NHS AfC: Band 7
Main area
Surrey Downs Health & Care
Grade
NHS AfC: Band 7
Contract
11 months (Fixed term contract until 24/1/27)
Hours
* Full time
* Part time
* Job share
37.5 hours per week
Job ref
343-SDH&C
Site
Epsom General Hospital
Town
Epsom
Salary
£53,751 - £60,651 Pro Rata Per Annum inc Outer HCAS
Salary period
Yearly
Closing
22/01/2026 23:59
Job overview
Surrey Downs Health & Care
An exciting opportunity to join Surrey Downs Health & Care (SDH&C) HomeFirst Services, supporting the expansion of Urgent Community Response (UCR) and Virtual Ward services across acute and community settings, including the Mary Seacole Unit.
Working as part of a one-team multidisciplinary frailty service, you will deliver high-quality, person-centred care through Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment, supporting patients in their own homes, care homes, and hospital environments.
As a Physician Associate, you will assess and manage patients, initiate and interpret investigations, support treatment planning, and work closely with consultants, GPs, registrars, and the wider MDT. You will receive clinical supervision and peer support from experienced frailty clinicians while contributing to integrated, system-wide care delivery.
Main duties of the job
The post-holder will work across the virtual ward and Mary Seacole Unit, which are based at EGH. They will be part of the MDT that undertake holistic assessments and commence management plans. The PA will also be expected to contribute to the in-reach of the emergency department and SDEC to proactively identify and support home patients that could receive treatment in the community.
The Mary Seacole Unit is an integrated unit that combines an acute frailty unit with a community rehabilitation unit. It is based within Epsom General Hospital. The unit supports patients living with frailty, acute medical illnesses and rehabilitation needs. Care is offered by an enhanced MDT, with a goal to support back to their place of residence as soon as possible. The post holder will be part of the medical team and will work closely with both junior and senior medical staff as well as all other members of the multi-disciplinary team (MDT) present on the ward. The appointee will share the responsibilities of ensuring ongoing medical care is facilitated including expediting investigations, making specialty referrals and ensuring management plans are carried out to completion. This will include ensuring discharge summaries are accurate and complete.
Working for our organisation
Surrey Downs Health and Care deliver care closer to people's own communities through our Primary Care Networks, Community Hospitals, Specialist Services and our innovative partnership of local NHS organisations.
Surrey Downs Health and Care has a track record of providing person centered care that goes beyond organisational boundaries to do what is best for the individual. This partnership includes:
* The three GP federations GP Health Partners, Dorking Health Care and Surrey Medical Network representing practices that operate in the Surrey Downs area
* Epsom and St Helier's University Hospitals NHS Trust
* Surrey Council County
Historically, there have been boundary lines between the organisations that provide care to people in their homes, in GP surgeries and in hospitals, but we have always been united in our mission to provide great care to the people who need us.
It's on those grounds that the Surrey Downs Health and Care was formed – we want local people to receive the care that they need in the right environment. By bringing together our expertise, we can improve patient care and enable local people to access the right support, care and treatment more easily than ever before.
In bringing this partnership together, we are working to the same set of values that will translate into better care for our residents.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
1.Assess and examine acute medical patients, present them, initiate and interpret investigations and recommend treatment.
2. Exercise a high degree of personal autonomy when assessing and planning care for an agreed caseload of patients with a range of presenting complaints.
3. Have, develop and maintain extensive specialist knowledge and experience in managing frailty and general patients, acting as a resource for the clinical team and allied health professionals.
4. Contribute to achieving and maintaining key Performance Indicators for frailty service as well as virtual ward.
5. Support work within frailty service related to national audits.
6. Support recruitment into clinical research being carried out in the department.
7. Communicate with GPs and other health professionals that may have had contact with frailty service +/- virtual ward.
8. Contribute to the development of efficient pathways of care in accordance with current best practice and national guidelines.
9. Be an active participant in the development of frailty service through the Trust and community services.
10. Ensure confidentiality at all times, only releasing confidential information obtained during the course of employment to those acting in an official capacity in accordance with the provisions of the Data Protection Act and its amendments.
11. Be accountable for care given and to comply with the Fitness to Practice and Code of Conduct standards as established by the UK Managed Voluntary Register for Physician Assistants (and subsequently the appropriate statutory regulating body when in place). To work within the framework of the scope of professional practice.
See Job description & Person specification for more information.
Person specification
Qualificatons
Essential criteria
* Member of FPA
* PG Dip in Physician Assistant Studies from a UK training programme ORCurrent and valid certification with the National Commission on Certification for Physician Assistants (NCCPA)
Other
Essential criteria
* Holds a clean full UK Driving Licence
Knowledge and experience
Essential criteria
* Knowledge of medical procedures and terminology
* Awareness of current developments and initiatives in acute medicine services.
* Ability to exercise sound judgements when faced with conflicting pressures
Desirable criteria
* Assist in the development of the role of Physician Assistant
Skills
Essential criteria
* Ability to adhere to regulations as well as work flexibly to meet the needs of the Trust
* An inquiring and critical approach to work
* Ability to communicate effectively with colleagues, patients, relatives, nurses, other staff and agencies
* Commitment to CME and professional development.
Your application: Please ensure that you have read the job description and person specification and that your supporting statement reflects these, as your application will be assessed and scored against these criteria.
References: You will be required to provide 3 years of employment/educational history. We do notaccept references from personal email addresses such as Hotmail, Gmail etc. therefore please ensure you are providing professional working email addresses within your application form. If you are unable to provide professional email addresses and are invited to an interview, please ensure you advise the interviewers of this - otherwise, this may delay your pre-employment checks.
Closing date: In order to streamline recruitment within our Trust, we reserve the right to expire vacancies prior to the advertised closing date once we have received a sufficient number of applications.
Shortlisting: You will only be contacted via e-mail/SMS if you are successfully shortlisted for this post. Please ensure that you check your Trac registered e-mail regularly.
DBS: We are committed to safeguarding children and adults who are at risk of abuse. As such, if this post will have access to children or vulnerable adults, you will be required to undertake an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service check. However, all employees have a responsibility for safeguarding children and vulnerable adults in the course of their duties and for ensuring that they are aware of the specific duties relating to their role.
Employer certification / accreditation badges
Applicant requirements
You must have appropriate UK professional registration.
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.