Locum Consultant in Complex Older Peoples Service & Rehabilitation

We’re seeking a motivated and collaborative Locum Consultant with expertise in Geriatric Medicine, Stroke Medicine, or Rehabilitation Medicine to join a jointly funded post across CNWL and UCLH. We’re particularly keen to hear from clinicians with an interest in integrated care models and system-wide working, and experience or enthusiasm for service development, quality improvement, and pathway redesign. This role would suit someone who enjoys variety, innovation, and working across organisational boundaries to improve outcomes for older people and those with complex needs. This is a unique joint consultant role offering the opportunity to work across the entire patient pathway.

Main duties of the job:

• You will provide consultant-level medical leadership within inpatient rehabilitation, supporting the multi-pathology and rehabilitation wards.
• This includes attending multidisciplinary team meetings and ward rounds, assessing and reviewing patient care, leading discharge planning, validating discharge summaries, supporting the management of delayed transfers of care, and communicating with patients and families.

Benefits:

• A varied clinical role across acute frailty, inpatient rehabilitation, virtual services, and outpatients.
• The chance to shape and influence innovative services across North Central London.
• Strong links with national improvement collaboratives and research networks.
• Access to state-of-the-art clinical research facilities at St Pancras.
• Dedicated SPA time for teaching, supervision, governance, QI, and service development.
• Supportive, well-established consultant teams at both Trusts.

You’ll be at the heart of integrated care delivery, working across two leading Trusts and contributing to forward-thinking services that bridge the gap between hospital and community care. You’ll have the opportunity to make a tangible impact on patient flow, outcomes, and experience.

The post-holder will provide inpatient rehabilitation care at St Pancras Rehabilitation Unit (SPRU). SPRU provides inpatient rehabilitation to residents of North London, specialising in frailty management and neurological and stroke rehabilitation. New inpatient pathways have also been developed for spinal cord injury, trauma rehabilitation and amputee rehabilitation. The successful applicant is likely to have a varied case load of patients and would be expected to have a specialist interest in one of the areas listed above.

The ideal candidate will support (strategically and operationally) whole systems developments in North Central London (NCL). Current initiatives include pre-hospital support to paramedics (Single Point of Access), Hospital@Home (Camden Virtual Ward) and Same Day Emergency Care for older people living with frailty, novel community stroke pathways (Hyperacute direct to Community Stroke beds), and early amputee rehabilitation initiatives (with Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital). There is significant opportunity for redesign and innovation across the whole system.

The post-holder will provide leadership and development to the acute frailty service, virtual services and outpatients at UCLH. The UCLH Complex Older Peoples Service provides care for patients admitted through the Acute Medical Unit via the Emergency Department. The majority of patients come from Camden and Islington. The department has close ties with the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery (NHNN) stroke unit and the rehabilitation unit.

Professional Qualifications:

• Eligible for full UK GMC Registration.
• MD/PhD or equivalent.
• Postgraduate qualification in management or leadership.

Clinical Experience and Ability:

• Evidence of substantial experience managing complex frail elderly patients.
• Excellent clinical skills in general internal medicine, geriatric medicine, stroke medicine and/or rehabilitation medicine.
• Experience working in and leading multidisciplinary teams.
• Proven ability to work well within a multidisciplinary team.
• Proven ability to lead clinical care across professional and organisational boundaries.
• Experience of working within the community.
• An understanding of different models of integrated care and the respective roles of hospital and community.
• Excellent written and verbal interpersonal and communication skills.
• A caring attitude towards patients and relatives.
• Experience in acute/ortho-geriatric medicine.
• Experience of developing disease management programmes/pathways.

Clinical Governance:

• Experience of and involvement in clinical audit.
• An understanding of the principles and practical implications of clinical governance systems and CQC standards.
• An understanding of and proven abilities in quality improvement, clinical audit and clinical risk management.
• An understanding of the importance of continuous professional development and life-long learning and commitment thereto.
• An understanding of and a proven ability to apply research findings to individual patients or populations of patients.
• A commitment to develop multiprofessional/multiagency guidelines, care pathways and audit.

Clinical Management experience:

• Experience of developing or contributing to multiprofessional/multiagency clinical guidelines or care pathways.

Teaching and Research:

• Evidence of training in teaching methods and participation in teaching at different levels.
• Ability and commitment to teach in a clinical setting.
• Ability and commitment to teaching various clinical disciplines.
• Record of publishing peer reviewed publications.
• Experience in giving lectures and planning teaching programmes.
• Trained as a Clinical Supervisor.

Personal Qualities:

• The highest ethical and professional standards.
• Excellent communication skills both verbal and written – able to bring people along with you.
• Commitment to developing community and rehabilitation services for older people and people with complex needs.
• Enthusiasm for work within a changing and challenging environment.
• Ability to lead a multidisciplinary team.
• Ability to work under pressure and as part of a team.
• A creative and imaginative approach to service quality improvement.
• Understanding of the role of multidisciplinary teams and other agencies such as social services.
• Ability to respond sensitively to the individual needs of adults with complex needs and to needs of carers, relatives and friends.
• Ability to work with sensitivity within a multicultural community.
• Ability to act as a consistent reference point in a team and to take a leadership role.
• Understanding of the NHS and current and proposed national organisational changes.
• Initiative and leadership: ability to take the lead in driving change.
• Experience working with user led groups.
• Proven experience of management in a clinical area.

CNWL (Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust) has almost 8,000 staff providing integrated healthcare to a third of London's population, Milton Keynes and areas beyond. We involve service users, carers, the public, staff and partner organisations in the way that we are run. Our catchment area spans diverse communities, with over 100 first languages spoken. It contains areas of great affluence as well as areas of much deprivation. We are committed to providing services that meet the needs of the people who use them, and we actively encourage involvement from local people who can help make a difference. We’re proud of our diversity and we continue to undertake new initiatives to advance equality for LGBT+, BME and people with disabilities to promote good relations and understanding between our staff.

We are recognised locally, nationally and internationally for providing high quality, innovative healthcare. We aim to employ only the best people, and our experts are frequently called upon to contribute to national health strategy and policy, and many models of our care have been adapted for use in other countries.

We offer a generous relocation package (subject to eligibility assessment) and flexible working options, including bank assignments for most roles. For more information on these and other benefits of working for us, see our Benefits, Reward and Wellbeing page.

CNWL NHS Foundation Trust are committed to safeguarding all children and vulnerable adults and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. We follow safe recruitment practices to protect children and vulnerable adults.

Due to the high response levels we receive for some vacancies, we may expire any of them prior to the advertised closing date and advise you to submit your application as soon as possible.

Our Agenda for Change employment contracts are subject to a contractual 13 week probationary period.

If you are offered a job, information will be transferred into the national NHS Electronic Staff Records system.