Clinical Fellow

Job description

Job responsibilities

The Walton Centre NHS Foundation Trust (WCFT) is an independent specialist neurosciences NHS Trust hospital providing a high quality, integrated and multidisciplinary neurosciences service to Cheshire, Merseyside, North Wales, the Isle of Man and part of West Lancashire which totals a population of 3.5 million people.

The Walton Centre was rated as Outstanding for a second time by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) following its inspection in April 2019.

The WCFT is the regional Major Trauma Centre for the North West in partnership with Aintree University Hospitals as a part of Merseyside Major Trauma Centre Collaborative (MTCC).

The hospital is 5 miles from the centre of Liverpool and is based in a virtually self-contained, purpose-built building which was opened in 1998. The Centre has 99 neurosurgical beds, 29 neurological beds, 30 non-acute rehabilitation beds, 10 acute rehabilitation beds, 4 pain-relief beds and a Critical Care Unit with 20 beds.

The Walton Centre opened Sid Watkins building in 2015. This is a purpose- built three-storey building used to rehabilitate brain and spinal injury sufferers, dementia patients and stroke victims. The Sid Watkins Building also includes out-patient facilities, temporary accommodation for patients families, training suites and offices.

An academic building, the Clinical Science and Education Centre, is situated on the same site. This unit houses the Pain Research Institute, which undertakes research into human pain, and the research is fully integrated into the clinical work of the Walton Pain Service.

6.1 Walton Pain Service

As the Regional Centre for Pain Medicine, the Walton Pain Service serves Merseyside, North Wales, the Isle of Man, West Lancashire and beyond as a tertiary referral centre, and is a multidisciplinary unit which is uniquely integrated with the Pain Research Institute. The service has a major strength in its ability to function as an integrated clinical team, involving all disciplines from Pain Medicine, through Neurosurgery, Psychology, Specialist Nursing, Specialist Physiotherapy and Specialist Occupational Therapy.

Approximately 1,000 pain relief procedures are carried out each year, and nearly 3,000 new pain patient appointments are seen each year, with nearly 3,500 follow-up visits. An ethos of evidence-based medicine sits firmly in the unit, and clinical research is strongly supported, among doctors and allied health care professionals. The close relationship with the Pain Research Institute with its Sensory-Motor laboratory provides a rare opportunity for precision diagnoses of neuropathic pain, and active involvement of the Centres Neuroradiology Department in development of diagnostic imaging can be used for a similar purpose.

The first cognitive-behavioural Pain Management Programme (PMP) in the United Kingdom was started in the unit in 1983, and now treats 400 patients per year, after patients are selected via the multidisciplinary pain management programme assessment clinic. The PMP was restructured in 2011 and now has evolved with specialist PMP running throughout the year. The PMP is housed in the Sid Watkins building.

The Pain Service performs routine pain relieving and also more invasive procedures such as spinal cord stimulation, percutaneous and open cordotomy, deep brain and motor cortex stimulation, DREZ and other neuroablative procedures. There is a specific interest in multidisciplinary assessment of diagnostically and therapeutically challenging cases.

The Walton Centre has collaborated with Liverpool Womens Hospital and Liverpool University Foundation Trust (Aintree) Hospitals and holds MDT joint clinics.

The clinical fellow will be attached to all Pain Medicine Consultants and will work with the wider pain team in out-patients and theatre, and when appropriately experienced would at times deputise for the consultants when required. If you have anaesthetic training, you may be required to administer general anaesthesia for chronic pain procedures such as neuromodulation implants, cordotomy and facial pain procedures. The post holder will also provide support to the pain consultants in relation to in-patient admissions (clerking, prescription, discharges) and peri-procedure management of chronic pain patients, and assessment of inpatient referrals. The post holder would also be required at times to provide medical support to the pain management programme team. This post could have a low intensity non-resident on-call commitment.

Arrangements for leave and absences must be agreed and approved by the clinical services coordinator and are subject to formal approval by the Trust for annual leave, and the medical education department of the Trust for study leave.

This post is not recognised by the Royal College of Anaesthetists for advanced training in Pain Medicine for anaesthetists.

For further information, or to visit the centre, please contact:

Prof Andreas Goebel

Consultant in Pain Medicine

The Walton Centre NHS Foundation Trust

Lower Lane, Liverpool L9 7LJ

Tel: 01515563393

Dr Manish Gupta

Faculty Tutor, Department of Pain Medicine

The Walton Centre NHS Foundation Trust

Lower Lane, Liverpool L9 7LJ

Tel: 01515563390

Proposed Timetable

Clinical fellow in Pain Medicine

This timetable represents the available clinical experience. Sessions would be timetabled as appropriate for service delivery and training requirements, and research/audit time could be allocated as appropriate, and in keeping with the contract and working time regulations.

A.M.

P.M.

Out Patients Clinic/ Theatre

Theatre/

Out Patients Clinic/Audit

Out Patients Clinic/ Pain Management Programme Assessment Clinic/Theatre

Indicative DRS analysis on the 2016 contract:

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• MB ChB or equivalent
• Full GMC registration

Desirable

• Fellowship exam of a Royal College, or equivalent
• Additional post-graduate training

Experience

Essential

• Completion of intermediate training years stage 2 in a Specialty Training Programme, or an equivalent experience in the UK.
• Ability to offer clinical opinion appropriate to the level of training
• Initiative, and ability to co-ordinate teams
• Competent to work with local and distant supervision where appropriate.
• Punctual
• Committed to speciality and enthusiastic about the role of Pain Medicine
• Ability to cope with stressful situations, and work as a team
• Good communication and interpersonal skills
• Confident without arrogance
• Positive approach to lessons learnt
• Understands the principles of audit
• Understands the principles of research.

Desirable

• Completion of higher training years stage 3 in a Speciality Training programme or equivalent
• Experience in chronic pain interventions and assessing chronic pain patients
• Higher pain medicine training
• Practical skills for pain procedures, including peripheral nerve blocks
• Evidence of long term interest and commitment in Pain Medicine
• Experience of teaching medical and non-medical professionals
• Involvement in projects which allow research methodology to be taught to trainees with academic interest.
• Poster presentations
• Publications
• Management training
• Experience of working in a pain clinic.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).

Employer details

Employer name

The Walton Centre NHS Foundation Trust

Address

The Walton Centre

Lower Lane

Liverpool

L9 7LJ

Employer's website

https://www.thewaltoncentre.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)