Consultant Physician in Stroke Medicine

Job description

Job responsibilities

The Department

The stroke services at the Trust are based at The Princess Royal Hospital. There is a well-established stroke department with a purpose built unit incorporating the hyper acute and acute stroke unit 18 bedded in ward 16, the acute stroke unit and rehabilitation unit (25 beds) in ward 15.There are established services in stroke medicine (including 24/7 thrombolysis and referral for mechanical thrombectomy to UHNM with the help of RAPID AI (artificial intelligence for reporting CTA)and a 7 day week rapid access TIA clinic with same day imaging facilities) an stroke rehabilitation including ESD and community neurorehabilitation. The acute and hyper acute stroke unit at the Princess Royal Hospital is a very busy unit and on average around 1000 new stroke patients are admitted to the unit every year and the thrombolysis rate is 12% along with access for referral for mechanical thrombectomy to the tertiary centre at UHNM.

The Work of the Department

There are currently 4 stroke Physicians at the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (Dr Uttam Sinha, Dr Meena Srinivasan, Dr Indranil Mukherjee and Dr Owen David) and it is expected that the new posts will work in conjunction with them to develop stroke services as per National Guidelines. There are 2 Band 7 stroke Clinical Nurse Specialists (Sarah Millward, Tess Wixey ) and multiple band-6 stroke specialist nurses who have major roles in delivering stroke services especially hyper acute stroke care and maintaining the stroke data base. There is a developing role of stroke research nurse specialist and ongoing recruitment into research trials based at Princess Royal Hospital.

There is a purpose built hyperacute/acute stroke unit ( 18 bedded) and a 25 bedded acute stroke rehabilitation ward and plans for stroke ambulatory unit in the near future.

The stroke and elderly care Consultant team at the Princess Royal Hospital is supported by 2 SpRs, 3 FY1s, 3 CMTD, one GPVTS Doctor, one Associate Specialist, and one Trust grade stroke Doctor. All the juniors participate in the general medical take as a partial shift rota.

There is an active interest in teaching at all levels in the department in association with Keele Medical School and the West Midlands Deanery. The post holders will be encouraged to participate in teaching and supported in research that benefits the department. There are ongoing audits of services.

Expectations of the Post Holder

The post holders will be expected to further develop and enhance the acute stroke unit and stroke rehabilitation services by directly supporting 7 day acute stroke unit ward rounds and TIA clinics, leading stroke thrombolysis service during the day and participating in out-of hours local stroke telephonic thrombolysis rota along with the other stroke Physicians. There are monthly neuroradiology meetings which the post holders will be expected to be involved in. The stroke unit has very close relationships with the radiology department (CT, MRI and Carotid Dopplers) and arrangements are in place for rapid transfer of patients to the University Hospitals North Staffordshire for endovascular and neurosurgical treatments of stroke patients. Referrals for endovascular treatment and neurosurgery in appropriate patients are initiated and led by the stroke Physicians. There also weekly neuroradiology meetings on MST with the colleagues at UHNM. The post holder will also be expected to be involved in triaging TIA referrals to help provide more robust 7-day TIA service.

The post holder will be expected to be fully involved in further developing stroke rehabilitation services, early supported discharge and ongoing follow up care. Close links with community stroke rehabilitation services exist, and will be strengthened by the team including the new appointees. Liasion work providing inreach services to AMU and other medical wards and telephonic advice to GPs, colleagues in ED and AMU at PRH and RSH are key. Training of stroke specialist nurses and participating in the training programme for doctors, nurses and the MDT is also a key role. Follow-up of stroke patients in the follow up clinics 5 days a week is essence too.

Multidisciplinary Work

Multidisciplinary work is at the core of stroke rehabilitation and the post holders will be expected to lead the multidisciplinary work and rehabilitation of stroke patients both in hospital as well as ESD (Early Supported Discharge) and community rehabilitation as appropriate. The post holders will join the 4 existing stroke Physicians, a dedicated multidisciplinary team and the stroke Clinical Nurse Specialists. The department has been involved in various multi-centre research activities and the post holders will be expected to be primary or co-investigators for these research programmes.

Job Plan

A formal job plan will be agreed between the successful candidate and their Clinical Director and consultant colleagues, on behalf of the Medical Director within 3 months of starting in post. A full-time job plan is based on a 10 PA working week. The job plan will be reviewed annually and is a prospective agreement that sets out the consultant's duties, responsibilities, and objectives for the coming year. It covers all aspects of a consultants professional practice including clinical work, teaching, research, education and managerial responsibilities. It will provide a clear schedule of commitments, both internal and external and will include personal objectives, detailing links to wider service improvements and trust strategic priorities.

For a full-time contract, the job plan will be divided on average per week (pro-rata for a part time post) as:

• 7.5 Programmed Activities (PAs) of Direct Clinical Care - includes clinical activity, clinically related activity and predictable and unpredictable emergency work.
• 2.5 Supporting Professional Activities (SPAs) - includes CPD, audit, teaching and research.

The allocation of PAs is reviewed and may be subject to adjustment when a further diary exercise is undertaken or if the service demands a review of the team job plan.

Any applicant who is unable, for personal reasons, to work full-time will be eligible to be considered for the post. If such a person is appointed, modification of the job content will be discussed on a personal basis with the Trust in consultation with other consultant colleagues.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• MBBS, MB ChB or equivalent medical qualification
• MRCP

Desirable

• Higher degree (e.g. MD or PhD)

Entry Criteria

Essential

• Full Registration and a licence to practise with the General Medical Council (GMC)
• Entry on the General Medical Council (GMC) Specialist Register via one of the following: Certificate of Completion of Training (CCT) (the proposed CCT date must be within 6 months of the interview)
• Expertise and major interest in Stroke and Elderly Care 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).

Employer details

Employer name

The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust

Address

The Princess Royal Hospital

Telford

TF1 6TF

Employer's website

http://www.sath.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)