Consultant in Acute Medicine

Job description

Job responsibilities

This role is a new / replacement role within the Acute Medical Unit (AMU) and the appointed candidate(s) will join an existing team of senior medical staff including Consultants & Associate Specialists. On joining the department, you will become part of a well-established, friendly team and will help us continue to drive forward improvements in the service that we provide to our patients. As a senior member of the team, you will become a key part in the delivery of training and supervision to our junior colleagues. As a Trust, we place high importance on staff wellbeing, you will be offered a wide variety of support to help you maintain your wellbeing and to help colleagues maintain theirs. The Trusts Health and Wellbeing team has won a National Award during 2020 for the work they have done locally.

The AMU includes the following areas with a capacity of 67 beds

• Shalbourne - Medical Assessment Unit (MAU) 14 Beds
• Linnet Ward MAU: Admissions Ward 32 Beds
• Shalbourne Short Stay Unit (SSU) 10 Beds
• Covid Assessment Unit (CAU) 11 Beds
• Cherwell Same Day Emergency Care (SDEC) unit

• MAU The Acute Medical Unit operates 24hrs a day, 7 days a week. The unit provides rapid assessment, investigation and treatment for patients who have been admitted by the Emergency Department and those referred by General Practitioners from the community. Shalbourne MAU and Linnet Ward are currently geographically separated but Consultants are allocated to each area, with Shalbourne predominantly managing GP referrals and Linnet receiving the ED take.

• SSU Manages patients directly from the take or transferred from around AMU. Patients are managed with an expected LOS of 72 hours or less. SSU is adjacent to Shalbourne MAU.

• SDEC - Operates Monday to Friday between 8.00am and 8.00pm. We have a dedicated team of ACPs and Junior Doctors supervised by a Consultant Acute Physician and Associate Specialist, which aims to assess, investigate and treat patients referred from the Emergency Department or from General Practice. There are future plans to transform this service in line with the department expansion and substantive staffing.

• CAU This unit was created at the start of the Pandemic and it use and capacity has flexed dependant on demand. We expect it to continue operation into early 2022 but its function will then be reviewed with plans to incorporate some of its bed capacity into MAU and the remaining area becoming a Medical Take receiving area for 1st Assessment/Triage.

Medical and nursing staff rotate across of areas of AMU and there is commitment to team working and staff support. The team is supported by a well-established Front Door Team (Physio and Occupational Therapists), Secretarial/Admin Team, Informatics Team and we work closely with other department, particularly the Emergency Department. AMU has gone through some structural ad geographical changes throughout the Pandemic and we now have an adaptive, dynamic service that we are looking to develop further.

We see our juniors as future colleagues and there are a large number of trainees that rotate through our busy AMU. We take pride in helping them to grow in confidence and competence. The unit has a dedicated consultant providing excellent mentoring for all our trainees on a Wednesday.

We are currently planning for an Integrated Front Door and part of the Way Forward Programme utilising Government funding to develop Front Door services. The AMU will be getting new purpose built facilities to expand our MAU and SDEC facilities in conjunction with closer physical and operational links with the Emergency Department.

Within the wider Unscheduled Care Division there are services for Geriatric Medicine, Neurology, Stroke Medicine, Cardiology, Respiratory Medicine, Gastroenterology, Endocrinology and Emergency Medicine.

Currently consultants in Acute Medicine, Geriatric Medicine, Respiratory Medicine and Diabetes and Endocrinology take part in the general medicine on call rota.

We are currently predominantly located in Brunel Treatment Centre (Ground floor) within the Great Western Hospital, which has excellent travel links (including good onsite parking), with many cities within easy range. The Trust is located on the edge of Swindon with access to a variety of outstanding areas to live which include both urban or village areas with short commutes to the site.

Management and Leadership Responsibilities:

All staff in each Division are managerially accountable through their Lead Clinician to the Associate Medical Director, who has overall responsibility for the services within the Division. Consultants are key members of the Division and are accountable and responsible for leading changes to service that will improve the patient experience.

• To support the Clinical Lead in policy and strategy development as a senior member of the Division Management Team.
• To contribute to the leadership and development of Services under the direction of the Clinical Lead and Associate Medical Director and in line with the Trusts business plans.
• The post holder will ensure effective communication and involvement of staff across the Division including support to the Divisional Director to achieve their objectives.
• Work in partnership with colleagues in other Divisions within the Trust.
• As part of the Division Management Team, assist in the cost effective utilisation of resources, including pay and non-pay items such as equipment and drugs, within budgets.
• Work within the Trusts framework for Clinical Governance and Risk, including the development of clinical policies and adherence to standing orders, standing financial instructions and financial procedures.
• Undertake direct supervision of junior colleagues and participate in departmental/trust wide teaching programmes.
• Undertake investigations and report writing for incidents and participate in clinical risk management
• Appointed candidates will embody the STAR values and use the principles of the NHS Constitution for England to guide decisions.

Clinical Governance and Audit

All consultants are expected to participate in clinical effectiveness activities. They are expected to maintain and foster improvements in the quality and standards of clinical services. Consultants lead the safeguarding of high standards of care by participating in the creation of environment in which excellence in clinical care will flourish.

Consultants are expected to support the Clinical/Medical Leadership teams within their division to achieve the following:

• Production of a Division annual clinical governance plan.
• Production of a Division quality strategy.
• Production of a Division quarterly report to the Trusts Clinical Governance and Risk Committee.
• Ensuring targets within the plan are met, including:
  • Adoption of evidence based practice including compliance with government guidance, e.g. NICE
  • Establishment and implementation of a Division clinical audit programme
  • Completion of risk assessments as required and compliance with the Trusts risk management policies and strategies including controls assurance standards
  • Encouraging research and development
  • Ensuring, through the Divisional Director, in association with the Division of Workforce and Education, that Division staff meet the education and training targets agreed within the Trusts annual plan.
  • Ensuring through the Divisional Director that complaints management is timely and effective including implementing action plans relating to individual complaints.
  • Contributing to work force planning to ensure timely availability of appropriate clinical skills to maintain excellence in patient care.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• Full GMC registration with a licence to practise

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

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 (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).

Employer details

Employer name

Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Great Western Hospital

Swindon

SN3 6BB

Employer's website

https://www.gwh.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)