Consultant - Nephrology

Job description

Job responsibilities

Department of Nephrology

Following the opening of the New Royal Hospital in October 2022, the Nephrology in-patient bed base relocated and was consolidated across two wards in the Royal New Hospital. The Nephrology in-patient bed base has 42 beds (includes 8 renal regional HDU) and is co-located with Renal Transplant surgery who have 14 beds. The new model ensures that ALL complex renal patients in the region (transplant, dialysis, AKI needing organ support, complex immunosuppression) have equitable access 24/7 to a bespoke MDT Tertiary unit.

The Nephrology footprint extends beyond LUHFTs sites; the LUHFT renal team provide all aspects of kidney care - Acute Kidney Injury (AKI); Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD); Renal Replacement Therapy (RRT); Constructive management of patients who choose not to have dialysis/transplant; and transplantation across Merseyside, including parts of Cheshire (Population c.1.06m). The Renal Transplant Unit provides services to the Wirral and North Wales (Population 2.5m). The service is currently provided at Aintree Hospital, the Royal Liverpool & Broadgreen hospitals and offers a number of satellite units.

The Regional Renal unit has a 33 stationed dialysis unit in the lower ground floor, with 8 bedded HDU unit in ward 7C and another 21 dialysis plumbed rooms between the wards 7C and 7B .

In response to the NCEPOD Report there is a robust and responsive strategy for management of acute kidney injury (AKI) both within the Trust and in outlying Trusts with an integrated alert programme highlighting new cases of AKI. There are satellite dialysis units at Broadgreen Hospital, St Helens Hospital, Warrington Hospital, Halton Hospital , Waterloo dialysis unit and Southport hospital. . Clinical Governance for these patients rests wholly within the Royal Liverpool University Hospital Nephrology Directorate, within the Divisional and Trust structure for clinical governance and risk management.

The Renal Transplant Unit (RTU) serves Merseyside, North Wales and the Isle of Man. The transplant team performs 100 renal transplants per year with a planned programme to increase to 120 per year. This includes an active living door transplant programme and a comprehensive programme involving both non-heart beating donation and ABO incompatible donor transplants. Major investment here recently includes the agreed planned expansion of Consultant Transplant Surgeon numbers from 4 to 5. All Consultant Nephrologists when On-call have a commitment to nephrology consultations in the RTU. As per national recommendation patients who have been transplanted for more than 12 months are transferred back to Nephrology and are seen in dedicated post-transplant follow up clinic. We also attend acute transplant clinics and perform in-patient transplant reviews.

There are excellent opportunities and facilities for research within the Trust. The present areas of interest within the Renal Unit are diverse and include inhouse research capabilities along with involvement in various national and international studies.

We are committed to submitting data to the UK Renal Registry and pursue the standards set in the National Service Framework, NICE, Renal Association standards and agreed yearly CQUINS with commissioners. There is a robust quality assurance management programme with regular MDT meetings and audit reviews

Services:

Along with General Nephrology Clinic, we provide several sub specialist clinics including Immunosuppression Clinic, Renal transplant follow up clinic, Advanced Kidney care clinic, Dialysis clinic, Conservative Management Clinic, Polycystic Kidney Disease Clinic, Renal pregnancy clinic, Tuberous sclerosis clinic, Diabetic renal clinic, Myeloma clinic. In addition, we run sub-specialist MDTs including Genomic MDT, Transplant MDT, Vasculitis/GN MDT.

Job plan

The appointee, together with his or her colleagues, will have a commitment to the provision of general nephrology, specialist nephrology and acute medical services.

The timetable is based on a 10 PA job plan including two supporting PAs

The fixed clinical sessions will include a weekly transplant clinic, two general nephrology clinics weekly and a procedural session, These sessions will be agreed with the post holder after appointment to reflect their specialist interests and service requirements.

The oncall commitment is 1:20 on pro rota basis. The hot blocks on the wards occur on weeks 1,2 and 11in a 20-week cycle.

There are 1.5 core SPAs identified in the job plan to reflect time required for audit, mortality reviews, appraisal, and revalidation activity. A further 0.5 SPA will be allocated for a specific role within the department. This will be agreed with the post holder after appointment to reflect their specialist interests and service requirements. Additional DCC PAs may be available by mutual consent to meet departmental or organisational requirements. The job plan will be reviewed six months after appointment and annually thereafter. Teaching and supervision of trainees will be an essential role of the post holder. Level 2 training will be provided for the appointee to be an Educational / Clinical Supervisor if they have not already obtained such training.

The appointee is expected to attend and proactively commit to ongoing improvements in Vascular Access MDT meetings, Renal Biopsy meetings, Clinical Directorate and Governance meetings and Transplant MDT meeting.

To receive acute referrals from Merseyside and Cheshire while on-call as part of the on-call consultant rota.

-The post holder would be expected to actively take part in audit, teaching and research. The Unit has contributed to the Renal Registry since 2002.

-It is envisaged that the post holder would provide Consultant level nephrology cover for the Regional Renal Transplant Unit whilst on-call and support any future developments in the working patterns with the transplant team.

-The post holder will have continuing responsibility for the care of patients in his or her charge and for the proper functioning of the service.

-It is expected that the job involves educational and clinical supervision of junior doctors, specialist nurses and teaching commitments to medical students from university of Liverpool.

-The post holder will help in delivering directorate goals related to financial, clinical governance and QEP. Post holder will be subject to performance management through service line reporting.

At the Royal Liverpool University Hospital there are regular specialist and inter-disciplinary meetings including a weekly MDT radiology meeting, a bimonthly renal biopsy meeting. There is a regular lunchtime meeting and a Grand Round, which is open to staff of all specialties. There is a state-of-the-art education centre on site with excellent resources and personnel.

Job Plan & Timetable (While not on ward hot blocks and on call)

Hot blocks occur on week 1,2 and 11 in a 20 week cycle

Day

09:00 13:00

13:00 17:00

17:00 22:00

Monday

Transplant clinic

Admin

Tuesday

SPA

Admin/ A&G

Wednesday

TBC

TBC

Thursday

SPA

General nephrology clinic

Friday

Procedure clinic

Admin

Saturday

Sunday

Please see attached Job Description for full details

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• MB ChB or equivalent medical qualification
• MRCP (UK) or equivalent
• CCT in acute medicine or GIM (General Internal Medicine) (or within 6 months)

Desirable

• Additional post-graduate qualifications

Language Skills

Essential

• 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

Clinical Skills

Essential

• Clinical Knowledge & Expertise
• Appropriate knowledge base and ability to apply sound clinical judgement to problems
• Demonstrates the necessary range, depth and breadth of competencies specified in the acute and general medicine curriculum and applying to this post

Academic & Research Skills

Essential

• Research Skills: Demonstrates ability to undertake robust audit/research within team structure
• Teaching Skills: Demonstrates range of teaching techniques relevant to variety of curricula

Desirable

• Degrees, awards, presentations, publications
• Evidence of teaching and assessment skills

Personal Skills

Essential

• Communication Skills: Demonstrates clarity in written/spoken communication & capacity to adapt language as appropriate to the situation. Able to build rapport, listen, persuade & negotiate
• Problem Solving & Decision Making: Capacity to use logical/lateral thinking to solve problems/make decisions
• Managing Others & Team Involvement: Capacity to work effectively with others. Able to work in multi-professional teams & supervise junior medical staff
• Empathy & Sensitivity: Capacity to take in others' perspectives and treat others with understanding; sees patients as people
• Organisation & Planning: Capacity to manage/prioritise time and information effectively. Capacity to prioritise own workload. Basic IT skills
• Vigilance & Situational Awareness: Capacity to monitor developing situations and anticipate issues
• Coping with Pressure: Capacity to operate under pressure. Demonstrates initiative & resilience to cope with changing circumstances

Desirable

• Leadership/manage ment/QI qualifications

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

Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Royal Liverpool Hospital

Mount Vernon

Liverpool

L7 8YE

Employer's website

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