Fixed Term - Consultant in Respiratory Medicine

Job responsibilities

The UHSussex (East) respiratory department provides specialist respiratory services for inpatients and outpatients at RSCH and Princess Royal Hospital (PRH). We provide a respiratory in-patient consultation service to both hospitals during normal working hours Monday-Friday. There is an on-call service for out-of-hours advice for NIV management covering both sites.

RSCH: The Respiratory ward, Louisa Martindale Building, C9 is a new, bespoke inpatient ward area comprising of 20 single, en-suite side rooms and 2x 4-bedded high acuity bays. There is also a 6- bedded escalation area for inpatients, a Respiratory SDEC area and a procedure room. The Respiratory team also look after respiratory outliers on the acute floor and in the Millenium Wing Level 8A East.

Ward duty is split between 3x consultants: 2x consultants for C9 ward and 1x consultant acting as the Respiratory Physician of the Week (RPW). We are supported by a team of medical trainees (SpR/IMT/F2/F1 posts), clinical fellows and clinical nurse specialists. We work closely with the ward team of nursing staff, therapies, pharmacy and flow-coordinator and meet at the 8.30am board round at the start of every day (excluding Tuesday).

RSCH consultants provide cross-cover for PRH Pyecombe Ward, Monday to Friday, for 2 weeks of the year, which is rostered. Pyecombe has 27 inpatient beds, which are a mixture of side-rooms and bays, and is divided in equal numbers between the Respiratory team and General Medicine/Endocrinology. There is 1x consultant covering the respiratory beds at PRH on Pyecombe ward with a flexible number of outlying beds.

Out of Hours commitment is 1 in 10 weekends covering RPW, C9 ward and outliers. Generally, it is expected that you will be present 08.30 to 17.00 (weekdays) and 08.00 to 16.00 (weekends) and then be available on the telephone for advice. We also cover the Respiratory Virtual Ward for UHSussex East and West providing telephone advice 17:00-20:00 Monday to Friday and 08.00-20.00 at weekends.

Specialist Nurses:There are currently 10 specialist nurses supporting COPD, asthma, TB, sleep, NIV and respiratory infection/non-CF bronchiectasis, virtual Ward, ILD and Respiratory SDEC.The lung cancer service is supported by 3 Macmillan cancer nurse specialists and 1 support worker as well as an MDT coordinator and a pathway navigator. Outpatient clinics provide a full range of respiratory services for the local populations as well as attracting tertiary referrals from surrounding districts. We have established sub-specialty services including interstitial lung disease, non-CF bronchiectasis, complex respiratory infection and fungal disease, TB, lung cancer, asthma, allergy, breathlessness, pleural disease and non-invasive home ventilation. The Sleep Apnoea service is currently undergoing a redesign. Our range of specialist services provides excellent experience for respiratory trainees within the established KSS respiratory specialist training programme.

Local and Regional multidisciplinary meetings:Twice weekly Respiratory Virtual Ward MDTWeekly Lung cancer MDTWeekly Lung nodule MDTWeekly TB MDT attended by Respiratory, Infectious Diseases, HIV, Paediatric physicians.Weekly Respiratory infection/fungal MDT and radiology meetingWeekly Asthma MDT monthly biologic MDT with Royal Brompton Hospital pendingMonthly ILD MDT with Royal Brompton Hospital

Procedures:There are weekly bronchoscopy and endobronchial ultrasound lists, and twice weekly pleural procedure lists.

Diagnostics:We provide lung function services on both RSCH and PRH sites and link in with our local Community Diagnostic Centre for spirometry and reversibility studies.We have support from respiratory radiologists for reporting and interventional procedures. There is a weekly radiology meeting attended by a radiologist, consultants and trainees to discuss difficult and complex respiratory cases.

Other Services:Specialist nurses provide FeNO, Capilliary blood gas analysis, bronchoconstriction trials, NIV and CPAP set-up through the Respiratory SDEC.We are supported by respiratory physiotherapists for inpatients and outpatients.UHSx (East) is the regional centre for nephrology, neurosciences, trauma, cardiology, vascular surgery, HIV, paediatrics, ophthalmology, obstetrics and oncology, all of which impact on the Respiratory services we provide.Teaching and Educational Supervision:We teach 3rd and 5th year medical students from the University of Sussex Medical School on inpatient ward rounds and in outpatient clinic. We contribute to their formal educational programme in the form of lectures in Respiratory Medicine.Consultants are expected to perform clinical supervision of medical trainees, with an opportunity to perform educational supervision, which is recognised in the job plan.Consultants and specialist nurses contribute to weekly teaching for medical and respiratory trainees.RSCH respiratory service has hosted the regional endobronchial ultrasound service for patients from UHSx and neighbouring Trusts since 2014.

Integrated Care/Virtual Ward:The department hosts a combined appointment with Sussex Community Foundation Trust in integrated respiratory medicine supporting patients across primary and secondary care with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. We refer patients to the General Virtual Ward run by SCFT.This currently includes a 1:10 respiratory on-call rota for weekends and an overnight on call rota from home for specific respiratory advice. The acute medical take is run by the acute medical team daily seven days per week 08:00-20:00.

There are 3x consultants providing care for respiratory inpatients at any one time Monday to Friday, supported by the team of trainees. Daily consultant led ward rounds are timetabled during ward weeks, covering inpatient areas: 2x consultants covering Respiratory Ward C9 and 1x consultant providing a Respiratory Physician of the Week (RPW) model (Monday-Thursday 8.30-5pm, Friday-Sunday 8-4pm). RPW involves daily in-reaching to the acute floor to take over care of those admitted with respiratory disease, providing a referral service for existing inpatients under the care of other teams, and providing rapid admission-avoidance reviews on the Respiratory SDEC or ambulatory care unit. There is no unselected general medical responsibility and the workload is shared out with approximately 16-18 patients per consultant team.

There will be two out-patient clinics per week, including one general and one sub-specialist respiratory clinic, to be determined by the skills and expertise of the successful applicant. The specific allocation will depend on the interests and experience of the successful applicants. Clinic templates generally allow 15 minutes for follow-ups and 30 minutes for new patients. There will also be the opportunity to contribute to the ambulatory pleural lists (twice weekly), bronchoscopy and EBUS lists dependent on the experience of the successful appointee.Sample Clinic Template 14.00-17.00:New (30 min) 4Follow-up (15 min) 4

All consultants provide clinical advice as required for members of the respiratory multi-disciplinary team. We run a specialty e-mail Advice and Guidance service for GPs. Other shared clinical administrative duties may include triage of referrals.

On Call Commitment: 1:10, B 1%

The post holder accepts that they will also perform duties in occasional emergencies and unforeseen circumstances at the request of the appropriate consultant, in consultation, where practicable, with their colleagues, both senior and junior. While it has been agreed between the professions that they will perform such duties, the Secretary of State stresses that additional commitments arising under this sub-section are exceptions and you should not be required to undertake work of this kind for prolonged periods or on a regular basis.

For full details, please see the attached Job description & person specs.

Experience/ Qualifications

Essential

• Basic medical degree
• Postgraduate qualification or appropriate specialist qualification
• Full GMC Registration with a licence to practice
• CCT in Respiratory Medicine or equivalent (equivalence must be confirmed by GMC by date of AAC)
• Entry onto the GMC Specialist Register or eligibility for entry within 6 months of the date of the AAC

Desirable

• Higher Degree
• Qualification in Higher Education (certificate, diploma, masters)

Clinical Skills and Experience

Essential

• Relevant clinical experience including respiratory medicine, the unselected medical take and the care of general medical in-patients
• Understanding of clinical risk management

Desirable

• Sub-specialty respiratory medicine experience / training

Knowledge

Desirable

• Breadth of experience in and outside specialty

Organisation and Planning

Essential

• Experience and ability to work in multi-professional teams
• Understanding of: NHS / Clinical governance / Resource constraints

Desirable

• Evidence of managerial skills: Achievements / Course attended

Teaching Skills

Essential

• Evidence of an interest and commitment to teaching

Desirable

• Recognised teaching qualification

Academic and Research

Essential

• Evidence of participation in audit

Desirable

• Research experience
• Publications
• Prizes and honours

Career Progression

Essential

• Appropriate progression of career to date

Personal Attributes

Essential

• Evidence of:- Good communication skills both oral and written

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).