Job overview

Croydon University Hospital seeks to recruit qualified GPs to be trained to deliver Heart Failure clinics within the Cardiology service as part of a unified team at our acute site.

The roles are part time, fixed term contract (12 months), and GP Cardiologists are asked to consider undertaking 1-2 sessions per week (with time off for annual leave, study leave and CPD).  Full training will be provided, as will a shadowing programme.

The premise of this role is based on the success of the Oxford Integrated GP-Cardiology (OIGC) model whereby GPs were trained to deliver Cardiology Care. Adapted for heart failure, this role provides a unique opportunity for GPs to receive training in Heart Failure diagnosis and management by specialist consultants. This is particularly pertinent to the Croydon Borough due to the rising number of cases of Heart Failure due to increasing multi-morbidity of our patients. The prevalence of Heart Failure is only set to increase over the next decade and therefore the need for delivering high quality Heart Failure care in the community is ever increasing.

This approach to Heart Failure is intended to make care more accessible and is distinctive in its approach from some previous models in that it seeks to integrate primary and secondary care and to build bridges and connections between GPs and local Cardiologists. Furthermore, this role will provide opportunities to disseminate knowledge back into primary care for the purposes of shared learning.

Main duties of the job

The GP Cardiologist will be responsible for assessing, analyzing and forming a diagnosis and management plan for patients with known or suspected heart failure attending specialist clinics at CUH.

Assessments will include a history, physical examination and interpretation of an ECG in almost all cases and may include the integration of data from echocardiography, exercise testing, heart rhythm monitoring, and more specialized imaging, although a report will be provided by the physiologist in all cases.

The GP-Cardiologist will make a diagnosis, and communicate this to the patient and carers / family, and will make recommendations concerning, for example, lifestyle modifications, medications, need for further investigations, and need and location for follow up (whether with own GP, in community cardiology, or in secondary care).

The GP Cardiologist will communicate the outcomes of the consultation to the GP and to secondary care, and will complete all necessary administration relating to the consultation and to the service, including requesting, reviewing and endorsing all results of investigations.

Working for our organisation

Croydon Health Services NHS Trust provide hospital and community services from a number of community and specialist clinics throughout Croydon. The Trust was formed on 1st August 2010 through the integration of Croydon Community Health Services and Mayday Healthcare NHS Trust. Around 4,100 staff provide services for a population of over 360,000 people who are relatively young with a high level of ethnic diversity. 

Our main hospital site, Croydon University Hospital is one of the busiest in London. We’re also leading the way in providing more healthcare outside hospitals at clinics, specialist centres and in people’s homes. Our experienced district nursing teams, Allied Health Professionals and community matrons look after people of all ages across Croydon and our Children’s Hospital at Home cares for children with long-term conditions without them having to come to hospital. 

Across the NHS everyone is working hard to meet growing demand and we’re no exception. But with the right people on board, we are rising to this challenge, putting our people in the driving seat, encouraging innovation and transforming our services to give local people the quality of care they deserve. Croydon Health Services puts a great deal of importance on education and training throughout the careers of all of our staff. As well as offering access to a range of core skills training and professional development.