Job responsibilities
The Walton Centre NHS Foundation
Trust (WCFT) wishes to
appoint a Consultant Neurologist. The successful applicant will join the existing team at the Walton Centre; the only dedicated
neurosciences centre in the UK and one of only a handful of NHS Trusts rated as Outstanding by the CQC.
We are clinical leaders in a number of fields
and have been a vanguard site for the national program of delivering
neurology services across a region. Our trauma network
is held up as an exemplar for the rest of the country,
we have won awards for our rehabilitation network and have been named as one of the best places in the NHS to work by the Health Service Journal. We have expanded
our already excellent modern facilities to provide two additional new operating theatres
and an intraoperative MRI scanner.
We run satellite clinics across Cheshire and Merseyside, North Wales and the Isle of Man. Like most Consultant Neurologists at WCFT, the postholder would work sessions in the main Centre in Liverpool and the other days at a linked community or
hospital site in the region.
Applicants are required to hold Membership of the Royal College of Physicians or equivalent qualifications, to be fully registered with the General Medical Council and listed on the Specialist Register (or due to be registered within six months of the date of application).
The WCFT routine catchment area covers all of Cheshire, Merseyside, North Wales, Isle of Man and parts of Greater Manchester and Lancashire. We also attract referrals from all across the UK and some internationally.
We are unique as being
the
only dedicated neuroscience trust in the UK. The Trust is based in North Liverpool. The main hospital is on University Hospitals Aintrees campus and situated next to Aintree University Hospital. We share a link bridge with Aintree which was put in to strengthen our collaborative working with them as part of the regions trauma centre. Merseyside is unusual in having 4 specialist trusts (including WCFT), a childrens Trust, and 1 large acute trust.
Liverpool itself is a dynamic city. It has experienced a major revival
over the past few years, having been made European
City of Culture in 2008. The city enjoys two football stadiums, a wealth of restaurants, theatres, museums, art galleries, including the Tate and The Walker, and several
places of interest, including architectural highlights such as the magnificent St Georges Hall, It also boasts the M&S
Bank Arena which attracts international bands and artists and the Convention Centre which hosts several major exhibitions and meetings. There is also The Philharmonic Hall where the nationally
acclaimed Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra plays. It is also served by excellent transport links. There is a station outside The Walton Centre with trains that take as little as 12 minutes to get to the city centre.
Each year around 75 million tourists visit Liverpool, attracted by the areas natural and man- made assets. The city has been the chosen location for several Hollywood films including Chariots of Fire, Captain America, and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. There is also a mix of landscapes to enjoy including Crosby Beach, where Antony Gormleys iron men are based, Formby Beach and the picturesque Hilbre Island in Wirral.
Liverpool has a rich maritime
history. The city's waterfront is home to the famous three graces names given to the Royal Liver Building, the Cunard Building and the former offices of the Mersey Docks and Harbour Board which overlook the refurbished Albert Dock - where visitors find a mix of boutique shops. In the city centre there is a wide range of well-known stores. There are both Anglican and Roman Catholic Cathedrals and facilities for worship for every other faith in the city. There are excellent
schools for both sexes, including a variety
of denominational schools for both in the private and state sectors.
There is also a very good mix of housing in pleasant areas near the city and in rural areas.
Two airports
are within easy reach.
Liverpool and Manchester International
Airport are within half to three quarters of an hours drive time. There are excellent
train services and motorway links to all parts of the country, with easy access to the national parks, North Wales, the Peak District and the Lake District,
as well as to both Lancashire and the North Wales coasts
The University of Liverpool Department of Neurological Science, headed by Professor Solomon, is now located within the Clinical Sciences
Centre adjacent to the Walton Centre on the University Hospital Aintree campus.
This represents a
partnership between WCFT, Aintree Hospitals, the University of Liverpool, Edge Hill University College and the Pain Relief Foundation. The University Department has an active programme of research and teaching and is internationally known for its work on neurological infection and epilepsy. The WCFT and the University Department have also created a Neuroscience Research Centre (NRC) where members of the centre can undertake various clinical trials. The unit has a manager and team of nurses/secretaries to help in
the
participation of
high quality trials, and is located
in the Walton Centre. In addition the Pain Research Institute is able to provide research facilities for those with appropriate interests. Other University Departments and colleagues have shown themselves extremely willing to collaborate in joint programmes of research. Most members of the medical staff of the WCFT are actively involved in research and the successful candidate
will be encouraged to make use of the many opportunities to develop their own research interest.
Undergraduate medical students from the University of Liverpool spend time in the Centre. Consultant and junior staff
are involved in
a series of seminars as well as bedside, clinical skills and out-patient clinical teaching.
The University Medical School and the Liverpool Medical Institution are within 20 minutedrive.
The WCFT has a very active programme
of postgraduate education with a regular
weekly series of clinical meetings, lectures, journal club and subspecialty meetings including neuromuscular disorders, epilepsy, movement disorders, functional neurology and neuropathology. Each month there is an audit meeting and a guest lecture. The Centres library is situated in
the Clinical Sciences Centre. The
new
Clinical Sciences building has created an IT resource centre which gives access to appropriate software and medical research material, etc.
In the Training and Deve lopment Department, there are on-line facilities in Medline, search etc. The education facilities include a Lecture Theatre with a capacity
of 225, equipped with the latest audio visual aids, video conferencing facilities, an exhibition facility and seminar rooms. The professorial units based at WCFT and Aintree Hospitals have transferred into the Clinical Sciences
Building.
There is some flexibility in the job plan, which may be negotiated between the successful candidate and the Trust. The sessional commitment will be 7.5 8.5 clinical PAs and 1.5 - 2.5 supporting PAs. Two days a week may
be at satellite
location (linked hospital or community clinic)
and three days in Liverpool at WCFT
There will be an expected commitment to 4 clinics each week. There will be opportunities to develop specialist clinics at WCFT or a satellite
hospital, depending on the successful applicants preference and negotiation, in accordance with the service needs of the Trust.
The trust has recently expanded its neurology outpatient service at WCFT with additional clinic rooms, nursing and radiology support to develop an additional and more streamlined service.
The majority of Walton Centre Consultants have additional SPA and/or DCC sessions in their job plans (by agreement), so the sessional
commitment will therefore
be
7.5 8.5 clinical PAs and 1.5 2.5 supporting PAs.
Numbers of patients booked into clinics is variable, but may follow Association of British Neurology guidelines if desired (as a minimum). A minimum of 5 new patients is expected in a general
clinic containing follow up cases.
The appointed
consultant may have the opportunity to participate in the consultant on-call rota at WCFT (approximately 1 in 20 weeks) where he/she will be supported by the on-call F2/CMT and SpR. When on-call for the week, the duty neurologist is relieved of satellite DGH clinical work and
conducts a short round on the neurology ward every morning as well as seeing any new emergency admissions. The on-call Neurologist also provides telephone and telemedicine support to GPs and linked hospitals as well as being in charge of the
dedicated RANA ( Rapid Access Neurology
Assessment ) clinic slots
The appointed consultant will be expected to:
participate in medical audit, appraisal and mandatory training in the Centre.
participate in Continuing Medical Education, including the in house CME on Wednesday mornings. The Trust supports the requirements for CME, as laid down by the Royal College of Physicians and is committed to providing time and financial support for these activities.
undergo annual appraisal at WCFT.
The consultant appointed will be entitled to an equitable share in the junior staff and to use all the clinical facilities of
the Centre,
including beds and clinics. The use of beds is flexible but is continuously under review. Secretarial support and office space will be provided at WCFT, along with IT facilities, internet access and IT training, if required.
Arrangements can be made for a named colleague
to act as a mentor for each new consultant
