Locum Consultant Physician - Geriatric Medicine

Overview

Homerton Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

The comprehensive range of geriatric services currently provided by HUH is as recommended by the National Service Framework for Older People and the British Geriatrics Society. Multidisciplinary team working is strong, with senior physiotherapists, occupational therapists, and social workers dedicated to elderly services. There is close liaison and collaboration with all departments, and formal links with orthopaedics, old age psychiatry, neurology, and community teams.

Over recent years, the Trust has undertaken an extensive programme of work to improve and better integrate its elderly care provision. Please see the job description for further details.

The closing date is 10 February 2026

Main duties of the job

• To work collaboratively and pro-actively with all appropriate clinical colleagues within the Trust in developing and implementing an acceptable service model reflective of best practice
• To forge effective relationships with clinical colleagues outside the Trust to improve the coherence and integration of patient pathways
• To share responsibility with colleagues for providing evidence-based standards of care for all inpatients and outpatients
• To have continuing responsibility for the care of patients in his/her charge, including all administrative duties associated with patient care
• To liaise effectively and on a timely basis with General Practitioners and all other external agencies
• To lead and co-ordinate the dedicated multi-disciplinary team appointed to support the service models to achieve effective rehabilitation and effective discharge management
• To deliver comprehensive ward rounds and weekly multi-disciplinary meetings to co-ordinate the delivery of high-quality patient care
• To deliver multi-disciplinary outpatient clinics to provide specialist support
• To participate fully in the management of the Care of the Elderly Department and liaise closely with the Clinical Lead, Service Manager and Divisional Operations Director
• To participate in corporate and singular responsibility for the management of junior medical staff.

About us

Homerton Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (HH) is an acute hospital located in the east London Borough of Hackney. The current Chairman is Sir John Gieve (Mary Elford will take over from 31st March 2025), and the Chief Executive is Ms Basirat Sadiq.

Homerton became one of the first ten NHS Foundation trusts in the country in April 2004. This allows the Trust to secure certain freedoms to facilitate innovation in the way services are developed and provided. As well as our Trust Board, we also have a Council of Governors comprised of governors representing the local community.

In 2011 the Trust integrated with City & Hackney Community Health Services thereby providing it with an opportunity to develop new service models and pathways that cross traditional organisational boundaries.

Employing over 3000 people, the hospital has approximately 500 beds and manages a 50-bed nursing home, Mary Seacole Nursing Home, in Shoreditch, East London. In 2022, the Trust saw over 300,000 people in outpatient clinics, and over 126,000 people were treated in the Accident and Emergency department. The Trust also had contact with over 280,00 patients and clients within the community, often in their own homes.

The Trust has a turnover in the region of £220 million, performs consistently well against national performance targets, and has an ambitious objective to increase its income to £300 million over the next few years.

Job responsibilities

Applications are invited from suitably qualified physicians for the post of Consultant Physician in Geriatric Medicine. The post will be based at Homerton University Hospital and the post-holder will have following core responsibilities:

• To provide comprehensive inpatient care on the Elderly Care Unit, with approximately 14 inpatients per ward round
• To assist the Trust in evaluating the efficacy in clinical, operational and financial terms of the services.
• Outpatient clinics are generally flexible to accommodate other clinical commitments, with profiles of between 2-3 new patients, and 3-5 follow-up patients.
• The post is offered on a basis of 11 programmed activities (10+ 1 GIM) for one year to cover maternity leave. Full secretarial support will be provided as well as suitably equipped office space with IT.
• To achieve the departmental objectives the Trust is seeking a dynamic individual with highly developed leadership and communication skills and a commitment to multi-disciplinary and integrated working across specialty boundaries.
• The Trust has the required arrangements in place, as laid down by the Royal College of Physicians, to ensure that all doctors have an annual appraisal with a trained appraiser and supports doctors going through the revalidation process.

Person Specification Qualifications & Higher qualifications

• Fully registered with GMC
• MRCP (or equivalent)
• On specialist register or within 6 months of Geriatric/General Medicine CCT at the time of interview
• Certificate of Eligibility for Specialist Registration (CESR)
• Other higher degree or diploma (e.g. MD, PhD)

Clinical Skills and Relevant Experience

• Ability to practice independently in Geriatric and General Medicine.
• Ability to offer expert clinical opinion on a range geriatric medicine related problems.
• Ability to work as part of a multidisciplinary team.
• Excellent clinical skills

Leadership and professionalism

• Ability to take responsibility, lead, make decisions and respond appropriately to service need
• Evidence of cross craft working and interdisciplinary working which goes beyond usual team working
• Familiar with current structure of the health service and conversant with recent initiatives and changes
• Awareness of the overall business environment in which the hospital operates
• Understanding of the importance of good clinical coding
• Knowledge of relevant regulatory frameworks e.g. EWTD
• Understanding the principles of quality improvement.
• Management of team or programme or project.
• Experience of using quality improvement methodology and managing change.

Teaching & training

• Experience of undergraduate and post- graduate teaching
• Experience of educational supervision, teaching skills course/ qualification

Clinical Governance

• Evidence of contribution to effective audit and clinical risk management
• Experience of educational supervision, teaching skills course/ qualification

Research

• Understanding of principles and application of clinical research
• Relevant research experience. Publication of peer reviewed papers

Personal attributes

• An awareness of own strengths and weaknesses coupled with an ability to deploy them effectively. Professional attitude towards work, good record of attendance

Patient focused skills

• Empathy, understanding, listening skills, patience, social skills appropriate to different types of client

Interpersonal skills

• Good interpersonal skills coupled with an ability to co- operate, persuade and negotiate within a senior clinical and management team

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.

Homerton Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust