Job Advert
NHS Scotland is committed to encouraging equality and diversity among our workforce and eliminating unlawful discrimination. The aim is for our workforce to be truly representative and for each employee to feel respected and able to give their best. To this end, NHS Scotland welcomes applications from all sections of society.
NHS TAYSIDE
SPECIALITY DOCTOR POST
Dundee HSCP MEDICINE FOR THE ELDERLY
Applications are invited for an MFE Speciality Doctor to join the innovative Medicine for the Elderly Team in Dundee
Dundee has a diverse and integrated geriatric model across acute hospital (Ninewells Hospital) services to our communities. The acute component includes a 7 day per week multidisciplinary Acute Frailty Team and a 24 bedded Acute Medicine for the Elderly Unit (AME Unit) as a separate ward in the Medical Admission Unit. This innovative front door model has strong, integrated community links with staff working across this interface, which facilitates seamless, early community discharge. In addition, in Ninewells hospital, we have a 30 bedded geriatric assessment and rehabilitation unit aimed at managing acute severe illness in frail people, while at the same time rehabilitating to protect loss of functional ability
This Frailty at the Front Door service is a key component of the Tayside Unscheduled Care model which is recognised nationally as an exemplar
Outwith the acute hospital we have flourishing community care models with community hospitals and Royal Victoria Hospital, the centre for step-down rehabilitation in Dundee. We have a strong community presence and support Enhanced Community Support (ECS) with regular GP practise-based MDT meetings supported by designated locality MFE team aligned to each GP practice. In addition to this we also have Dundee Enhanced Community Support Acute Team (DECSA) which is essentially a form of hospital at home model which supports our ambition to manage the care of frail people in their own home, if safe to do so
At the heart of our model is this locality working where the team concentrate on the care of older people in one of the four specific Dundee localities or GP clusters. This delivers population continuity of care across in-patient and the community so as an MFE doctor, you are enabled to manage the care of the same frail person in the community, as an outpatient and while an in-patient throughout an older person’s life. It is a very holistic and rewarding model to work i
The team have a longstanding, very well recognised, positive reputation for employing and developing career grade doctors, as well as 9 MFE Advanced Nurse Practitioners and two nurse consultants. If successful candidate wishes, formal progression via CESR towards Consultant grade will be supported. The department already have one speciality doctor who has gone via this pathway and two others in process. Dedicated time in job plan will be facilitated
The Medicine for the Elderly team has a strong senior speciality doctor/ consultant group with no unfilled posts. The Dundee Health and Social Care Partnership and NHS Tayside have an ambitious strategy for Older People which demonstrates commitment to this population. Rewardingly, much of the leadership in TAYSIDE is clinically co-led, which genuinely allows a clinical voice and input into care models. The Medicine for the Elderly team is at the heart of this leadership model and so has a very strong voice allowing continuous service progression across the whole system to the benefit of older people in Tayside
The Medicine for the Elderly and Stroke teams share a close working relationship, with two of the physicians based across both teams. As of November 2019 we have centralised our acute stroke model and are delivering a 7 day per week acute model, with Tayside now delivering thrombectomy for the North region. Currently two of our geriatric consultants support the acute stroke service and deliver ongoing stroke rehabilitation in Royal Victoria Hospital. This model also allows stroke care continuity through acute hospital and into stroke rehabilitation facilities, which the consultant team find highly rewarding, as well as delivering best patient outcomes
Innovation and continuous service improvement is the norm in Tayside, hence our ambitious strategy around frailty including our surgical division where we have recently implemented a surgical frailty team and progressing towards pre-operative care support
This Speciality Doctor post will be totally tailored to an applicant’s needs. There is a strong culture of teaching, education and service improvement in Tayside and so successful post holder would have ample non-clinical time in job plan to support delivery against these ambitions, if they wish
Candidates can work fulltime or part time. Weekend and evening working is available, as is out of hours. These can be optional. We are truly flexible
For informal enquiries please contact: Dr Helen Elder, Ninewells Medicine for the Elderly Clinical Lead, 01382 660111, Bleep 4929 or email; helen.elder3@nhs.scot
Closing date for receipt of completed application forms is 10 February 2023, however we are looking to appoint to the post at the earliest opportunity and therefore encourage you to submit your application as soon as possible with a view to fast tracking applications and arranging interviews as they are received