NHS Forth Valley

Get to know the area

Forth Valley offers an unrivalled quality of life. Historic Stirling, ‘the gateway to the Highlands’, is where Scotland’s royalty held court from the 16th century. “He who holds Stirling holds Scotland,” went the saying, perhaps because the best of Scotland is here.

Our gorgeous Victorian-built spa towns, such as Bridge of Allan and Dollar, have boutique shops. Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park are areas of natural beauty and a paradise for outdoor sports enthusiasts.

We have local state schools that are consistently in the top 20 of national league tables. If you tire of fresh air, Scotland’s major cities, Glasgow and Edinburgh, are within an hour’s travel. 

Working as a psychiatrist in NHS Forth Valley

Psychiatry in Forth Valley is in an exciting place. Our goal is to be able to evidence we have the best mental health services in Scotland. We have recruited extensively in recent years and have a dynamic team to help us achieve this goal.

RCPsych accreditation

Our inpatient general adult psychiatry wards were awarded accreditation from the Royal College of Psychiatrists in December 2022 for providing high-quality care. Ours are 2 of only 4 wards in Scotland to hold this status. Our goal is that all of our services will achieve similar recognition for providing excellent care over the next 5 years. Our consultants have sufficient SPA time in their job plans to support this.

Making a difference to the lives of our patients

In NHS Forth Valley, we know the radical and transformational difference psychiatrists make to the lives of their patients. Therefore we have developed, and will always strive to maintain, a system that allows them to do this work. 

We passionately believe in joined-up, holistic care across the whole patient journey. We have resisted the fragmentation of our services. Our world-class trauma psychotherapy service informs everything we do, allowing our psychiatrists to deliver genuine, trauma-informed care.

Driving positive changes

We have a dynamic consultant workforce. Due to the relatively small size and adaptability of our Health Board, our psychiatrists can become effective leaders who drive through positive changes. 

We are passionate about attracting the brightest and best students into psychiatry and developing them into the consultants of tomorrow. Our local teaching and training programmes have been nationally recognised, and we are keen to expand them further.

PSYCHSIM programme

We are home to the Scottish Centre for Clinical Simulation and Human Factors. It’s one of the most advanced training facilities of its kind, where medical staff can hone their skills using computerised mannequins. Through this centre, we have developed the award-winning PSYCHSIM programme, which trains our staff in managing emergencies that arise on psychiatry wards.

We are keen for additional consultant leadership to help further expand and develop this programme. Many of our existing consultant psychiatrists have a national profile in medical education so that new team members would have close links to regional and national teaching opportunities. 

Nurse and pharmacy prescriber pilot

We have successfully piloted nurse prescriber and pharmacy prescriber clinics within our CMHTs to support the work of consultant psychiatrists. We are keen to develop and expand non-medical prescribing roles. Through this, we will make sure consultant psychiatrists only spend their time on tasks suited to their skill level and experience. 

View all psychiatry vacancies on our recruitment website.