Locum Consultant Physician interest in Stroke Medicine

Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust (MTW) is undergoing a period of exciting redevelopment as it forges ahead as a regional and national pacesetter in timely assessment and management of non-elective admissions. There has been recent investment in its new same day emergency care units (Ambulatory Emergency Care and Acute Frailty Units) as well as the redevelopment of a brand-new, purpose built Acute Medical Unit.

This will be part of a £6 million development on its Maidstone site, including the Acute Assessment Unit, which opened in March 2020 and the new Hyper-Acute Stroke Unit, one of 3 in Kent, which MTW is key in providing.

This new appointment reflect the expansion in the non- elective services and will be based at Maidstone Hospital, with flexibility to work at both sites. Particular sub- specialty interests in any aspect of medicine will also be considered. The majority of clinical services provided by the Trust are managed on both sites and cross cover with the other hospital sites within the Trust may be required in circumstances where there is clinical need.

There are no acute/general medicine on-calls; on-call is exclusively stroke. The Department of Acute Medicine is part of the Acute Medicine & Geriatrics Directorate within the Division of Medicine and Emergency Care. The appointee will work with a total of 8 other Acute Medical Consultants at MTW when fully established.

The appointee will join five existing physicians with an interest in stroke in providing consultant input to the stroke service, with one further consultant participating in weekend cover. We provide a consultant presence on site each weekday from 08.00 to 20.00 and a daily consultant ward round seven days per week. The appointee will be expected to contribute to the weekend and out of hours rota on an approximately 1:7 basis.

The Trust was formed in April 2000 by the merger of the Mid Kent Healthcare Trust and the Kent & Sussex Weald NHS Trust. It provides general hospital services to a population of approximately 480,000 in West Kent and North East Sussex, and some specialist services to a considerably larger population. Its major hospitals are the Tunbridge Wells Hospital at Pembury and Maidstone Hospital.

The Trust is located in one of the most affluent and beautiful parts of Kent. Both Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells have several high quality state grammar and public schools. Maidstone is the County Town of Kent and Tunbridge Wells is a Regency spa town, both with excellent shopping and facilities. The hospitals are set on the outskirts of the towns, within an hour from central London by train and adjacent to Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

West Kent has many visitor attractions including pretty villages, historic castles, gardens and children's attractions, and is close to the Channel Tunnel, ports and sandy beaches

• To provide a high standard of care to any patient for whom you have clinical responsibility. This will include any patients referred to you and cared for by you personally or by members of your team and, in addition, any patients of consultant colleagues when you are covering on-call or for annual leave.
• To participate in clinical and other service activities and developments with the aim of ensuring a high standard of patient care across the Trust.
• To work in close co-operation with other medical, professional and managerial colleagues, both within and outside the specialty, to provide high quality health care to the Trusts patients, and to make a contribution to future thinking about the Trusts strategic direction.
• To participate fully in and share leadership of the clinical governance of the specialty covering its Trust-wide activities. To attend clinical governance half-days as detailed in the Trusts Guide to Job Planning unless on agreed leave or while attending emergencies.
• To participate actively in departmental audits, sharing co-ordination of audit activities within the department and implementation of change.
• To take an active responsibility for undergraduate and postgraduate teaching, training and supervision.
• To assume responsibility, both personally and corporately with consultant colleagues, for the management of junior medical staff. You are expected to be involved in their professional development, both clinical and personal as per guidance from the Deanery.
• To ensure that all doctors in training for whom you have supervisory responsibilities undertake delegated clinical tasks that are within their level of competence and knowledge.
• To ensure at all times that you comply with the General Medical Councils published guide Good Medical Practice including the Duties of a Doctor.
• To take personal responsibility for risk management in your work and undertake to review practices and learn from mistakes.
• To share in the on-call rota. To provide prospective cover for colleagues during annual and…