Consultant Psychiatrist, Assertive Outreach

We are looking for a consultant psychiatrist to provide clinical leadership and support the ongoing development of a new innovative Assertive Outreach Function to support local mental health services in the urban centres of Slough and Reading. The role will work very flexibly with a team of NHS and VCSE staff to provide excellent care to patients with psychosis who find our conventional services harder to engage with. A caseload for the function capped at an agreed optimal (AO-compatible) level will ensure that patients in greatest need of additional input will receive it. Clear best practice guidelines, formulation based care delivery and shared caseload principles will support smooth-running of the service. As an Advanced Foundation Trust, with an Outstanding rating from the CQC, and one of the best staff survey results in the country, we are able to deliver positive changes for our service users and their carers via our mature Quality Improvement approach to innovation and development whilst being a great place to work.

The post holder will be working in a new post as the Consultant Psychiatrist for the new AO function across the Reading and Slough localities. They will be expected to case manage a cohort of around 30 patients in each location, giving a total full caseload of 60 for the AO function in Reading and Slough. This is open to review. Those patients will be selected by the place MDT (including input from the AO team members) from the cohort of patients with psychosis as those most requiring an AO approach for their wellbeing and for the safety of our communities. The post holder will be expected to take a lead role in the clinical management of patients and to be the Responsible Clinician. Some of these patients with be subject to community treatment orders. The majority of these patients will be under existing services and the postholder will be expected to receive transfer of care of these patients in a manageable agreed timescale.