Consultant in Acute Medicine

Job overview

This post is an important part of our ongoing development of acute medical services, offering the successful applicants the opportunity to work closely with the existing acute physicians to provide a high standard of acute care across the Trust. We will match your enthusiasm, commitment, and drive to work closely with colleagues with a structure that allows you to be part of a developing team to help lead the organisation to deliver excellent care for our patients.

The post holder will work 2 out of 3 weeks working in acute medicine; the 3rd week will be spent in a medical specialty according to the candidates training and experience. The post comprise 10 programmed activities (PAs) including a 1 PA weekend on-call commitment, which could be modified for a candidate preferring to work less than full time.

This is an excellent opportunity within the acute medicine department at East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust, based at the Lister Hospital in Stevenage, which enjoys a unique geographical location close to London and Cambridge. We enjoy a reputation for our commitment to the highest standards of care, but also for our friendly and supportive approach.

Please note: The Job Description is subject to approval by the Royal College of Physicians.

Main duties of the job

The post holder will carry out ward rounds and MDT meetings in rotation with the other acute physicians, on AMU or SSU and post take / take support sessions in ED. Working alongside the existing consultant lead and associate specialists, assisted by the acute medicine registrars, a dedicated GPVTS trainee and rotating medical juniors, the post holder will be encouraged to take an active role in the ongoing development of SDEC and provide clinical cover as per the sample timetables.

The post holder will provide strong leadership for the acute medicine department and the interface with ED and the community.

The post holder will participate in a 1 in 12 weekend commitment with 08:30 – 16:30 shifts, covering post take ward round and acute medical areas and a smaller number of 10:00 – 21:00 shifts, covering acute medical areas and supporting the general medical take, plus out of hours cover until 8.30. An additional category A frequency on call payment supplement is afforded to this post.

Working for our organisation

At East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust, we are proud of the range of general and specialist services we provide and our 6,000 or so dedicated staff ensure our patients get the best care. Our ability to be flexible and innovative in the way in which we work and deliver our services to our catchment has never been more important than it is now.

We run the following hospitals:

• The Lister Hospital, Stevenage
• New Queen Elizabeth II (New QEII), Welwyn Garden City
• Hertford County, Hertford
• Mount Vernon Cancer Centre (MVCC), Northwood

We have ambitious plans to become an outstanding, patient-led Trust where dedicated staff provide high-quality, compassionate care to our patients. We continue to undergo significant transformation and our staff and patients are at the heart of delivering this ambitious agenda.

We are committed to a positive work life balance for our employees. This means that any employee is entitled to seek to work flexible working patterns and we are committed to listen and consider all requests. Such requests, of course, have to be made and considered formally, and will need to be balanced against service needs, but our starting point will always be to find ways to support making them happen.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• Maintenance of high-quality patient centered care
• Shared responsibility for the day-to-day management of the service and participation in strategic planning
• Teaching and training within the multidisciplinary service
• Active involvement in multidisciplinary team meetings and directorate clinical governance activity
• Active participation in continuing medical education

Please see the attached Job Description and Person Specification applicant pack for further detailed information regarding this role.

Person specificationQualifications/TrainingEssential criteria

• Entry on GMC Specialist Register or, be within 6 months of receipt of Certificate of Completion of Training (CCT) at time of interview or, provide GMC confirmed eligibility for entry on the Specialist Register
• College Membership (MRCP) or qualification of an equivalent level
• Advanced Life Support or demonstration of ability to achieve ALS immediately upon appointment
• Evidence of being up to date and fit to practice safely, and aware of own training needs

Desirable criteria

• College Fellowship
• Postgraduate degree (or equivalent)

Previous ExperienceEssential criteria

• Broad range of experience in Acute Medicine in particular: • Experience of Ambulatory Care • Fully competent in the management of the acute medical take • Fully competent in the management of inpatients and MDT working with emphasis
• Experience of supervising undergraduates, doctors in training and other colleagues
• Ability to offer and be accountable for full and independent expert diagnostic opinion
• Can evidence leading on patient safety issues and achieving a change in practice
• Published papers and original work in peer reviewed journals
• Demonstrate an understanding of the basic principles of audit, evidence based practice, and clinical quality improvement initiatives

Desirable criteria

• Demonstrable experience in a Locum Consultant role
• Demonstrable experience and participation in research

SkillsEssential criteria

• Able to evidence engagement with clinical governance and the identification of errors and the learning from errors.
• Evidence engagement with appraisal and revalidation
• Able to show situational awareness and application of good decision making
• Ability to effectively teach clinical skills
• Ability to critically appraise published evidence

KnowledgeEssential criteria

• Demonstrate understanding of basic principles of audit, evidence-based practice and clinical quality improvement initiatives
• Comprehensive knowledge and insight regarding all the domains within the GMC standards of Good Medical Practice

Other requirementsEssential criteria

• Demonstrates an interest and commitment to the specialty
• Experience and evidence of engagement around the equality, diversity, and inclusion agenda. Able to actively support the development of a culture that recognizes and promotes equality, values diversity, and actively leads by example in deploying these qualities. Understands the impact on equality, diversity, and inclusion issues in all aspects of service delivery and planning
• Role models our Trust values every day
• Understands and can demonstrate the values of the NHS constitution
• Evidence of being up to date and fit to practice safely, and aware of own training needs

Our values

We want our staff to believe in, demonstrate and live our values in everything we do.

Include
We value the diversity and experience of our community colleagues and partners, creating relationships and climates that provide an opportunity to share, collaborate and grow together.

Respect
We create a safe environment where we are curious of the lived experience of others, seek out best practice and are open to listening and hearing new ideas.

Improve
We are committed to consistently delivering excellent services and continuously looking to improve through a creative workforce that feels empowered to act in service of our shared purpose.

Committed to our Community

East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust is committed to equality, diversity and inclusion for all job applicants, staff, patients and the wider community. We want to create a workforce which represents the communities we serve. We are on a journey to become a more inclusive organisation and we welcome applications from everyone regardless of their background. In particular we encourage applications from candidates with disabilities, and candidates from Black, Asian and Minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds who are currently under-represented in various parts of our workforce .

We understand the importance of balancing work and home life. We are committed to support flexible working for our staff wherever possible and all our employees are given the opportunity to discuss potential for flexible working.

We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer and achieved our status in 2019.

We will remove barriers that prospective candidates might face at any stage of our recruitment process. If you have a disability and would like the advert in an alternative format, or would like to talk about how we can adjust the interview process to best support you, please contact us by emailing resourcing.enh-tr@nhs.net

We are also proud to support our UK armed forces by supporting Reservists, Cadet Instructors, Veterans and military spouses/partners into employment and offering supportive policies that value their contribution to the community and to our Trust.

We are committed to being a carer-friendly environment, addressing the complex needs of families with caring responsibilities. In partnership with Carers in Hertfordshire, all our working carers have access to support from recruitment. We are also a member of Carers UK, providing resources to make balancing work and caring easier. Our approach is inclusive, recognizing diverse challenges and creating a supportive environment where carers feel valued.

---