Consultant Geriatrician with an Interest in Frailty

Job overview

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Consultant Geriatrician to join the Newport Community Resource Team (CRT) at St Woolos Hospital.  The successful candidate will provide senior clinical leadership across the frailty pathway and essential medical input to the Newport Rapid Medical Service, supporting timely decision-making for the older and/or frail adult. Working as part of the team, you will deliver Consultant-level expertise in Frailty, contributing to the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of illness and supporting the continued development of services.  You will play a key leadership role in promoting effective multidisciplinary working, evidence-based practice and strong clinical governance across new and existing models of care. This role will additionally support the development of innovative, community-focused frailty models and contribute to a range of exciting service developments aimed at improving care for older and/or frail adults across Newport.

Main duties of the job

• To manage referrals into the service, undertaking clinical assessment and treatment planning to ensure patients receive care in the most appropriate setting
• To deliver care within patients' homes as part of the Frailty pathway, providing clinical intervention where required
• To signpost and redirect patients to appropriate community services, ensuring care is co-ordinated and aligned with individual needs
• To support Early Supported Discharge to ensure safe and co-ordinated transitions from hospital to services within the community
• To contribute to intermediate care and step-up/step-down services that help maintain continuity of care in the community
• To engage in service development initiatives, for example in-reach into the GUH, eLGHs and the Community Assessment Lounge (CAL) to support patient flow
• To contribute to the design, evaluation and improvement of Frailty pathways, ensuring they align with best practice and national guidance
• To work collaboratively with Consultant colleagues, multidisciplinary teams and partners to enhance the effectiveness and reach of Frailty Services
• To participate in quality improvement programmes and other initiatives promoting safe, efficient and patient-centred care

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• To support the development and clinical delivery of Frailty Services within the Health Board
• To support the management of patients who require short-term clinical intervention in the community
• To work as part of a multi-disciplinary team to deliver high-quality, co-ordinated care
• To provide effective leadership to multidisciplinary staff and support strong communication across clinical stakeholders
• To support staff within the service to develop their knowledge and skills within their professional scope
• To participate in virtual ward rounds and Frailty clinics, ensuring timely assessment and proactive management of patients in community settings
• To support the delivery of a 'hospital at home' service
• To provide senior clinical support to the Rapid Medical Team within the Newport locality, offering expert assessment and decision-making for patients referred into the service
• To use clinical expertise to contribute to the strategic planning, implementation and evaluation of any changes to the service
• To be responsible for developing a multi-agency approach to the design and delivery of community-based managed healthcare programmes
• To provide medical expertise and advice to support the development and delivery of appropriate programmes of elderly services
• To lead the development and delivery of Frailty services in collaboration with other Consultants within the specialty
• To support the independence of people in their own homes
• To promote the appropriate use of bed-based resources by improving the quality of local assessment, facilitating admission, where necessary, to the most appropriate facility and developing pathways to ensure timely and effective discharge.