StR/ SpR POST DETAILS 2009-2010

POST: SPR/ST4-6 in Perinatal Psychiatry (part of General Psychiatry)

CONSULTANT NAME : Angelika Wieck

HOSPITAL : Wythenshawe Hospital

DETAILS OF PLACEMENT

The Perinatal Psychiatry Service at the Manchester Mental Health and Social Care Trust is a regional service for childbearing women with moderate to severe mental health problems and is called ‘PRAMMBS NORTHWEST’. It is based at Laureate House at Wythenshawe Hospital in South Manchester and consists of Andersen Ward, a purpose built mother and baby unit with 8 beds and an assessment flat, a specialist perinatal outpatient clinic and a perinatal CPN service for Manchester residents.

The aim of the service is to treat and prevent recurrences of moderate to severe mental illness during pregnancy and the postnatal period and avoid harm to the offspring. The service provides advice on psychopharmacological, clinical and fertility issues in women planning a pregnancy, management and advice on antenatal and postnatal care during pregnancy, and treatment and management advice after childbirth, either as inpatients or outpatients. If there are concerns about a woman’s parenting ability on account of her mental illness the service participates in prebirth assessments and carries out postnatal parenting assessment as part of the woman’s inpatient stay on Andersen Ward.

The nature of this work is highly multi-disciplinary and requires close liaison with other agencies, such as primary care services, obstetric departments, paediatric departments and children and families social services. It functions as a secondary/tertiary service for Manchester in Manchester) and as a tertiary service for patients from the Northwest.

Andersen Ward admits approximately 65 inpatient admissions every year for inpatient treatment. Approximately 120 new patients and as many follow-up patients attend the outpatient clinic annually.

DETAILS OF EXPERIENCE TRAINEE WILL GAIN AND MAIN DUTIES

The post offers excellent opportunity to gain experience in the assessment and management of complex psychiatric disorders in the perinatal period, reproductive psychopharmacology as well as experience in the recognition and management of child protection issues. The trainee is expected to participate in the weekly care plan review meetings, lead the midweek management round and supervise the ST1-3 trainee in their inpatient work. S/he will have opportunity to sometimes lead the weekly review meetings in the presence and absence of the consultant. The trainee will also see 1-2 new outpatients per week as well as several follow up patients with the opportunity to discuss these cases with the consultant during the clinic.

There is ample opportunity in gaining experience in multidisciplinary meetings with CMHTs and multi-agency CPA meetings with Children and Families Social Services, as well as working with perinatal CPN and specialist mental health midwife in the weekly referral meetings. A small volume of obstetric liaison patients are also seen every year.

The trainee will be supervised by the educational trainer for one hour every week. Audits, surveys or research projects are very much encouraged.

There is an ST1-3 doctor in the team.

ON CALL COMMITMENT AND PAY BANDING

Daytime on-call: Covering urgent assessments in South Manchester area (mainly Section 135/136 and MHA assessments) and providing support for on-call junior doctor at Laureate House. Currently 1:8- approximately one session per week.

Out of hours on-call: City-wide rota (covering MRI, Wythenshawe Hospital and NMGH).

TEACHING / ACADEMIC EXPERIENCE

There is ample opportunity for the trainee to participate in teaching. The trainee can act as a tutor for medical students in problem based learning and attend a training course held by the University. S/he can also participate in the informal teaching of medical students attached to the firm and in the annual OSCE exams.

ST4-6 trainees at Wythenshawe chair the weekly CPD meetings which include a case presentation and a journal club.

AUDIT/RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES

In the perinatal service there are always several research projects ongoing the trainee can participate in, such with topics including reproductive psychoparmacology, perinatal services, and parenting in women with SMI. The trainee can also set up his/her own research project under the supervision of the consultant. There are many other research opportunities in South Manchester and across the Trust.

MANAGEMENT TRAINING

The trainee is encouraged to attend directorate meetings and shadow senior managers of the Trust.

ADDITIONAL EXPERIENCE AVAILABLE

An important component of the psychiatrists work in the service is close day to day involvement in operational management, governance issues and achieving a high quality of service but also having a leading role in long term service development. The trainee will have opportunity to take part in these.

Due to the specialist nature of the service there is a steady demand for education of various professional groups in which the trainee can participate. Medical staff also organize quarterly educational meetings at the Education and Research Centre at Wythenshawe for perinatal health professionals working in the NW region and the trainee can take responsibility for these events.

PROBABLE TAMETABLE (EXAMPLE OF COMMITMENTS)

IMPORTANT ADDITIONAL DETAILS

This is a core training post including both outpatient and inpatient experience.

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