Job overview

This is an exciting opportunity to join our relatively new multidisciplinary Frailty Assessment Unit.

This is a 1 year fixed term post at 18.53 hrs per week.

The service provides an alternative pathway for older adults with frailty who present to hospital in an emergency. Co-located with our Emergency Department, the unit accepts direct referrals from the community, the London Ambulance Service, and our Emergency Department. 

The post holder will independently assess, investigate, diagnose, treat, and manage older adults with a Clinical Frailty Scale of 4+ presenting with a frailty crisis, or 5+ with a frailty crisis or an alternative suitable condition. You will work closely with the team to reduce unnecessary hospital admissions and the length of stay for patients who require admission. The post holder will be responsible for delivering the highest quality of patient-centred care. 

The post holder will be an integral part of developing this new role and service. The position would be well-suited to a dynamic individual who has experience in change management with excellent communication and people skills. Working autonomously to provide a high level of expertise and exercise advanced clinical reasoning, judgement, discretion, and decision making whilst undertaking the skills of identification, assessment, examination, and interpretation of investigations to provide a diagnosis and formulate timely treatment, management plans, and safe discharge of patients.

Main duties of the job

• To be professionally and legally responsible and accountable for all aspects of own work including the management of patients in your care and to ensure a high standard of clinical care for patients under your management including those of other staff, by providing expert care for a complex patient caseload.
• To receive referrals from and make referrals to consultants and other healthcare professionals, review the patient and act, accordingly, thereby reducing length of waiting time for patients requiring intervention.
• According to current legislation to undertake independent prescribing and appropriate use of the administration of medicine using Patient Group Directions (PGD’s).
• Plan, deliver and evaluate interventions and/or treatments when there are complex issues and/or serious illnesses.
• Ensure that patient experience is at the core of service delivery through implementation and continued monitoring of CQC standards and FFT’s.
• Undertake assessment in accordance with evidence-based practice, legislation policies and procedures, e.g., taking a patient history, physical examinations, obtaining X-Rays and requesting diagnostic investigations within scope of practice.

Working for our organisation

The Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is the only acute hospital in the London Borough of Hillingdon and offers a wide range of services including accident and emergency, inpatient care, day surgery, outpatient clinics and maternity services. The Trust’s services at Mount Vernon Hospital include routine day surgery, delivered at a modern treatment centre, a minor injuries unit and outpatient clinics.

The safety and well-being of our patients and of our staff is paramount and we are making urgent improvements to address this – particularly in infection prevention and control. We are making progress and going forward by working in partnership with local GPs, charities,
community services, academic partners, our local authority, neighbouring hospitals and the wider North West London Integrated care system, and ensuring that we listen and work in partnership with our local population. We are absolutely focused on ensuring that our hospitals provide high quality, safe and compassionate care, while drive forward the building of the new Hillingdon Hospital.

We have over 3,500 members of staff that are proud to care for nearly half a million people, with a vision to be an outstanding provider of healthcare through leading health and academic partnerships, transforming services, to provide the best care where needed.