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.
The Consultant Advanced Clinical Practitioner (ACP) for Frailty will join a highly skilled, forward‑thinking Urgent Care Service in West Kent. Our integrated model brings together nurses, therapists, frailty specialists, GPs, consultants and advanced practitioners to deliver urgent, specialist and proactive care that helps people living with frailty remain safely at home. The service includes the Frailty Virtual Ward (Home Treatment Service) and proactive multidisciplinary pathways delivered through the Integrated Care Management MDT.
Our mission is simple: “We ask people living with frailty what they want from healthcare and strive to deliver it.” The Home Treatment Service is expanding, and we are now seeking an additional Consultant ACP to work alongside our existing consultant practitioners, ensuring senior clinical oversight seven days a week. You will hold shared clinical responsibility for the UCR and virtual ward caseload, working closely with the Consultant Practitioner, Frailty GP and wider MDT to deliver safe, person‑centred, high‑quality care.
Main duties of the job
As a Consultant ACP for Frailty, you will be a recognised clinical expert, leading the service as a senior clinical decision‑maker. You will autonomously assess, diagnose and manage highly complex frailty presentations across community, virtual ward and urgent care pathways. The role spans all four pillars of Consultant‑level practice: expert clinical practice, strategic leadership, education and research.
You will provide values‑based leadership across services and systems, supporting staff to develop, innovate and deliver excellence. You will mentor ACPs and trainee ACPs, guiding them in developing their four pillars of practice and providing clinical supervision. A key part of the role is fostering a knowledge‑rich, inquiry‑driven culture that supports research, evaluation and service transformation. You will use consultancy approaches to influence practice across organisational boundaries, shaping frailty care locally and contributing to national best practice.
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.
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
1. Experience at band 8a or above
2. First level Registration with NMC, HPCP or GPHC
3. Teaching qualification
4. Research qualification
5. Leadership
6. Non-medical prescribing
7. Full UK/EU driving licence
8. Educated to Master’s level or higher degree
Desirable criteria
9. Psychology or counselling experience and training/ education
Experience
Essential criteria
10. Current Independent prescriber
11. Extensive clinical experience in the care and treatment of people with frailty (including long term conditions and dementia care experience)
12. Advanced skills in history taking and physical assessment of frail people
13. Experience of advanced specialist interventions in the assessment and management of older patients
14. Experience of teaching and education provision
15. Extensive experience in report writing
16. Experience of planning, implementation and delivery of educational programmes relating to long-term conditions
17. Experience of working across organisational boundaries with partners (commissioning, social care and education providers)
18. Advanced IT skills
19. Experience with evidence of audit research and innovation applied in practice
20. Experience of strategy development and implementation
Desirable criteria
21. IR(ME)R training or equivalent
22. Extensive experience of presenting report/ education/ information to public forums
Knowledge
Essential criteria
23. Advanced understanding of long-term conditions and application to older people
24. Advanced knowledge of clinical governance
25. Advanced knowledge of change management
26. Advanced knowledge of managing complex patient information and situations
Desirable criteria
27. Extensive research knowledge
Skills and Abilities
Essential criteria
28. Chairing and facilitation skills
29. Demonstrate a high level of competence and excellence in practice
30. High level competence in strategic planning
31. Advanced skills in writing reports
32. High level skills in presenting
33. Expert skills in developing and delivering educational material
34. Advanced skills in clinical practice, including clinical governance
35. Coaching and mentoring skills
Desirable criteria
36. Risk management skills at a high level
37. Peer review of research or publications skills
Employer certification / accreditation badges