This is a 10 PA post for a Consultant Stroke Physician to join the Princess Royal University Hospital (PRUH) team.

The Stroke service at the PRUH is highly performing and it is staffed by an energetic and dynamic team. The creation of this post is one of a number of initiatives to safeguard high quality care and develop the service further. Activity from the Emergency Department remains high and a large number of patients are receiving treatment and rehabilitation in the stroke service. The post holder will work across both the Hyper-acute Stroke Unit (HASU) and SU and, together with the multi-disciplinary team, provide and further develop care for stroke and other neurovascular patients from the local and regional catchment areas. We have recently had increases in junior doctor staffing, are in the process of working towards increasing the seniority if the trainees we have, and already offer a 7 day therapy service for patients on both the HASU and SU. As part of King's College Hospital NHS Trust we are part of a 24:7 thrombectomy network in London, with close links in place with King's College Hospital Denmark Hill site HASU as well as St George's HASU.

Interested candidates are encouraged to contact Dr Aza Abdulla, Consultant Geriatrician and Clinical Lead for Geriatrics (aza.abdulla@nhs.net) and Dr Debbie Ramsey - Stroke Clinical Lead PRUH (deborah.ramsey@nhs.net).

Main duties of the job

The successful applicant will be based primarily on the PRUH site and work in all the major areas of Stroke Medicine that include the hyperacute management of TIA and Stroke, acute care, rehabilitation and prevention. They will work closely with colleagues in the allied specialties of neuroradiology, neurosurgery, neurorehabilitation and vascular surgery. It is envisaged that the appointee will contribute to the development and delivery of many aspects of these services depending upon their interests and experience: an interest in transforming and improving the service is welcomed. The post would be appropriate for a stroke geriatrician or physician with stroke specialty training in another allied field e.g. neurology or acute internal medicine depending on experience and interest, with exciting local opportunities in particular available for expanding the acute medicine services on the PRUH site in conjunction with hyperacute stroke work.

About us

King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is one of the UK's largest and busiest teaching Trusts with a turnover of c�1 billion, 1.5 million patient contacts a year and more than 15,000 staff based across South East London. The Trust provides a full range of local and specialist services across its five sites. The trust-wide strategy of Strong Roots, Global Reach is our Vision to be BOLD, Brilliant people, Outstanding care, Leaders in Research, Innovation and Education, Diversity, Equality and Inclusion at the heart of everything we do. By being person-centred, digitally-enabled, and focused on sustainability, we aim to take Team King's to another level.

We are at a pivotal point in our history and we require individuals who are ready to join a highly professional team and make a real, lasting difference to our patients and our people.

King's is committed to delivering Sustainable Healthcare for All via our Green Plan. In line with national Greener NHS ambitions, we have set net zero carbon targets of 2040 for our NHS Carbon Footprint and 2045 for our NHS Carbon Footprint Plus. Everyone's contribution is required in order to meet the goals set out in our Green Plan and we encourage all staff to work responsibly, minimising their contributions to the Trust's carbon emissions, waste and pollution wherever possible.

Job description
Job responsibilities

The post will be based at the Princess Royal University Hospital. There will be an average of 8.5 Programmed Activities of Direct Clinical Care, with the remainder being allocated for Supporting Professional and/or other Activities. An indicative job plan is attached but we would envisage tailoring the job plan to suit the right applicant whilst meeting the needs of the service. There is also potential for additional PAs that could be negotiated when in post and any discussions thereof will be with the Stroke Clinical Lead and the division of General Medicine at the PRUH.

The post holder will rotate, along with the current PRUH based Stroke Physicians, across the Hyper-acute service. Each Consultant will spend time, on rotation, managing patients on the HASU, and the TIA clinic. An applicant with geriatrics training would be expected to contribute to the care of patients on the SU; candidates with neurology or acute medicine experience would be encouraged to participate in the PRUH inpatient and outpatient services for those specialities. The post holder will contribute to the weekday daytime on-call service for stroke and there will be an out-of-hours on-call commitment of 1 in 6 weekend days with compensatory time in lieu after working a weekend. Night-time on calls are on a 1 in 12 rota (across weekdays and weekends), and involve being on call for both PRUH and Denmark Hill (DH), with a responsibility to be the receiving consultant for the DH thrombectomy service on some weeks, supervising a Registrar based at DH (and remotely supporting PRUH) and an SHO based at PRUH. An indicative job plan is provided in this document but this would be personalised depending on the specific skills and interests of applicants.

DEPARTMENT DESCRIPTION
INTRODUCTION

The Kings Neurosciences Centre serves a population of over 3.2 million and includes the population of the County of Kent as well as the Lambeth, Southwark & Lewisham (LSL), Bromley and Bexley & Greenwich Health Authorities populations.

The Centre includes the departments of Neurosurgery, Neurology, Stroke, Neuroradiology, Neurophysiology, Clinical Neuropsychology, Neuro-Rehabilitation and Neuropathology. The Frank Cooksey Rehabilitation Unit and the Ontario ward in Orpington Hospital provide specialised neuro-rehabilitation services for people following a neurological event, as well as step-down and enhanced recovery service for medically stable neuroscience patients. Some services are also located at the Institute of Psychiatry.

At present there are around 170 neurosciences beds which include 11 HDU beds, 68 stroke beds (40 at PRUH and 28 at Denmark Hill), 14 beds for Neuro Rehabilitation, and a 10 bed (4 HDU) paediatric neurosurgical ward is situated within the Variety Club Children's Hospital. Six ventilated beds are available in the surgical ITU for both elective and emergency cases. Outpatient clinics are conducted at Denmark Hill, the PRUH and Orpington Hospital.

STROKE MEDICINE

Kings College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is designated as a Stroke Centre by Healthcare for London. We play a central part in the delivery of the London Stroke model. We strive to deliver high quality stroke care, undertake leading edge research and train a multidisciplinary work force to deliver stroke care for the future.

The capacity to deliver the tripartite agenda of excellence in clinical service, research and training that are competitive on the world stage has been enhanced by Kings Health Partners (KHP), a collaboration between one of the worlds leading research-led universities and three of London's most successful NHS Foundation Trusts.

The combined stroke service provides a high quality, evidence-based, stroke service complemented by continued review and development of policies and practices for cutting-edge stroke care. The comprehensive Stroke Centre provides emergency, acute and rehabilitation care for all types of vascular insults (such as TIAs, ischaemic stroke, haemorrhagic stroke) with a view to increased involvement in subarachnoid haemorrhages, subdural or extradural haematomas, as well as the academic base for high quality interdisciplinary research in stroke.

Kings College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust has two closely linked Stroke services and these operate on the PRUH and Denmark Hill sites. The Stroke service at the PRUH comprises of a 14 bedded Hyper Acute Stroke Unit (HASU) and a 26 bedded Stroke Unit (SU). The stroke service at the Denmark Hill site has a 12 bedded HASU and a 16 bedded SU. Each HASU admits over 100 patients per month, and provide a 24/7 thrombolysis and a daily outpatient rapid access neurovascular service. The stroke services on both sites are consistently ranked at the top of the RCP national clinical audit performance tables.

The PRUH stroke service admits about 1200 acute patients per year and there is a daily TIA clinic that sees an average of 600 patients per year. The PRUH hyperacute service is underpinned by 12 Consultants (4 in daytime hours at PRUH, rising to 12 in total who manage the stroke service cross-site out of hours on call). There is 1 HASU-based Specialist Registrar, a rotating Geriatric Medicine Specialist Registrar and there are 9 stroke clinical fellows/SHOs on a 24/7 rota. Combined with the Denmark Hill site, we are one of the biggest thrombolysis centres in the UK, and thrombolyse approximately 350 patients per year. There is access to advanced imaging and the service is supported by close links to allied specialties including neuroradiology (and neuro-intervention), vascular surgery, neurosurgery and neuro-intensive care that are housed at the Denmark Hill site.

As part of the London stroke model, once patients are stabilised (typically within 48-72 hours of admission), they are transferred from the HASU to their local SU. For the majority this is the PRUH SU but common sites for repatriation include University Hospital Lewisham and Croydon University Hospital. On both the HASU and SU patients undergo investigation and treatment of their Stroke together with multidisciplinary team (MDT) rehabilitation. The MDT includes physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech and language therapy, dietetics, neuropsychology, pharmacy and social services, and we are proud to be one of few sites that offer therapy 7 days per week.

For further information please visit:https://www.careersatkings.co.uk/roles/acute-frailty-service/

Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential

• Registerable medical qualification.
• MRCP or equivalent.

Desirable

• Other Higher degree or diploma (e.g., MD, Ph.D.)

Registration
Essential

• Full Registration with GMC and Name on Specialist Register for GIM on date of taking up appointment.

Training and Experience
Essential

• Wide experience in all aspects of Stroke and an appropriate linked specialty such as Geriatric medicine or Neurology, culminating in award of CCT or equivalent.
• Specialist fellowship or other training in Stroke.

Desirable

• Experience of successful working at the interface between the specialties of Stroke and other medical specialties.

Administration
Essential

• Experience in day to day organisation of Stroke services in a busy Teaching Hospital.

Desirable

• Familiar with current structure of Health Service and conversant with recent initiatives and changes

Management and Leadership
Essential

• Able to demonstrate leadership capability within multi-disciplinary teams.
• Sound intellectual skills are required, as evidenced by a professional training base, supplemented by managerial experience.

Desirable

• Management course and/or qualification.

Audit
Essential

• Thorough understanding of principles of medical audit.
• Must have undertaken and completed audit projects.

Research and Publications
Essential

• Experience of clinical research.

BMJRef: BMJ-123435/213-PRUH-2753-I