About this role
Job summary Consultant in Acute Medicine
This is an exciting opportunity to join a progressive Acute Medicine Unit at Aintree University Hospital, part of Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. The post supports the Trust's strong commitment to Acute Medicine and to delivering timely, consultant-led care during peak demand periods, ensuring rapid assessment, treatment and safe decision-making for acutely unwell medical patients.
The service includes a well-established Ambulatory Emergency Care (AEC) Unit, supporting same-day assessment, treatment and admission avoidance, alongside a rapid assessment, flow-focused Acute Medical Unit model delivered through regular board rounds and close multidisciplinary working. In February 2023, Acute Medicine relocated to a bespoke front-door facility co-located with the Emergency Department, strengthening integration and enabling earlier senior clinical decision-making.
The service currently provides consultant presence 12 hours per day, 7 days per week, delivered by Acute Medicine and Medical Division colleagues. With further substantive consultant appointments, this model will increasingly be delivered by the Acute Medicine Directorate, supported by inpatient specialty in-reach.
This post offers the opportunity to contribute to the continued development of a high-performing front-door Acute Medicine service, with a strong focus on quality, patient flow, innovation and multidisciplinary working.
Main duties of the job
Provide timely senior clinical assessment and decision-making for acutely unwell medical patients at the hospital front door. Lead and supervise the acute medical take, ensuring safe, efficient triage, investigation and management, including admission avoidance and same-day discharge where appropriate. Deliver consultant-led care on the Acute Medical Unit (AMU), including ongoing responsibility for patients until transfer to specialty care or discharge. Undertake consultant ward rounds and board rounds, working with nursing and operational teams to optimise flow and bed utilisation. Provide senior clinical oversight and support to junior medical staff, including complex decision-making and high-risk situations. Contribute to the development of front-door, ambulatory and acute medicine models, and to clinical governance, quality improvement, education and service development.
About us
Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust was created on 1 October 2019 following the merger of two adult acute Trusts, Aintree University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and the Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals NHS Trust.
The merger provides an opportunity to reconfigure services in a way that provides the best healthcare services to the city and improves the quality of care and health outcomes that patients experience.
The Trust runs Aintree University Hospital, Broadgreen Hospital, Liverpool University Dental Hospital and the Royal Liverpool University Hospital.
It serves a core population of around 630,000 people across Merseyside as well as providing a range of highly specialist services to a catchment area of more than two million people in the North West region and beyond.
To hear more about our achievements click herehttps://www.liverpoolft.nhs.uk/media/13089/1606-annual-report-booklet_final.pdf
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Job description Job responsibilities
The Consultant in Acute Medicine will be based within the Acute Medical Unit (AMU) at Aintree University Hospital, which provides frontdoor assessment and management for acutely unwell medical patients.
The AMU comprises:
A 13space trolleyed assessment area (MAB/FAB) for acute medical assessments Two side rooms and a fourbed High Care Area A dedicated dropoff bay for rapid initial patient assessment A colocated Ambulatory Emergency Care (AEC) Unit with six assessment rooms, a procedure room and a treatment bay/hub A 27bed short stay unit (AMU 2) supporting ongoing acute medical care and early discharge
The Consultant will work within a multidisciplinary Acute Medicine team, currently comprising fulltime Acute Medicine Consultants supported by Consultant Physicians from other medical specialties. The service is further supported by Acute Medicine Specialty Registrars, Clinical Fellows, GPVTS, IMT, ACCS and Foundation trainees, alongside Advanced Nurse Practitioners and Physician Associates.
AMU Consultants work in close collaboration with the Emergency Department team, the oncall medical registrars, IMT trainees and Consultant Physicians across the Medical Directorate, providing senior clinical leadership and supporting the management of the acute medical take.
The role includes liaison with General Practitioners regarding the suitability for admission of selected patients where there is diagnostic or management uncertainty, supported by a dedicated AEC advice phone line and access to rapid assessment clinic review.
The Consultant will have responsibility for supervising junior medical staff, including ensuring that timely and highquality discharge summaries are completed for patients discharged from both AMU and AEC, supporting safe transfer of care back to primary and community services.
This post plays a key role in the continued development of an integrated, frontdoor Acute Medicine service, focused on rapid senior decisionmaking, admission avoidance, patient flow and highquality acute care.
Person Specification
Qualifications Essential
MB ChB or equivalent medical qualification MRCP (UK) or equivalent CCT in acute medicine or GIM (General Internal Medicine) (or within 6 months) full registration with the GMC
Desirable
Additional post-graduate qualifications. CCT in acute Medicine
Clinical Knowledge & Expertise Essential
Appropriate knowledge base and ability to apply sound clinical judgement to problems. Demonstrates the necessary range, depth and breadth of competencies specified in the acute and general medicine curriculum and applying to this post.
Academic & Research skills Essential
Demonstrates ability to undertake robust audit / research within team structure. Demonstrates range of teaching techniques relevant to variety of curricula,
Desirable
Evidence of teaching and assessment skills.
Disclosure and Barring Service Check This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Certificate of Sponsorship Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
Employer details Employer name Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Address Aintree
Long Lane
Liverpool
L9 7AL
United Kingdom
Employer's website https://www.liverpoolft.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)