Consultant Psychiatrist for People with Intellectual Disability: Sponsorship Available

Job summary

This is an established consultant post in the psychiatry of Intellectual Disability and has become vacant as the current postholder is moving on to a different role. Throughout the Learning Disabilities Service, we focus our efforts on maximising people’s independence and delivering the targets of the Valuing People White Paper. The Consultant Psychiatrist plays a key role in the delivery of these aims, ensuring that people with Learning Disabilities and Mental Health Problems are supported to live in the community and are able to receive excellent treatment when they need it. The Consultant also has a crucial liaison role to play with the small number of out of borough healthcare placements, in supporting clinical and care management staff to facilitate discharge to appropriate community placements. The Consultant Psychiatrist is also a key member of the service’s senior management team and as such is expected to contribute to service development and clinical governance. The successful candidate will work with multidisciplinary colleagues in the Luton and Bedford Learning Disabilities Service, to provide a specialist mental health service to adults with learning disability in the Bedford county.

Main duties of the job

The post-holder will provide consultant leadership to the service and will assume consultant psychiatrist responsibility for a defined caseload, including that of one of the junior doctors. As appropriate, this may include taking a lead on compliance with the Mental Health Act and CQC requirements. They will participate, directly and indirectly, in the assessment of patients referred to the service and in drawing up care plans which will address the patients’ psychiatric, physical and social needs. For patients subject to the care program approach and for these patients the interventions provided by team will be under the supervision of the post holder. Good communication will be undertaken with the patient’s care coordinator and with other consultant psychiatrists involved in the care of the patient. When a review of the care plan is indicated, the post-holder will participate in such reviews and include the GP, carer or any other relevant professionals. The post-holder will forge good working relationships with other mental health services in the directorate and beyond in order to encourage appropriate referrals to the service and to assure a cooperative approach to the care of patients accessing those services. The post-holder will participate in service evaluation and information-gathering exercises designed to gain a better understanding of the functioning of the service in order to monitor performance, quality and underpin future service developments.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• MB BS or equivalent medical qualification.

Desirable

• Qualification or higher degree in medical education, clinical research or management.
• MRCPsych OR MRCPsych equivalent approved by the Royal College of Psychiatrists.

Eligibility

Essential

• Fully registered with the GMC with a licence to practise at the time of appointment.
• Included on the GMC Specialist Register OR within six months
• Approved clinician status OR able to achieve within 3 months of appointment
• Approved under S12 OR able to achieve with 3 months of appointment

Desirable

• In good standing with GMC with respect to warning and conditions on practice

Transport

Essential

• Holds and will use valid UK driving licence OR provides evidence of proposed alternative.

Clinical Skills and Knowledge

Essential

• Excellent knowledge in specialty
• Excellent clinical skills using bio-psycho-social perspective and wide medical knowledge
• Excellent oral and written communication skills in English
• Able to manage clinical complexity and uncertainty
• Makes decisions based on evidence and experience including the contribution of others
• Able to meet duties under MHA and MCA

Desirable

• Wide range of specialist and sub-specialist experience relevant to post within NHS or comparable service

Academic skills and lifelong learning

Essential

• Able to deliver undergraduate or postgraduate teaching and training
• Ability to work in and lead team
• Demonstrate commitment to shared leadership & collaborative working to deliver improvement.
• Participated in continuous professional development
• Participated in research or service evaluation.
• Able to use and appraise clinical evidence.
• Has actively participated in clinical audit and quality improvement programmes

Desirable

• Able to plan and deliver undergraduate and postgraduate teaching and training relevant to this post
• Reflected on purpose of CPD undertaken
• Experienced in clinical research and / or service evaluation.
• Evidence of achievement in education, research, audit and service improvement: awards, prizes, presentations and publications.
• Has led clinical audits leading to service change or improved outcomes to patients

Closing Date: 2 October 2026