Locum Consultant Psychiatrist

Overview

Go back South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust

The closing date is 12 February 2026

To provide consultant care for Spring ward. Spring ward is a 15-bed, female medium secure ward based in River House, on the Bethlem Royal Hospital site. It is part of the female secure pathway within the SLP (South London Partnership). The service provides care for female service users who are over 18, with a variety of mental disorders, who pose a significant risk of violence.

It caters for both acute and rehabilitation needs. It has a seclusion room. The ward is the only female, forensic inpatient ward in River House.

• Chairing of weekly ward rounds, CPAs, and HCR-20 risk formulation meetings.
• Preparation of reports and attendance at Managers hearings and Mental Health Review Tribunals.
• Preparation of reports and applications to the Ministry of Justice for the purposes of requesting leave, requesting transfer, and providing requested summaries of patient progress.
• Participation and contribution to service audit and evaluation. Engaging in research activities in keeping with the aims of the Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Science Department of the IoPPN.
• Attendance at Reflective Group Practice once per fortnight.
• Annual leave will be agreed the AMDs and communicated promptly to the multidisciplinary team leader and senior clinical nurse. The post-holder will negotiate cross-cover arrangements with the other forensic consultant colleagues.

The Trust is committed to improving the work experience of all employees under 'Making SLaMa Great Place to Work'. There are different streams of work being developed to address different aspects of this as well as work to improve the consultant experience led by the Medical Director and open to interested consultants. This work includes making an explicit offer to Start Well Consultants and also considering the needs of consultants long-term with professional development opportunities as well as addressing the need to have flexibility in how they work while prioritising the needs of the patients under our care.

Clinical interfaces

Spring ward interfaces with other female secure NHS wards across south London; medium and low secure units run by the private sector; inpatient general acute services; psychiatric intensive care units (PICUs); forensic and general adult community mental health teams; prisons and high secure hospitals.

Therapeutic interventions

The ward is staffed by a full multidisciplinary team, including 0.8 Consultant Psychiatrist, a part-time Specialty Doctor (6 PAs) and a forensics senior trainee (ST), together with the ward manager, two deputy team leaders, nursing team, occupational therapist, psychology and pharmacy support and a full-time administrator. The unit is also supported by the Bethlem Hospital float doctor as required in hours and the on-call doctor out of hours.

Relational security is the main focus for violence reduction. HCR-20 risk assessments are completed by the team every 6 months.

The team benefits from regular psychology, nursing, and medical student input. The length of stay is very variable, with an average of 18 months.

• Experience of forensic service

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.

South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust