Locum Consultant in Cardiothoracic Anaesthesia

Job overview

The postholder’s duties will be primarily at the John Radcliffe Hospital but it is a condition of the appointment that the postholder will be willing to work in any of the Trust’s other sites.

One whole-time/part-time post as a Locum Consultant in Cardiothoracic Anaesthesia is now available at the John Radcliffe Hospital.

This appointment is on a whole-time/part-time basis but applications are welcome from those who wish to job share. This locum post is fixed term for 12 months in the first instance.

Candidates are highly recommended to visit the department and hospital and are invited to contact Dr Andrew Johnson, CSU Lead for Cardiothoracic Anaesthesia and Cardiothoracic Critical Care, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust, The John Radcliffe. Email: andrew.johnson@ouh.nhs.uk

Any person who is unable for personal reasons to work full-time will be eligible to be considered for the post. If such a person is appointed, modification of the job content will be discussed on a personal basis, in consultation with consultant colleagues. Suitably qualified job-share candidates will receive serious consideration.

Main duties of the job

This locum consultant post will provide Intensive Care and Anaesthetic services to cardiothoracic patients as part of a team of consultants providing cardiac and thoracic surgery and cardiology procedures at the Trust. This post is in Cardiothoracic Intensive care with or without another specialty. You will provide care for adult cardiothoracic and cardiology patients on the Cardiothoracic Critical Care Unit the John Radcliffe. This care includes direct care of admissions, leading ward rounds, follow-up outpatient clinics and consultations on relevant critically ill inpatients.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

CSU Cardiothoracic Anaesthesia, Cardiothoracic Critical Care Unit and Theatres

There are approximately 900 cardiac surgical cases carried out at the JR with a full range of adult procedures with the exception of transplantation. Additionally, there are over 500 thoracic cases with many complex and high-risk cases requiring intensive care / HDU support post-operatively. There are established aortic and mitral surgical programs which include minimally invasive mitral and complex aortic operations.

Cardiology procedures requiring anaesthetic support include ablation, complex device insertion and extractions, TAVI and other structural inventions including percutaneous edge to edge valve repair.

The Cardiothoracic Critical Care Unit provides both Level 2 and Level 3 care to patients after both cardiac and thoracic surgery and also following emergency and elective Cardiological procedures. The unit receives over 1500 admissions per year. Most are planned admissions, but the unit also receives emergency admissions including those transferred from other hospitals for emergency Cardiothoracic surgery and Cardiothoracic patients who become critically ill on the ward. Emergency admissions also include patients after emergency percutaneous coronary intervention and out of hospital arrest.

CTCCU patients receive a full range of organ support procedures including ventricular assist devices, VA ECMO, Impella and haemofiltration.

Clinical

This post is in Cardiothoracic Intensive care with or without another specialty. You will provide care for adult cardiothoracic and cardiology patients on the Cardiothoracic Critical Care Unit the John Radcliffe. This care includes direct care of admissions, leading ward rounds, follow-up outpatient clinics and consultations on relevant critically ill inpatients. For applicants from an anaesthesia background, there is the opportunity to provide anaesthesia for cardiac surgical, thoracic surgical and cardiological procedures depending upon expertise and the needs of the service. Applicants with a CCT in another specialty will be able to perform clinical duties in that specialty subject to arrangement with the relevant specialty.

The work pattern on the Cardiothoracic Critical Care is comprised of 12 hour resident day shifts and non-resident overnight on-calls. The unit is therefore covered by dedicated Consultants 24 hours a day, 7 days a week; this being divided between a group of 7 consultants. Consultants tend to provide 6-7PAs per week to the Cardiothoracic Critical Care, leaving remaining PAs for associated specialty working (anaesthesia or otherwise) although this is negotiable. The rota is delivered in an annualised way to allow for increased efficiency and flexibility enabling leave to be taken when desired. An indicative job plan is attached below.

Teaching/Research

Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust is a teaching hospital trust, and the post-holder will be required to participate in programmes for teaching clinical students, training doctors in training and in clinical examinations. It is expected that this will be an integral part of everyday clinical activity. The post-holder’s contribution to teaching, training and research will be included in the regular job plan review.

Clinical Governance

The post-holder will participate in all clinical governance activities, including clinical audit, clinical effectiveness, risk management, investigation of patient safety incidents quality improvement activities as required by the Trust, and external accrediting bodies.

Personal and Professional Development

The post-holder will be required to keep themselves fully up-to-date with their relevant area of practice and to be able to demonstrate this to the satisfaction of the Trust. Professional or study leave will be granted at the discretion of the Trust, in line with the prevailing Terms and Conditions of Service, to support appropriate study, postgraduate training activities, relevant CME courses and other appropriate personal development needs. This is currently 30 days over a 3 year period.

Management

The post-holder will be required to work within the Trust's management policies and procedures, both statutory and internal, accepting that the resources available to the Trust are finite and that all changes in clinical practice or workload, or developments requiring additional resources must have prior agreement with the Trust. He/she will undertake the administrative duties associated with the care of his/her patients, and the running of his/her clinical service under the direction of the lead clinician and/or directorate chair.

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.