Virtual Hospital in Watford

This is a full time, fixed term 12-month role. Full or part time applicants are invited to apply for this exciting clinical fellowship post in virtual hospital, digital technology and remote monitoring. This post is designed with either senior trainees (ST3+ level seeking to take an OOPE to develop advanced skills) or post CMT trainees (ST3+ level seeking to gain a firm foundation before applying for speciality training) in mind. Applications from colleagues across the full range of specialties are welcomed.

West Herts Virtual Hospital has attracted national attention with Amanda Pritchard, Chief Executive of NHSE, who recently visited our set up. The post will offer enhanced training with dedicated time in West Herts’ nationally renowned virtual hospital, which currently has 4 distinct ‘wards’ for heart function (HF), ABC, GenMed and Frailty as well as in some of our smaller pathways such as post-surgery.

• To deliver and maintain the various pathways running within the acute VH Hub.
• To clearly and concisely communicate complex and highly sensitive information.
• To overcome barriers to providing hospital at home services with key stakeholders.
• To support the follow up clinic for patients discharged from the VH.
• To support the identification, reviewing (in-patient), on-boarding and monitoring of patients.
• To attend, and participate in, board rounds, MD Ts and other key VH meetings.
• To work as part of a multi-disciplinary team to deliver the best patient care.
• To take part in VH governance arrangements and morbidity and mortality meetings as required.

With a new hospital planned for Watford and work underway to update theatres at St Albans City Hospital, this is an exciting time to join us. We are building on the success of our award-winning virtual hospital and re-imagining models of care, working ever more closely with partners and making the most of advances in digital healthcare. Staff wellbeing and development are a priority at our Trust, as is the role of innovation in improving clinical care, outcomes and patient experience. Our vision is Excellent patient care, together and our values are to be empowered, compassionate, professional and inclusive. They capture an important balance across what we must all do as individuals and to support others. We offer a variety of flexible working options as we recognise the importance of a good work-life balance.

If you are a Service Leaver, Veteran, Military Reserve, Cadet Force Adult Volunteer, or partner/spouse of those serving please tick "Member of the Armed Forces Community" on the application form. We reserve the right to close this advert early due to the volume of applicants. Please apply as soon as possible to avoid disappointment. If you do not hear back within 3 weeks of your application, please assume you have been unsuccessful on this occasion.

The VH Resident Doctor will provide day-to-day support to all pathways in the virtual hub supporting the growing team of specialist nurses in the identification, review (in-patient), on-boarding and then monitoring of patients. The Clinical fellow will be expected to rotate between different pathways. The post holder for the VH Fellow role is expected to deliver and maintain the various pathways running within the acute VH Hub. As such, they must receive and communicate highly complex, sensitive, or contentious information (written and verbal) and will be expected to work to overcome barriers to understanding with senior colleagues, executives, and external stakeholders. You will be expected to participate in case finding, attending emergency department daily huddles, the daily board rounds, review patients remotely, and bring patients up to the hospital for in person reviews. Take an active role in MDTs, furthermore, you are expected to enhance the vital link between patients on outlier wards with the VH team and the specialist service, reviewing in-patients for potential onboarding to the virtual hospital. In addition, there’s an expectation that the fellows will link with industry partners to review our current technology and RPM solutions (remote patient monitoring) and look to the future to see how we can evolve. There are significant research opportunities for IT/data literate trainees as we’ve curated >1000 discharged patients data feeds. Within this there’s continuous monitoring streams for several key physiological parameters. Questions around identifying patterns to stratify at risk patients remain to be answered. You will also be encouraged to pursue an affiliated postgraduate qualification and to engage with the Faculty of Clinical Informatics (FCI welcome - Faculty of Clinical Informatics). The successful applicant will support the consultants in providing weekend cover for the virtual hospital.

• Education and qualifications: MRCP or Equivalent MBBS. IT literacy. GMC registration.
• Knowledge: Have completed IMT2 or equivalent. Higher degree: MSc or PhD.
• Experience: Involvement in audit/ Quality improvement.

West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust provides acute healthcare services to a core catchment population of approximately half a million people living in west Hertfordshire and the surrounding area. The Trust also provides a range of more specialist services to a wider population, serving residents of North London, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire and East Hertfordshire. As an employer of nearly 6,000 people the Trust is one of the biggest employers in the area and sees nearly a million patients each year. You must have appropriate UK professional registration.