Consultant Anaesthetist with an Interest in Intensive Care inDarlington inDarlington PUBLISHED THU 26 SEP 2024

Consultant Anaesthetist for Anaesthesia with an interest in Intensive Care Medicine based at Darlington Memorial Hospital, County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust. A fantastic opportunity to continue your career in anaesthesia and Intensive Care in a supportive and enthusiastic district general hospital.

The main duties of the role are to provide consultant led anaesthetic care for patients, both in elective and emergency settings and also have sessions in Intensive Care Medicine.

On call commitment is 1:12 and is solely for Intensive Care. On Call for Theatres and Obstetrics is provided by a separate consultant anaesthetist although there is always good communication and teamwork between all resident and non-resident staff on call. Paediatric stabilisations are covered by both groups with the first responder responsibility being shared on alternative weekly rota. On calls at the weekend are usually 24 hrs with support from juniors in a 3 tier Rotas.

About us

The Anaesthetic Department falls within the Surgical Care Group and comprises Anaesthetics, ITU, Theatres, Chronic Pain, Acute Pain, Pre-assessment and Day Surgery, along with surgical specialties. Clinical Director for Anaesthetics, Theatres and Intensive Care Medicine is Dr James Limb (trust wide). The Lead Clinician for the Anaesthetic department at Darlington Memorial Hospital is Dr Jothika Thimappa.

The successful applicant will primarily work at DMH and Bishop Auckland Hospital (BAH), although there may be a requirement to work at other trust sites. The anaesthetic departments culture is one of mutual respect with collective responsibility for the workload within the hospital.

Anaesthetic services are currently provided for elective and emergency patients requiring anaesthesia and/or resuscitation at DMH, BAH, UHND and Shotley Bridge.

At DMH site there are 11 operating theatres covering Community Dental, ENT (Day case), General Surgery (including major colorectal surgery, breast surgery and bariatric surgery), Orthopaedic and Trauma Surgery, Obstetric and Gynaecological Surgery, Ophthalmology and Urology (Day case). Regional Anaesthesia is well established and supported by a regional fellow post and an acute pain team.

Emergency lists are provided in routine hours for Orthopaedic trauma, General surgery and Gynaecology, as well as an out of hours emergency theatre. There is a Consultant-led pre-assessment service with weekly clinics including CPEX testing. Anaesthesia for CT scanning and MRI services is available.

The obstetric department, located on the 6th floor has its own theatre with dedicated elective lists in the main theatre suite. An anaesthetic nurse provides assistance for all theatre cases.

DMH has an 11 bed combined ICU and high-dependency care located near the theatre suite. This unit is used flexibly between level 2 and 3 beds. Three consultant sessions are allocated on each weekday to provide 15 sessions over the week with a rota based on continuity of care. Consultant led RaCI plus nurse led IV and Acute Intervention Teams support our work. Weekend work is completed as part of the out of hours commitment with 12 hour shifts. The majority of specialist support is provided via in house referrals with otherwise good relations with our tertiary referral hospitals. Renal and neurology specialities based at James Cook University Hospital provide in house reviews. Our consultant group form a supportive team and recent appointments include a job share with James Cook Hospital and with Acute Internal Medicine. Trust wide collaboration between the intensive care units and specialist support within the trust occurs with regular Critical Care Delivery Group meetings chaired by the Clinical Director for Anaesthetics and Critical Care.

At the weekend there are dedicated consultants who cover critical care and orthopaedic trauma lists during daytime hours, as well as other theatre emergencies.

Consultants and Speciality Doctors are actively encouraged to support the weekly DMH based FRCA teaching programme. This comprehensive programme is available to all trainees and pre-FRCA Speciality Doctors and receives excellent feedback from both trainees and the School of Anaesthesia.

MAIN DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

The post holder will undertake clinical work in conjunction with their clinical colleagues (24 Consultants, 9 specialty / specialist doctors and an average of 13 trainees) and other professional staff in order to maintain and develop Anaesthetic Services and develop specialist skills in accordance with the needs of the department.

The post holder will have a continuing responsibility for the care of patients in his/her charge and will contribute to the proper functioning of the department of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care Medicine. Furthermore, the post holder will be required to undertake administrative duties directly associated with the care of patients. The post holder will supervise junior medical staff and have responsibility to ensure continuing patient care at all times. For management purposes, the post holder will be accountable to the Lead Clinician for ensuring the effective and efficient use of resources allocated.

The post holder will have scheduled activity with regular anaesthetic sessions based on a 4 week rolling session plan; a degree of flexibility will be expected to meet the needs of the service. SPA activity will be timetabled within the weekly job plan. During some working weeks, flexibility in the ratio of DCC:SPA may be required although SPA time will always be paid back. As additional responsibilities are acquired, the number of SPAs may alter with remuneration agreed through the job planning process.

The post holder must be willing to undertake elective sessions in all sites undertaking surgery. The post holder must possess a UK driving license and be able to present for scheduled list start times as required by the Trust.

The post holder will be expected to participate in teaching.

Research and clinical audit activities, which are considered to be an integral part of normal duties, will be encouraged. Research funding may be available following successful application to local committees.

The post holder will be encouraged and supported to develop services, courses and to undertake innovation.

The post holder will be expected to deputise in the absence of colleagues.

The post-holder will be expected to perform additional duties in emergency and unforeseen circumstances as are essential for continuity of patient care.

The post holder will be responsible for the professional management and supervision of junior medical staff. The post holder will be expected to receive training and participate in educational and clinical supervision.

The post holder will be expected to participate in clinical governance arrangements in line with national and local guidelines.

If you are involved in the care of a patient who subsequently initiates a claim against the Trust you will be expected to provide, free of charge, an opinion and statement of facts about the case.

PROPOSED TIMETABLE AND JOB PLAN

The job plan

This is an indicative job plan, the final job plan/on-call arrangements will be agreed in partnership prior to appointment.

The following provides scheduling details of the clinical activity and clinically related activity components of the job plan which occur at regular times in the week. Agreement should be reached between the appointee and their Clinical Director with regard to the scheduling of all other activities, including the Supporting Professional Activities.

The job plan for approximately the first three months will be based on the proposed timetable shown below. A formal job plan will be agreed between the appointee and their Clinical Director within 3-6 months, and approved by the Medical Director. The job plan will then be reviewed annually in accordance with the Trust policy on Consultant Job Planning.

Each theatre session is 5.25 hours. Remuneration is 1.3125 PAs per working session (which includes pre and post op care).

The proposed Darlington Memorial Hospital / Bishop Auckland Hospital job plan:

Week1:Tuesday Trauma AM, General PM

Wed General AM General PM

Fri ENT AM

Week2: Tues AM ICM, Gynae PM

Wed AM ICM

Thurs AM ICM, Gynae PM

Week3:Wed General AM, General PM

Thursday Trauma AM ,Trauma PM

Fri ENT AM

Week4: Tues AM ICM, General PM

Wed AM ICM

Thurs AM ICM, Gynae PM

Expected allocation of programmed activities for a 10.06 PA contract Direct Clinical Care 8.56 PA (includes 2PA for on call) Supporting professional activity (SPA) 1.5 PA