About this role
Job summary
This post is a ward-based Locally Employed Doctor (LED) position within inpatient Healthcare of Older People (HoP) and Community services.
Main duties of the job
Totnes Community Hospital
Dart Ward (16 beds, 18 in escalation)
18 medical inpatient beds in a modern purpose-built unit
Predominantly frail older patients requiring rehabilitation, ongoing medical care or complex discharge planning
Mix of step-down transfers and direct admissions (e.g. IV therapy, end-of-life care)
Since April 2022, the HoP team has led the development of a new community care model at Totnes. The ward is supported by a weekly consultant ward round and middle-grade support.
Blood courier twice daily; anticipated point-of-care testing expansion.
Newton Abbot Community Hospital
Teign Ward (30 rehabilitation/general medical beds)
Templer Ward (20 stroke/neuro rehab + 10 general medical beds)
Mix of direct admissions from Harbour, step down rehabilitation, and specialist stroke/neuro rehabilitation
Specialist GP and Specialist doctor (daily) supported by stroke consultant ward round (weekly)
Harbour Unit (hospital at home and frailty SDEC)
Expanding service with 12 hospital at home beds and 6 SDEC spaces for type 5 and type 6 SDEC work.
Senior medical cover from a mix of Trust GP's, consultant practitioner, and consultant geriatrician
This is a rapidly developing service with many opportunities for QIP.
About us
Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust is an integrated care organisation providing acute health care services from Torbay Hospital, community health services and adult social care. When we formed our integrated care organisation in October 2015 we became the first Trust in England to join up hospital and community care with social care. As one organisation, we are working with our partners to improve the way we deliver safe, high-quality health and social care.
The Trust runs Torbay Hospital as well as four community hospitals, stretching from Dawlish to Brixham. We also provide health and social care to the local population.
We have around 500,000 face-to-face contacts with patients in their homes and communities each year and see over 78,000 people in our Emergency Department annually. We serve a resident population of approximately 286,000 people, plus about 100,000 visitors at any one time during the summer holiday season.
We have been an authorised NHS Foundation Trust since 2007 and have over 12,000 public members and we employ approximately 6,000 staff including frontline health and social care staff. We also have over 800 volunteers who make a difference each and every day to the people we care for.
Job description Job responsibilities
Newton Abbot Hospital is a busy community hospital which as well as having 60 inpatient beds also has an Urgent treatment Centre open 8-8,7 days per week, a Planned Infusion Unit and hosts multi-specialty out patient clinics.
Patients are predominantly transferred from local acute hospitals for ongoing medical care and rehabilitation, but patient may also be admitted directly from home following discussion with senior doctors on site. The majority of patients also require complex discharge planning.
Evening and weekend medical cover is provided by the Out of Hours Service for urgent reviews only.
Nursing staff within the hospital are trained to a high level to ensure that patients are assessed, treated and referred appropriately if required to the out of hours service. They are skilled in phlebotomy, intravenous cannulation, Intravenous drug administration and complex wound management.
There is also a Ward Pharmacist who supports both wards and a pharmacy technician. There is a stroke/neuro Consultant ward round every Thursday morning.
The new Harbour frailty service runs from its own dedicated space on the first floor of Newton Abbot Hospital. This sees patients in an evolving frailty-attuned SDEC space, as well as at home under the Harbour at Home (virtual ward) caseload. There is a large shared office space with workspaces for clinicians and the opportunity for daily MDT working and links with a senior clinician. The team is made up of Frailty GPs, Consultant Practitioners, ACPs, tACPs and nurses.
Totnes Community Hospital has 18 medical inpatient beds in a modern purpose-built unit. The unit is run by the Healthcare of Older People Team.
The HOP Team currently have 8.9 WTE Consultants. We also have a Nurse Consultant in Frailty and a range of Physicians Associate, Advanced Clinical Practice and Specialist Nurse roles. We work very closely with our colleagues in stroke and in addition to Totnes Hospital we support 3 acute wards, orthogeriatrics service, and host the Parkinsons Disease service. There may be opportunities for this post to gain experience in other areas of the service if this aligns with their PDP.
Roughly eighty percent of the patients are step down transfers from acute hospitals for further rehabilitation, ongoing medical treatment or complex discharge planning whilst the remainder are direct admissions from home, usually for intravenous therapies (antibiotics, fluids and transfusions) or for end of life care.
Nursing staff in all Community Hospitals are trained to a uniform very high level and are skilled in intravenous cannulation, initiation of IV antibiotics and phlebotomy.
Person Specification
Qualifications & Training Essential
Has achieved MBChB or equivalent medical qualification. Satisfactory completion of Foundation training or equivalent. 12 Months continuous experience within the NHS ALS training or equivalent. Registration with the GMC at time of starting the post.
Desirable
Experience of Foundation training.
Knowledge & Experience Essential
Competence in basic clinical procedures. Able to prioritise clinical need, time and workload. Understand the importance of working effectively in teams. Understands the principles of patient confidentiality and data protection.
Desirable
Knowledge of UK health systems, practices and values; awareness of current issues in the NHS. Computer literate. Understands the importance and impact of information systems in health care. Ability to practise evidence-based medicine
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.
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 Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust
Address Community Hospitals
Various
Torbay
TQ2 7AA
United Kingdom
Employer's website https://www.torbayandsouthdevon.nhs.uk (Opens in a new tab)