Locum Consultant in Rheumatology and/or Sports and Exercise Medicine

Job responsibilities

The post holderss duties will be primarily at Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre, but it is a condition of the appointment that the post holders will be willing to work in any of the Trusts locations.

Clinical

The post-holders will be expected to undertake out-patient clinics in the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre as well as developing and expanding clinical out-patient services in Oxfordshire, under the direction of the Clinical Lead of Rheumatology. There will be a strong emphasis on continuing to develop and implement non-face to face clinical encounters (telephone or video) in line with the long term NHS plan. We are charged with achieving a target of 40% of all consultations as non face to face.

The post-holders will be expected to deliver up to two peripheral clinics per week. Peripheral clinic locations include the Horton Hospital, Banbury, Chipping Norton, Abingdon, Bicester and Witney. As well as supporting the general rheumatology and biologics delivery within the unit, expansion and maintenance of an efficient triage service for non-inflammatory rheumatological conditions is a priority for the department, using the NHS principles of Advice and Guidance (defined as non-face-to-face activity delivered by consultant-led services which can be: synchronous (for example, a telephone call); asynchronous (enabled electronically through the NHS e-Referral Service, or through other agreed IT platforms or email addresses); by providing a digital communication channel, this allows a clinician (often in primary care) to seek advice from another (usually a specialist) prior to or instead of referral (https://www.england.nhs.uk/elective-care-transformation/best-practice-solutions/advice-and-guidance/).

The appointees will be expected, in conjunction with their colleagues, to provide a comprehensive countywide Rheumatology Service to the population of Oxfordshire.

In addition they will be required to:

• Have continuing responsibility for patients in his/her care and for the proper functioning of the department
• Abide by the departmental duties expected of a consultant in the department
• A sub-specialty interest will be encouraged and welcomed by the Team
• Provide on a reciprocal basis, emergency cover for colleagues during periods of absence
• Carry out teaching duties as required and take an active part in the Undergraduate and Postgraduate Medical Education programme and in the teaching of junior medical staff
• Be involved in the education of nursing staff, general practitioners and other clinical professionals
• Regularly attend departmental, consultant, governance, M&M and radiology meetings
• Take part in team, department, regional and national audits
• Be involved in research where appropriate
• Participate proactively in the development and management of the Rheumatology service in line with the Trusts Business Plan
• Undertake such other duties as may be identified to meet the needs of the service
• This post does include on-call responsibilities

Audit

The unit has an active audit and quality improvement program and also takes part in national and local audit. There are research facilities available.

Teaching/Research

Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is a teaching hospital trust, and the post-holders will be required to participate in programmes for teaching clinical students, training junior doctors and in clinical examinations. It is expected that this will be an integral part of everyday clinical activity.

The Rheumatology and SEM Service is currently supported by 7 Specialist Registrars, several Clinical Research Fellows, 1 CMT Junior Doctor and 1 GPVST Junior Doctor. There are 4 specialist practitioners in rheumatology, dedicated rheumatology occupational therapists and physiotherapists and a busy day unit. The successful candidate will be expected to contribute to their clinical supervision and training.

The Directorate has very close links with the Oxford University and the Nuffield Department of Orthopaedics, Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Sciences and the NIHR Biomedical Research Centre.

The post-holders s contribution to teaching, training and research will be included in the regular job plan review.

Clinical Governance

The post-holders will participate in all clinical governance activities, including clinical audit, clinical effectiveness, risk management, quality improvement activities as required by the Trust, and external accrediting bodies.

Personal and Professional Development

The post-holders will be required to keep themselves fully up-to-date with their relevant area of practice and to be able to demonstrate this to the satisfaction of the Trust. Professional or study leave will be granted at the discretion of the Trust, in line with the prevailing Terms and Conditions of Service, to support appropriate study, postgraduate training activities, relevant CME courses and other appropriate personal development needs.

There will be an annual appraisal with a trust nominated appraiser and annual job review conducted by the Clinical Director or Lead Clinican.

Management

The post-holders will be required to work within the Trust's management policies and procedures, both statutory and internal, accepting that the resources available to the Trust are finite and that all changes in clinical practice or workload, or developments requiring additional resources must have prior agreement with the Trust. They will undertake the administrative duties associated with the care of their patients, and the running of their clinical service under the direction of the Divisional Director, the General Manager, the Clinical Director and the Lead Clinician of the clinical team.

Essential and desirable

Essential

• MB ChB or equivalent
• Medical Qualification
• Full GMC Registration with a licence to practice

Desirable

• Higher medical degree
• PhD, MSc. MD or equivalent

Training

Essential

• Completion or within 6 months of completion of Higher Speciality Training Programme in Rheumatology or SEM
• Evidence of relevant CPD
• Evidence of based practice

Desirable

• Membership of relevant specialist associations
• Experience in pain management

Experience

Essential

• Considerable clinical experience in all areas of Rheumatology or MSK medicine
• Experience in musculoskeletal medicine
• Experience in teaching
• Evidence of ability to make decisions at consultant level and to manage complex clinical problems.
• Able to work effectively as part of multi-disciplinary team

Desirable

• Evidence of medical management and service development
• Experience of close working relationship with orthopaedic surgeons and medical specialists
• Experience of NHS(or equivalent) working within and across healthcare boundaries
• Experience of appraising/assessing others
• Peer reviewed publications
• Experience in research
• Research grants

Skills and Knowledge

Essential

• Excellent leadership skills. Evidence of ability to lead a clinical team at the level of a consultant in a teaching hospital.
• Effective administrative and time management skills. Training in clinical management.
• Knowledge of the organisation of the NHS.
• Evidence of significant contribution to successful teamwork within a multidisciplinary team.
• Demonstrate good clinical judgement and logical thinking
• Ability to perform a wide range of joint and soft tissue injections
• Basic IT skills
• Experience of teaching undergraduates and trainees
• Evidence of effective and sustained contribution to clinical governance, clinical risk management and clinical audit activities

Desirable

• Evidence of involvement in clinical management
• Evidence of experience with electronic patient record and database administration and management
• Experience as tutor/clinical supervisor to students/junior medical staff

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).