Specialty Doctor in Elderly Medicine

Job overview

Our department is looking for an enthusiastic specialty doctor to join our team of consultant Geriatricians and multidisciplinary staff at the Basingstoke and North Hampshire Hospital, part of Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. We are keen to appoint a specialty doctor who is interested in a career in older person’s medicine, and we would be supportive of candidates wishing to progress their career through the CESR (Certificate of Eligibility for Specialist Registration) pathway.

We cover 54 inpatient beds across three wards on the Basingstoke site.  We also run weekly rapid access frailty outpatient and Parkinson’s clinics. The Frailty Intervention Team works across the Emergency Department and Acute Assessment Unit screening older patients for frailty and completing Comprehensive Geriatric Assessments. We are working towards opening a frailty Same Day Emergency Care later this year. The department has strong relationships with primary care and the community, providing a weekday advice line, virtual MDTs and a telemedicine service that operates to support care home residents.

We offer regular educational departmental teaching, grand rounds and clinical governance meetings. Participating in audit/QUIPs and teaching of students, junior doctors and the wider MDT. We would be keen to support applicants working towards CESR by providing educational opportunities in movement disorders, palliative care, older person’s mental health, stroke and orthogeriatrics.

Main duties of the job

The successful applicant will be expected to:

• Provide daily inpatient cover to our older patients, including leading MDT board rounds and ward rounds, with the support and supervision of a consultant geriatrician.
• Assess older patients in the emergency department and frailty SDEC, working with the Frailty Intervention Team and consultant geriatricians.
• Conduct rapid access outpatient frailty clinics, with indirect supervision from a consultant geriatrician.
• Initiate and take part in regular clinical audit.
• Participate in departmental teaching.
• Work to strengthen links with GPs and neighbouring Trusts.
• Work with the consultant geriatricians and MDT to develop and sustain our frailty pathway within the trust.
• Enhance and provide professional leadership within the integrated Frailty Intervention Team.

• Support the organisational aims of Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in making a positive contribution to management and financial strategies

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Duties

Attend daily ward rounds and MDTs, assessing and managing patients supported by the geriatricians.

Liaise with community teams/GP and families.

Support safe and effective discharge from ED, admissions unit and wards.

Commence and contribute to the comprehensive geriatric assessment of patients identified as frail, including advance care planning. The Trust is committed to the use of ReSPECT.

Assess patients referred to our older persons rapid access clinic

Support and work with other member of the integrated Frailty Intervention Team (consultant, speciality doctor, frailty matron, community frailty matron, therapists and frailty co-ordinator)

Teaching

There are various opportunities for teaching and training in the Trust. Our department offers a weekly lunchtime teaching programme, and medical grand rounds take place once a month.

There is an excellent Education Centre with audio-visual aids and a regular programme of meetings. The library is well served with books, journals, CD-ROM and multimedia facilities, including access to the Internet. There is excellent communication with other libraries in Wessex and beyond for items that are not available locally. Access to the internet is currently possible from several other computers around the site.

Clinical Audit, Governance, and Information

The Trust has been very proactive in developing clinical governance. The Clinical Governance department supports the Medical Division with research and audit.

All clinicians are expected to take part in clinical governance meetings, which are increasingly multi-disciplinary. Our department has monthly governance meetings as well as quarterly governance half days during which no no routine work takes place.

Research

A research-oriented approach to clinical practice is to be expected. There are good opportunities within Wessex for the funding of projects as well as to participate in national multi-centre studies. The Trust has an active R&D Committee to co-ordinate activity in the hospital and has been very successful in securing funding for research projects over the last few years.