Adult Neurosurgery Spinal Fellowship

Job responsibilities

The Departments of Neurosurgery and the Integrated Spinal Service provide a comprehensive neurosurgical and spinal surgery service to the 2.5 million people of West and North Yorkshire. The Departments are housed within the Jubilee Wing of the General Infirmary at Leeds.

The Departments have 68 adult beds in two dedicated wards with an additional 7 bedded dedicated Neuro-intensive Care Unit as well as a 7 bedded dedicated High Dependency Unit. There are four adult operating theatres including one dedicated to emergency surgery 24 hours per day. There are separate beds, operating theatres, and intensive care facilities for Paediatric Neurosurgery. The integrated spinal service offers all aspects of spinal surgery and is made up of 4 Neurosurgical and 8 Spinal Orthopaedic Consultants.

The surgical services within the CSU have close links with the other neuroscience specialties that are all on site including Neuroradiology, Neurology, Neuroanaesthetists and Neurophysiology. The Neuro-pathology department for Yorkshire is now based at St Jamess hospital but continues to provide a full histological and post-mortem service including facilities for inter-operative histopathology.

The Neuro Radiology Department is based at the Leeds General Infirmary and comprises 7 Consultants, three of whom provide Endovascular services.

The General Infirmary at Leeds is a level 1 trauma unit (MTC status) and there are close links with other associated surgical specialties including trauma, maxillofacial, plastics, cardiothoracic and ENT surgery.

The department's work has continued to increase over the past years. The current caseload is some 3000 inpatients per year and approximately 2000 operative cases per year.

The Centre for Neurosciences in Leeds provides world class adult Neurosurgical and Orthopaedic spinal care. The service is consultant led and delivered through dedicated subspecialty services. The spinal services have very strong links with Neurology, Neuroradiology, Neuropathology, and Leeds University.

As would be expected, to support spinal surgery, all the theatres have BrainLAB neuronavigation, CUSA, Sonopet, Zeiss microscopes (including navigated), X-ray support, intra-operative frozen section, and intra-operative ultrasound. All patients are discussed in a weekly MDT that conforms to the BASS standards and all patients are entered into the National Spinal Database.

The Neurosurgical Spine consultants (Mr Pal, Mr Derham, Mr Selvanathan, and Mr Sinha, and Mr Kellet) integrate with the Spinal Orthopaedic consultant team (Mr Gummerson, Mr Rao, Mr Khan, Mr Rudol, Mr Loughenbury, Mr Borse, and Mr Dunsmuir) and run a combined on-call rota. There is a designated specialist Cervical Spine MDT clinic which runs on a weekly basis. All patients undergoing operative intervention are discussed at a weekly Neurosurgical spine and Spinal MDT. All aspects of Spinal surgery are offered within the department. The department currently supports 3 fellowship posts in spinal surgery including the Stryker Industry Fellowship and the National Spinal Fellowship. This new fellowship post is intended to allow an experienced trainee, from a Neurosurgical background and peri-CCT the opportunity to gain more experience over a one-year period in this sub-specialty within spinal surgery with a specific interest in craniocervical and intramedullary microsurgery. It is expected that sufficient experience will be obtained from this fellowship to allow a successful fellow to offer themselves for appointment to a consultant position involving a substantial commitment to this specialist area of surgery. It is expected that through the fellowship program, experience is gained in the assessment, investigation and operative management of patients presenting with both acute and elective complex spinal pathology. It is also expected that the Fellow will gain experience in the management of degenerative, neoplastic, infective, and traumatic disorders of the spine. The Fellow will be expected to perform most of the complex spinal cases (depending on their level of experience) and will be trained in techniques including complex cranio-cervical junction and sub-axial spine reconstruction, microsurgical techniques in relation to the spinal cord, minimally invasive techniques (MIS, Vertebroplasty, XLIF), and spinal fusion techniques. Participation in a weekly Spinal MDT consisting of Neurosurgeons and Spinal Orthopaedic surgeons, Radiologists, and specialist nurses will be expected. The Fellow will be encouraged to participate and conduct research into complex spinal disorders and attend national and international meetings. The Fellow will be expected to participate in the general neurosurgical registrar on call rota, to provide continuity of care for patients, and maintain a general emergency skill set in neurosurgery. As such, preference will be given to candidates applying with base specialty skills in Neurosurgery or FRCS (SN). It is expected that the Fellow will share responsibility for the neurosurgical patients in their area of sub-specialist interest outside of strict rota commitments.

There are very strong links with Leeds University and local brain tumour charities. There is a dedicated Spinal Research Nurse.

THE LEEDS WAY VALUES

Our values are part of what make us different from other trusts, so we see this as a strength, as well as a responsibility. They have been developed by our staff and set out what they see as important to how we work. Our five values are:

Patient-centred

Collaborative

Fair

Accountable

Empowered

All our actions and endeavours will be guided and evaluated through these values

Additionally, the following are core values which relate specifically to this post:

The beliefs and attitudes that underpin effective performance within the job role. Emphasis should be on the requirements of the role not the individual when completing this section. Examples might include quality focus, mistakes are used as a continual learning experience, honesty, integrity etc.

Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust is part of the West Yorkshire Association of Acute Trusts (WYAAT), a collaborative of the NHS hospital trusts from across West Yorkshire and Harrogate working together to provide the best possible care for our patients.

By bringing together the wide range of skills and expertise across West Yorkshire and Harrogate we are working differently, innovating, and driving forward change to deliver the highest quality care. By working for Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust this is your opportunity to be a part of that change.

WYAAT is the acute sector arm of the West Yorkshire and Harrogate Health and Care Partnership, one of the largest integrated care systems in the country. The Partnerships ambition is for everyone to have the best possible health and wellbeing, and the work of WYAAT, and each individual trust, supports that ambition.

Additionally, the following are core values which relate specifically to this post:

Team working - the successful applicant will be expected to work closely with theatre and ward teams, demonstrating a strong commitment to collaborative, patient centred care. They will be expected to demonstrate excellent communication skills.

Quality and safety focused - the Trust places a strong emphasis on continuous learning and the importance of sharing both good practice and learning from mistakes. The successful candidate will be expected to fully support these principles.

MEDICAL STAFF IN THE DEPARTMENT

The Department is led by 12 Consultant Neurosurgeons and 7 Orthopaedic Spinal Surgeons. They all have comprehensive general Neurosurgical commitment as well as subspecialty interests.

Neurosurgeons

Mr P D Chumas - Paediatric, Oncology and Epilepsy Neurosurgery

Mr N I Phillips - Pituitary, Vascular and Skull Base Neurosurgery

Mr A K Tyagi - Vascular and Paediatric Neurosurgery

Mr D Pal - Spinal Neurosurgery

Mr S Thomson - Adult Oncology and Spinal Neurosurgery

Mr J R Goodden - Paediatric, Oncology and Spasticity Neurosurgery

Mr K Deniz - Vascular and Posterior Skull Base Neurosurgery

Mr G Sivakumar - Paediatric, Functional, Epilepsy & Oncology Neurosurgery

Mr R Corns - Adult Oncology and Trauma Neurosurgery

Mr C Derham - Spinal Neurosurgery and Trauma Neurosurgery

Mr I Anderson - Vascular, Skull base

Mr R Matthew - Adult oncology and Research

Mr S Selvanathan - Spinal Neurosurgery

Mr P Sinha - Spinal Neurosurgery

Orthopaedic Spinal Surgeons

Mr R Dunsmuir - Orthopaedic Spinal Surgery

Mr A Rao - Orthopaedic Spinal Surgery

Mr A Khan - Orthopaedic Spinal Surgery

Mr N Gummerson - Orthopaedic Spinal Surgery

Mr G Rudol - Orthopaedic Spinal Surgery

Mr P Loughenbury - Orthopaedic Spinal Surgery

Mr V Borse - Orthopaedic Spinal Surgery

The middle grade rota consists of 16 Higher Specialty Trainees participating in a 1:14 out of hours rota.

Clinical, Academic, and Personal Skills

Essential

• Demonstrates understanding of research, including awareness of ethical issues
• Up to date GCP certification
• Demonstrates an interest in and commitment to the specialty beyond the mandatory curriculum

Desirable

• Evidence of relevant academic and research achievements, e.g., degrees, prizes, awards, distinctions, publications, presentations, other achievements
• Evidence of interest in, and experience of teaching Higher degree or interest in doing a higher degree

Qualifications

Essential

• MBBS or equivalent medical qualification
• ARCP Outcome 1 at ST6 or equivalent experience Passed Speciality
• Fellowship Examination in Neurosurgery or equivalent
• CCT in Neurosurgery

Desirable

• Relevant BSc, MD, PhD
• CCT in Neurosurgery

Eligibility, Fitness to practice, and Language Skills

Essential

• Be eligible for full registration with, and hold a current licence to practise from, the GMC at intended start date
• Eligibility to work in the UK
• Is up to date and fit to practise safely and is aware of own training needs.
• ll applicants to have demonstrable skills in written and spoken English adequate to enable effective communication about medical topics with patients and colleagues
• Meets professional health requirements (in line with GMC standards/Good Medical Practice)

Additional Requirements

Essential

• Enthusiasm for all aspects of neurosurgical spine surgery
• Ability to work in a team
• Demonstrates probity
• Demonstrable interest in, and understanding of, the specialty Commitment to personal and professional development
• Evidence of attendance at organised teaching and training programme(s)
• Evidence of self-reflective practice

Experience

Essential

• Approaching completion or recently completed higher neurosurgical training or equivalent.
• Demonstrable interest in developing consultant level subspeciality skills in Neurosurgical spine.
• Ability to apply sound clinical knowledge and judgement to problems
• Ability to prioritise clinical need
• Ability to maximise safety and minimise risk
• Recognition of, and ability to undertake the initial management of, an acutely ill patient
• Evidence that career progression is consistent with personal circumstances
• Desire to develop Neurosurgical Spines as a subspecialty
• Ability to provide complete details of employment history

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).