Job Advert
Specialty Doctor in Psychiatry of Old Age
Murray Royal Hospital, Perth
Introduction
We seek an enthusiastic and committed individual to work within Perth and Kinross Health and Social Care Partnership’s psychiatry of old age service.
Perth and Kinross is an area of central Scotland renowned for its natural beauty and excellent transport links, with Edinburgh and Glasgow both just an hour away. It is an area of approximately 2000 square miles with Perth as the main centre and several market towns such as Kinross, Auchterarder, Crieff, Aberfeldy, Pitlochry and Blairgowrie all 20-30 miles away. Perth and Kinross has one of the largest populations of elderly people in Scotland and there is a mixture of all levels of socio-economic class and deprivation. The post is based at Murray Royal Hospital, Perth.
This 6.5 session post is based at Murray Royal Hospital and currently includes:
· Inpatients in Leven Ward, our old age psychiatry functional ward at Murray Royal Hospital (3 DCCs). The ward has 14 beds in total and would be shared between the post holder and the supervising consultant psychiatrist.
· ECT deputy (1 DCC). This involves provision of ECT twice weekly in the Murray Royal Hospital ECT suite, which is SEAN accredited with excellence. Cover for absence is provided by the ECT lead. Post holder would be expected to routinely cover 1 of the two ECT days per week.
· Outpatients in the Kinross/Carse of Gowrie area (1.0 DCC); this would involve a weekly MDT meeting, a fortnightly outpatient clinic held at Murray Royal Hospital and home visits as required. Again this is shared with the supervising consultant psychiatrist.
· 1.5 SPA, including 1 SPA for appraisal and revalidation and 0.5 SPA for other activities selected by the successful candidate, which may include medical education, research, management, etc.
Prospective candidates who feel their skills lie in other areas of the service can be reassured that the current consultant group are willing to be flexible within the job planning process and a change of duties could be negotiated prior to acceptance of the post. We welcome applications from individuals wishing to work more or fewer sessions than advertised. The department has an excellent track record of supporting medical staff with health problems.
Service Ethos
The Perth and Kinross psychiatry of old age service has a long history of excellent multi-disciplinary working with good relationships already established with primary care and medicine for the elderly. Health and social care integration will allow us to extend this to our partners in social work and other partnership organisations, such as the voluntary sector. Our aim is to support older people with mental health conditions and their families and carers at or close to home for as long as is appropriate so that they can remain active and valued members of their local community. The psychiatry of old age service aims to provide an inclusive, supportive work environment where all members of the teams involved in planning, delivering and assessing care feel valued.
Service Description
Perth and Kinross has approximately 151,910 residents, of whom approximately 36,317 are over the age of 65, and just over 16,848 of whom are over the age of 75. Integration of Health and Social Care has created three localities: Perth City, North Perthshire and South Perthshire. A detailed breakdown of the old age population in Perth and Kinross can be found in the National Records of Scotland website.
The new build Murray Royal Hospital opened in 2012 and is the base for all the old age psychiatrists, which enhances good communication, peer support and cross cover. It is also the base for the Perth City and South-East Perthshire’s Older Peoples CMHTs and all the psychiatry of old age acute assessment inpatient wards.
All parts of the service have adopted multi-disciplinary working and have access to occupational therapy, physiotherapy, dietetics, pharmacy, speech and language therapy, clinical psychology, social work and mental health officers. The care home liaison service consists of locality-based teams of nurses and support workers and is supported by their locality old age psychiatrist. All community areas have a nurse-led memory clinic.
Our wards consist of:
· Leven Ward, a 14-bedded functional old age psychiatry ward
· Tummel Ward, a 12 bedded dementia assessment ward
· Garry Ward, a 12 bedded dementia assessment ward
Each ward has a designated consultant, junior medical staff, an experienced cohort of nursing staff, occupational therapy, physiotherapy, clinical psychology and social work input. The wards are also supported by the medicine for the elderly service with weekly input by a consultant physician. The inpatient units have dedicated social work input which has markedly improved flow and capacity.
Our service welcomes new referrals for any patients aged over 65 years, patients with suspected dementia aged over 55 years plus patients of any age with a confirmed dementia diagnosis are welcomed. The tertiary cognitive neuroscience clinic based at Ninewells Hospital, Dundee, welcomes referrals of complex and/or younger patients with suspected dementia. Transitions from general adult psychiatry and forensic psychiatry to old age psychiatry are agreed between departments in order to best serve the needs of the patient.
There are three clinical psychologists for over 65s and trainee psychologists are regularly on placement within the department. The psychology service for older adults provides a variety of psychological therapies, neuropsychological testing and works in collaboration with the psychiatry of old age service. Most patients requiring psychological therapies will be managed within our psychology department but we also have access to the Multidisciplinary Adult Psychotherapy Service, who will assess and treat older people upon request.
The psychiatry of old age multi-disciplinary liaison service is located within Perth Royal Infirmary, a district general hospital with 261 beds. We have an excellent relationship with medicine for the elderly, who also provide a liaison service to our inpatients at Murray Royal; Dr John Harper, consultant physician, reviews patients in our wards once weekly and provides advice between visits.
Perth and Kinross ECT Service is based at Murray Royal Hospital. It is Scottish ECT Accreditation Network (SEAN) Accredited with Excellence. Medical responsibility for ECT is provided by psychiatry of old age.
Residents in Perth and Kinross can be supported at home by local authority care providers and a number of voluntary and private care organisations. Sheltered and very sheltered housing options are available throughout the region. Across Perth and Kinross there are 41 care homes offering residential, nursing and specialist dementia care and expertise. There is no day hospital provision within the psychiatry of old age service but day opportunities are available across Perth and Kinross, delivered by the local authority and voluntary organisations. Voluntary agencies are active in Perth and Kinross; Crossroads, Perth and Kinross Association of Voluntary Service (PKAVS), Royal Voluntary Service, Princes Royal Carers Trust and Alzheimer Scotland being amongst those most involved.
The post holder will be employed by NHS Tayside but managed within the Perth and Kinross Health and Social Care Partnership. Their professional line manager will be the Associate Medical Director for Older People Services. Old Age Psychiatry is managed under Older People Services, not Adult Mental Health.
Medical Staff
The senior medical staff are friendly, supportive and get on well. We meet weekly to discuss clinical and management issues and have an equal say in issues that affect the group. The department has an excellent track record of supporting medical staff with disabilities and health conditions. Dr Mhairi Hepburn is involved in Doctors' Support Network, Tea and Empathy and Association of Neurodivergent Doctors. Access to Work applications are very much encouraged when required.
The department is supported by a core psychiatry trainee, a GP speciality trainee and a foundation year 1. Higher Specialist Trainees rotate into the Perth and Kinross service and are allocated a trainer dependant on their training needs; we would normally have 0-2 HSTs at any time. Responsibility for clinical and educational supervision of the trainees is shared by the consultant group.
All administrative and clerical staff who support the senior medical staff are based together in the psychiatry of old age hub at Murray Royal Hospital with each whole-time equivalent consultant having access to 0.5 whole time equivalent secretarial support. The post holder will be supported by the supervising consultant’s secretary.
The post holder will be sharing their office with their HST colleagues based in POA and GAP services and will be provided with the appropriate IT facilities including remote IT access.
Supporting Professional Activities- Opportunities
Responsibility for the Clinical Lead for Psychiatry of Old Age role currently lies with Dr Mhairi Hepburn, although decisions that affect the consultants are made jointly between all involved. The other consultants have the opportunity to take on circumscribed management roles and tasks depending on their interests and skills. We are encouraged to participate in the locality service development meetings. The post holder will be encouraged to participate in Audit, Clinical Governance and Service Development activities. Audit is supported by the department and a consultant old age psychiatrist colleague in Angus co-ordinates audit activity in psychiatry of old age across NHS Tayside.
During the academic year there are at present two 4th year medical students from the University of Dundee on clinical attachment within the psychiatry of old age service. Final year medical students can also elect to undertake a “Dementia in Depth” Special Study Component over a 4-week period. The medical school at the University of Dundee runs a 4-week psychiatry teaching block during 3rd year; medical staff are encouraged to volunteer to provide tutorials, practical sessions and lectures. Appropriate support is provided for those who would like to teach but lack experience and/or confidence. In addition, there are many other medical education opportunities available at the University of Dundee such as student support, OSCE examinations and admissions interviews.
There is an online weekly postgraduate teaching programme, which provides CPD for trainees, speciality doctors and consultants. Murray Royal Hospital has excellent library facilities.
There are a number of peer groups available locally. The successful candidate would also be encouraged to identify and engage with a mentor, to join a peer group, and to look at personal development opportunities. The post has the facility to support CESR applications and you will be linked up with the Educational Supervisor for SAS Doctors in order to offer guidance with the CESR process. We offer the flexibility to change work patterns and areas to ensure that CESR competencies are achieved in a timeous manner. The department also has strong links with the Medical Psychotherapy Department in Tayside and you can be supported to take up psychotherapy cases under supervision of a Consultant Psychotherapist, should this be required for the CESR application.
The Psychiatry of Old Age Service has a long history of promoting and engaging in research as well as publications. There is easy access to the Psychiatry of Old Age Research Unit at the University of Dundee. NHS Research Scotland’s Neuroprogressive and Dementia Network is based at Ninewells Hospital but maintains an strong link with Murray Royal Hospital. There are many opportunities to engage patients and their families in research. Flexible opportunities for research are offered depending on the interest of the successful candidate.
Closing date: 14th January 2022
Interviews are provisionally scheduled for w/c 24th January 2022
NHS Tayside is committed to equality & diversity and welcomes applicants from all sections of the community.