Job summary
Applications are invited for the post of a Consultant General Surgeon with an interest in benign hepato-pancreato-biliary (HPB) surgery at the Whittington Health NHS Trust.
The post is also part of the well-established Emergency General Surgery (EGS) model that currently involves a 4 person EGS consultant team. There are plans to continue to expand the EGS workforce within the general surgery unit over the next year.
This post is central to the further development of general surgery services at Whittington Health. The Whittington is a key provider of general surgery services in North Central London. We are seeking to appoint an enthusiastic consultant who is eager to assist with the development of both elective and emergency general surgery services across the Trust with a key aim of improving patient experience. We also expect the candidate to continue our robust ''hot gallbladder pathway'', complex gallbladder, CBD exploration and splenectomy work. Any expertise in endoscopy skills would be beneficial. This post will also take a lead in developing our emergency surgery services to meet the NHS London Adult Emergency Services Commissioning Standards.
The unit is currently in the inception phase of implementing a robotic assisted surgery service that is envisaged to encompass all general surgery sub-specialties. It is hoped any successful candidate will be considered for involvement in the development of this service based on expertise.
Main duties of the job
Please see the full Job Description and the Person Specification for further details about the job role.
About us
Whittington Health serves a richly diverse population and works hard to ensure that all our services are fair and equally accessible to everyone. Nowhere is this more obvious than in the way we look after our staff. We aim to employ a workforce which is as representative as possible of this population, so we are open to the value of differences in age, disability, gender, marital status, pregnancy and maternity, race, sexual orientation, and religion or belief. The Trustbelieves that as a public sector organisation we have an obligation to have recruitment, training, promotion and other formal employment policies and procedures that are sensitive to these differences. We think that by doing so, we are better able to treat our patients as well as being a better place to work.
Job description
Job responsibilities
This post is envisaged to comprise a full 10 PAs and will be based entirely at the Whittington site. The vacancy replaces a previous post which was a shared arrangement between the Royal Free Hospital HPB unit and Whittington Health but has now been re-purposed following re-structuring of the service. It is hoped that the post holder will maintain the current infrastructure for benign HPB work that has been set up within the trust and use their expertise to further progress the service. The unit has a very well-established emergency cholecystectomy (hot gallbladder) pathway with an estimated 150-200 cases being performed per year since its inception. Laparoscopic Bile duct exploration and elective splenectomy (WH is a renowned sickle cell unit) work has also been developed as part of the service in addition to taking on the more complex cholecystectomy cases referred from local and regional units for more surgical expertise. It is hoped that the successful post holder will continue to maintain the close relationship with the Royal Free HPB team and work to develop future collaboration. There is a well-developed benign GI MDT in which a successful candidate will be expected to be an integral member of this.
The role encompasses an Emergency General Surgery (EGS) component with a current 4 surgeon model in place. This allows for 3 elective weeks punctuated with a week of emergency surgical commitment ((Mon-Thu 8am-6pm, Friday 8am -12pm). This includes a daily post take ward round and responsibility for the acute surgical in-patients as well as CEPOD operating. The consultant is strongly supported by junior doctors and dedicated geriatric surgical liaison consultant. It is envisaged that this will expand to a 5-person model within the coming 18 months when replacement for colleagues who are planning to retire are planned. Further expansion of the EGS model is planned in the longer-term vision of the unit. The post also includes night consultant cover and weekend cover as part of the general surgery on call rota.
Please refer to the attached job description for full and further details.
Job description
Job responsibilities
This post is envisaged to comprise a full 10 PAs and will be based entirely at the Whittington site. The vacancy replaces a previous post which was a shared arrangement between the Royal Free Hospital HPB unit and Whittington Health but has now been re-purposed following re-structuring of the service. It is hoped that the post holder will maintain the current infrastructure for benign HPB work that has been set up within the trust and use their expertise to further progress the service. The unit has a very well-established emergency cholecystectomy (hot gallbladder) pathway with an estimated 150-200 cases being performed per year since its inception. Laparoscopic Bile duct exploration and elective splenectomy (WH is a renowned sickle cell unit) work has also been developed as part of the service in addition to taking on the more complex cholecystectomy cases referred from local and regional units for more surgical expertise. It is hoped that the successful post holder will continue to maintain the close relationship with the Royal Free HPB team and work to develop future collaboration. There is a well-developed benign GI MDT in which a successful candidate will be expected to be an integral member of this.
The role encompasses an Emergency General Surgery (EGS) component with a current 4 surgeon model in place. This allows for 3 elective weeks punctuated with a week of emergency surgical commitment ((Mon-Thu 8am-6pm, Friday 8am -12pm). This includes a daily post take ward round and responsibility for the acute surgical in-patients as well as CEPOD operating. The consultant is strongly supported by junior doctors and dedicated geriatric surgical liaison consultant. It is envisaged that this will expand to a 5-person model within the coming 18 months when replacement for colleagues who are planning to retire are planned. Further expansion of the EGS model is planned in the longer-term vision of the unit. The post also includes night consultant cover and weekend cover as part of the general surgery on call rota.
Please refer to the attached job description for full and further details.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Full GMC Registration
- MBBS or equivalent
- FRCS or equivalent
- Inclusion on the GMC Specialist Register/admission expected within 6 months
Desirable
- Higher / Postgraduate degree (eg PhD, MD, MPhil)
Special interest
Essential
- Specific training in HPB / Upper GI surgery
Desirable
- Fellowship at a recognised HPB/UGI unit
Teaching
Essential
- Evidence of continuing personal medical education activity.
Desirable
- Awareness of advances in medical education
Research
Essential
- Evidence of peer reviewed publications in general surgery topics.
Desirable
- Ongoing involvement in research projects aimed at enhancing patient care and departmental profile.
Communication skills
Essential
- Effective communication skills
- Works well within a multi-disciplinary environment including experience of working in a cancer MDT
Aware of national policies, quality initiatives
Essential
- Aware of national policies and quality initiatives in general surgery, including emergency surgery guidelines
- Understanding of policies with HPB/UGI specialties
Management ability
Essential
- Evidence of involvement in service development activity
Desirable
- Management courses / certification
- Experience and interest in improving patient experience.
Audit
Essential
- Evidence of commitment to audit.
- Completed audit cycles with direct relevance to area of specialisation.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Full GMC Registration
- MBBS or equivalent
- FRCS or equivalent
- Inclusion on the GMC Specialist Register/admission expected within 6 months
Desirable
- Higher / Postgraduate degree (eg PhD, MD, MPhil)
Special interest
Essential
- Specific training in HPB / Upper GI surgery
Desirable
- Fellowship at a recognised HPB/UGI unit
Teaching
Essential
- Evidence of continuing personal medical education activity.
Desirable
- Awareness of advances in medical education
Research
Essential
- Evidence of peer reviewed publications in general surgery topics.
Desirable
- Ongoing involvement in research projects aimed at enhancing patient care and departmental profile.
Communication skills
Essential
- Effective communication skills
- Works well within a multi-disciplinary environment including experience of working in a cancer MDT
Aware of national policies, quality initiatives
Essential
- Aware of national policies and quality initiatives in general surgery, including emergency surgery guidelines
- Understanding of policies with HPB/UGI specialties
Management ability
Essential
- Evidence of involvement in service development activity
Desirable
- Management courses / certification
- Experience and interest in improving patient experience.
Audit
Essential
- Evidence of commitment to audit.
- Completed audit cycles with direct relevance to area of specialisation.
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.
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).
Additional information
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.
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).
