Consultant Forensic Psychiatrist - Rathbone Low Secure Unit | Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust
| Posting date: | 18 September 2025 |
|---|---|
| Salary: | Not specified |
| Additional salary information: | £109,725 - £145,478 per annum plus 10% R&R (non contractual) and on call |
| Hours: | Full time |
| Closing date: | 18 October 2025 |
| Location: | Liverpool, L13 4AW |
| Company: | Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust |
| Job type: | Permanent |
| Job reference: | 7493426/350-MED6318785-B |
Summary
Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust is seeking to appoint a Consultant Forensic Psychiatristto join the team atRathbone Low Secure Unitin Liverpool. This is a full-time, permanent position, arising due to the retirement of the current post holder.
About the Service
Rathbone Low Secure Unit provides specialist forensic mental health care for detained male patients with mental disorders who present a significant risk to others and require treatment in a secure setting. The service comprises 32 beds across two wards, serving a population of approximately 330,000 across North and South Liverpool, South Sefton (up to Southport), and part of Kirkby. It forms a key part of the secure services pathway within Mersey Care.
The Role
The successful candidate will:
• Join a well-established multidisciplinary team (MDT) with strong medical support.
• Work alongside a substantive consultant colleague, each managing 16 inpatients.
• Be supported by a full-time substantive staff grade doctor, a core trainee, and a full-time Physician Associate.
• Maintain clinical responsibility for patients throughout their journey within the unit
The post holder will act as Responsible Clinician within a multidisciplinary team. They will lead on the management of a caseload of 16 male inpatients. This will include preadmission planning, MDT meetings, CPA reviews and discharge planning. The post will require liaison with other agencies, including the Ministry of Justice, police, probation, social care and other mental health services. They will exercise statutory responsibilities for patients detained under Restriction Orders, including completing statutory reports to the Ministry of Justice. For both non-restricted and restricted patients under their care they will be responsible for providing reports regarding Consent to Treatment and providing reports to, and attending, Tribunals and Managers’ Reviews.
The post holder will lead on the assessment of individuals referred for admission from a variety of sources including other secure services, general adult services, courts or prisons. . These are discussed at the weekly referral meeting. The postholder will participate in the panel meetings which are also held weekly and review referrals for admission to low secure and forensic step-down beds across the Merseyside and Cheshire region.
The post holder will be expected to participate in the management of the service and attend clinical team meetings and other service-related meetings as appropriate. They will also provide supervision to the junior doctors and / or Physician Associate working in the service.
Mersey Care is one of the largest trusts providing physical health and mental health services in the North West, serving more than 1.4 million people across our region and are also commissioned for services that cover the North West, North Wales and the Midlands.
We offer specialist inpatient and community services that support physical and mental health and specialist inpatient mental health, learning disability, addiction and brain injury services. Mersey Care is one of only three trusts in the UK that offer high secure mental health facilities.
At the heart of all we do is our commitment to ‘perfect care’ – care that is safe, effective, positively experienced, timely, equitable and efficient. We support our staff to do the best job they can and work alongside service users, their families, and carers to design and develop future services together. We’re currently delivering a programme of organisational and service transformation to significantly improve the quality of the services we provide and safely reduce cost as we do so.
Flexible working requests will be considered for all roles.
The post holder will manage the care and treatment of 16 male in-patients within the LSU. This will include patients across both wards (Allerton and Childwall).This will include preadmission planning, MDT meetings, CPA reviews and discharge planning. The post will require liaison with other agencies, including the Ministry of Justice, police, probation, social care, and other mental health services.
The post holder will be lead on the assessment of individuals referred for admission from a variety of sources including other secure services, general adult services, courts, or prisons. The service on average receives 2-3 referrals for assessment for admission a month.
The post holder will exercise statutory responsibilities as a Responsible Clinician within the meaning of the Mental Health Act 1983 (Amended 2007) for patients detained under Restriction Orders, including completing statutory reports to the Ministry of Justice. For both non-restricted and restricted patients under his/her care he/she will be responsible for providing reports regarding Consent to Treatment and providing reports to, and attending, Tribunals and Managers’ Reviews. The postholder will be expected to be approved under Section 12(2) of the Mental Health Act 1983 for the purposes of recommending admission to hospital and be an Approved Clinician.
The post holder will be expected to participate in the management of the service and attend clinical team meetings and other service-related meetings as appropriate.
PLEASE SEE JOB DESCRIPTION FOR FULL DETAILS ON THE ROLE
This advert closes on Sunday 19 Oct 2025