DESCRIPTION OF PLACEMENT:
The placement is linked to inpatient and community services with a defined catchment area in the Barrow and Furness area of South Cumbria. The sector covers quite a large geographical area but with the bulk of the population living in the town of Barrow-in-Furness where the clinical problems encountered are similar to those found in an inner-city catchment area. However, because the sector includes a large rural area (including part of the Lake District National Park) the SpR will also get experience in managing clinical problems arising in more sparsely populated areas several miles from the inpatient unit and the community mental health team base.
The post offers a broad experience of general adult psychiatry as the mental health service in South Cumbria does not have specialist services for liaison psychiatry, eating disorders, forensic psychiatry or perinatal psychiatry. Nor, because of its geographical distance from Manchester, Liverpool and Preston, does the service have easy access to such specialist services out of area- this makes for a rich and interesting case mix.

CORE PLACEMENT: Yes

ROLE OF TRAINEE:
The SpR is expected to participate in the day-to-day management of general adult psychiatric admissions to Beckside Ward at Dane Garth, to provide support to the team SHO and to attend the weekly inpatient ward round.
The SpR will conduct one outpatient clinic a week where one new patient and up to eight follow-up patients will be seen. All follow-up patients will already be known to the SpR.
The SpR will work with the community mental health team (which includes the assertive outreach team) based at Duddon House and with the crisis resolution/home treatment team based at Dane Garth and will contribute to the management of patients with more complex mental health needs requiring the involvement of more than one worker.
The SpR will work a 1 in 8 on call rota, under consultant supervision, covering the Barrow and Furness and the Kendal sectors of South Cumbria.

ON CALL: 1in 8

SAFETY AND INDUCTION: Induction programme beginning on arrival. The SpR is expected to adhere to Trust safety and lone worker policies.

FACILITIES:
Dane Garth is a purpose-built acute psychiatric unit which opened in 1993. It houses one general adult psychiatry acute ward and one ward for the elderly mentally ill. Both inpatient units are one the ground floor. Office accommodation for the two general adult psychiatry consultants, the SpR. two staff grade doctors and two SHOs are on the second floor, along with both team secretaries and the unit operational manager.
Furness General Hospital is a medium-sized district general hospital covering the major acute medical and surgical specialties and has an accident and emergency department. It has a good medical and healthcare library and excellent IT facilities.

SUPERVISION: Formal supervision one hour weekly on Wednesday afternoon.

TEACHING/ACADEMIC EXPERIENCE:
There are opportunities for tutorial teaching of the Barrow SHOs and, by negotiation, social work and nursing staff. Dane Garth has a regular allocation of medical students from Liverpool University on their psychiatry placements and the SpR will contribute to their local educational programme.
There are weekly educational sessions, alternating between Barrow and Kendal, on Thursday mornings during academic terms. These are attended by consultant, staff grade and SHO staff and the SpR will be expected to participate in these sessions (which include case conferences, a journal club and seminar teaching) and to lead some sessions by negotiation with the programme organiser, Dr Pat Thomas.

AUDIT/RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES:
The SpR will have one day a week for research. Dr Page has an interest in qualitative research methods and will encourage SpRs who are unsure as to their area of research to consider qualitative approaches.
The SpR will be expected to attend the monthly audit meetings, to participate in the discussion and to present at least one audit during the placement.

MANAGEMENT TRAINING:
The SpR will be encouraged to attend the monthly local clinical management group.

ADDITIONAL EXPERIENCE AVAILABLE:
Opportunities to spend proportionately more time with the assertive outreach or crisis resolution/home treatment teams may be available, by negotiation, although the SpR will still be expected to do inpatient work and work with the CMHT.