Consultant Liaison Psychiatrist Older People | Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust

Join a compassionate and forward-looking Liaison Psychiatry Service at Peterborough City Hospital, where you will play a key role in improving care for older adults with complex mental and physical health needs. This substantive part-time Consultant post (3 sessions) offers the opportunity to provide expert assessment, diagnosis, and evidence-based treatment for patients aged 65 and over within a busy general hospital setting. You will work alongside experienced colleagues in a supportive multidisciplinary team and contribute to high-quality, integrated care across organisations. The role also includes cross-cover for Old Age Consultant colleagues at Hinchingbrooke Hospital, offering valuable variety and wider system working. There is flexibility to shape the post around the successful applicant’s skills, experience, and interests, making this an excellent opportunity to build a rewarding and sustainable portfolio career. There may also be scope to increase sessions in the future.

• To provide clinical leadership to the Liaison Psychiatry Service focussed on the assessment, diagnosis and evidence-based treatment of patients with psychiatric and psychological co-morbidity in the general hospital.
• To work collaboratively with CPFT and NWAFT colleagues to ensure high quality, integrated care for patients
• To work with CPFT and NWAFT to achieve agreed performance targets including the collection and monitoring of clinical outcome data across the service for service development and commissioning purposes.
• Participate in clinical audit as relevant to service needs
• To work in accordance with Trust and service policies and guidelines.
• To lead a programme for the training and support of staff in NWAFT.
• To provide clinical supervision for post graduate psychiatry trainees, foundation doctors, and GP trainees.
• To engage in teaching and supervising of Cambridge university psychiatry medical students on placement in LPS
• To maintain CPD activities.
• To support the broader CPFT research endeavour where possible.
• The post-holder will ensure that they are in good medical standing for CPD, that their practice is up-to-date and in line with the GMCs Good Medical Practice Guidelines and will be able to evidence this for the purposes of annual appraisal.

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust is a health and social care organisation dedicated to providing high-quality care with compassion to improve the health and wellbeing of the people we care for, as well as supporting and empowering them to lead a fulfilling life.

Our clinical teams deliver many NHS services, not only via inpatient and primary care settings, but also within the community. These services include children's, adult and older people's mental health, forensic and specialist mental health, learning disabilities, primary care and liaison psychiatry, substance misuse, social care, research and development.

To achieve our goal, we look to recruit high-calibre candidates who share our vision and values. As an equal opportunities employer, we encourage applications from all sectors of the community, particularly from under-represented groups including people with long term conditions and members of our ethnic minority and LGBTQ+ communities.

Please be advised we reserve the right to close adverts earlier than the closing date should we receive sufficient applications.

Regrettably, we cannot offer sponsorship for all our job roles. If you apply for a role that we cannot offer sponsorship for, unfortunately, your application form will be rejected from the process.

For further information on CPFT, please visit our website at www.cpft.nhs.uk

Key Clinical Responsibilities

Clinical

• Along with LPS colleagues, to provide a Liaison Psychiatry Service focussed on the assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of older adults with psychiatric and psychological co-morbidity in the general hospital.
• To take a lead in providing teaching and support to acute hospital colleagues.
• To make accurate diagnostic formulations and record these in the notes.
• To deliver evidence-based treatments.
• To liaise with statutory and non-statutory sector agencies concerning the treatment and management of patients.
• To maintain accurate and up to date clinical records.
• To work closely with other consultants to provide appropriate Consultant cover across sites for weekday daytime, 9 am to 5 pm and for periods of annual/study/special leave.
• With the broader team, to ensure that the service is run in an efficient and cost-effective manner whilst adhering to high quality, evidence-based practice.
• To contribute to the teaching, training and mentoring of any junior medical staff and, where appropriate, of other team members.
• To support audit, research, and service development.
• The post-holder will ensure that they are in good medical standing for CPD, that their practice is up-to-date and in line with the GMCs Good Medical Practice Guidelines and will be able to evidence this for the purposes of annual appraisal. The post-holder will ensure that they are in good medical standing for CPD and that their practice is up-to-date and in line with the GMCs Good Medical Practice Guidelines and best practice guidelines. Participate in clinical audit.

Administration

• Work with the clinical and management team to achieve the key performance indicators set for the service.
• Contribute to the collection and monitoring of clinical outcome data.
• Participate in the administration of patient information systems and ensure that data are entered in accordance with CPFT policies and guidance.

Cross-cover

• To provide cross-cover for the old age consultant liaison psychiatrist in Hinchingbrooke Hospital during periods of leave in collaboration with the other consultant in PCH LPS. On days when two consultants are available it is expected that one consultant will be based at each site (PCH and HH). When only one consultant is available, they should take stock of the caseload, nursing cover and resident doctor availability and base themselves at the most appropriate site and provide telephone advice to the other, recognising there may be a need to travel between sites within the day.

SPA time

• This post incorporates SPA time in line with NHSE job planning guidance (0.75 DCC to 0.25 SPA). On occasion, the needs of the service may require the consultant to be on site and working clinically at times that might otherwise be used for off-site SPA work. For example, Old Age LPS consultant leave is mutually dependent on SPA time being given up to provide cross cover for each other.

Management

• Work with clinical colleagues, the Service Manager and Directorate Leadership team to ensure that the service works in an efficient and cost-effective manner whilst delivering high quality, evidence-based care.
• Work in accordance with the team’s Service Operating Policy
• Work in accordance with CPFT policies and guidelines

Teaching/Training

• To contribute to the teaching, training, and mentoring of any junior medical staff and, where appropriate, of other team members. It is expected that the consultant will be on site for handover and supervision of resident doctors in all but exceptional circumstances.
• To contribute to broader teaching initiatives where possible e.g., medical undergraduates, MRCPsych, etc.

Research

• The post-holder is expected, with colleagues in Psychological Medicine to support the broader CPFT research endeavour. CPFT offers unrivalled opportunities for research and for collaboration with University Departments and MRC Units. A wide range of research is currently conducted by the University Department of Psychiatry and by NHS staff

Clinical Governance

• The post-holder will be aware of, and act within, locally and nationally agreed protocols and will be actively involved in clinical governance within the service.
• The post-holder will ensure any issues of concern are appropriately escalated and that any incidents are appropriately reported

Accountability

• The post holder will be accountable to Clinical Director for Adult and Specialist Services. Professional accountability is to the Trust Board through the Trust Medical Director.

Job Planning & Appraisal

• Job Plans are reviewed with the LPS Clinical Lead, Job Planning Lead and Associate Clinical Director.
• Consultants are required to take part in the annual appraisal process under the supervision of the Medical Director. Consultants are also encouraged to arrange a suitable mentor.

On-call

• All consultants, unless there are health reasons or exceptional circumstances, are required to contribute to the rota. Two consultant rotas are in operation: North and South. They are both approximately 1 in 22 WTE. Consultants undertaking their first appointment may discuss with the Clinical Director regrading a phased lead in to on call commitments.

This advert closes on Tuesday 30 Jun 2026