Consultant in Psychiatry of Intellectual Disabilities

Go back South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust Consultant in Psychiatry of Intellectual Disabilities

The closing date is 22 June 2025

We are seeking to appoint a substantive Consultant Psychiatrist within the Croydon Mental Health Learning Disabilities Team for 6 PAs per week. The is a new post; created to meet local service needs. This is one of two consultant posts in the team.

Croydon MHLD is a specialist community mental health team for adults with a confirmed diagnosis of learning disability. It has a total caseload ranging between 115 and 125 patients. The service delivers patient contact in multiple modalities, including outpatient clinics, remote virtual consultations as well as community and home visits. The team has strong links with local children and adult mental health services as well as Croydon University Hospital.

Main duties of the job

The primary duties of this 8 PA consultant psychiatrist post is to provide clinical care for the patient on the caseload as the Responsible Clinician. The post holder will conduct outpatient clinics and home visits, attend CPA reviews, and carry out liaison work with GPs, multi-disciplinary colleagues from the Croydon Community Learning Disability Team and other mental health services. The post holder will provide clinical cross cover for the other Trust MHLD consultants and vice versa. The post holder will be employed by the South London and Maudsley NHS Trust.

About us

The Trust delivers Mental Health in Learning Disabilities (MHLD) services across the boroughs of Lambeth, Lewisham, Southwark and Croydon. These underwent revision and modernisation to ensure a flexible local service response and to make best use of expertise across boroughs. The Trust's MHLD services are linked with the Estia Centre, which is a training, learning and development hub for staff as well as a resource for adults with learning disabilities and additional mental health needs.

Our MHLD and wider neurodevelopmental services, were rated 'Outstanding' by the Care Quality Commission.

Job responsibilities

To provide expert assessment of mental health in people with learning disabilities.

2) To provide patients, referrers and carers with diagnostic and management advice;

3) To promote and develop best practice in the management of adults with learning disabilities and mental health problems, locally, regionally and nationally;

4) To make contemporaneous clinical notes on the electronic patient record system employed by the Trust and adhere to Trust/service requirements for electronic record keeping, including prompt verbal and written clinical and medico-legal communications;

5) To lead the MDT in assessing, planning, implementing and evaluating treatment options, including liaison with the patient, carers and the wider multi-disciplinary team;

6) To appropriately escalate patients at risk to the Dynamic Support Register, which is led by the local Integrated Care Board.

7) To facilitate admission and discharge pathways of patients with learning disabilities who require mental health admission, either into adult mental health wards or into specialist inpatient services, working with the MDT, patients, carers, referrers and commissioners to ensure effective processes and good communication;

8) To act as a resource within the service and directorate, offering advice and support to colleagues to ensure safe and evidence-based practice

Person Specification Qualifications & Training

• GMC registration/revalidation and license to practice
• GMC registration/revalidation and license to practice (E) Eligible for inclusion in the Specialist Register or within 3 months of gaining CCT
• CCT/ CESR in Psychiatry of Intellectual Disabilities
• Higher degree such as master's degree, MD or PhD

Experience

• Section 12 (2) approved
• Eligible to take up / existing Approved Clinician status
• Experience in diagnosing and managing people with Intellectual Disabilities with / without neurodevelopmental disorders / impairment of behaviours and coexisting mental health problems
• Commitment to the development of excellence in services for people with Intellectual Disabilities and coexisting mental health problems
• Experience in leading the development of services for people with Intellectual Disabilities and coexisting mental health problems
• Previous experience at Consultant level of working in specialist mental health and / or integrated services for adults with Intellectual Disabilities

Management/Audit/ Quality Improvement

• Experience in organisation and delivery of services for people with Intellectual Disabilities with / without coexisting mental health problems, with / without impairment of behaviour
• Ability to plan and supervise clinical and quality improvement projects and to translate findings into practice to improve quality
• Skills in negotiating with senior staff and other professional groups
• Skills in chairing and / or contributing to multiagency clinical meetings
• Skills in proposing and implementing service development /transformation / improvement projects

Teaching

• Skills in providing teaching and training at undergraduate and postgraduate level to medical staff and other professional groups
• Skills in providing clinical supervision to medical and non-medical staff
• Evidence of 'training the trainer' or equivalent for provision of educational supervision to psychiatric trainees

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust

Address Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Part-time

Reference number

334-CRY JA

Job locations