Locum Consultant in Trauma and Orthopaedics - lower limb speciality

Job overview

An opportunity has arisen at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Gateshead to appoint a locum consultant for six months to address the demand for knee surgery / arthroplasty surgery.  We anticipate that the appointed surgeon will be competent in performing both primary knee and primary hip replacement surgery.

Main duties of the job

Applications are invited for an enthusiastic knee surgeon colleague to join our friendly department at the Gateshead NHS Foundation on a locum basis for six months.

The successful candidate will be based at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Gateshead with occasional off site clinics. Gateshead is a short commute to the vibrant city of Newcastle and has the added attraction of being close to the Northumberland Coast and Cumbria.

The department consists of 9 full time and two part time consultants, 9 middle grades, 3 surgical care practitioners and one surgical assistant. 3 ST trainees are allocated to our unit as well as 2 core trainees.  Currently 9 full time consultants take part in a 1:9 on call rota and this post will include on call commitments.

There is a dedicated 15 bedded ring-fenced elective ward which has successfully delivered a robust elective programme through the pandemic. We have moved into a purpose built 15 bedded ring-fenced elective unit in August 2023. There is also a 28 bedded trauma unit delivering high quality trauma care alongside our Orthogeriatric team. We have 4 dedicated state of the art elective laminar flow orthopaedic theatres located in our modern surgery centre and one dedicated laminar flow trauma theatre. The trauma theatre delivers 7 days of full day operating.

The Orthopaedic department has consistently performed well in all metrics of the neck of femur care and our theatre is one of the most productive in the country.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The job will be based at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Gateshead. This is a full time newly created post for a knee surgeon as a substantial consultant post. The successful candidate will participate in the trauma on-call rota and will be supported and encouraged to develop the knee service in our trust.

The proposed job plan is under review, however it is expected that there will be a degree of flexibility around delivery of DCC, although we would be happy to discuss with the successful candidate around a fixed non-contracted day to assist with work/life balance.