Job overview

We welcome interest for this Consultant Gerontologist role with a special interest in acute frailty. This is a new role with the objective of taking Gerontology closer to the front door of the hospital where the need is greatest in Bromley. One desired output is delivery of an Acute Gerontology Unit aligned with the Acute Medical Unit to provide high-quality care to frail and older patients needing a short-stay in hospital. The Princess Royal University Hospital provides acute care to a significant number of frail and older patients. It is well-recognised that the London Borough of Bromley has the second largest population of older people, and this is predicted to increase by 35% in 2035. Therefore, it is crucial that Gerontology team matches this demand in terms of workforce numbers and skill. There is a collective commitment to fully integrate frailty services across care providers in the borough of Bromley which led to the development of the Acute Frailty Assessment Unit in 2021. This service has grown in workforce and maturity over the last 2 years and has been recognised as a regional exemplar of high-quality same-day frailty care. The Acute Gerontology Unit is seen as innovation on this foundation of good work.

Main duties of the job

The remit of the post holder will be to work within the multi–disciplinary team providing and further developing care for Gerontology patients. In addition, the individual will be required to play an active role in the general workload of the department while having a significant commitment to teaching and training of junior staff. In addition, the individual will be required to play an active role in the general workload of the Care Group, take on appropriate specific responsibilities as part of their core Supporting Professional Activity (e.g. infection control, risk and performance management, consultant and junior rota supervision, teaching programme, mortality monitoring, audit, speciality liaison) while having a significant commitment to teaching and training of junior staff and students.

Major areas of Adult Medicine in King’s include the interface with Acute Frailty, Orpington Hospital and other medical specialties and community care providers.  It is envisaged that the successful candidate will contribute to the development and delivery of all aspects of the service but our priorities are to continue working towards provision of recognised outstanding patient safety, quality of care, patient experience and reducing waste, and our focus is on the assessment and management of our patients with appropriate clinically lead pathway design.

Working for our organisation

King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is one of the UK’s largest and busiest teaching Trusts with a turnover of c£1 billion, 1.5 million patient contacts a year and more than 15,000 staff based across South East London. The Trust provides a full range of local and specialist services across its five sites. The trust-wide strategy of Strong Roots, Global Reach is our Vision to be BOLD, Brilliant people, Outstanding care, Leaders in Research, Innovation and Education, Diversity, Equality and Inclusion at the heart of everything we do. By being person-centred, digitally-enabled, and focused on sustainability, we aim to take Team King’s to another level.

 

We are at a pivotal point in our history and we require individuals who are ready to join a highly professional team and make a real, lasting difference to our patients and our people.

 

King’s is committed to delivering Sustainable Healthcare for All via our Green Plan. In line with national Greener NHS ambitions, we have set net zero carbon targets of 2040 for our NHS Carbon Footprint and 2045 for our NHS Carbon Footprint Plus. Everyone’s contribution is required in order to meet the goals set out in our Green Plan and we encourage all staff to work responsibly, minimising their contributions to the Trust’s carbon emissions, waste and pollution wherever possible.