Consultant in Stroke Medicine

Job overview

Applications are invited for the post  of stroke consultant at West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust. We are very proud of the stroke services we provide to our patients.    The service has an excellent reputation with scoring consistently highly within the Sentinel Stroke National Audit Programme (SSNAP).

We provide a 24/7 thrombolysis service, stroke research, pre-hospital video-triage, seven day stroke ward rounds and TIA service, stroke follow up clinics and refer patients to Addenbrookes Hospital for mechanical thrombectomy.   We have excellent working relationships with colleagues in the emergency department and radiology departments.     We are regular contributors to regional stroke networks and events and are often asked to present on current topics.

This is an opportunity for the right candidate, with an inspirational and visible leadership style to be able to help us drive and continue to deliver excellent stroke care at West Suffolk.

Please See Full Job Description attached for details

Interviews to be held on Tuesday, 30th June 2026

Main duties of the job

• To be part of the Stroke team in the assessment and management of all possible stroke and TIA patients.
• To contribute to stroke service delivery by participation with colleagues in:     - Hyper-acute stroke care, including thrombolysis and referring for thrombectomy     - TIA Clinics     - Inpatient care     - Outpatient care
• To provide clinical leadership with other stroke consultants to ensure the continuous development of stroke services.
• Contribute to the implementation of national and regional initiatives to improve stroke care.
• Teaching and training of:    - multi-disciplinary professionals    - stroke team    - medical students
• To participate actively in both stroke service and Trust clinical governance, audit and research.
• To have responsibility for ensuring active participation in continuing medical education (CME), appraisal and revalidation.
• Maintenance of the highest clinical standards in the management of patients with stroke.

Please See Full Job Description attached for details

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

WSFT currently provides hyper acute stroke services in a dedicated combined specialist Hyper Acute Stroke, Acute Stroke, and Stroke Rehabilitation Unit. We have a 24 bedded stroke unit and operate a 24 hour a day stroke thrombolysis service and daily TIA assessment service supported by stroke specialist nurses. The 30 bedded ward is used flexibly to accommodate patients during the hyper acute and acute phase of their stroke including rehabilitation, supported by an SpR, 2 specialty doctors, a junior doctor team and 4 consultant level doctors to provide medical management of patients.

Approximately 575 patients with diagnosed strokes were admitted to WSFT in the previous financial year from a catchment population of about 285,000.

Within the current model, the Emergency Stroke Outreach Team (ESOT) provides an immediate response to all patients attending WSFT with suspected stroke. These patients receive immediate structured assessment to determine likely diagnosis and suitability for thrombolysis. ESOT currently includes Stroke Clinical Nurse Specialists Stroke Specialty Doctor, and Stroke Consultant during working hours. In addition to the ESOT the Trust uses the Stroke Telemedicine Service (Stakeholder Partnership across the East of England) to support thrombolysis out of hours. The service also provides assessment and referral for thrombectomy to Cambridge University Hospital 24/7. This is supported by an onsite team consisting of Stroke Telemedicine Nurse, and Medical Registrar. Through this partnership, thrombolysis is provided 24/7 to confirmed stroke patients.

The ESOT Clinical Nurse Specialist Team provides 7 Day Service 24 hours a day, 365 days a year alongside the Medical and Stroke Team.  This also supports the timely assessment and treatment of patients who suffer a stroke whilst an inpatient at WSFT.

Patients who have a confirmed or likely diagnosis of a stroke or who have been referred for thrombectomy will be admitted directly to the HASU on the stroke unit for specialised stroke care.

Please See Full Job Description attached for details