Consultant Cardiothoracic Anaesthetist

Job overview

To cover an expansion in services we are pleased to invite applicants to an exciting opportunity to work as part of the collaborative anaesthetic team at Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital, the largest single site specialist heart and chest hospital in the country.

Liverpool Heart & Chest Hospital was recently rated outstanding by the Quality Care Commission for the second time and was the first specialist Trust to have received this rating.

The organisation continues to grow and additional Anaesthetic consultants will support service delivery and maintain high quality care to our patients. The successful applicants will be expected to provide anaesthetic care to patients in theatres, critical care area and catheter laboratories.

Main duties of the job

The hospital has seen a great deal of development in the last few years and carries out a wide range of adult cardiothoracic surgical procedures (excluding transplantation). These service developments are supported by a modern 30 bedded Critical Care Unit that complements our 9 dedicated cardiothoracic operating theatres and 7 catheter laboratories, including a specialised hybrid theatre designed for endovascular aortic work and TAVI procedures. Robotic surgery has been recently introduced for thoracic and cardiac procedures.

We are looking for candidates who share our passion for cohesive team working, civility and kindness to deliver best possible care for our patients. If you have the appropriate qualifications and experience and would like to become part of our successful team as we move forward with our ambitious plans, we would welcome your application.

Applicants should have a minimum of 12 months cardiothoracic anaesthesia experience, hold full GMC registration and be on the specialist register.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital provides medical and surgical adult cardiothoracic services to the people of Merseyside, North Wales, Isle of Man, parts of Lancashire and Cheshire. This catchment area has a population of over 2.8 million people.

The hospital is one of the largest of its kind in the country and performs around 2000 major cardiac procedures and 700 major thoracic procedures per annum. The full range of services for adult cardiothoracic surgical patients (with the exception of transplantation) is provided and this includes an expanding service for adult congenital, major aortic surgery, with minimally invasive robotic cardiac and thoracic surgery. The trust also performs over 150 transcatheter aortic valve insertion procedures per year.

The hospital has seen a great deal of development in the last few years. As a result of major capital investment, we are able to provide:

• 184 medical and surgical beds:
• Ø 25 day case beds Ø 12 bed cystic fibrosis ward Ø 30 Critical care beds
• 9 dedicated cardiothoracic surgical operating theatres
• Endoscopy suite
• Recovery room
• X-ray department with a multi-channel spiral CT Scanner and MRI scanner
• Pulmonary function and oesophageal laboratory
• 7 cardiac catheterisation laboratories
• One dedicated pacing theatre and a shared pacing/aneurysm theatre
• Newly refurbished research laboratories
• Hospital electronic patient record system (EPR)
• Da Vinci Robotic surgery

Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital continues to invest in infrastructure with a recently renovated Catheterisation Suite and Cystic Fibrosis Ward and construction of a new main entrance.

Anaesthetic Team:

Anaesthetists

Dr J Ratnasingham - Deputy Divisional Medical Director – (LHCH Surgery Division)

Dr C Quarterman - College Tutor and Director of Medical Education

Dr O Al-Rawi - Clinical Director – Anaesthesia

Dr N Coulson - Clinical Director – Critical Care

Dr A Bhawnani

Dr J Kendall

Dr F Faraz

Dr B Gutowska

Dr D Mayhew

Dr B Murray

Dr K Palmer

Dr T Ridgway

Dr I Shaban

Dr P Wolski

Dr A Hill

Dr O Chambers

Dr E Houston

Dr M Evans

Dr C Yeo

Dr C Darwen

SESSIONAL COMMITMENT

The Anaesthetic Department is busy division providing anaesthetic for a wide variety of specialist areas including cardiac, thoracic, cardiology and critical care. A variety of sessions would be available and can be tailored to suit the appropriately qualified candidate.

This post attracts a 10 PA’s locum consultant job plan including 1.5 SPA for a period of 12 months, starting as soon as possible. Job plan will be adjusted according to ability to do emergency on call commitment after a period of assessment which would be remunerated at 2 PA.

The successful candidates will have full secretarial support, a personal computer (training available if required) and office accommodation.

EDUCATION AND AUDIT

A strong emphasis is placed on quality improvement work within the department, and all medical staff are expected to carry out regular projects. There are regular critical incident meetings and combined mortality and morbidity meetings are also held in conjunction with the surgical division. Medical staff are also required to participate in the Trust’s Clinical Governance and Appraisal System.

The hospital provides undergraduate medical education for final year students from Liverpool University. Emphasis is also placed on teaching and training of anaesthetic trainees the fundamentals of cardiothoracic anaesthesia. The successful candidate will be expected to devote time to the training of juniors on a regular basis both for clinical training and more formal teaching.

A specialist Library is available on site. In addition, the libraries of the Liverpool Medical Institution, Liverpool University and Broadgreen Hospital are also available for reference.

Be Civil Be Kind:

In line with the trust’s values, the anaesthetic team works with belief that the best teams respect and value each other which contributes to the best outcomes for both staff and patients.

Every day and in every situation, we:

• Treat each other equally and with respect
• Welcome and value every person’s contribution and feedback
• Build each other up and appreciate how we help and support each other
• Lead by example, role modelling our IMPACT behaviours
• Greet and acknowledge each other with kindness
• Understand the importance of fairness
• Acknowledge and reflect on the impact our behaviour has on others
• Strive for continuous improvement and lean from our mistakes
• Value the variety of experience, perspectives, skills and ideas that our diverse workplace culture brings
• Promote a culture of civility, addressing incivility in real time to protect everyone’s mental health and wellbeing

Mersey Region and City of Liverpool

Liverpool is a dynamic maritime city. It has experienced a major revival over the past few years and is now recognised as a World Heritage Site. It is unusually compact and a journey to the centre rarely takes more than 30 minutes. Merseysiders enjoy a superb quality of life.

The county abounds with fine architecture, live cultural pursuits and outstanding sport. There are many fine golf courses in the area, numerous sailing clubs and facilities for windsurfing, and of course there are two famous Premiership Football clubs in the city. Tourism has become a major industry and twenty million people visited the city last year, attracted by the areas natural and man-made assets.

Merseyside’s theatres, museums and art collections are now amongst its strongest assets. The city is alive with independent theatre groups, authors, poets and dance groups. The Walker Art Gallery contains a collection equal to any in the provinces and the Tate Gallery opened in 1988 on Liverpool’s waterfront at the refurbished Albert Dock. The Lady Lever Art Gallery at Port Sunlight also houses a collection of national importance. The Philharmonic Orchestra is nationally acclaimed and there is a full range of musical activities of all types.

Liverpool was the European Capital City of Culture for 2008, which attracted further major investment in the city.

There are both Anglican and Roman Catholic Cathedrals and facilities for worship for every other faith in the city. There are excellent schools for both sexes, including a variety of denominational schools both in the private and state sector.

Very good housing in the re-developed docklands, pleasant suburbs, near the sea and in rural areas is easily available the cost of which is still significantly less than the national average.

Two airports are within easy reach. John Lennon International Airport (Liverpool) and Manchester International Airport are within half to three quarters of an hour’s driving time. There are excellent train services and motorway links to all parts of the country with easy access to the National Parks of North Wales, the Peak District and the Lake District, as well as to both Lancashire and North Wales Coasts. There are direct ferry links to Belfast, Dublin and the Isle of Man.

CONFIDENTIALITY

All employees must adhere to policies and procedures relating to Information Governance, Confidentiality and Information Security.

RISK MANAGEMENT

The Trust is committed to approaching the control of risks in a strategic and organised manner.

The post holder must be aware of their individual responsibilities as detailed in the Trusts Risk Management, Health & Safety and Incident policies, and those under the Health and Safety at Work Act. This includes the reporting of any untoward incident, accident, potential or actual hazard identified.

SAFEGUARDING

All staff are required to be familiar with the arrangements for safeguarding children, young people and vulnerable adults and support the organisation in promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults.

Staff working directly with children, young people and vulnerable adults will have a responsibility to ensure safeguarding and promoting their welfare forms an integral part of their duties.

Staff who come into contact with children, vulnerable adults, parents and carers in the course of their work and/or have access to records will have responsibilities to safeguard and promote the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults.

Staff that come into contact in the course of their duties, with parents, carers or other significant adults or children, young people and vulnerable adults should always be mindful of safeguarding and promotion of the welfare of these individuals.

HEALTH AND WELLBEING

The Trust is a Health Promoting Hospital. The Trust expects that when you are presented with opportunities to improve the lifestyle of our patients you seek help from appropriately trained clinical staff to ensure patients are supported and assisted in making the necessary lifestyle changes. This is in accordance with best practice as described in the DoH white paper “Choosing Health – Making Healthy Choices Easier”.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES

The Liverpool Heart & Chest Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is committed to achieving equal opportunities. All employees are expected to observe this policy in relation to the public and fellow employees.

All staff are expected to adhere to, and act in accordance with, the values & behaviours of the Trust.

This document is intended to be used as a guide to the general scope of duties involved in this post. It is not exhaustive and should not therefore be used as a rigid specification. It will be kept under review and amended as required in consultation with the post holder.

Applicant requirements

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.