Consultant Acute Medicine

Job overview

This post has been created to help build a larger core Acute Medicine team at Charing Cross Hospital in light of the growing demands and pressure at the front door of the hospital. The successful applicant will contribute to the acute medical take and Acute Medicine services at Charing Cross Hospital. They will also contribute to the newly established virtual wards and Hot Clinics via SDEC.

We are looking for a Consultant with sound experience and training in General Internal Medicine to join the Acute Medical team to support existing colleagues in a busy service.  The role holder will work within the Division of Medicine and Integrated Care and will be expected to participate in the management of the patients under the care of the Acute Medicine team in accordance with local and national clinical guidelines and will rotate through these parts of the service.

The appointee will work closely and in partnership with the rest of Specialty Medicine and Emergency Medicine. They will also be expected to contribute to the Acute Medicine rota and clinical governance. The appointee will also play an active role in undergraduate and postgraduate supervision of medical students and resident doctors.

Main duties of the job

The post holder will work closely with the multidisciplinary team and clinical management colleagues to deliver high-quality Acute and Specialist Medicine services within the Trust’s strategic framework.

Duties will include but not be limited to the following-

• Clinical Responsibilities
• Research, Teaching and Training
• Performance Management
• Appraisal and Revalidation
• Professional Support
• Medical Workforce Management
• Governance and Quality Improvement
• Strategy and Business Planning
• Leadership and Team Working

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The Acute Medicine service at Charing Cross hospital provides a consultant led service for all patients admitted under Acute Medicine 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The ward areas covered by Acute Medicine are an Acute Medicine Unit (AMU) and an Acute Assessment Unit (AAU).

The Acute Medicine service at Charing Cross Hospital works closely with the Emergency Department and with Specialty Medicine services. The AMU/AAU have a fast turnover of patients; our usual length of stay is around 1.5 days. This is due to a consultant lead service with twice daily consultant input into patient care, great support from imaging and diagnostics, multidisciplinary approach to patient care (delivered by the OPAL team) and an excellent pharmacy team across Acute Medicine. In addition, there is daily input from a consultant led cardiology team and in reach from other specialties (gastroenterology, neurology, infectious diseases, endocrinology, psychiatry, etc) for patients who require specialist input.

Admission rates to Medicine from the Emergency Department can vary quite significantly with the seasons. The post holder is expected to help deliver consultant led care to all patients managed by the Acute Medicine team regardless of their location. The care of medical patients outlying on non-medical wards is shared between Acute and Specialist Medicine. The post holder is also expected to support the management of patients under the Acute Medicine Virtual Ward, and regularly attend board rounds with the virtual hub to facilitate management.