Job overview
Please note: at this stage, the role is open only to colleagues currently employed within Kent and Medway NHS Trusts, the Kent and Medway Integrated Care Board (ICB) and Medway Community Healthcare. Nursing vacancies are also open to Student Nurses and Newly Qualified Nurses.
Urgent Care Services in East Kent brings together nurses, therapists, frailty specialists, GPs, consultants, support workers and advanced practitioners as one integrated team delivering urgent, specialist and proactive care. Working 24/7, 365 days a year, the service provides rapid assessment and treatment to help people remain safely at home, avoid unnecessary hospital admissions and support timely discharge. Our pathways include urgent community response, frailty crisis support, rehabilitation and enablement, hospital‑at‑home models and virtual ward care supported by remote monitoring technology.
We deliver hospital‑level interventions in patients’ homes, including near‑patient testing, consultant‑led decision‑making and alternatives to acute admission. The service also supports PCN hubs, care homes and proactive comprehensive geriatric assessments. Together, we form a dynamic, highly skilled multidisciplinary team committed to delivering the right care at the right time, whether urgent, planned or proactive.
Main duties of the job
The Consultant Advanced Clinical Practitioner (ACP) for Frailty provides senior clinical leadership across East Kent’s Frailty Virtual Ward, Urgent Community Response and Integrated Frailty MDT pathways. Acting as an autonomous senior decision‑maker, you will deliver expert assessment, diagnosis, treatment and management for older adults living with frailty across community, acute interface and virtual ward models. This role spans all four pillars of Consultant‑level Advanced Practice: expert clinical practice, strategic leadership, education and research.
You will lead service development, influence system‑wide frailty strategy and support multidisciplinary teams to deliver high‑quality, evidence‑based care. The post includes developing and delivering frailty‑focused education, driving innovation, evaluating practice and contributing to research and transformation programmes. This is an exceptional opportunity for an experienced ACP to shape the future of frailty care across East Kent within a forward‑thinking, integrated urgent care system.
Working for our organisation
Rated ‘outstanding’ by the CQC, we’ve got a passion for delivering high standards of patient care and excellent services to improve the health of our communities. To do this we need outstanding people who share our values compassionate Aspirational Responsive Excellent
We know a commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion leads to better patient care and a happier workforce. We pride ourselves in being diverse and welcome applications from people with varied backgrounds, perspectives and experiences
We ask for information about your protected characteristics on our application forms. This isn’t visible to anyone involved with shortlisting or interviewing you, except when you choose to be considered under the guaranteed interview scheme due to disability. Short listers will see two ticks alongside your application to ensure they apply the principles of the scheme to your submission
The data we collect helps us to ensure we are attracting diversity in our applicants, that all our colleagues have equitable access to career opportunities and supports us on our journey to being a Great Place to Work
As a flexible working friendly organisation, we want you to be able to work in a way that is best for us, for our patients and for you. Talk to us about a flexible working arrangement that won’t involve sacrificing time for personal interests or family commitments. We’ll support you to work flexibly in a way that will suits us both
See where you can go with KCHFT
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
As a community Trust, many of our roles require individuals to be able to drive to perform their duties. Where driving is a requirement of the role, you will be asked to confirm that you hold a full UK driving licence or a full driving licence issued by an EU country (not exchanged from a non-EU country) to proceed with your application. We are committed to supporting candidates with disabilities into employment. If you are unable to drive due to a disability, please contact the Recruitment Team via quoting the vacancy reference number, so we can support you further.
The job description and person specification gives you all the information you need about this role. Please look carefully at the criteria in the person specification and tell us what you have done that shows you meet this in your application. If you need an application form in an alternative format please let our recruitment team know. All information you supply on your application should, to the best of your knowledge, be true and accurate.
Still have questions? The recruiting manager would love to hear from you, their contact details can be found in the job advert.
We can get a lot of applications for some roles so to be in with the best chance of being shortlisted please make sure you apply as soon as possible. A vacancy may close early if there is a lot of interest in the job.
At KCHFT we strongly encourage colleagues in clinical and non-clinical roles who have direct or social contact with patients to be fully vaccinated. In this way we will be doing all we can to ensure your safety and that of your colleagues and the patients we serve.
Find out more about the community difference here.
Good luck! We can’t wait to meet you and welcome you to #teamKCHFT, #cometocommunity.
It is important to us that all our staff are aligned to our Values and in particular the behaviours we expect from KCHFT managers. With this in mind as part of the selection process for this position you will be asked to complete two other activities in addition to the competency-based interview that you will invited to. This extended selection process is designed to assess your management style and the specific details of the exercises will be given if you are successfully shortlisted. The provisional date of the selection event is 15th April, although this may be subject to change.
Person specification
Qualifcations
Essential criteria
1. First level Registration with NMC, HPCP or GPHC
2. Educated to Master’s level or higher degree
3. Experience at band 8a or above
4. Teaching qualification
5. Research qualification
6. Leadership
7. Independent non-medical prescribing
Desirable criteria
8. Psychology or counselling experience and training/ education
Experience
Essential criteria
9. Experience of strategy development and implementation
10. Extensive clinical experience in the care and treatment of people with frailty (including long term conditions and dementia care experience)
11. Advanced skills in history taking and physical assessment of frail people
12. Experience of advanced specialist interventions in the assessment and management of older patients
13. Experience of teaching and education provision
14. Extensive experience in report writing
15. Experience of planning, implementation and delivery of educational programmes relating to long-term conditions
16. Experience of working across organisational boundaries with partners (commissioning, social care and education providers) • Advanced IT skills • Experience with evidence of audit, research and innovation applied in practice
Desirable criteria
17. Independent prescriber /Using PGDs
18. Extensive experience of presenting report/ education/ information to public forums
19. IR(ME)R training or equivalent
Knowledge
Essential criteria
20. Advanced knowledge of managing complex patient information and situations
21. Advanced understanding of long-term conditions and application to older people
22. Advanced knowledge of clinical governance
23. Advanced knowledge of change management
Desirable criteria
24. Extensive research knowledge
Skills & Abilities
Essential criteria
25. Computer literacy
26. Advanced skills in writing reports
27. Expert skills in developing and delivering educational material
28. High level competence in strategic planning
29. Advanced skills in clinical practice, including clinical governance
30. Coaching and mentoring skills
Desirable criteria
31. Risk management skills at a high level
32. Peer review of research or publications skills
Employer certification / accreditation badges