Job Overview
We are seeking a dynamic and enthusiastic Speciality Grade doctor to work in our new award‑winning Assertive Outreach (AOT) and depot/clozapine service. The AOT service is a newly funded service. You will work alongside the Brent community Mental Health Team, the Adult Home Treatment Team and will receive supervision from the adult consultant psychiatrist.
Main Duties
The aim of the AOT service and depot/clozapine is to deliver integrated, trauma‑informed, community‑based mental health care for our most vulnerable patients with serious mental health conditions, reducing hospital admissions and improving quality of life through holistic, multidisciplinary, and collaborative working.
Responsibilities
* Provide high quality psychiatric assessment, diagnosis, treatment planning, and ongoing medical care for adults with severe and enduring mental illness, particularly those who are disengaged, high risk, or non‑adherent with treatment.
* Manage a defined medical caseload, supervised by a consultant psychiatrist, within the Assertive Outreach, depot, and clozapine functions, working closely with the multidisciplinary team.
* Undertake regular clinical reviews, including mental state examinations, risk assessment, physical health monitoring, and review of treatment response, ensuring care is evidence‑based and recovery‑focused.
* Provide middle‑grade medical leadership within the Assertive Outreach pathway, contributing to MDT meetings, huddles, and zoning discussions, and offering clinical oversight on risk management and medication optimisation.
* Lead and deliver depot antipsychotic and clozapine clinics, ensuring safe prescribing, monitoring of efficacy and side effects, and effective liaison with nursing, pharmacy, and consultant colleagues to maintain continuity of care.
* Review adherence, capacity, consent, and tolerability, and contribute to engagement strategies (including community‑based work and joint visits) to improve medication concordance in line with the AO SOP.
* Contribute to formulation, care planning, crisis planning, and supported transitions back to standard CMHH pathways when service users are stabilised.
* Take an active role in the assessment and management of clinical risk, including suicide, self‑harm, violence, vulnerability, and safeguarding, and support timely escalation and de‑escalation of care, including admission avoidance or facilitated admission where required.
* Work collaboratively with a wide range of partners, including crisis services, inpatient teams, primary care, local authorities, community, cultural and faith groups, to reduce avoidable admissions and A&E attendances.
* Deliver care flexibly across settings, including home visits, ensuring effective access for service users and carers, and actively involving them in treatment and care planning.
* Provide day‑to‑day medical cover for the AOT/Depot and Clozapine Team and participate in the Brent middle‑grade on‑call rota in line with service need.
* Maintain accurate, timely, and high quality clinical records, ensure appropriate discharge processes (including ICD‑10 coding), and contribute to the development and review of clinical protocols.
* Participate in continuing professional development and annual appraisal in accordance with Trust policy.
Education, Qualifications and Training
Essential criteria
* MB BS or equivalent medical qualification.
* Full GMC registration with a license to practice.
* Approval under section 12(2) MHA 1983 (or achieve it within 6 months of appointment), or have Approved Clinician status/approval and be on the AC register.
Desirable criteria
* MRCPsych (or equivalent).
* An additional postgraduate qualification relevant to your specialty.
Experience
Essential criteria
* Proficiency in risk assessment and management.
* Experience working in multidisciplinary teams.
* Experience of using the Mental Health Act and Mental Capacity Act in an inpatient psychiatric setting.
* Adequate training in child and adult safeguarding.
* Demonstrated ability to challenge others and to escalated concerns when necessary.
Desirable criteria
* Experience of service development or business planning.
* High‑level knowledge of national developments to improve efficiency and deliver quality services.
Skills, Knowledge & Qualities
* Good interpersonal and communications skills in line with the Trust’s Core Behaviours.
* Effective communication using the English language and shared decision‑making with patients, relatives, and carers; treats patients as individuals, promoting a person‑centred approach to their care.
* Sound organisational skills.
* Awareness of leadership duties as a clinician and demonstrates appropriate leadership behaviour.
* Understanding of a range of leadership principles, approaches, and techniques to adapt leadership behaviours to improve engagement and outcomes.
* Awareness of legal responsibilities relevant to the role, such as mental capacity, deprivation of liberty, data protection, equality and diversity.
* Ability to work on own initiative.
Benefits
* Numerous opportunities for research and engagement with the Trust’s quality improvement network, including a programme of online and classroom courses from the Institute for Healthcare Improvement with full access to its Open School programme.
* Support from a full‑time Consultant Psychiatrist for Adult Service involved in QI work and collaboration with the old age and dementia networks at the Trust’s HQ (350 Euston Road) and the London Dementia Clinical Network, providing extensive support for personal development and CPD activity.
* Highly active programme of academic meetings every week at Brent Mental Health Unit, Northwick Park Hospital, and a large Grand Round for the whole Trust at 350 Euston Road HQ every other month.
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