Senior Clinical Fellow in Upper GI SurgeryinBrightoninBrightonPUBLISHED WED 13 NOV 2024

We are pleased to offer a post to join our General Surgery unit in University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust as a senior clinical fellow. These posts are suited to candidates nearing or who have completed their general surgery training (or equivalent) and are looking to further their experience in complex upper GI or lower GI surgery.

The General Surgery unit in Royal Sussex County Hospital provides tertiary level care to 1.6 million people across Sussex, parts of Surrey and West Kent.

The appointee will work within the multidisciplinary general surgery team under the direction of the Consultant Surgeons and alongside them, to interface with the other team members, comprising Nurses, Dieticians, Psychiatrists, Physicians and Anaesthetists. The post offers comprehensive experience in all aspects of General Surgery in a well-supported and closely supervised environment.

The start date will be the 6th of February 2025 but we can be flexible if visas or GMC registration etc is required. The trust is able to sponsor visas. Each post will last until the 6th of February (12 months total if starting at the beginning February).

The elective teams are split between the UGI and LGI consultants equally with the full spectrum of surgery being undertaken except specialist hepatobiliary work.

Senior Fellows will have the opportunity to benefit from consultant-led training in theatres, access to endoscopy, access to robotic theatre, outpatient clinics and MDTs. Other opportunities within these posts include contribution to research, undergraduate education and management/leadership roles.

As well as contributing to the elective wards alongside the other registrars, they will participate in the 1:16 general on call rota which provides cover to the acute emergency general surgery service in Royal Sussex County Hospital, Brighton. This will provide experience to emergency care/theatres and multi-disciplinary working in a major Trauma Centre. As well as providing care to the people of Brighton and Hove, we provide tertiary level OG and trauma care to 1.6 million people across Sussex, parts of Surrey and West Kent.

The post holder accepts that they will also perform duties in occasional emergencies and unforeseen circumstances at the request of the appropriate consultant, in consultation, where practicable, with their colleagues, both senior and junior.

About us

The University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust Digestive Diseases Department comprises both the General Surgery and Gastroenterology teams that are managed and run together. This arrangement provides a uniquely integrated service for patients. Close co- operation between specialists in each area is encouraged. Highly specialised endoscopic services are available as part of this team.

RSCH is the cancer centre and complex laparoscopic colorectal and Upper GI complex operations are regularly conducted there. The Upper GI robotic service offers approximately 100 operations a year. ELAPE and TEMS operations are also carried out at RSCH as well as clinics and endoscopies. The Princess Royal Hospital does not have an acute take and Robotic UGI operations and simpler General Surgery procedures are directed here, both to the main theatre and the adjacent day surgery unit. Clinics and endoscopies are also carried out here. In addition, there is a small theatre at Lewes Victoria Hospital that also undertakes day case General Surgery procedures.

There are weekly upper GI and Colorectal cancer multi-disciplinary team meetings on the RSCH site that any member of the department is welcome to attend. There is also a weekly inflammatory bowel disease multi-disciplinary team meeting.

The RSCH is an extremely busy acute site taking acute general surgical pathology from both the Brighton area as well as from around the Princess Royal Hospital in Haywards Heath.

We are also the regional tertiary referral centre for complex benign UGI pathology. Over 150 laparotomies are performed every year with a similar number of laparoscopic appendicectomies, as well as a full range of open and laparoscopic emergency procedures. The rota will have a one-week dedicated rotation in CEPOD cover with a dedicated consultant supervision. This will allow high intensity exposure whilst developing key skills for future independent practice.

RSCH is also the region's Major Trauma Centre and with the opening of a Helipad within the next few months, direct exposure to critically unwell trauma patients requiring surgery and interventional radiology will be high. Exposure to resuscitative thoracotomies and trauma laparotomies, supervised by consultants with a specialist interest in Major Trauma will allow for those areas of the high surgical syllabus that are commonly poorly developed to be focused upon. The surgical department is responsible for looking after this cohort of patients as well as managing all operative thoracic as well as abdominal pathologies. Mass exposure to a range of surgeries for acute surgical conditions can be gained within a short period of time. The on-call commitment will allow a trainee to gain the skills required for CCT/CESR competencies in emergency surgery.