Consultant, Alcohol and Other Drugs

**Overview**:
**Work Type**:Fixed-term - Part-time

**Salary**: $150,000 - $350,000

**Grade**:Grade not specified

**Occupation**:Health and allied health

**Location**:Melbourne - CBD and Inner Metro suburbs

**Reference**:13586

**About the Role**:

- This is a fixed term position at 28 hours (0.4 FTE) per fortnight for 2 years within the Mental Health Department, based in the RCH Hospital Campus.

**You Will be Responsible For**:

- Provide AOD assessment, evidence-based treatment and harm minimization interventions to young people with substance use issues and complex physical, mental health and social needs who meet intake criteria for inpatient, community and consultation-liaison mental health.
- Provide short-term outpatient follow-up for young people seen as an inpatient, to facilitate appropriate ongoing care and ensure transition and connection to community supports.
- Provide secondary consultations to RCH and RCH Mental Health staff in the management of children and young people with an AOD problem, parents with an AOD problem of children and young people receiving a service from RCH and RCH Mental Health.
- Undertake collaborative care planning, as the AOD specialist, in multidisciplinary care teams, within RCH and with community health partners.
- Identify additional support needs and facilitate referral into additional AOD services where appropriate.
- Provide paediatric AOD specific health education for the professional development of RCH staff and other health professionals, including the development of educational and clinical resources, such as clinical practice guidelines.

**What You’ll Achieve**:

- Provide secondary consultation, case support and participate in care team meetings and case planning with RCH departments in relation to children and young people with significant substance use issues, advice and consultation in supporting parents with an AOD problem of children and young people receiving care from RCH and RCH Mental Health
- Provide direct assessment and intervention services to children and young people and their families including AOD-specific input into individual treatment plans, including crisis management plans, where indicated
- Refer and facilitate entry into specific drug and alcohol inpatient or outpatient community-based services as appropriate
- Triage referrals or secondary consultation requests received from RCH departments, to determine need for AOD-specific consultation
- Maintain a collaborative relationship, with bidirectional communication, with the RCH Mental health inpatient and community teams, the RCH Emergency Department and the Department of Adolescent Medicine, other RCH Medical Departments to ensure patients with AOD-specific needs are being met, and resources are being allocated appropriately
- Provide AOD education and supervised training to RCH Mental Health colleagues including RACP and RANZCP trainees, other professionals at the RCH and appropriate external stakeholders
- Provide AOD specific education to young people and their caregivers accessing AOD care at the RCH

**Your Skills and Experience**:
**Essential**
- Registration as medical practitioner and Fellowship of the Royal Australasian College Physicians or Fellowship of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists or equivalent qualification
- Demonstrated experience in AOD treatment (assessment, counselling, and outreach) with children, young people and families from diverse backgrounds and with complex issues and histories.
- Comprehensive knowledge of practice in AOD work and of protective issues, effects of substance abuse, homelessness, trauma, disability and the implications for the emotional and behavioural development of young people.
- Demonstrated experience in working with children, young people, and families who have complex needs and statutory services involved.

**Desirable**
- Training in Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine, and/or Paediatrics and Child Health or Child and adolescent psychiatry
- An understanding of the Child, Youth and Families Act 2005 and the Family Violence Protection Act 2008.
- An understanding of the Mental Health and Wellbeing Act 2022
- To view the position description, click here.

**About the Department**:

- RCH Mental Health is a Level 5 tertiary Infant, Child and Family Area Mental Health and Wellbeing Service and comprises community and hospital-based services. This includes an Intake and Assessment Team based at Parkville and three multidisciplinary community-based teams located at Travancore, St Albans and Hoppers Crossing and Brimbank-Melton Local. The Community teams are led by a partnership between a Team Coordinator and a Consultant Psychiatrist, with the Team Coordinator responsible for the operational functioning of the team, and the Consultant Psychiatrist accountable for driving high quality clinical care across the Team. RCH Mental Health is currently undergoing an exciting transformation and expansion as we