Consultant Haematologist With A Special Interest In Porphyria inLondon inLondon PUBLISHED WED 6 NOV 2024

This is an exciting opportunity to become part of the haematology team at King's College Hospital, caring for patients with acute porphyria as part of a nationally commissioned highly specialised service. You will join two other porphyria consultants, and two clinical nurse specialists. We are involved in the care of approximately 70% of patients with acute porphyria in England. The job involves outpatient clinics, remote management of patients across the country by telephone and email, inpatient care of patients admitted to King's, support for the porphyria homecare nursing service, teaching and liaison with haematology and porphyria laboratories. It is anticipated that approximately one day per week will be spent in King's College Hospital, with the remainder spent working flexibly from home and in outreach clinics at other hospitals. There will be opportunities to take part in research, including clinical trials of novel treatments, and there may be scope to develop other interests within the haematology department.

Given the specialist nature of the job, it is not expected that applicants will have prior knowledge or experience of managing patients with acute porphyria, and appropriate training will be given to the successful candidate. It is most likely that this job would suit a haematologist, although applicants from people with other backgrounds will be considered.

Conduct outpatient clinics for patients with acute porphyria in King's College Hospital typically once per week) and at other hospitals across England (typically once per month.

Give telephone/email advice to other hospitals across the UK on the investigation and management of patients admitted with possible or established acute porphyria.

Give telephone/email advice to patients with acute porphyria across England.

Review inpatients at King's College Hospital admitted with acute porphyria or related problems (typically 5 - 10 per year).

Teach medical, nursing and laboratory staff about clinical aspects of porphyria.

Offer clinical advice and support to the porphyria and haematology laboratories involved in the diagnosis and management of patients with acute porphyria.

Take part in laboratory, translational and clinical research, including clinical trials, of patients with acute porphyria.

It is not expected that the applicant will have prior knowledge or expertise of acute porphyria, and appropriate training will occur as part of the job. It is expected that the appointee will have experience of investigating and managing complex and seriously ill patients.

About us

KEY DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

1. Together with other colleagues, to provide a high quality care service to patients. This includes all aspects of treatment and relevant management duties for the proper functioning of the Care Group.

2. Shared responsibility with other colleagues for providing 24 hours, 7 days a week cover for the Unit on a rota basis. Responsible also for covering colleagues periods of annual leave and short-term sickness as detailed in your contract.

3. Provide clinical supervision of junior medical/dental practitioners as a shared responsibility with other consultant colleagues.

4. Responsible for carrying out teaching, examination and accreditation duties as required and contributing to CPD and clinical governance initiatives.

5. Responsible for outpatient clinic commitments in peripheral hospitals as agreed with the Care Groups management team where part of the service structure.

6. Contribute to the Care Groups research interests in accordance with the Trusts R&D framework.

7. Contribute to the audit programmes, Morbidity and Mortality, Clinical Governance programmes and Learning from Deaths.

8. Take an active role in the formulation, implementation and monitoring of the Care Groups Business Plan. This may include assisting with discussions regarding service plans and developments with internal and external agencies.

9. Conduct all activities within the contracted level of service and operating plan for service(s).

10. Exercise professional leadership for all staff working in the specialty. This will include fostering and developing projects focused towards these ends and ensuring that the momentum of post-qualification professional education and other appropriate training is maintained.

11. Work in conjunction with clinical and other professional colleagues to ensure that the productivity of staff within the specialty is maintained and their job satisfaction is enhanced. This may include involvement in the appraisal process for peers and/or junior colleagues.

12. Undertake Care Group management duties as agreed with the Care Group/Departmental Manager/Clinical Director.

13. Be aware of, and comply with, all Trust infection prevention and control policies, to include hand hygiene, personal hygiene, environmental and food hygiene.

14. Prepare for and undertake the protective interventions that you are responsible for in a manner that is consistent with evidence-based practice and maintaining patient safety.

15. Kings is committed to providing Consultant led 7-day services and in the event of future developments the post holder would be expected to contribute equally with other Consultant colleagues.

GENERAL INFORMATION

1. You have a general duty of care for the health, safety and well-being of yourself, work colleagues, visitors and patients within the hospital in addition to any specific risk management or clinical governance responsibilities associated with this post.

2. You are required to observe the rules, policies, procedures and standards of Kings College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust together with all relevant statutory and professional obligations, including complying with statutory and Trust core training.

3. You are required to observe and maintain strict confidentiality of personal information relating to patients and staff.

4. You are required to be responsible, with management support, for your own personal development and to actively contribute to the development of colleagues.

5. The postholder has an important responsibility for, and contribution to make to, infection control and must be familiar with the infection control and hygiene requirements of this role. These requirements are set out in the National Code of Practice on Infection Control and in local policies and procedures, which will be made clear during your induction and subsequent refresher training. These standards must be strictly complied with at all times.

6. All employees must hold an 'nhs.net' email account, which will be the Trust's formal route for email communication. You are therefore required to check this regularly and to deal with such communication promptly.

7. The Trust is committed to the Health and Wellbeing of all its staff and offer a range of guidance and services to support them, including

• Local occupational health support
• Employee Assistance Programme which provides a wide range of support for work and personal issues, including relationship problems (personal and at work); anxiety/depression; finance/debt; work overload; legal matters; bullying; consumer issues; bereavement; pressure/stress; child care; and care of the elderly/disabled.
• Wellbeing hubs
• Proactive local organisational systems to support staff following a serious incident
• Availability of local initiatives and resources to promote workforce wellbeing
• Coaching and mentoring, peer review groups and participation

8. This job description is intended as a guide to the general scope of duties and is not intended to be definitive or restrictive. It is expected that some of the duties will change over time and this description will be subject to review in consultation with the postholder.