Dr John Richard Bainton

Profile

Dr John Bainton
MBChB, MSc Oxon, PgCert CBT, MRCPsych

My background
I’m a Consultant Psychiatrist for adults, and I’ve been working in the mental health field for over 15 years.

As a consultant psychiatrist I specialise in the assessment, diagnosis and management of mental health problems, using medication and psychological psychological therapies as treatment options. Through careful assessment of the whole person, I build a picture of things that are happening for you in your life and your background, and then discuss solutions you can choose that may help, based on the best evidence and guidance. I will make time to think about your complex and longstanding problems.

I value thoughtfulness, holistic assessment, working in partnership, compassionate communication, evidence-based practice, problem-solving, and diversity.

How I can help

In Psychiatry-UK I specialise in helping patients with assessment and treatment of symptoms of ADHD and other neurodevelopmental problems, and this is my primary area of work in Psychiatry-UK and in my independent practice outside the NHS more widely. I am specialised in the diagnosis of other existing mental health problems that are common with ADHD type symptoms, and I am able to treat ADHD which is not responsive to initial medications, as well as provide extensive guidance and structured approaches to non-medication treatment of ADHD. I also have experience in the management of other mental health problems with non-conventional treatments and can provide guidance on the use of new treatments in psychiatry.

I am also able to offer general psychiatric services, and I am able to help with things like depression, anxiety, stress, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), trauma, bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), somatization/conversion, persistent and unexplained physical health symptoms, chronic fatigue, and long Covid. I am experienced in managing treatment-resistant illness.

I enjoy working with people in the LGBT communities, and with people with a range of gender expression. Having completed all of my training in London, I am experienced at working with people from many cultural and heritage backgrounds.

My background

I hold a full time permanent consultant psychiatrist post in the NHS in London, where I work in an intensive home treatment team for adults (18-65 years) offering people in severe states of illness an alternative to hospital admission. This team is based in South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust.

I am also the Associate Medical Director in my NHS trust, with managerial responsibility for the Maudsley Hospital which is a historic centre of excellence for psychiatric treatment, training and research, alongside the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience in King’s College London. I also manage the medical staff working in this area, and crisis, liaison psychiatry and inpatient services for the London borough of Southwark.

I have also spent most of my career working in a general hospital helping people with emergencies in the A&E department and wards, and I specialised on supporting the mental health of people with long term physical health problems like diabetes or kidney problems. I also work with people who have persistent physical symptoms for which a cause is not yet fully identified. In my previous consultant roles, I have led mental health provision across the major trauma, and emergency medicine pathways in multiple hospitals. I also led specialist integrated psychiatric services in the renal, liver, rheumatology, gastroenterology, and diabetes departments at King’s. I have also worked in St Mary’s Hospital for Imperial College Healthcare/CNWL, and University Hospitals Dorset.

I have a special interest in the mental healthcare of health professionals and I led the Occupational Health Psychiatry service at King’s Health Partners.

In addition to my psychiatric training, I made the decision to train as a specialised psychotherapist in cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT), at the Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London. I have also trained in other psychotherapy methods, including psychoanalytic and psychodynamic, group therapy, mentalisation-based treatment (MBT), and family therapies.

I trained in core and higher psychiatry at the Maudsley Hospital in South London, and I am on the General Medical Council’s specialist register for general adult psychiatry. I am a Member of the Royal College of Psychiatrists. I specialised in psychopharmacology during my Masters in Pharmacology at the University of Oxford. This means I have completed extra academic training in psychiatric medications. My medical school training was at the University of Liverpool. I have worked in a number of national specialist services, including the National Affective (mood) Disorders Service, and the National ADHD Service, both at the Maudsley Hospital in London.

I am an Approved Clinician and I am approved by the Secretary of State under Section 12(2) of the Mental Health Act, as having special experience in the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorder. This means I am able to take lead responsibility on treating people who are very unwell and who are admitted to hospital under the Act.

Outside my clinical work

Originally I’m from Wales, and in addition to work as a psychiatrist and psychotherapist, I am also an experienced executive coach. I am passionate about medical education and I have been the College Tutor for over 65 trainee doctors in North West London, as well as the Academic Clinical Sub-Dean for University of Southampton Medical School students in Dorset Healthcare, when I worked in Dorset for a few years. I supervise and train many junior doctors and medical students from the Maudsley Training Programme and King’s College London Medical School now.

In my spare time I enjoy singing, theatre, travel, and reading.