Consultant Psychiatrist - Assertive Outreach Team Oxford

• Provide clinical leadership and medical input to the team in delivering responsive, effective and inclusive mental health community services to the designated catchment area.
• Provision of evidence-based bio-psychosocial interventions to promote recovery and social inclusion, including integrative working with external agencies to ensure community engagement.
• Responsibility for those patients seen by himself/herself, together with those patients seen by medical staff directly supervised by them.
• Provide expert assessments informed by evidence for referred individuals with severe and enduring mental health difficulties and complex needs.
• Have responsibility for the clinical governance of the team as one of the clinical leads for the team.
• Actively liaise with other mental health teams to ensure continuity of care and appropriate information sharing.
• Provide RC responsibility for outpatients under the provisions of the MHA.
• Communicate and liaise with patients, families, relatives, carers and any other agencies as appropriate.
• Play an active role in training for team members as well as in the programme and wider Trust, including teaching medical students, Resident doctors and members of the MDT.

• Person-Centred and Recovery-Focused Practice:We work alongside individuals to identify and achieve their personal goals, strengths, and aspirations. Recovery is defined by the person, not by services, and interventions are tailored to individual needs, preferences, and circumstances.
• Assertive Engagement:We proactively engage people who experience severe mental illness and who have difficulty maintaining contact with conventional services. Engagement is persistent, respectful, flexible, and based on building trusting therapeutic relationships over time.
• Community-Based Care:Care is mostly delivered in community settings where people live, work, and socialise. Staff meet people in environments that are comfortable and accessible to them, reducing barriers to engagement.
• Trauma-Informed Practice:We recognise the prevalence and impact of trauma and seek to create emotionally and physically safe interactions. Staff work collaboratively to avoid re-traumatisation and aim to promote empowerment, choice, and trust.
• Relational Practice:Therapeutic relationships are the primary vehicle for change. We prioritise consistency, reliability, compassion, and authenticity in all contacts with service users, carers, and partner agencies.
• Shared Decision-Making:People are supported to make informed decisions about their care and treatment wherever possible. Care planning is collaborative and respects autonomy, rights, and individual preferences. People under treatment are enabled through our patient reported outcome measures systems to give systematic feedback regarding their care.
• Strengths-Based Approach:We focus on people's capabilities, resilience, and community resources rather than solely on symptoms, deficits, or risks. We support individuals to build independence and social inclusion.
• Whole-Person Care:Mental health needs are addressed alongside physical health, housing, employment, finances, substance use, learning disabilities/autism, anti-social behaviours, social networks, and other determinants of wellbeing. We recognise that recovery requires more than symptom management.
• Risk Management Through Engagement:Risk is best understood and managed through meaningful relationships, regular contact, and collaborative planning and formulation. We balance positive risk-taking with the need to promote safety for our service users and members of the public.
• Multi-Disciplinary Team working:The team brings together diverse professional expertise to provide coordinated, holistic care. Decisions are informed by multiple perspectives and shared responsibility.
• Health Equity and Inclusion:We actively address barriers related to ethnicity, culture, language, disability, gender, sexuality, age, homelessness, and social disadvantage. Services are delivered in a way that promotes fairness and accessibility.
• Partnership Working:We work closely with primary care, acute services, social care, housing providers, voluntary organisations, criminal justice agencies, carers, and families to support recovery and continuity of care.
• Evidence-Based Practice:Interventions are informed by current evidence, national guidance, and continuous quality improvement. Staff are encouraged to develop specialist skills and contribute to service innovation.
• Flexible and Responsive Care:Support is adapted to changing needs and circumstances. The team responds rapidly to periods of increased vulnerability while maintaining continuity during periods of stability.
• Co-Production: People with lived experience, carers, and community partners contribute to the design, delivery, and evaluation of the service. Their expertise is valued equally alongside professional knowledge.

Essential

• Medical degree
• Fully registered with the General Medical Council
• Eligible for inclusion in the GMC Specialist Register (or Specialist Registrar within 6 months of gaining CCT at time of interview).
• Membership or Fellowship of the Royal College of Psychiatrists or equivalent qualification (in accordance with Royal College of Psychiatrists guidelines)
• Eligible for Section 12 Approval (Mental Health Act)/ Approved Clinician or willing to apply for such approval once in post.

Essential

• Experience of clinical work in specialty at SpR, SAS/Specialist grade or consultant level within the last 3 years
• Excellent working knowledge and experience of the application of the Mental Health Act
• Appreciation and understanding of ethnic minority issues and a commitment to developing culturally sensitive practices
• Understanding of social factors relevant to psychiatry

Essential

• Experience in teaching resident doctors
• Good teaching and communication skills
• Experience of teaching medical undergraduates and postgraduates
• Experience of teaching non-medical mental health professionals