Consultant Anaesthetist (Obstetrics)

Job description

Job responsibilities

Clinical:

• This post is based within the Peri-operative and Critical Care Directorate (RVI) of the Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals Foundation Trust. The allocated clinical sessions will include providing obstetric anaesthesia and analgesia on Delivery Suite and high-risk obstetric anaesthesia clinic. Increasingly, additional major cases will be managed in main theatres and may require your commitment. Outside of obstetric anaesthesia candidates will also contribute to the general adult anaesthetic service provision.
• The obstetric component would usually comprise of 3 sessions per week providing elective or emergency work around delivery suite; one of these will often be delivered as a resident evening session in conjunction with the overnight on-call. The sessions are usually delivered flexibly for 43 weeks of the year.
• The current scheduled on-call commitment is 1:8. Given the relatively small size of the on-call group, some flexibility in working is essential, especially while short-notice absences are unavoidable.
• Adult anaesthesia sessions worked flexibly.

Administrative:

• To participate in all aspects of Clinical Governance, making a significant contribution to multidisciplinary quality improvement and risk management activities in Peri-operative and Critical Care. The aims of QI will include:
• Ensuring compliance with national guidelines relating to Anaesthesia.
• Helping to create an environment of continuously seeking to improve the quality of care.
• These activities will all be carried out in a multidisciplinary manner. Clinical Governance, Clinical Effectiveness and Audit meetings occur on six mornings and six afternoons every year. All members of the Directorate are expected to attend and contribute. These meetings are utilised to deliver Trust mandatory training.

• The four departments within the Directorate, Adult Anaesthesia, Adult Critical Care, Paediatric Anaesthesia and Pain Management function managerially as a single department. You will be expected to undertake administrative duties in relation to the care of your patients and in relation to the running of the Department of Anaesthesia in co-operation with the Heads of Department, Specialty Manager and Clinical Director. You will be entitled to become a member of the Medical Staff Committee of the hospital.
• To undertake Anaesthesia administrative duties within a context of compliance with Directorate and Trust aims and objectives.
• Undergo Continued Medical Education (CME) in accordance with guidelines stipulated by the Royal College of Anaesthetists (RCoA) and pursue Trust objectives and your own personal development programme. This will be reviewed at annual appraisal and job planning. The Trust has a mentoring scheme, which new consultants are encouraged to use.
• To become involved with the financial management of the Directorate budget - at all times looking to ensure the delivery of high quality care to agreed standards, but at the same time reviewing working practices to provide the most efficient use of resources.
• There are close links with the other two Directorates at Freeman Hospital Peri-operative Services and Anaesthesia services within the Cardiothoracic Directorate. There is a collaborative approach to workforce planning, Clinical Governance and risk management, therapeutics, equipment and education.

Research:

• The Trust welcomes and encourages research as a high profile activity that compliments the service provided. The emphasis is on studies that fall within the National Institute of Health Research Portfolio.
• The Peri-operative and Critical Care Directorate have recently gained the accolade of becoming an Academic Clinical Directorate within NuTH with the associated access to research funding. There is ongoing CLRN activity within the Directorate and several active awards for Greenshoot and Research Capability funding within the consultant body.

Teaching:

• The Directorate places considerable emphasis on under-graduate and post-graduate education, and has a remarkable success rate at RCoA examinations. You will be expected to make an active contribution to under-graduate and post-graduate teaching of Anaesthesia.
• The Directorate wishes to play a key role in the Regional development of training the next generation of anaesthetists and recognises the threat posed by periods of falling numbers of trainees in the Northern Deanery.
• Under-graduate education is provided to medical students of the University of Newcastle upon Tyne.
• The Directorate also educates nursing staff, operating departmental personnel, professions allied to medicine, paramedic ambulance personnel and armed forces personnel.
• The Northern School of Anaesthesia provides the hub for post-graduate anaesthetic education with teaching opportunities available to all Consultants.
• All Consultants are expected to be actively involved in the clinical supervision of all postgraduate trainees in the Directorate. Some will have specific responsibility for a small number of individuals as educational supervisor under the direction of the RCoA College tutor.

Person Specification

Education, Qualifications and Specialist Skills

Essential

• Primary Medical Qualification
• Full GMC Registration
• Entry onto the GMC Specialist Register (within 6 months from the date of the AAC)
• FRCA or equivalent

Desirable

• Higher Degree

Clinical Experience

Essential

• Higher/advanced training in obstetric anaesthesia (RCOA Stage 3 SIA equivalence).
• Extensive experience in adult general anaesthesia
• Ability to manage and prioritise patients within busy obstetric emergency lists and during on-call shifts

Desirable

• Experience of managing complex obstetric patients (including cardiac and Abnormally Invasive Placentas)
• Experience in pre-operative assessment
• Advanced experience in regional anaesthesia, including siting and managing nerve catheters
• Experience in major surgery and management of major haemorrhage, including expertise in coagulation Point Of Care Testing.

Management and Administration Experience

Essential

• Involvement with management and project leadership within the specialty
• Evidence of involvement in authoring or reviewing clinical guidelines
• An understanding of Clinical Governance

Desirable

• Proven management and administrative experience and understanding of management goals
• Evidence of leadership / project management
• Evidence of having implemented change
• Experience in developing and implementing new technologies
• Evidence of planning and organisation of regional or national meeting for obstetric anaesthesia
• Evidence of contribution to departmental Clinical Governance and Risk activity
• Rota -making experience

Teaching

Essential

• Experience of supervising junior medical staff
• Experience of participation in undergraduate and postgraduate teaching
• Evidence of multidisciplinary teaching in the obstetric environment
• Ability to teach clinical / technical / practical skills

Desirable

• Attendance at courses to develop teaching skills
• Postgraduate qualification in medical education
• Evidence of innovative use of technologies in teaching tools

Research

Essential

• Evidence of involvement in and understanding of research methodology and publication of findings
• Research/critical review of literature

Desirable

• Higher degree
• Experience in national research study administration

Audit

Essential

• Evidence of participation in audit

Desirable

• Evidence of having changed practice as a result of audit
• Evidence of having revisited the audit to assess improvement

Personal Attributes

Essential

• Alignment with the Trust's Core & Professional Behaviours
• Flexible approach to service delivery and committed approach to development
• Committed to share in professional, managerial and teaching responsibilities necessary to fulfil the obligations of the Directorate to the Trust and its workforce
• A commitment to personal / unit CPD
• Ability and willingness to work the on-call rota
• Ability and willingness to work a more flexible pattern of working in the future if required, including evening and weekend work

Desirable

• Evidence of commitment to promoting patient experience and autonomy

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 Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Anaesthetics Specialty - RVI

Newcastle upon Tyne

NE1 4LP

Employer's website

https://careers.nuth.nhs.uk/why-us (Opens in a new tab)