Consultant Psychiatrist in Croydon Community

Job summary
Consultant Psychiatrist working across Croydon Primary Care Support Service and Croydon North Assessment & Liaison Service

Main duties of the job
This is a combined role with 6 PAs in Croydon Primary Care Support Service and 4 PAs in Croydon North Assessment & Liaison Team

About us
SLaM provides the widest range of NHS mental health services in the UK and aim to be a leader in improving health and wellbeing: locally, nationally and globally.

Our 4,600 staff serve 1.3 million people across four South London Boroughs: Croydon, Lambeth, Lewisham and Southwark. We also work closely with the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience (IoPPN) at King's College London (KCL), and are supported by the Maudsley Charity which can be traced back to 1247.

We provide over 50 specialist services for children and adults across the UK, including perinatal, eating disorders, psychosis, autism and addiction services. We also have a number of partnerships with clinical services and educational programmes in Europe, the Middle East and China.

Details
Date posted: 18 September 2026
Pay scheme: Hospital medical and dental staff
Grade: Consultant
Salary: Depending on experience
£113,565 - £150,569 per annum pro rata
Contract: Fixed term
Duration: 12 months
Working pattern: Part-time
Reference number: 334-CRY-8261174-BJ- A
Job locations: Jeanette Wallace House, 1 Edridge Road, Croydon, CR0 1ER, United Kingdom

Job responsibilities
This is a replacement post across two services:

• Croydon Primary Care Mental Health Support Service (PCMHSS)
• Croydon Central Assessment and Liaison (A&L) team

The post has become available as the post-holder in PCMHSS is on long term sick leave and the post-holder in Central A & L has commenced working part-time.

PCMHSS : This supports patients aged 18-65 years by providing supported transitions, either whilst transferring back to primary care or whilst undergoing longer term stabilization in secondary care with the goal of eventually discharging to primary care.

Croydon North A & L team: This is one of three distinct A & L teams, each providing a service for people aged 18-65 who live in the North, Centre and South of the London Borough of Croydon respectively. They are short-term services that provides mental health assessment and treatment to service users who are experiencing moderate to severe mental health difficulties within the community.They provide advice on the best treatment and care options available for mental disorders including anxiety, depression, psychosis and personality disorder.

Croydon Primary Care Mental Health Support Service
The post holder (0.5 WTE) will be one of 3 (2.0 WTE) Consultant Psychiatrists within the Croydon MH Primary Care Support Service. The team is based at Jeanette Wallace House (JWH), 1 Edridge Road, Croydon CR0 1FE. The service incorporates principles of recovery at the centre of their work with service users and carers. The key element of the recovery journey is empowering and supporting a person to build a meaningful life as defined by themselves, with a focus on hope for the future, as well as their health, wellbeing, strengths and empowerment.

PCMHSS supports service users in this journey of recovery by moving away from a focus on pathology, illness and symptoms; by encouraging opportunities for personal empowerment; and by supporting social inclusion. Many of our patients have been pharmacologically stabilized on advanced treatments, and the team establishment includes a senior pharmacist who is a non-medical prescriber.

JWH is a modern, spacious and light 8 floor purpose-built office suite with a mix of private and open plan spaces. The building has clinical rooms and assessment rooms on the ground floor which can be booked by all staff members. We share the building with other Community Mental Health Teams (CMHTs) in Croydon as well as other services like Croydon Talking Therapies, the Croydon AMHP service and Medical HR. The post-holder will have an allocated office on the first floor and access to a PC or docking station, a laptop for remote working, and a mobile phone. There are excellent transport links in the area, as well as a PCN car park across the road, and substantive employees will be able to have a Croydon Carers parking permit to allow for community working/home visits when this is required.

The team has close working relationships with Croydon CMHTs and Mental Health Crisis Services. It also works closely with the community addictions provider Change Grow Live (CGL), GPs, non-statutory providers like the Croydon Health & Wellbeing Hub and the Croydon Recovery Space, as well as the Local Authority.

The team provides a service Monday to Friday between the hours of 9 am and 5 pm (excluding bank holidays). There is an excellent focus on reflective practice, monthly sessions being open to all staff members.

Main duties of post
In collaboration with senior colleagues, the post-holder is expected to provide clinical, operational and strategic leadership to PCMHSS. As part of the leadership team, the post-holder is expected to work proactively with managers and clinical staff to ensure that a high-quality service is provided to all patients. The job description/duties listed below are not exhaustive and may need to be reviewed in line with the evolving needs of the team as these arise.

Clinical responsibilities

• Assess/ review patients and agree joint management plans with medical, pharmacy and nursing staff.
• Review the safety and effectiveness of complex and/or novel psychopharmacological treatment regimes in patients with severe mental illnesses affective disorders.
• Develop close working links with locality CMHTs, primary care networks, general practitioners, community pharmacists and consultant colleagues in order to facilitate efficient and effective clinical communication, as well as stabilization and discharge pathways.
• Attend inter-agency multidisciplinary team meetings to contribute to clinical decisions and care plans e.g., for relapsing patients.
• Be available to advise/supervise team members with their assessments and caseloads.
• Ensure excellence in the provision of psychiatric assessments and evidence-based treatments to all referred patients to the service, including the Trusts risk assessment protocols.
• Contribute to the training and support of medical and nursing staff in the delivery of psychiatric aspects of patient care.
• Fulfil Responsibilities as a Psychiatrist approved under Section 12 of the Mental Health Act 1983
• Establish a reliable and accessible work schedule with the team.
• Ensure appropriate administration and documentation in relation to the duties of the post, including recording clinical activities on the Trusts Electronic Patient Journey System (ePJS).

Croydon Central Assessment & Liaison team
The post holder (0.4 WTE) will be one of two Consultant Psychiatrists (1.0 WTE) within the Central Assessment and Liaison Team. The three Croydon Assessment and Liaison teams are based at Jeanette Wallace House (JWH), Croydon and each team works with individuals for up to 12 weeks whilst providing a holistic package of care in collaboration with local care networks. The team of health and social care professionals is multidisciplinary including doctors, nurses, social workers, occupational therapists, and psychologists. We also work closely with service users, and their carers, local organizations including social services and mental health charities, Primary Care Networks and GPs.

The team has close working relationships with Croydon CMHTs and Mental Health Crisis Services. It also works closely with the community addictions provider Change Grow Live (CGL), Primary Care, non-statutory providers like the Croydon Health & Wellbeing Hub and the Croydon Recovery Space, as well as the Local Authority.

The Central Assessment and Liaison team received 1660 referrals between January and December 2024 and has a current caseload of 172 patients. The team receive referrals from a range of services including HTT, Croydon Liaison Psychiatry, social care and Croydon GPs. The service has a 28-day target in which all referrals accepted for assessment are to be seen within 28 days of receipt of referral.

All referrals are screened on the day of receipt by the Duty Mental Health Practitioner. Referrals which require further discussion are brought to the daily Multidisciplinary Team (MDT) meetings where a decision is made as to whether the patient requires assessment by the A & L team. Referrals are accepted and managed in accordance with the NICE four stage stepped care model for mood and anxiety disorders (NICE 2011). This ensures that for non-urgent referrals, recommended interventions have been tried within primary care before a referral is made to A & L services. Patients accepted for assessment will usually be offered a Telephone Triage call and risk screen followed by a face-to-face practitioner assessment or a medical assessment (depending on clinical needs and risks). Referrals are categorized by the MDT as Crisis (contact within 24 hours), urgent (contact within 7 days) or routine (contact within 28days).

The team provides a service Monday to Friday between the hours of 9 am -5 pm (excluding bank holidays). There is an excellent focus on reflective practice, monthly sessions are open to all staff members.

Main duties of post
In collaboration with senior colleagues, the post-holder is expected to provide clinical, operational and strategic leadership to the Croydon Central Assessment and Liaison Team. As part of the leadership team, the post-holder is expected to work proactively with managers and clinical staff to ensure that a high-quality service is provided to all patients. The job description/duties listed below are not exhaustive and may need to be reviewed in line with the evolving needs of the team as these arise.

Clinical responsibilities

• Assess/ review complex patients and agree joint management plans with medical and nursing staff
• Attend inter-agency multidisciplinary team meetings to contribute to clinical decisions and care plans e.g., for high frequency users of services
• Be available to advise/supervise team members with their assessments and caseloads
• Ensure excellence in the provision of psychiatric assessments and evidence-based treatments to all referred patients to the service, including the Trusts risk assessment protocols
• Contribute to the training and support of medical and nursing staff in the delivery of psychiatric aspects of patient care
• Fulfil Responsibilities as a Psychiatrist approved under Section 12 of the Mental Health Act 1983
• Develop close working links with general practitioners, consultant colleagues and clinical teams in order to facilitate efficient and effective clinical communication and care pathways
• Establish a reliable and accessible work schedule with the team
• Ensure appropriate administration and documentation in relation to the duties of the post, including recording clinical activities on the Trusts Electronic Patient Journey System (ePJS)

Person Specification
Essential

• At least 5 years consultant experience in community psychiatry

Desirable

• Experience of leading service transformation

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.

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 (Opens in a new tab).

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 (Opens in a new tab).

UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).

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.
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 (Opens in a new tab).
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 (Opens in a new tab).
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).