About this role
Job summary
This is a 0.5 whole time equivalent consultant psychiatrist post within the Counselling and Mental Health Support Service at King's College London. It supports psychiatric assessment, advice, risk formulation and treatment planning for students with complex mental health needs, working in close partnership with the King's CMHS multidisciplinary team, King's Health Centre, GPs and statutory NHS services.
Main duties of the job
This is an opportunity to provide consultant psychiatric input into a large, complex and specialist university mental health service. The post holder will work alongside established clinical and managerial leaders in CMHS and will provide senior psychiatric assessment, advice, risk formulation, treatment planning and consultation for students whose needs are beyond short-term counselling alone and who are not open to, or are being transferred into or out of, secondary mental health services.
The post holder will support the safe and effective interface between the university service, primary care, NHS mental health services and other statutory or voluntary services. They will contribute to the development and review of psychiatry referral pathways, multidisciplinary working, clinical governance, audit, service development and staff consultation on matters related to student mental health.
About us
The Counselling and Mental Health Support Service is a free and confidential service that provides highly specialised counselling, mental health support and advice to King's College London students. Students are often in distress and require sensitive and timely access to psychological and mental health support. The service is a key part of the university's wider wellbeing and safeguarding structures and works collaboratively across departments and services to ensure that students receive timely and effective support.
The service sits within the Students and Education Directorate, a collection of professional services that support King's students and their education. The Directorate manages the student lifecycle from application to graduation and beyond, seeking a coherent and seamless student experience and effective administrative processes, working closely with King's faculties.
Clinical interfaces
The CMHS psychiatry pathway interfaces with King's Health Centre, students' own GPs, NHS psychiatric liaison teams, home treatment teams, community mental health teams, inpatient mental health services, specialist CAMHS or adult services and other relevant statutory, charitable and non-profit organisations. Active communication with students, referrers, family or support networks where consent and confidentiality allow, and external clinical teams is central to safe and effective care.
Job description Job responsibilities
Work as a member of the multidisciplinary CMHS team in collaboration with clinical and managerial leaders in the Counselling and Mental Health Support Service.
Assume consultant responsibility for referrals made by CMHS counsellors, mental health advisers, GPs, King's Health Centre and the Student of Concern process, where students have self-referred to CMHS or have been referred to the Mental Health team.
Provide psychiatric assessment, including risk assessment, for students referred to and under the care of the service.
Provide psychiatric assessment and treatment planning, including medication recommendations to the student's GP, for students with difficult-to-treat or diagnosed mental health conditions whose presentation cannot be supported through short-term counselling interventions and who are not open to a secondary mental health service.
Hold a clinical caseload of approximately four to five students per clinical day, subject to case complexity and service need.
Work in close collaboration with the counselling and mental health advice team, including the consultant psychiatrist in the service Mood Clinic.
Work in partnership with students to develop evidence-based, effective and agreed treatment and support plans.
Ensure effective communication around the referral pathway to psychiatry and work closely with the Heads of Service in CMHS to monitor and review psychiatry referrals received from CMHS team members.
Provide consultation, advice and appropriate support to managers and staff in CMHS, and to the wider King's community where agreed, on matters related to student mental health.
Coordinate clinical liaison with clinicians in NHS and statutory mental health services, including GPs, to support student referrals and handover of care responsibilities where appropriate.
Contribute to clinical governance of the Counselling and Mental Health Support Service, including audit of psychiatric practice and multidisciplinary work.
Record clinical activity and complete clinical outcome measures in line with service requirements.
Maintain accurate and contemporaneous notes in line with CMHS record keeping policy and any relevant SLaM governance requirements.
Complete mandatory and compliance training in line with King's College London and SLaM policy and requirements.
Maintain full registration with the General Medical Council and be listed on the Specialist Register of the GMC Medical Register, or be eligible for registration within six months.
Person Specification
Qualifications Essential
Medical degree Membership or Fellowship of the Royal College of Psychiatrists. Qualification or higher degree in research, medical education, clinical leadership or management, either complete or in progress, where relevant to the post.
Desirable
Additional qualification or demonstrable experience in student mental health, liaison psychiatry, psychological medicine, psychotherapy, public mental health, higher education mental health, neurodevelopmental disorders or service development.
Eligibility Essential
Fully registered with the GMC with a licence to practise at the time of appointment. Evidence for inclusion in the Specialist Register or within six months of gaining CCT. Able to work within GMC Good Medical Practice, Trust policies and King's College London safeguarding and confidentiality procedures.
Desirable
Section 12 approval and Approved Clinician status, or willingness to obtain these if required by the Trust and agreed through job planning. Experience in a consultant psychiatrist role within the NHS or a comparable service.
CLINICAL SKILLS, KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE Essential
Excellent clinical skills using a bio-psycho-social perspective and wide medical knowledge. Evidence of excellent knowledge in the assessment and management of complex mental health presentations in young adults and adults, including risk assessment and management. Experience of working with multidisciplinary teams and providing psychiatric advice to non-medical colleagues. Ability to provide assessment, formulation and treatment planning, including medication advice to GPs where appropriate. Excellent oral and written communication skills in English Able to manage clinical complexity, uncertainty, safeguarding concerns and competing organisational responsibilities. Makes decisions based on evidence and experience, including the contribution of others. High level of integrity and commitment to anti-discriminatory practice.
Desirable
Experience in student mental health, university mental health services, liaison psychiatry, crisis/risk pathways, CAMHS transition or young adult mental health. Experience of working across organisational boundaries with GPs, NHS mental health services, higher education institutions and voluntary sector services. Knowledge of current developments in university mental health, safeguarding, reasonable adjustments and care pathways for students with severe or complex mental illness
ACADEMIC SKILLS AND LIFELONG LEARNING Essential
Ability to work in and lead a team. Demonstrated commitment to shared leadership and collaborative working to deliver improvement. Participated in continuous professional development and able to reflect on the purpose of CPD undertaken Able to use and appraise clinical evidence Has actively participated in clinical audit, service evaluation or quality improvement programmes Able to contribute to teaching, training and consultation for multidisciplinary colleagues
Desirable
Evidence of achievement in education, research, audit, service evaluation or service improvement: awards, prizes, presentations, publications or demonstrable impact. Able to plan and deliver undergraduate or postgraduate teaching and training relevant to this post. Has led quality improvement projects leading to service change or improved outcomes for patients, students or service users.
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.
Certificate of Sponsorship Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
Employer details Employer name South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust
Address Maudsley Hospital
London
SE5 8AZ
United Kingdom
Employer's website https://www.slam.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)