Consultant Gerontologist, Emergency Med & Acute Frailty

Job overview

The Acute Frailty service consists of purpose built Acute Frailty Assessment Unit (AFAU), in reach service to the Emergency Department, and telephone Advice & Guidance through Consultant Connect.

The AFAU (widely recognised as a regional exemplar in London) offers same-day emergency care from a 12-patient clinical unit and receives patients from ED following frailty screening, in addition to taking patients directly from London Ambulance Service or referred by our community partners.

There is a wide multi-disciplinary team including a Frailty Nurse Consultant, Advance Care Practitioners, a dedicated Pharmacist, social workers and Age UK support. At present, the AFAU offers a 5-day consultant service with a future plan for 7 day service delivery, there is a nursing and therapy service at weekends.

Acute Frailty has a well-established multidisciplinary team including a Nurse Consultant, Frailty Clinical Nurse Specialists, ACPs, pharmacist, senior OTs and physiotherapists, dietician and SLT input in addition to dedicated social workers and Age UK navigators. The service works in close partnership with our community providers including hospital @home, rapid response services, St Christopher’s Hospice community team and Bromley GP Alliance. The post holder will have the opportunity to join this fantastic team and provide excellent care to frail, older people using the networked opportunities to provide care closer to home.

Main duties of the job

• The remit of the post holder will be to work within the multi–disciplinary team providing and further developing care for Gerontology patients. In addition, the individual will be required to play an active role in the general workload of the department while having a significant commitment to teaching and training of junior staff. In addition, the individual will be required to play an active role in the general workload of the Care Group, take on appropriate specific responsibilities as part of their core Supporting Professional Activity (e.g. infection control, risk and performance management, consultant and junior rota supervision, teaching programme, mortality monitoring, audit, speciality liaison) while having a significant commitment to teaching and training of junior staff and students. Major areas of Adult Medicine in King’s include the interface with Acute Frailty, Orpington Hospital and other medical specialties and community care providers. It is envisaged that the successful candidate will contribute to the development and delivery of all aspects of the service but our priorities are to continue working towards provision of recognised outstanding patient safety, quality of care, patient experience and reducing waste, and our focus is on the assessment and management of our patients with appropriate clinically lead pathway design.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Together with other colleagues, to provide a high quality care service to patients. This includes all aspects of treatment and relevant management duties for the proper functioning of the Care Group.

Shared responsibility with other colleagues for providing 24 hours, 7 days a week cover for the unit on a rota basis. Responsible also for covering colleagues periods of annual leave and short-term sickness as detailed in your contract.

Provide clinical supervision of junior medical practitioners as a shared responsibility with other consultant colleagues.

Responsible for carrying out teaching, examination and accreditation duties as required and contributing to CPD and clinical governance initiatives.

Contribute to the audit programmes, Morbidity and Mortality, Clinical Governance programmes and Learning from Deaths.

Exercise professional leadership for all staff working in the specialty, This will include fostering and developing projects focused towards these ends and ensuring that the momentum of post-qualification professional education and other appropriate training is maintained.

Applicant requirements

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.