Consultant General Adult Liaison Psychiatrist

We are looking for an enthusiastic applicant who will work within a Mental Health Liaison Team to join the Whiston Mental Health Liaison teams delivering assessment and treatment to General Adult Patients based on the Acute Hospital Inpatient wards.
The mental health liaison team based at the Whiston Hospital is a well-established multidisciplinary service looking after patients with severe and enduring mental illness and complex needs. The Mental Health Liaison Team (MHLT) operates within the A&E department and Medical Assessment Wards and provides a rapid assessment service for individuals aged 18 and above with the Older Person’s Service accepting new referrals from age 70+years. W
It is a thriving team, with lots of activity and excellent relationships between different teams and colleagues.
Your workload will comprise attending daily team meetings, assessing and providing expert advice for, and in relation to, patients on the wards and AED; delivering training and supervision to the team and the wider hospital staff group, as well as participating in service delivery activities
The post-holder will include assessment of urgent referrals from acute medical wards and AED. Medical support is provided for more complex cases and those requiring the specific skills of a Liaison Psychiatrist. This will include leading on the training of other hospital staff and interacting with other medical professionals throughout the hospital.
Demonstrate an understanding of the interface between physical illness and mental illness; undertake diagnosis and formulation of management plans in complex cases; advise medical teams on appropriate integrated care and assess and manage risk (e.g. suicide risk, violence/aggression, absconding) relating to psychiatric conditions in general hospital settings.
Provide advice on prescribing to medical teams on psychotropic medication; provide expertise, and fulfil a statutory role, in managing medico-legal issues in the general hospital, including application of mental health and mental capacity legislation; understand the medical issues in assessing patients with medically unexplained symptoms and understand the medical issues in mental health patients associated with long-term conditions.
Collaboration with medical colleagues to ensure availability for emergency liaison assessments through the daytime (9am to 5pm) and also to provide cross-cover during periods of annual/study leave.
Assessment and management of patients under the Mental Health Act and Mental Capacity Act.
Mersey Care is one of the largest trusts providing physical health and mental health services in the North West, serving more than 1.4 million people across our region and are also commissioned for services that cover the North West, North Wales and the Midlands.
We offer specialist inpatient and community services that support physical and mental health and specialist inpatient mental health, learning disability, addiction and brain injury services. Mersey Care is one of only three trusts in the UK that offer high secure mental health facilities.
At the heart of all we do is our commitment to ‘perfect care’ – care that is safe, effective, positively experienced, timely, equitable and efficient. We support our staff to do the best job they can and work alongside service users, their families, and carers to design and develop future services together. We’re currently delivering a programme of organisational and service transformation to significantly improve the quality of the services we provide and safely reduce cost as we do so.
Flexible working requests will be considered for all roles.
General Adult Consultant psychiatrist responsible for providing clinical leadership for The Whiston Mental Health Liaison team.
Medical support is provided for more complex cases and those requiring the specific skills of a Liaison Psychiatrist. This will include leading on the training of other hospital staff and interacting with other medical professionals throughout the hospital.
To supervise and support team members who carry out assessments of patients referred to the team.
To carry out comprehensive psychiatric assessments and provide treatment for patients.
Supporting staff to manage psychiatric emergencies
To conduct patient reviews and lead Multidisciplinary reviews and multi-professional meetings
To be the responsible clinician for the purposes of the Mental Health Act 1983 (amended 2007) and carry out duties in accordance to the code of practice.
To carry out comprehensive Risk Assessments and participate in Trust’s risk management processes such as Health Risk Assessment and Management Meetings (H-RAMM)
To provide medical leadership to the team
Please see job description for further details.