SOUTH WESTERN DEANERY - South West Peninsula Deanery

POST:
TRAINER:
EMPLOYING TRUST:
TRAINING BASE:
Old Age Psychiatry
Dr Sadir Altaan
Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
Banham House, Bodmin Hospital, Cornwall/ Elfordleigh Community Resource
Centre, Launceston, Cornwall
JOB DESCRIPTION:
This post will provide training opportunities in both organic and functional disorders for the older adult
population of Northeast Cornwall (Launceston, Bude, Boscastle, Tintagel, Camelford and Callington). The
population of this catchment area is about 13,000 spreading out through historical coastal and rural towns and
villages.
Community Services
This service involves memory assessment (Memory Clinics), the assessment and management of dementia with
behavioural and psychological symptoms in different settings (patients’ homes, care homes and occasionally in
Launceston Community Hospital), and the assessment and management of functional psychiatric disorders
complicated by complex physical health problems and the effects of aging.
Inpatient Services
There is one 25 bedded organic ward for the whole of Cornwall and about six functional bed on Fletcher ward
for the east part of Cornwall. This service involves the assessment and management of severe mental disorder
(organic and functional) when the risk to the patient is too high for their management in the community or
when community support is felt to be inappropriate. Inpatients will be supported by the Multi-Disciplinary
Team and a Junior Doctor, usually a GP trainee. Admission rate is generally low.
The Community Team
This includes the Team manager, four CPN’s, two HCA’s, an OT and a Dementia Liaison Nurse. Primary Care
Practitioners have also been appointed and will be working closely with the local General Practitioners and the
different members of the community team. All referrals are team referrals, which will triage and discuss them
in the weekly MDT meeting.
Training Opportunities
The trainee will have the opportunity to work alongside the Multi-Disciplinary Team in providing memory
assessments, and diagnoses as well as managing complex cases of dementia with behavioural and
psychological symptoms. The trainee will also have the opportunity to assess and manage patients with
functional and complex psychiatric disorders. The trainee will gain experience in the application of the Mental
Capacity Act and the Mental Health Act in clinical practice. There are monthly old age psychiatrists meetings to
discuss difficult to manage patients few of them will include meetings with consultant radiologist to review
neuroimaging. Formal Royal College CPD peers meetings take place four times per year.
Audit and Research
The trainee will have the opportunity to develop his/her own audit or to participate in or lead one of the
regional or national audits such as POMH UK audits. Dr Altaan is a member of the Mental Health Research
Team at Cornwall Foundation Trust and recently took over the role of research lead in Old Age Psychiatry.
Currently he is taking part in a pharmaceutical research trial in dementia. Trainees will have the opportunity to
have supervised experience in research and would be welcome to attend the periodic Mental Health Research
Team meetings.
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