Consultant in Interface Medicine

East Lancs Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust is looking to appoint a Consultant in Interface Medicine working between our in-hospital and community and intermediate care services.

We are seeking a consultant with drive, commitment and enthusiasm who will bring a consistent focus to high performance and quality of care, working collaboratively with colleagues and providing clinical leadership to the wider team in this new innovative role.

The successful applicants will play a pivotal role in the care of the patients, working collaboratively with primary, secondary and community colleagues. This role will also undertake the Clinical Lead role for Consultant in Interface Medicine, integrated with our existing Intensive Home Support Service (IHSS) and evolving and expanding the Rapid Response Services to address frailty, multi-morbidity and deterioration in those long term conditions. The role will support the frail elderly patients on the Older Person’s Rapid Assessment (OPRA) Unit and Older Person’s Units (OPU), work alongside our Acute Physicians in Acute Medicine and support community services to increase the complexity of patients who can be cared for in their own home

ELHT is one of four Trusts nationwide to be named as a development site for the Royal College of Physicians Future Hospitals programme.

The Trust delivers safe effective quality care to a population of approximately 550,000.

Our main hospital sites Royal Blackburn Teaching Hospital and Burnley General Teaching Hospital are Teaching Hospitals. We are actively involved in education for both undergraduates and postgraduates and contribute to the Health Education North West training programme.

We have a comprehensive range of community and intermediate tier services that work alongside our local authorities and emerging Primary Care Networks.

These postholder will work in a multi-cultural area with beautiful locations including the Lake District, the Dales, and the Forest of Bowland on the doorstep. Cities such as Manchester, Leeds and Liverpool are readily accessible by public transport and by road. We have some excellent state and private schools in the area, and desirable areas to live where property is still at realistic prices.

This is a full time substantive post and supports our ongoing comprehensive reconfiguration of services. The successful applicant will develop the role of Consultant in Interface Medicine across acute, frailty and community pathways. This innovative new post will have clinical leadership responsibility whilst developing the new models of care - a Hospital at Home integrated with our existing Intensive Home Support Service (IHSS) and evolving and expanding the Virtual Ward model to address frailty, multi-morbidity and deterioration in those long term conditions. The role will work alongside our Acute Physicians in the Acute Medical Unit, support the frail elderly patients on the Older Person’s Rapid Assessment (OPRA) Unit and Older Person’s Units (OPU), and support community services to increase the complexity of patients who can be cared for in their own home.

Our Acute Medical Unit has significantly expanded in size over recent years, with improved facilities and additional staff. A new area - resulting from a £10m investment was opened in December 2020, and incorporates an enhanced care area. The department is forward-looking, with point-of-care ultrasound facilities, Advanced Nurse practitioner training and recruitment, and integrated pharmacist support. There is ongoing expansion of ambulatory care services.

The OPRA Unit has 9 assessment areas and two 19 bedded Older Person’s Units. This forms our new Frailty Unit with consultant board rounds throughout the day and full MDT input. There are no long-stay beds. The frailty model continues to develop, and it is anticipated that the postholder will work closely with the Frailty Team to facilitate care closer to home where appropriate.

Our community services incorporate the Intensive Home Support Service (IHSS) and the Intermediate Care Allocation Team (ICAT). IHSS are an integrated health and social care team, consisting of Advanced Nurse Practitioners, Community Nurses, Physiotherapists, Occupational Therapists, Social Workers and a Mental Health Nurse. IHSS provide in reach provision into ED, AMU A & B, OPRA and acute wards.

The Intermediate Care Allocation Team (ICAT) offers a single point of access to all Intermediate Care services throughout East Lancashire. ICAT is an established and truly integrated team of health and social care professionals, consisting of Social Workers, Occupational Therapists and Nurses as well as a team of Co-ordinators and business support staff with the aim of ensuring timely access to the most appropriate intermediate care services for the people of East Lancashire.

This is a 10 programmed activity (PA) post, although additional PAs up to a maximum of 12 may be negotiated with the post-holder by mutual agreement. 7