outstanding natural beauty which includes Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park. Historic Stirling ‘the gateway to the Highlands’ has local state schools that consistently feature in the top 20 of national league tables. Scotland’s major cities, Glasgow & Edinburgh are within one hours travel. Substantial relocation packages are available.
The size of our health board allows us to be flexible and responsive. Going forward we are keen to continue to develop ways of working that allow our Psychiatrists to have an optimal work life balance. Applicants are encouraged to visit the department and meet key staff (this can be arranged in person or facilitated online). Informal enquiries should be directed by telephone to or Dr Nabila Muzaffar, Associate Medical Director (Mental Health), Consultant Psychiatrist, Tel: 01324 566177 or Dr Prakash Shankar (Clinical Director), Tel: 01324 566177
To apply for these posts, please visit the job posting on the NHS Scotland Job Train website. Applicants should have full GMC registration and a licence to practise. Applicants will be expected to possess the MRCPsych or equivalent. Applicants must possess or be within 6 months of their CCT and if applying under the portfolio pathway, your name must be entered onto the GMC Specialist Register at the time of application to be eligible to apply. Applicants are required to have evidence of recent continued academic and professional development. Excellent, communication, listening and organisational skills are essential.
Closing date: Sunday 22nd June 2025
Interview date: Thursday 3rd July 2025
Please quote reference number 213948 on all correspondence
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.
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