Specialty Doctor in Stroke Medicine

Job responsibilities

Please see Job Description attached for more details and proposed timetable

DUTIES OF THE POST

The post will share a split work schedule with the established speciality doctor.

One post will work 0900 1700

The other will work 1300 2100

• The duties of the post may be subject to change depending on service requirements and for the development and enhancement of the current stroke service and may include weekend working if felt appropriate to improve patient care and outcome.
• When the CoE SpR on leave the post will cover the SpR on HASU/ASU
• HASU ward rounds, TIA clinic, etc.

SPA Activities:

Grand Round Wednesday lunch time

Mortality and Morbidity one Thursday a month

Departmental Education/Teaching Programme one Thursday a month

Departmental Governance & Operational Meeting one Thursday a month

Audit including SSNAP

Journal Club Monday lunchtime weekly

THE DEPARTMENT OF STROKE

Introduction

We have a 24 bedded stroke unit and operate a 24 hour a day stroke thrombolysis service and TIA assessment service supported by stroke specialist nurses (ESOT). We also have access to thrombectomy 24 hours a day in the regional centre.

We provide training in Geriatric Medicine including stroke for 2 SpRs from the Eastern Deanery Rotation, for junior doctors from FY1 to IMT trainees and specialist stroke outreach nurses. We also have a dedicated stroke speciality doctor.

The department is committed to improving patient care and reducing length of hospital stay by providing a consultant-led service with daily consultant ward rounds and multidisciplinary rounds.

Staffing

The Stroke Service currently comprises 3 WTE Consultants.

Dr A AzimLead Consultant in Stroke

Dr Javed ImanActing Consultant in Stroke

Dr Solomon UgoyaActing Consultant in Stroke

Dr Juliana Delos Reyes Consultant in stroke

Stroke Team including secretarial and research staff are located near the Stroke Unit.

We offer 24-hour thrombolysis for stroke. Consultant cover for this is provided out of hours by a network of stroke consultants from across East Anglia using telemedicine. We also have access to thrombectomy 24 hours a day in the regional centre.

Stroke Services

WSFT currently provides hyper acute stroke services in a dedicated combined specialist Hyper Acute Stroke, Acute Stroke, and Stroke Rehabilitation Unit. The 30 bedded ward is used flexibly to accommodate patients during the hyper acute and acute phase of their stroke. Currently stroke consultants and a stroke Specialty Doctor, supported by a junior doctor team provide medical management of patients. Further development and enhancement of current stroke services provided to our local patients is anticipated with this replacement post.

Within the current model, the Emergency Stroke Outreach Team (ESOT) provides an immediate response between 24/7 to all patients attending WSFT with suspected stroke. These patients receive immediate structured assessment to determine likely diagnosis and suitability for thrombolysis. ESOT currently includes Stroke Specialty Doctor, and Stroke Consultant during working hours as well as Stroke Clinical Nurse Specialists (Band 7 led by a Band 8A) 24 hours a day.

Patients who have a confirmed or likely diagnosis of a stroke will be admitted directly to the stroke unit for specialised stroke care.

In addition to patients with a confirmed diagnosis of stroke, stroke mimics are triaged by the ESOT Team.

WSFT currently provides TIA services in a dedicated flexibly timed day case TIA clinic within the Stroke Unit.

All TIA patients are seen as part of a one-stop service, with assessment, investigation and treatment on the same day. All patients are assessed by a Stroke Specialist Consultant, with support of a Stroke Speciality Doctor, and Senior Stroke Specialist Nurses (ESOT). Good working relationships with the Radiology, Cardiology, and Ophthalmology departments at WSFT support the service. The service has access to same day imaging, including CT, CT Angiogram, Carotid Doppler, MRI, 24-hour tapes, and 2D Echocardiograms and TOE. The service also has access to fast track referral to the vascular surgeons at CUHFT for carotid endarterectomy. Currently, Vascular surgeons from CUHFT attend WSFT 3 days per week. The service is in the process of implementing Artificial Intelligence (AI) to facilitate image transfer for thrombectomy and also to support reporting of CT, CTA and CT perfusion scans.

The Trust has a longstanding tradition of detailed Stroke data collection including the RCP Sentinel audit and SSNAP highlighting delivery of high quality care being the highest ranked service by SSNAP in the whole of EoE for more than 1 year.

Stroke service is research active with several ongoing clinical trials supported by two research nurses.

Experience

Essential

• 1 - Have evidence of achievement of UK foundation competencies
• 2 - Minimum of two years general professional training in general medicine
• 3 - Evidence of experience in a range of acute medical specialties, with experience of managing patients on unselected medical take
• 4 - Experience in stroke medicine

Desirable

• 1 - Previous specialty registrar experience in General Medicine.

Motivation & Personality

Essential

• 1 - Commitment to learning and service.
• 2 - Enthusiasm, sense of responsibility
• 3 - Ability to work in a team, good communication skills
• 4 - Ability to organise junior doctors and workloads
• 5 - Caring attitude to patients
• 6 - Nurses and other agencies

Desirable

• 1 - Self-motivated independent learning

Teaching/Education

Essential

• 1 - Evidence of teaching experience and/or training in teaching

Desirable

• 1 - Evidence of involvement in teaching students, postgraduates and other professionals
• 2 - Evidence of participation in a teaching course

Knowledge

Essential

• 1 - All applicants to have demonstrable skills in written and spoken English that are adequate to enable effective communication about medical topics with patients and colleagues which could be demonstrated by one of the following:
• -that applicants have undertaken undergraduate medical training in English; or
• -have the following scores in the academic International English Language Testing System (IELTS)-Overall 7.5. Speaking 7, Listening 7, Reading 7, Writing 7.
• If applicants believe that they have adequate communication skills, but do not fit into one of the examples they need to provide evidence
• 2 - Neat, legible writing of notes and charts
• 3 - Computer skills

Desirable

• 1 - Presentation skills

Qualifications

Essential

• 1 - MBBS or equivalent
• 2 - Hold full GMC Registration and a Licence to Practise

Desirable

• 1 - Advanced Life Support certificate
• 2 - MRCP or equivalent

Research and Audit Skills

Essential

• 1 - Demonstrates understanding of research, including awareness of ethical issues
• 2 - Demonstrates understanding of the basic principles of audit, clinical risk management, evidence-based practice, patient safety, and clinical quality improvement initiatives
• 3 - Demonstrates knowledge of evidence-informed practice
• 4 - Commitment to Continuing Medical Education and the requirements of Clinical Governance and Audit

Desirable

• 1 - Demonstrates an understanding of research methodology
• 2 - Evidence of relevant academic and research achievements, and involvement in a formal research project
• 3 - Evidence of relevant academic publications
• 4 - Evidence of involvement in an audit project, a quality improvement project, formal research project or other activity which focuses on patient safety and clinical improvement
• 5 - Demonstrates an interest in and commitment to the specialty beyond the mandatory curriculum
• 6 - Evidence of a portfolio of audit / quality improvement projects, including where the audit loop has been closed and there is evidence of learning of the principles of change management
• 7 - Demonstrates an understanding of clinical governance
• 8 - Evidence of exceptional achievement in medicine

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).