Acute Liaison and Frailty Assessment (ALFA) Practitioner Band 5

Job summary

Acute Liaison and Frailty Assessment Service (ALFA) Practitioner Band 5

The Acute Liaison and Frailty Assessment (ALFA) Team provides a responsive, safe, and effective service, commissioned to reflect the needs of the local community. The team's aims include urgent case management, proactive case management, supporting self-care, and adopting a co-produced approach with patients and service users.

The Band 5 Frailty Practitioner will spend most of their time in direct clinical practice, supporting patients living with frailty under the guidance of senior practitioners. The post-holder will contribute to patient assessment and care planning, and support service delivery within an evolving frailty pathway.

Interviews - TBC

Main duties of the job

The role involves supporting the delivery of high-quality, person-centred care for older people living with frailty within the Emergency Department (ED), Frailty Same Day Emergency Care (FSDEC), and other front-door areas where frail patients may present.

The post-holder take part in early frailty identification, assessment, and care coordination to improve outcomes, reduce avoidable admissions, and enhance patient flow across the acute setting.

They will provide a supportive and responsive clinical role within the ALFA Front Door Frailty Service, working flexibly to meet patient and service needs.

The post-holder will be an active team player in the implementation of quality improvement initiatives and audits within the team. They will supervise students and other more junior staff as required.

They will participate in maintaining an overview of the standards of care being delivered, instigating remedial action to improve practice as necessary. Under supervision, they will begin to develop the skills and competence required for autonomous practice as a Frailty Practitioner, including acting up in the absence of a Band 6 colleague where appropriate.

About us

Croydon Health Services NHS Trust provide hospital and community services from a number of community and specialist clinics throughout Croydon. The Trust was formed on 1st August 2010 through the integration of Croydon Community Health Services and Mayday Healthcare NHS Trust. Around 4,100 staff provide services for a population of over 360,000 people who are relatively young with a high level of ethnic diversity.

Our main hospital site, Croydon University Hospital is one of the busiest in London. We're also leading the way in providing more healthcare outside hospitals at clinics, specialist centres and in people's homes. Our experienced district nursing teams, Allied Health Professionals and community matrons look after people of all ages across Croydon and our Children's Hospital at Home cares for children with long-term conditions without them having to come to hospital.

Across the NHS everyone is working hard to meet growing demand and we're no exception. But with the right people on board, we are rising to this challenge, putting our people in the driving seat, encouraging innovation and transforming our services to give local people the quality of care they deserve.

Croydon Health Services puts a great deal of importance on education and training throughout the careers of all of our staff. As well as offering access to a range of core skills training and professional development.