Locum Consultant Radiologist

Job overview

An opportunity has arisen for a Consultant Radiologist to join the existing team of 50 Consultants to provide specialist abdominal imaging (GI and GU) in addition to general radiology services (applications from outstanding individuals with other areas of specialist interest are also welcome).

This is an fixed term post for a duration of 12 months, providing cover for sabbatical.

The successful applicant will complement a team of 5 WTE consultant GI radiologists and 4 WTE Uro/GI/General radiologists to deliver comprehensive diagnostic radiology services to the Plymouth region, and tertiary imaging for regional hepatology, hepatobiliary, complex renal, bladder and prostate cancer and andrology services. UHP provides the full range of upper and lower GI surgery, and the regional oesophagogastric, hepatology and hepatobiliary services. UHP is a renal transplant centre. There is a comprehensive local uroradiology imaging service, including uro-oncology work, and non-cancer urology imaging. The Plymouth uro-oncology MDT combines with the Royal Cornwall Hospital urology surgical team for major cancer cases which are discussed jointly via video link. There is regional MDT provision for oesophagogastric and HPB cancers, and for benign and neoplastic hepatology cases.

Main duties of the job

The successful applicant will complement a team of 5 WTE consultant GI radiologists and 4 WTE Uro/GI/General radiologists to deliver comprehensive diagnostic radiology services to the Plymouth region, and tertiary imaging for regional hepatology, hepatobiliary, complex renal, bladder and prostate cancer and andrology services.

General clinical duties include the reporting, vetting and prioritisation of imaging requests, attending clinical-radiological meetings, and providing on-call services for diagnostic radiology.

Successful applicants would be expected to contribute to the general diagnostic radiology service as well as partake in audit, teaching, research, and MDT meetings.

All radiology consultants are actively involved in teaching for the Peninsula Medical School and Peninsula Radiology Training Program.  The successful applicant will share an office with other consultant colleagues and will share a secretary with the current team of radiologists.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

About University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust

University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust is the largest hospital in the Southwest peninsula and a major trauma centre, providing comprehensive secondary and tertiary healthcare.

Our geography gives us a secondary care catchment population of 450,000 with a wider peninsula population of almost 2,000,000 people who can access our specialist services. The population is characterised by its diversity – the rural and the urban, the wealthy and pockets of deprivation, and wide variance in health and life expectancy. Population ageing is a recognised national trend, but is exacerbated locally by the drift of younger people out of the area and older people in. The proportion of our population aged 85 or over is growing ahead of the national average by approximately 10 years and we have developed a Population Health Strategy in response to this demographic shift.

We work within a network of other hospitals to offer a range of specialist services:

• Kidney transplant

• Pancreatic cancer surgery

• Neurosurgery

• Cardiothoracic surgery

• Bone marrow transplant

• Oesophagogastric surgery

• Hepatobiliary surgery

• Neonatal intensive care and high-risk obstetrics

• Plastic surgery

• Liver transplant evaluation

• Stereotactic radiosurgery

FUTURE STRATEGY AND VISION

Derriford Hospital opened in 1981 and has gradually expanded to replace the four major acute hospitals in Plymouth in existence at that time.  The site was chosen just outside the city limits to facilitate this expansion.  The availability of adjacent land has permitted the development of a ’Medical City’ as local planners concentrate medical developments within this area.  Specifically, the acquisition of land has enabled the following developments to take place:

• A science park adjacent to the Hospital that includes the Diving Diseases Research Centre, Medical Innovations Centre and the relatively new Undergraduate Medical School buildings.

• A rehabilitation unit dedicated to the treatment of neurological and orthopaedic rehabilitation.

• The construction of the state-of-the-art Terence Lewis Building which houses the Southwest Cardiothoracic and Vascular Centre with full critical care facilities, library, research and teaching facilities.

• The Radiology academy (a Department of Health initiative) which provides full facilities for teaching and training in radiological diagnosis and treatment.

• New residential buildings for hospital staff.

• A new dialysis unit located close to but not within the hospital grounds to facilitate ease of access and parking for these patients.

• The Future hospital project – aimed at construction of the state-of-the art emergency department, Radiology department and operating theatres including dedicated Neuro-hybrid theatre and vascular hybrid theatres. The project planned to be completed by end of 2026.

The Trust is a cancer centre and major trauma centre for the Southwest Peninsula.

The South West Cardiothoracic Centre provides a service for patients who previously had to travel substantial distances for treatment elsewhere in the United kingdom.  With continual expansion the centre performs in excess of 1500 open heart procedures per year.

The Trust provides tertiary services (neurosurgery, maxillofacial surgery, plastic surgery, cardiac and thoracic surgery, transplantation, radiotherapy and oncology) for a population of up to 2 million people living in Devon, Cornwall and Dorset.

The Trust has laid out 5-year and 10-year strategy with focus on creating regional network with Cornwall to increase patient volumes given the published evidence linking volumes and outcomes in vascular surgery (POVS 2021). Our published data prior to COVID19 is in line with VS recommendations in the Provision of Vascular Services. The “Future hospital project” has hybrid vascular theatre incorporated in the plan and we hope to get this ready by 2026.

Central funding has also been secured for the CDC development which will encompass 2 CT, 2 MR, 2 plain film and 4 ultrasound suites providing diagnostic services in the centre of Plymouth. This is also due to open in September 2025 and will provide dedicated consultant office and reporting space in a purpose-built city-centre environment.

For more information, please visit the Trust’s website at http://www.plymouthhospitals.nhs.uk

The work of the department

The Radiology department at UHPT is a large teaching department responsible for specialist registrar training. Derriford Hospital is a large Teaching Hospital providing secondary and tertiary care to a population of 1.7 million. It is a busy Trauma centre. The main x-ray service is accommodated within two large adjacent departments, and a third smaller one in A&E.

The trust has a full Insignia PACS service connected to all Imaging modalities, installed in 2013. There is Voice Recognition integrated to the Radiology Information System (Wellbeing RIS with Dragon VR). Both PACS and RIS are shared systems operating across the South-West Peninsula, allowing for near seamless image sharing between the trust and neighbouring hospitals.

Reporting of inpatient and ED imaging is provided on an extended working day basis by radiology consultants (9am – 7pm), with radiology registrars providing out-of-hours cover 9pm – 9am with both neuroradiology and general radiology consultants providing non-resident on call.  Weekends are fully staffed by radiology registrars, again with both neuroradiology and general radiology consultants providing non-resident on call. In addition, 7 day working has been established with daily inpatient ultrasound and additional low-acuity CT reporting being provided by consultants.

The current frequency of general radiology on call is approximately 1 in 18.

Peninsula Radiology Academy:

The Peninsula is host to one of the 7 Radiology Academies in the UK and is one of the few purpose-built units of its kind in the world. The site has full PACS, state of the art ultrasound and a variety of novel teaching methods including interventional simulators and access to interventional models. The teaching is underpinned by the electronic learning database, which covers the whole of the radiology curriculum and is the largest electronic teaching system in Europe. It has won several educational awards and supplements the excellent teaching delivered by the consultants in the Peninsula. The training scheme is highly regarded for the quality of opportunity and teaching and takes up to 16 Registrars per year. The successful applicant would be encouraged to become involved in the teaching program. The Academy facility is being further developed to provide teaching and training to radiography and sonography students in addition to radiology registrars, with additional plain film and ultrasound suites providing further learning opportunities.

GENERAL WORKLOAD

Proposed Job Plan: to be reviewed at 3 months

On call

This post is not envisaged to have an on call commitment. The below is illustrative only; however if on-call work is desired by the successful candidate, this will be open to negotiation.

The post-holder will be provided with a PC and PACS workstation, with the option to locate one of these off-site to facilitate home working. If the applicant wishes to work primarily remotely, this can be discussed.

The post holder will be required to comply with all Trust Policies notably in relation to job planning, appraisal and leave taking in line with Departmental and Trust objectives. The programme shown is for illustrative purposes and could be subject to modification, in agreement with the post holder and the Imaging Service Line Clinical Director.

The Directorate would support any research interests of the Consultant in conjunction with the Trust lead for R & D.  All consultants are expected to actively participate in the department’s audit and clinical governance program.