Job overview

The Consultant Geriatrician will provide expert medical care for older people in the acute hospital and across community-linked services. The role focuses on caring for frail older adults who have complex medical problems, reduced mobility, memory difficulties and social care needs.

The post holder could  work across a range of services including the Frailty Same Day Emergency Care (SDEC) unit, virtual ward, acute geriatric inpatient wards, orthogeriatric services (care of older patients with fractures), perioperative frailty services, falls services, and community geriatrics. The aim is to assess patients early, provide the right treatment, avoid unnecessary hospital admissions, and support safe and timely discharge. All job plans will include a contribution to Frailty SDEC across seven days.

The Consultant Geriatrician will work closely with doctors, nurses, therapists, pharmacists and social care colleagues to carry out Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment, helping patients maintain independence and improve outcomes. They will provide specialist advice to other medical and surgical teams, including supporting older patients before and after surgery.

The role also includes helping to develop and improve services, ensuring high standards of care and patient safety, and supporting the training and development of junior doctors and other staff

Main duties of the job

Role Requirements

·         Provide expert medical care for older people across acute, perioperative, frailty, orthogeriatric, falls, and community services.

·         Lead and deliver Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment (CGA) for frail and complex patients.

·         Participate in Frailty SDEC, virtual ward, acute inpatient geriatric wards, orthogeriatrics, perioperative frailty assessment, falls services.

·         Ensure safe, timely discharge and continuity of care in collaboration with multidisciplinary teams and community services.

·         Contribute to clinical governance, quality improvement, and service development initiatives.

·         Support education, training, and supervision of junior doctors, medical students, and other healthcare professionals.

Managerial and Leadership

·         Provide clinical leadership for geriatric services and act as a senior decision-maker for complex cases.

·         Lead, mentor, and support junior medical staff and multidisciplinary team members.

·         Participate in service planning, policy development, and implementation of best practice guidelines.

Collaborate with other consultants, department leads, and hospital management to improve patient pathways and care delivery.

Working for our organisation

We are a people business – where every member of staff matters and can make a difference. Patients are at the heart of everything we do. Joining University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust means becoming part of a team of dedicated staff, who are committed to leading the way through innovation, clinical excellence and great customer care. The Trust has great opportunities for career development in a highly progressive working environment. We offer all of this in a vibrant, modern city with a historic reputation for adventure. PLEASE NOTE THAT ALL COMMUNICATION WILL BE ELECTRONIC, PLEASE CHECK YOUR EMAIL ACCOUNT REGULARLY. If you have any issues with applying online and need additional support including reasonable adjustments with the application process please contact the recruitment manager for this post who will put you in touch with the recruitment team. We recognise that work life balance is important for our colleagues and so we invite requests from applicants around less than full time/flexible working for our advertised roles. Please contact the recruiting manager to discuss this prior to your application submission. We commit to giving this full consideration in each case. We encourage people from diverse backgrounds to apply for our roles, as diversity strengthens our teams. It is sometimes necessary to close vacancies before the closing date. If you have not heard from us within 4 weeks of the closing date, please assume that you have not been shortlisted.