Clinical Fellow in Neonatal Medicine

Job overview

These are 2 x 12-month posts to start as soon as a successful candidate is available, likely between December 2025 and March 2026. We can accommodate a March 2026 start date if the successful candidate needs to apply for OOP approval from a paediatric training programme. These are senior roles, ideally suited for anyone looking to gain experience additional clinical experience in tertiary neonatal medicine or as part of a SPIN in neonatal medicine for candidates unable to achieve this within the current paediatric training programmes. These are not recognised training posts but may be taken up as an OOPE and would also be suitable for paediatric CCT holder to gain additional experience in neonatology prior to taking up a Consultant post.

The post will involve working on the tier 2 medical rota providing clinical care across the entire Liverpool Neonatal Partnership. This is likely to include the neonatal unit on the Liverpool Women’s site, the low dependency unit and postnatal wards at Liverpool Women’s Hospital and the neonatal unit at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital. Depending on the needs of the successful candidate there may be scope for the candidate to primarily work in the neonatal surgical intensive care unit on the Alder Hey site when it opens in early 2026 and develop specific neonatal surgical intensive care experience.

Main duties of the job

These are senior roles, ideally suited for anyone looking to gain experience additional clinical experience in tertiary neonatal medicine or as part of a SPIN in neonatal medicine for candidates unable to achieve this within the current paediatric training programmes. These are not recognised training posts but may be taken up as an OOPE and would also be suitable for paediatric CCT holder to gain additional experience in neonatology prior to taking up a Consultant post.

The post will involve working on the tier 2 medical rota providing clinical care across the entire Liverpool Neonatal Partnership. This is likely to include the neonatal unit on the Liverpool Women’s site, the low dependency unit and postnatal wards at Liverpool Women’s Hospital and the neonatal unit at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital. Depending on the needs of the successful candidate there may be scope for the candidate to primarily work in the neonatal surgical intensive care unit on the Alder Hey site when it opens in early 2026 and develop specific neonatal surgical intensive care experience

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The regional neonatal unit at Liverpool Women’s Hospital has 44 cots: 12 intensive care cots, 12 high dependency cots and a 20-cot low dependency area. The unit provides a state-of-the-art facility to provide world class neonatal care and is a tertiary referral centre for the Cheshire and Mersey Neonatal Network. The unit regularly accepts referrals from beyond the network with an average admission rate of more than 1200 babies per year.

As the lead NICU for the Cheshire and Mersey Neonatal Network, areas of special responsibility include the management of babies with surgical conditions, initial care of all babies with cardiac malformations requiring neonatal intervention, and treatment of retinopathy of prematurity.  The unit is one of only 2 units within the network providing intensive care for extreme preterm babies (<26 weeks gestation) and providing therapeutic hypothermia.

The NICU team works closely with colleagues in fetal medicine and obstetrics, surgery and cardiology in providing joint antenatal counselling.  The unit is close to the fetal medicine unit and adjacent to the delivery suite.  Weekly joint fetal medicine and joint peri-natal MDT meetings take place.  The unit has strong links to local children’s palliative care and hospice services who provide great support when undertaking parallel planning with families of babies with life limiting conditions.

There is an active research programme in conjunction with The University of Liverpool’s Division of Reproductive and Developmental Medicine.  A regular teaching programme for junior staff, undergraduates and visiting postgraduates is in place.  The unit is recognised by the RCPCH CSAC as a neonatology sub-specialty training centre. The largest team of advanced neonatal nurse practitioners (ANNPs) in the UK is a key part of the NICU workforce at LWH in both delivering medical care and in the practical training of junior nursing and medical staff.  There is a local training programme for ANNPs.