The closing date is 6th Oct 2026
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Job summary
An exciting opportunity has arisen for the post of substantive Consultant Psychiatrist to work equally across Willow Ward, our inpatient rehabilitation facility, and our new developing Open Mental Health Rehabilitation Team - an innovative new offering from Somerset FT in partnership with our VCSE colleagues.
This is a full-time (10 PA per week) post based at various locations across the county. The service is actively considering full-time working over four days to enhance the working lives of prospective consultants. We will also consider partial remote working to support the wellbeing of our consultants. The post-holder will have an office, access to a laptop and mobile. The successful applicant will also have dedicated administrative and secretarial support. The consultant will collaborate with a full multi-disciplinary team and provide clinical leadership input.
On call rota duties include senior medical and Responsible Clinician cover for the inpatient wards and S12 MHA work both in Trust premises and in the community.
This is a 1 in 11 rota operating 5pm to 9am on weekdays; at the weekend, the rota operates from 9am on Saturday morning to 9am on Monday morning. The postholder will be encouraged to participate in the on-call rota although there is no contractual obligation to partake on call duties.
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Main duties, tasks & skills required
The main duties of this post are to provide consultant leadership to Willow Ward and the Open Mental Health Rehabilitation Team and to deliver the service expansion together with the existing team, Clinical Director, and Service Manager. The post holder will play an important role in delivering our community strategy as we expand these services and have an active case load of patients with the Open Mental Health Rehabilitation Team, as well as patients that are managed on Willow Ward. The post holder will also offer consultation services to various partner services and agencies.
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About us
At Somerset NHS Foundation Trust, we're committed to supporting our employees with a range of benefits designed to enhance your professional and personal life. We offer:
Flexible working options to help you balance work and life
NHS pension scheme for long-term financial security
Generous annual leave allowance to recharge and relax
A strong focus on career development to help you grow and achieve your potential
Additionally, you'll gain access to our Blue Light Card, unlocking exclusive discounts on shopping, dining, and leisure activities, as well as NHS-specific perks to support you both inside and outside of work.
We are proud to foster a diverse, skilled, and inclusive workforce, and we encourage applications from all backgrounds.
Why Somerset? Somerset offers the perfect blend of idyllic countryside, outstanding areas of natural beauty, and breathtaking coastlines, with vibrant cities like Bristol, Bath, and Exeter just a short drive away - and only two hours to London.
The region is home to excellent educational facilities, and with affordable housing compared to other parts of the country, it's a great place to build both your career and your future.
Somerset truly has it all - the peaceful countryside and cosmopolitan city life, with something for everyone to enjoy.
Relocation is available and is subject to meeting the eligibility criteria
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Job description
Willow Ward is an 11-bed inpatient rehabilitation ward which provides a county wide service for female and male adults who require a high level of support and intensive rehabilitation due to severe and enduring complex mental health conditions. These patients may also have one or more of the following: cognitive impairments associated with their illness, coexisting mental health conditions such as substance misuse, pre-existing neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism spectrum disorder or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and physical health conditions such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, or pulmonary conditions. These complex problems affect a person's social and everyday functioning. Willow Ward accepts referrals from both inpatient services and community, and patients on the ward are both subject to the Mental Health Act or voluntary patients.
Willow Ward also provides a service to those people who have a primary diagnosis of a non-psychotic illness. Willow Ward will give appropriate advice/assessment/treatment and support patients in the mental health services and identify appropriate placements and or support packages for people with other mental health diagnoses or neurodevelopmental disorders.
The list below is not exhaustive and there will be a significant opportunity for the successful post holder to help shape the role further:
Provide medical leadership to Willow Ward and the Open Mental Health Rehabilitation Team either through direct responsibility arising from the direct clinical involvement or distributed responsibility for the care of individuals whose care is distributed amongst other professionals.
Maintain AC/RC responsibilities for any patients in the community who remain under the framework of the MHA.
Collaborate with other senior clinical team members to make sure that colleagues understand the professional status and specialty of all team members, their roles, and responsibilities in the team, and who is responsible for each aspect of patient care.
Collaborate with other senior clinical team members to make sure make sure that staff are clear about their individual and team objectives, their personal and collective responsibilities for patient and public safety, and for openly and honestly recording and discussing problems.
Communicate effectively with colleagues within and outside the team; making sure that arrangements are in place for relevant information to be passed on to the team promptly.
Collaborate with other senior clinical team members to make sure that all team members have an opportunity to contribute to discussions and that they understand and accept the decisions taken.
Encourage team members to co-operate and communicate effectively with each other.
Collaborate with other senior clinical team members to make sure that each patient's care is properly coordinated and managed, and that patients are given information about whom to contact if they have questions or concerns; this is particularly important when patient care is shared between teams.
Collaborate with other senior clinical team members to set up and maintain systems to identify and manage risks in the team's area of responsibility.
Collaborate with other senior clinical team members to monitor and regularly review the team's performance and take steps to correct deficiencies and improve quality.
Collaborate with other senior clinical team members to deal openly and supportively with problems in the conduct, performance, or health of team members through trust procedures.
Collaborate with other senior clinical team members to make sure that your team and the organisation have the opportunity to gain experience from mistakes.
Provide cross cover for planned leave with the other medical staff.
Respect the skills and contributions of team colleagues; not making unfounded criticisms of colleagues, which can undermine patients' trust in the care provided.
Participation in business planning for the locality and, as appropriate, contribution to the broader strategic and planning work of the trust.
Prioritise clinical governance initiatives within his/her areas of responsibility.
To undertake the administrative duties associated with the care of patients.
To record clinical activity accurately and comprehensively and submit this promptly to the Information Department.
To participate in service and business planning activity for the locality and, as appropriate, for the whole mental health service.
To participate in annual appraisal for consultants.
To attend and participate in the academic programme of the Trust, including lectures and seminars as part of the internal CPD programme.
To maintain professional registration with the General Medical Council, Mental Health Act Section 12(2) approval, and to abide by professional codes of conduct.
To participate annually in a job plan review with the clinical manager, which will include consultation with a relevant manager to ensure that the post is developed to consider changes in service configuration and delivery associated with modernisation.
To collaborate with local managers and professional colleagues in ensuring the efficient running of services and share with consultant colleagues in the medical contribution to management.
To comply with the Trust's agreed policies, procedures, standing orders, and financial instructions, and to take an active role in the financial management of the service and support the medical director and other managers in preparing plans for services.
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Person specification
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Qualifications
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Essential
Medical Degree and Royal College membership, or equivalent.
Full GMC Registration with a license to practice at time of applying.
Entry on the GMC Specialist Register via CCT
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Experience
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Essential
Depth and breadth of clinical experience
Experience in a special interest that will complement those existing in the department.
Provide high quality care.
Provide dedicated non-residential on-call cover (with internal cover).
Competent to work without direct supervision where appropriate.
Clear, logical thinking showing an analytical/scientific approach.
Ability to lead and develop the service.
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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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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.
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.
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UK Professional Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website.
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For help with your application, contact:
Michelle Butterworth
[email protected]
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Pay scheme
Hospital Medical and Dental
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Band
Consultant
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Salary
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£109725.00 to £145478.00 Yearly
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Contract
Permanent
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Working pattern
Full-Time
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Reference number
184-OL-MED-FAM-3324
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Job locations
Broadway House
Broadway Park
Bridgwater
Somerset
TA6 5LX
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