Locum Consultant Geriatrician, Interest in Peri-Operative Medicine

We are delighted to offer two fixed-term posts (total 1.5 WTE) for Geriatric Medicine Consultants to join our team in the Department of Clinical Gerontology (DCG), King’s College Hospital, Denmark Hill.

The DCG is a dynamic department with a strong track record in delivering innovative pathways of care, high quality multi-professional training, and academic research. The posts suit both seasoned clinicians and aspiring clinical leaders holding a CCT in Geriatric Medicine and General Internal Medicine, or within six months of completing specialist training, or equivalent. Within the 1.5 WTE there is room for Full-Time and/or Less-Than-Full-Time (LTFT) working: we are open to negotiation.

Applications may be considered from Consultant General Physicians with an interest in Frail Older People.

The posts support inpatient services, frailty pathways, and the hospital-community interface. Interests and specific expertise can be accommodated, particularly in older adult surgical liaison: prior enquiry/discussion is strongly encouraged. We support academic and research interests.

The post-holders will contribute to an unselected General Internal Medicine on-call rota covering weekends & Bank Holidays plus our seven-day Frailty service commitment and a separate 24-hour telephone on-call rota for Geriatric Medicine.

They will play an active role in the general workload of the DCG & the Acute Specialties Medicine (ASM) Care Group and contribute to teaching/training of junior staff.

Main duties of the job

The DCG provides a comprehensive service for older adults with an increasing number of sub-specialty services reflecting the increasing evidence base for quality services for this population. There are 90 specialist beds, not including stroke rehabilitation which is managed by Neurosciences currently.

The Trust operates an integrated approach to General and Geriatric Medicine with a mix of generic acute medical beds but also dedicated specialty beds for the care of the more complex older adult. All older people admitted to hospital with an acute medical problem are cared for by general physicians of whom approximately 25% are geriatricians. The DCG has an expanding ambulatory care portfolio reflecting the varied interests and expertise of DCG staff and the needs of the local population.

King’s is in a privileged position having been a key partner in developing integrated older people’s services across health and social care and the third sector in recent years. There has been a strong focus on delivering integrated care locally for older people and members of DCG work with community rehabilitation, care homes, local GPs, and with our local hospital at home service. There is a heightened interest in frailty and multi-morbidity in our local population and Geriatricians contribute to community multi-disciplinary team meetings. In-house there is some expansion of our older adult Surgical Liaison Service.

The post-holders main duties will be in alignment with the above.

About us

King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is one of the UK’s largest and busiest teaching Trusts – and we are delighted you are considering a career with us.

Our teams provide services out of five hospitals across South East London and Kent, namely King’s College Hospital, the Princess Royal University Hospital, Orpington Hospital, Queen Mary’s Hospital Sidcup, and Beckenham Beacon.

We employ nearly 14,000 staff, who together treat over 1.5 million patients every year.

We provide a full range of local and specialist services, and our teams are nationally and internationally recognised for our work in liver disease and transplantation, neurosciences, cardiac, haemato-oncology, fetal medicine, stroke, major trauma, and emergency medicine.

Our Strong Roots, Global Reach strategy, published in 2021, sets out our BOLD vision, and commitment towards:

– Brilliant People

– Outstanding care

– Leaders in Research, Innovation and Education

– Diversity, Equality and Inclusion at the heart of everything we do.

At King’s, we are proud to serve a diverse range of communities, and our staff reflect the diversity of the communities we serve, with many people also travelling from all the world to start and develop their careers with us.

Why King’s?

Our organisational Values are Kind, Respectful Team and these drive the work we do, and how colleagues interact with each other, and the patients we treat.

Job description
Job responsibilities

The posts stand within our recently expanded department. The post-holders will allow us to deliver a seven-day acute frailty service, a seven-day consultant-delivered service on our inpatient wards, as well as supporting an expanded GIM consultant body to support an enhanced support to the acute medical take. In addition we are looking to continue our broadened older adult surgical liaison service and in-house medical ward support.

The posts would suit either/or those with interests in outstanding quality care of older adults living with frailty and those with an interest in older adult surgical liaison, but are not limited to these areas. The posts are ideal for those looking to be part of exciting changes driving improved care. The post-holder remits include: joining existing multidisciplinary teams on one of our Gerontology wards, joining an existing older adult surgical liaison team, contributing to our Frailty Assessment Unit (FAU), supporting review of frail older adults on general medical wards, +- new ways of working at the hospital-community interface not necessarily all within a single post. Applicants with interests in other areas of Geriatric Medicine are encouraged to apply as we are also keen to expand our service portfolio.

The post-holders will be expected to contribute to the General Unselected Medical Take, weekend Frailty and Gerontology support, as well as the out-of-hours Gerontology telephone on-call rota.

Outpatient activity will support the inpatient activity through targeted follow-up and will contribute to the admission avoidance rapid access HOT clinics provided by the departments Consultant Connect service. We are also looking to work with integrated services across the local health and care economy to provide new and innovative ways to help enhance community support for frail local residents. We are aiming to add value to patient care, provide more care closer to home, and support long-term care planning that reduces unplanned acute admissions and better coordination of care.

The post-holders would be expected to play a role in on-going service development and experience of introducing and effecting change and quality improvement is desirable. Candidates should be able to provide clinical steer to develop new clinical pathways and should be committed to embedding service and cultural change.

In addition, the post-holders will be required to play an active role in the general workload of DCG with a commitment to teaching, training of junior staff, departmental efficiency, and research. There would be an opportunity for individuals with an academic track record to be accommodated within the department for this position.

Major areas of service focus within Clinical Gerontology at Denmark Hill include dementia and delirium, integrated care, and the acute care of older people.

The Trust is recognised internationally for its work in liver disease and transplantation, neurosciences, cardiac, haemato-oncology, fetal medicine, stroke, major trauma, palliative care and Emergency Department.

Kings is a key partner in one of London’s foremost Academic Health Science Centres, King’s Health Partners (KHP). KHP is one of only six Department of Health-designated AHSCs in England. It brings together a world-leading research-led university Kings College London and three successful NHS Foundation Trusts: Kings College Hospital, Guys and St Thomas, and South London and Maudsley.

This is an exciting opportunity to be a part of our dedicated workforce and join one of the largest and most successful Foundation Trusts in the UK with an international reputation for innovation and the desire to make a difference.

You must be fully registered with the GMC and hold a Licence to Practice and be on the Specialist Register, or within six months of attaining your CCT or equivalent to be eligible for interview.

The post-holder will have regular contact with vulnerable adults and/or children (0-18 years), therefore this post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975, and as such, it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Person Specification
Registration
Essential

• Full Registration with GMC
• Name on GMC Specialist Register on date of taking up appointment

Qualifications
Essential

• Registerable medical qualification
• Full MRCP

Desirable

• Other higher degree or diploma (e.g., MD)

Training and Experience
Essential

• Wide experience in all aspects of peri-operative and surgical liaison medicine, and in Geriatric Medicine and General Internal Medicine, culminating in award of Certificate of Completion of Training by GMC, or award of Certificate of Eligibility for Specialty Registration (CESR) by GMC

Administration
Essential

• Experience in day-to-day organisation of Geriatric Medicine and General Internal Medicine services in a busy Teaching Hospital
• Familiarity with information technology and general computer skills
• Familiar with current structure of UK National Health Service and conversant with recent initiatives and changes

Management and Leadership
Essential

• Able to demonstrate leadership capability within multi-disciplinary teams

Desirable

• Management course and/or qualification

Audit and Quality Improvement
Essential

• Thorough understanding of principles of medical audit
• Must have undertaken and completed audit projects

Desirable

• Audit Publications

Research and Publications
Essential

• Experience of clinical research
• Publication of relevant review articles or case reports

Desirable

• Relevant research experience in one or more aspects of Geriatric Medicine and General Internal Medicine

Teaching
Essential

• Experience of undergraduate and post-graduate teaching and exam preparation

Desirable

• Teaching skills course/qualification

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