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An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Locum Consultant Psychiatrist in Old Age Psychiatry to join an established Older Adults Division in Greater London. This new post has been created through Older Adult Community Transformation work and offers the chance to shape and deliver enhanced community mental health services for older adults.

This role is primarily community-based, involving home treatment assessments, home visits, crisis intervention, and close partnership working with multidisciplinary teams. The successful applicant will also support inpatient wards for older adults when required.

The post is ideal for a forward-thinking consultant with strong clinical leadership skills, excellent community psychiatry experience, and commitment to high-quality older adult mental health care.

Main Duties of the Job

Clinical Responsibilities

• Provide consultant leadership to the Old Age Home Treatment Team.
• Deliver psychiatric assessment, diagnosis, and treatment for older adults in community settings.
• Undertake predominantly home visits across the service area.
• Review patients on older adult inpatient wards when required.
• Manage complex presentations including dementia, depression, psychosis, delirium, behavioural disturbance, and crisis relapse prevention.
• Deliver evidence-based management using a bio-psycho-social model.
• Make safe clinical decisions in complex and uncertain situations.
• Fulfil duties under the Mental Health Act (MHA) and Mental Capacity Act (MCA).

Leadership / Supervision

• Supervise junior medical staff and support workforce development.
• Ensure compliance with the Working Time Regulations for junior doctors.
• Promote shared leadership and collaborative MDT working.
• Support service transformation and community pathway development.

Governance / Quality Improvement

• Participate in annual appraisal and job planning.
• Engage in clinical governance, audit, and quality improvement programmes.
• Maintain accurate clinical documentation and activity reporting.
• Ensure safe discharge planning and continuity of care.

Partnership Working

• Maintain effective relationships with:
  • GPs
  • Social Services
  • Voluntary sector organisations
  • Community mental health teams
  • Carers and families

Person Specification

Requirements

Essential

• MBBS or equivalent medical qualification
• Full GMC Registration with a licence to practise
• Minimum 1 year NHS experience
• GMC Specialist Register in Psychiatry or within 6 months
• Approved Clinician status (or achievable within 3 months)
• Section 12 Approval (or achievable within 3 months)
• Excellent knowledge of Old Age Psychiatry
• Strong communication skills
• Ability to manage complexity and uncertainty
• Ability to lead multidisciplinary teams
• Basic IT skills, including email/internet

Desirable

• Additional qualification in education, management, or research
• Broad NHS or comparable specialist psychiatry experience
• Experience in clinical research
• Evidence of publications/presentations/awards
• Experience leading audits resulting in service change
• Data management experience