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.

The department consists of 12 consultants, 9 middle grades, 3 surgical care practitioners and one surgical first assistant. 3 ST trainees are allocated to our unit as well as 2 core trainees.

The successful candidate will be based at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Gateshead with occasional off-site clinics. This is a 6 month locum opportunity in primary hip and knee arthroplasty. The successful candidate will participate in the on call rota.

Main duties of the job

Applications are invited for an enthusiastic lower limb primary arthroplasty colleague to join our friendly department at Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust.

There is a dedicated 15 bedded ring-fenced elective ward which has successfully delivered a robust elective programme through the pandemic. 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.

The provisional on call rota is 1:10 with a job planned trauma list once every three weeks. The allocated PA’s will be 10.0

It is expected that there will be at least one elective and one fracture clinic a week. There will be at least two sessions allocated for elective surgery the delivery of which may be flexible depending on the theatre scheduling. Adequate time will be allocated for CPD activity.

The job plan is flexible and an illustration is shown in the attached job description document.

The post holder will work flexibly with their Consultant colleagues within the wide remit of the Department’s activity. A formal job plan will be agreed on appointment.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The advertised post of a locum Consultant Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgeon with an interest in Primary Hip and Knee Arthroplasty is based at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Gateshead.

The post(s) is tenable for six months initially starting 1st November 2026. The pay and terms and conditions of service for the posts are subject to the Terms and Conditions of Service – Consultants (England 2003).

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.