Consultant in Acute Medicine and General Medicine

Job overview

To view full details of the Job Description and information about Acute Medicine at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, please click the link below: Working in Acute Medicine QEH

The Trust is seeking to appoint Consultants to work in Acute and General Medicine at Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH), Woolwich which is a part of the Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust .

We would encourage applications from Acute Physicians and General Physicians. If not already on the Specialist Register, we aim to support candidates planning to achieve specialist accreditation for a Certificate of Eligibility for Specialist Registration (CESR) in Acute or General Internal Medicine during this time.  We would also be willing to adapt the job plan to accommodate some special interest work such as critical care, respiratory or diabetes & endocrinology. We would encourage applicants to contact the consultant listed below to discuss this pre-application.

This is a 10PA job including a 1 in 10 weekend OnCall.

Main duties of the job

The appointees will join a team of 10 acute physicians currently covering a 72 bed acute medical unit a 39 bed general medical ward and a Same Day Emergency Care (SDEC) Unit. There is also a medical Consultant on call daily until 5pm.

The acute physicians will spend the majority of their direct clinical care, and supporting professional activity time, working on the Acute Medical Unit, where they will lead the multi-professional team in the management of the acute medical patients. It is expected that they will lead ward rounds, direct the management of patients, assess patients, perform practical procedures, teach both junior medical and other staff, attend multidisciplinary meetings, take part in the governance activity of the department, participate in the management and administration of the service and liaise with other professionals both within and outside the trust as required.

It is expected that when on duty for the Acute Medical Unit and short stay medical unit, the working day will commence at 9am with a ward round. All acute admissions will be assessed by a senior clinical decision maker within 1 hour of referral by the Emergency Department or arrival if referred in by a GP. All patients on the Acute Medical Unit will be reviewed by a consultant as soon as possible to expedite appropriate further management during the first day of admission, and twice daily thereafter until discharge.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Clinical Responsibilities:

The acute physicians will spend the majority of their direct clinical care, and supporting professional activity time, working on the Acute Medical Unit, where they will lead the multi-professional team in the management of the acute medical patients.

It is expected that they will lead ward rounds, direct the management of patients, assess patients, perform practical procedures, teach both junior medical and other staff, attend multidisciplinary meetings, take part in the governance activity of the department, participate in the management and administration of the service and liaise with other professionals both within and outside the trust as required. It is expected that when on duty for the Acute Medical Unit and short stay medical unit, the working day will commence at 9am with a ward round. All acute admissions will be assessed by a senior clinical decision maker within 1 hour of referral by the Emergency Department or arrival if referred in by a GP. All patients on the Acute Medical Unit will be reviewed by a consultant as soon as possible to expedite appropriate further management during the first day of admission, and twice daily thereafter until discharge.

As highlighted previously there is an expectation that the successful applicant will be involved in the delivery of the Ambulatory Care Service via the “Ambulatory Care Consultant of the Week” model.

If the successful candidate has a particular specialty interest there may be scope to accommodate this within the job plan, subject to the needs of the Acute Medicine service and negotiation with the Clinical Director and Divisional Director.

Medical Education & Teaching:

• 1. Contribute to the weekly programme of educational activities, including dedicated AMU teaching on Friday lunchtimes as well as foundation year and core medical training teaching programmes. 2.    Provide daily clinical supervision to trainees on the AMU as required. 3. Volunteer as an educational supervisor for doctors in training. 4. Provide teaching and training to undergraduates and medical students both on the ward and in the outpatient department.

Clinical Audit and Clinical Governance:

• 1. Take an active role in audit and governance projects to further the development of the AMU. 2.    Participate in the AMU’s own weekly governance meetings which provide the opportunity to share audits, journals, latest evidence, serious incident reviews, morbidity and mortality reviews and other similar activities.

Continuing Professional Development:

• 1.    Participate in continuing professional development at local and national level. 2.   Implement audit and research findings as appropriate in clinical practice. 3.   Prepare and participate in Revalidation, including an annual appraisal, in accordance with Trust policy. 4. A willingness to undertake additional professional responsibilities at local, regional or national levels.

Policy, Planning and Management:

• 1.    Support the Trust to deliver quality patient care. 2.    Contribute to the development of clinical and organisational protocols and guidelines. 3.    Assist in the development of the Annual Service Plan for the Directorate and Division and participate in the strategic planning of the service. 4.    Comply with all Trust policies.