Specialty Doctor in Adult Mental Health – Community
The closing date is 21 May 2026
This is a replacement 10 PA post for a specialty doctor working in North Durham Mental Health Team. North Durham Community Mental Health Team serves adults aged 18 upwards who present with a mental illness. The team is integrated with Durham County Council and provides statutory care act assessments alongside mental health assessment. Patients with an organic illness are managed by Service for Older People. The service operates Monday to Friday between the hours of 9 to 5, with flexible working to see patients from 8am to 6pm.
The team is currently spread between two bases: one at Chester Le Street Health Centre and the other at Derwent Clinic in Consett, with a plan to find a suitable base for all the team within the covered areas. Patients are seen both at base and in the local community. The team covers the North Durham area, Chester Le Street, Stanley and Consett (3 WTE Consultants for the 3 areas). There are excellent working relationships with primary care and works closely with the local community/voluntary sector.
Main duties of the job
- Conduct comprehensive assessments including risk assessments.
- Respect the rights and dignity of patients and consider individual and cultural needs, working with families and carers in the best interest of the patient.
- Conduct medication reviews/follow‑up/annual reviews for psychotropic medications, adhering to evidence‑based prescribing and monitoring of pharmacological treatment.
- Monitor physical health of patients on psychotropic medications in accordance with guidelines.
- Prescribe safely and be involved in medication management.
- Participate fully in huddles, DDM and MDT meetings.
- Fully contribute to formulation meetings.
- Be involved in clinical leadership.
- Be approved under S12 of MHA or able to achieve within 6 months of appointment; once approved, contribute to Mental Health Act assessments.
- Contribute to service improvement and audit.
- Comply with Trust policies and procedures and contribute to the formulation of Trust Clinical Policies as appropriate.
- Provide on‑call arrangements (details omitted).
Person Specification
Teaching & Training
- Able to deliver undergraduate or postgraduate teaching and training.
- Evidence of achievement in education, research, audit and service improvement: awards, prizes, presentations and publications.
- Participated in continuous professional development.
- Evidence of annual appraisal and commitment to appraisal and revalidation.
Qualifications
- MB BS or equivalent medical qualification.
- Fully registered with the GMC with a licence to practice at the time of appointment.
- At least 4 years postgraduate experience, including at least 2 years in a core psychiatry training programme in UK or abroad.
- Approved under S12 of MHA or able to achieve within 6 months of appointment.
- MRCPsych or equivalent postgraduate qualification.
Clinical Knowledge & Skills
- Good knowledge of psychiatry.
- Excellent clinical skills using bio‑psycho‑social perspective and wide medical knowledge.
- Able to manage clinical complexity and uncertainty.
Research, Audit & Quality Improvement
- Has actively participated in clinical audit.
- Shows commitment to quality through knowledge of quality improvement and lean thinking methodology.
- Participated in research and/or service improvement.
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.
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