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An exciting opportunity has arisen for Consultants in Care of the Older Adult to join an expanding Older Adult Medicine service in the West Midlands.
These new posts will expand the department and further develop front-door acute frailty and short-stay capabilities, including the development of Frailty Same Day Emergency Care (SDEC).
The successful candidate will work across both hospital sites and contribute to the development of services for frail older people, working closely with multidisciplinary teams, community partners and other specialities. Participation in an out-of-hours on-call rota is a core component of the role.
The department provides multidisciplinary care through specialist clinicians, specialist nurses, allied health professionals, Advanced Clinical Practitioners, Physician Associates and a Frailty Pharmacist.

Main Duties

The successful candidate will:

• Deliver high-quality care for frail older patients on the acute floor, base wards and outlying wards.
• Respond to referrals from other specialities.
• Work within multidisciplinary teams across the acute floor and base wards.
• Ensure patients receive care in the most appropriate clinical environment.
• Support care closer to home through collaboration with community partners, virtual wards and community hospitals.
• Contribute to General Medicine and on-call duties.
• Maintain enhanced clinical skills, particularly in assessing and managing acutely ill patients.
• Provide outpatient clinic care based on personal interests and expertise, including developing hot clinics.
• Contribute to the development of new services, including surgical liaison and continence services.
• Take on appropriate clinical leadership responsibilities.
• Work effectively across both hospital sites.
• Follow patients throughout their clinical pathways.
• Contribute to agreed clinical and quality targets.
• Work collaboratively within multidisciplinary and interprofessional teams.

 

Care of the Older Adult Service

The Care of the Older Adult department is a multidisciplinary service supporting frail older patients across both sites.
The service has a dedicated ward base incorporating a Frailty Assessment Unit (FAU), designed to accommodate approximately 10–12 patients, alongside a base ward capacity of around 27 beds. The department is developing services including:

• Frailty Assessment Unit
• Frailty Same Day Emergency Care (FSDEC)
• Surgical liaison
• Orthogeriatrics
• Falls service innovation
• Enhanced front-door acute frailty services

There are close links with primary care and discharge liaison teams to facilitate discharge home or to appropriate community facilities. The service is also supported by an in-house mental health liaison team for patients with delirium and dementia.

Acute Frailty & General Medicine

The successful candidate will contribute to assessing and managing older frail patients presenting through the acute pathway.
The service aims to provide rapid assessment, treatment and discharge planning for patients who are suitable to return to the community with onward care and support.
The General Medicine on-call rota currently operates at 1:16, with prospective cover. The post includes General Medicine out-of-hours responsibilities, with an on-call availability supplement and dedicated programmed activity for GIM on-calls.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• MBBS, MBChB or equivalent medical qualification
• MRCP accreditation or equivalent experience
• Full registration and licence to practise with the GMC
• Entry on the GMC Specialist Register through:
• • CCT, with the proposed CCT date within six months of interview, or
  • CESR
• High standard of clinical skill and expertise in the speciality
• Ability to contribute to the full range of skills required for the on-call rota
• Comprehensive clinical experience in General Medicine and Geriatric Medicine
• Good working knowledge of the theory and practice of Geriatric Medicine
• Special interest and expertise in a subspecialty of Geriatrics.

Desirable

• Master's degree in a relevant area of Elderly Care Medicine
• PhD or other higher education qualification.

Clinical & Professional Skills

The successful candidate should demonstrate:

• Ability to clinically assess and manage patients and formulate appropriate differential diagnoses and management plans.
• Ability to review and adjust treatment according to clinical outcomes.
• Awareness of professional limitations and willingness to seek support when required.
• Effective communication and shared decision-making with patients, relatives and carers.
• A person-centred approach to patient care.
• Respect for patient dignity, confidentiality and individual communication needs.
• Safe prescribing and use of medical devices.
• Understanding of relevant legal responsibilities, including mental capacity and deprivation of liberty.
• Commitment to professional development, appraisal and continuing learning.

Leadership & Team Working

• Demonstrate appropriate clinical leadership.
• Build effective relationships across clinical teams.
• Promote multidisciplinary and interprofessional working.
• Adapt leadership approaches according to circumstances.
• Communicate decisions honestly and transparently.
• Challenge and escalate concerns appropriately.
• Develop services in response to changing population health needs.

Patient Safety & Quality Improvement

The post holder will be expected to:

• Take prompt action where there are concerns about patient safety or quality of care.
• Contribute to clinical governance and risk management.
• Understand and apply evidence-based practice and quality improvement principles.
• Apply human factors principles.
• Work collaboratively to manage clinical risks.
• Contribute to organisational learning and continuous improvement.
• Reflect on personal practice and respond to learning opportunities.

Education & Research

The successful candidate will contribute to:

• Educating and developing clinical colleagues and multidisciplinary teams.
• Creating safe and supportive learning environments.
• Patient education.
• Continuing professional development.
• Keeping up to date with current research and best practice.
• Critical appraisal of relevant medical literature.
• Dissemination of best practice and learning from quality improvement.
• Identifying opportunities for further research.
• Appropriate use of clinical guidelines.

Apply now