NHSCT Consultant in Acute Medicine

Job details

• Branch: Antrim Hospital
• Location: Antrim Hospital Site
• Salary: (See job details)
• Contract Type: Permanent
• Opening Date: 03/07/26
• Closes: Fri, 24 July 2026 @ 4:00 PM
• Interview Dates: To be confirmed

Notes

An opportunity has arisen to join a dynamic consultant team in Antrim Area Hospital. Our Acute medical model has been a product of Innovation and Collaboration and the successful applicants can expect to have a challenging and satisfying role within a cohesive multidisciplinary team delivering all aspects of Acute and Ambulatory care to the local population. There are multiply posts available. For further information please contact Dr Gareth Lewis, Consultant, Acute Medicine, Antrim Hospital. Telephone 028 94 424000 or email gareth.lewis@northerntrust.hscni.net A waiting list may be compiled for similar permanent/temporary, full/part time posts which may arise within the next 6 months in Antrim Hospital. .

Job Description

Consultant in Acute Medicine

Antrim Hospital

Job Description

The Northern Health and Social Care Trust (NHSCT) is responsible for the delivery of safe and effective health and social care (HSC) services to the population of the Northern Trust area in Northern Ireland.

We provide compassionate care with our community in our community. In order to do this we require the commitment of a highly skilled and professional workforce that meets the need of the service.

The diagram below outlines our values and our objectives which support the delivery of compassionate care within our community.

The below diagram details the values and associated behaviours that we expect staff working within Health and Social Care (HSC) to display at all times;

HSC Value

What does this mean?

What does this look like in practice? - Behaviours

Working Together

We work together for the best outcome for people we care for and support. We work across Health and Social Care and with other external organisations and agencies, recognising that leadership is the responsibility of all.

I work with others and value everyone’s contribution

I treat people with respect and dignity

I work as part of a team looking for opportunities to support and help people in both my own and other teams

I actively engage people on issues that affect them

I look for feedback and examples of good practice, aiming to improve where possible

Compassion

We are sensitive, caring, respectful and understanding towards those we care for and support and our colleagues. We listen carefully to others to better understand and take action to help them and ourselves.

I am sensitive to the different needs and feelings of others and treat people with kindness

I learn from others by listening carefully to them

I look after my own health and well-being so that I can care for and support others

Excellence

We commit to being the best we can be in our work, aiming to improve and develop services to achieve positive changes. We deliver safe, high-quality, compassionate care and support.

I put the people I care for and support at the centre of all I do to make a difference

I take responsibility for my decisions and actions

I commit to best practice and sharing learning, while continually learning and developing

I try to improve by asking ‘could we do this better?’

Openness & Honesty

We are open and honest with each other and act with integrity and candour.

I am open and honest in order to develop trusting relationships

I ask someone for help when needed

I speak up if I have concerns

I challenge inappropriate or unacceptable behaviour and practice

JOB DESCRIPTION

JOB TITLE: Consultant in Acute Medicine

Applications are welcome from those seeking a secondment from their current role. Please note that you should have permission to be released from your substantive post from your line manager in advance of applying.

DIRECTORATE/DIVISION: MEM Clinical Director

LOCATION: Antrim Hospital

REPORTS TO: Clinical Director Medicine & Emergency Medicine

ACCOUNTABLE TO: Divisional Medical Director / Medical Director

FLEXIBLE WORKING

PROVISIONS AVAILABLE: Full-time working, Fixed working patterns, Part-time working

All employees have the opportunity to request Flexible Working from the first day of their employment, regardless of their role, band or service they work in.

Successful applicants are encouraged to discuss with their manager what Flexible Working provisions may be available in the role they are taking up, prior to commencing employment, to help them achieve a positive Work/Life Balance

JOB SUMMARY

This is a replacement post based at Antrim Hospital. The appointee will join the acute medical team. These developments seek to move Antrim’s medical model of care towards the recommendations made by the Acute Medicine Task Force; RCP London (2007). The current workload for the acute physician is around 18-20 patients when they are based on the ward and this number is variable when they are based on the live take in Acute Assessment Area.

Antrim Hospital is the main acute hospital serving the Northern Health Social Care Trust and its present catchment population is of approximately 440,000. There are presently 380 inpatient beds at the Antrim site, but recent developments have included the provision of a new short stay ward in the Emergency Department, and the completion of a new block to provide extra inpatient capacity for Palliative care and Oncology services. Medical Specialties include Acute medicine, Diabetes & Endocrinology, Renal (with onsite hemodialysis), Respiratory, Rheumatology, Dermatology Neurology, Cardiology, Care of the elderly (including stroke), Gastroenterology and General / Internal medicine. Antrim Hospital offers a hyper-acute / stroke thrombolysis service 24/7 supported by the Care of Elderly / Stroke Physicians.

Antrim Hospital provides inpatient maternity services agreed individually and options include midwifery led or consultant led care. At all times there is a team, led by a consultant, responsible for dealing with the labour ward and emergencies.

The current medical staffing profile is

Dr D Kumar, Clinical Director and Consultant Acute Physician with DAU/PTU Interest

Dr G Lewis, Consultant Acute Physician with Quality Improvement Subspecialty Interest

Dr M McGarrigle, Consultant Physician with Renal Subspecialty Interest

Dr M McCloskey, Consultant Physician with Renal Subspecialty Interest and Interest in Clinical Education

Dr AM McShane, Consultant Acute Physician with Subspecialty Interest in Rheumatology

Dr A O’Neill, Consultant Acute Physician with Subspecialty Interest in Rheumatology

Dr T McNeilly, Consultant Rheumatologist with Subspecialty Interest in Acute Medicine and Clinical Lead for Programmed Treatment Unit (PTU)

Dr R Cherry, Consultant, Acute Medicine with DAU/PTU Interest

Dr S McCann, Acute Consultant Physician with Interest in Medical informatics

Dr U Griffiths , Acute Consultant Physician with Toxicology / DAU interest

Dr S Graham, Acute Consultant Physician with DAU/PTU and Education interest

Dr B Thompson, Acute Consultant Physician with DAU / Simulation training interest

Dr S McParland, Acute Consultant Physician

Vacant post * 2 (covered by Locums at present)

Specialty Doctors

Dr C Monaghan

Dr A Ryan

Dr D Duffy

Dr A Sapumohotti

Dr N Laverty

Dr Lawrence

Dr Donnell

Dr B Khan

Dr L Ayitharappa

Dr C Boyd

Dr N Sultan

Dr M Flewitt

Dr Emily Connor

MEM Wards & Consultants

Ward

Beds

Clinician Team

Consultants/

SAS Doctors

SSW and Ambulatory Care

10 + 6 chairs

Emergency Medicine

10

AMU1

27

Acute Medicine

3

AMU 2

26

Acute-medicine

10.9

B5

12

Acute medicine short stay

Direct Assessment Unit

12 spaces

Acute Medical team

B3 / ACU

27/8

Cardiologists

6/4

AAA

20

Acute medicine

A1

30

COE/Stroke

6.8/4 (includes local hospital duties)

A3

27

Respiratory

6/0

3/2

A4

27

Endocrinology

A5

24

COE/Acute Frailty Unit

C3

32

Gastroenterology

5/2

C7

24

Renal, Haemato-oncology, Rheumatology and General Medicine

Varies Depending on the specialty team

Acute Medicine and Relationships with other Medical Teams

The Acute medical team cover AMU, acute / GIM (ward B5), Acute Assessment Area (AAA) and the Direct Assessment Unit. The Acute Medicine Unit (AMU) is in two divided areas, Ward B1 and Ward B2 each being a 26 bedded ward. The consultants will be supported by a dedicated team of medical trainees. There will be an emphasis on strong multi-professional, multi-disciplinary working and innovative evidence-based practice. The acute GIM ward is in Ward B5 and has 12 inpatient beds. The Acute Assessment Area is an innovative 22 bedded area for supporting the new acute medical model of care and is under the leadership of the Acute medical team. In addition, the Acute Medical Team also have responsibility for medical outliers on B floor, this includes Trolley wait patients in the ED department, and patients in the Observation ward. There is junior medical cover to assist with managing these patients. The Acute Medical Consultants rotate through covering patients in the Acute medicine footprint. The predominant clinical work is undertaking post take ward rounds, providing ‘live take’ as per the trust’s Medical Model and undertaking ambulatory care for appropriate patients. So our inpatient area is 86 patients plus variable number of medical outliers on B floor.

Acute Admissions

Patients currently admitted on the medical intake who fulfil a pre-agreed set of diagnostic criteria for subspecialties will be triaged direct to the care of the appropriate duty consultant from one of the four other sub-specialty teams from the time of their admission to AMU and they remain under his/her/their care until transfer to the specialty ward whilst the medical trainees based in AMU support the subspecialty consultant. The COE, Gastroenterology, Endocrinology and Respiratory subspecialty teams therefore will receive medical admissions seven days a week.

The successful applicant will take an active role in the support and training of junior staff. In addition, the Acute team will also help deliver clinical teaching to the 3rd year medical students, final year and F0 assistantship doctors from Queens University. There will also be opportunities to be involved in the teaching of nursing staff and AHPs.

Oncall Duties

There will be oncall commitments as per the trust rota.

Key Relationships

Rapid Access Clinics, Direct Access for Primary Care and Integrated Care Pathways.

The Trust aims to improve the interface between emergency, general medicine and primary care. Working towards this the Direct Assessment Unit was set up as the first step in facilitating direct referrals by GPs for patients requiring unscheduled hospital assessment / admission. It is also one of the spokes in the GP Unscheduled Care Access Hub which aims to provide alternative clinical pathways for patients rather than attendance at the Emergency Department. This will allow secondary and primary care professionals to work across the care interface in a more seamless fashion.

The Direct Assessment Unit is a dedicated assessment area in Antrim Hospital in keeping with Same Day Emergency Care principles. This area is protected for the use of assessing patients referred into hospital by GPs. The formation of the direct admission area is part of the Trust’s commitment to offer an improved patient journey for patients referred by GPs requiring hospital assessment and management. It is anticipated that this option will help reduce pressure on the extremely busy Emergency Department and provide a better patient experience.

The DAU accepts phone calls from GPs from 9am-6pm, Monday to Friday and is supported by 3 specialty doctors, who are available by phone during this period. The opening hours of the Direct Assessment Unit have been expanded from 9am to 8.30pm, with increased specialty doctor staff being assigned to allow this expansion. In the longer term five permanent specialty doctors are being recruited to staff the unit. Outside of the Acute Medicine Consultants’ core hours (8am-4pm), the on-call medical consultant is the point of contact for the Specialty Doctors for patients who arrive after 4pm.

This area also supports Rapid Access Medical Clinics alongside the Direct Assessment Unit, Rheumatology /Renal Hot Clinics and Programmed Treatment Unit. The clinics are run by the Specialty Doctors with consultant supervision.

Antrim and Causeway Hospitals are both teaching hospitals aligned to QUB and UU, and teaching and training of undergraduate and postgraduate learners across a wide range of health professions takes place on all Northern Trust sites. The successful candidate would be expected to undertake teaching within their specialty field as per the requirements of both their own teams/services and of external linked organisations (QUB/UU, etc).

The majority of NHSCT Consultants have roles as recognised postgraduate trainers for NIMDTA, and the successful candidate would be expected, where appropriate, to possess or achieve the necessary competences to carry out this role within the post.

Support Services

The radiology department provides a full range of diagnostic services including MRI scanning, CT scanning, ultrasound – conventional and colour Doppler, CT arteriography and radio isotope scanning. The Trust is now using a computerised system (NIPACs) and films can be accessed on the Antrim site. Causeway and Mid Ulster hospitals also have CT scanners and ultrasonography.

A full range of laboratory services are available including haematology, blood transfusion, bacteriology, clinical chemistry and histopathology.

The capacity to perform a wide range of commonly-requested diagnostic tests seven days weekly has expanded and will continue to grow.

Allied Health Professional Ward Cover

Physiotherapy cover – 08.30-17.00 Monday to Friday. 9am -1 pm Sundays

Occupational Therapy – 0800-1600 Monday to Friday. 9am – 1pm Sundays

Social Work Cover – 0900-1700 Monday to Friday and 0900-1300 Weekends

Specialist Nurses

Nurse Practitioners (Band 7) are allocated to each of the main medical wards. Their role is to assist senior decision makers in expediting patient care. There is access to respiratory and diabetic specialist nurses.

Medical Administrative Support

The appointees will have an office near to the AMU with telephone and internet access. Each new consultant post attracts 0.5 WTE secretarial support and additional secretarial resources can be made available.

New Consultants support

All new appointees will have access to mentoring and support in line with the RCP.

KEY RESULT AREAS / MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES

To provide inpatient services for Acute medicine at Antrim Hospital according to the job plan.

Oncall intensity supplement is Category A (Low frequency). The appointee will take part in the acute medical rota at Antrim Hospital with average 1:32 oncall rota. A supplement of 1 PA for working on call and weekend is included in the Job plan.

The postholder will be responsible for ongoing care of their acute medical patients at Antrim Hospital. He/She will undertake all administrative duties allocated with the care of his/her patients. The inpatient work includes PTWRs / Live take and SDEC / ambulatory care.

The postholder will be expected to work with the other specialists at Antrim Hospital to support existing services and to drive development of the DAU/PTU and Acute Medical Model.

The postholder will be a member of the Medicine and Emergency Medicine Clinical Directorate of the Northern Health and Social Care Trust. He/She will be expected to play a full part in the activities of the Directorate including participation in interview panels and committees as required.

He/She will also be expected to participate in clinical governance procedures, audit, postgraduate education, junior medical staff educational supervision, continuing professional development and contribute to undergraduate teaching programmes within the Directorate.

The postholder will be encouraged to develop an area of academic interest and to participate in research and audit. Funding can be applied through the Trust’s Research Fellowship Scheme. Consultants who are engaged in research shall have the opportunity to negotiate additional SPA, as per RCP guidelines.

The Trust supports the requirements of CME/CPD as laid down by the Royal Colleges and is committed to providing adequate time and financial support for these activities. Antrim Hospital has a Medical Education Centre, with library facilities provided in association with the Medical Library at Queens University, Belfast.

The postholder will be expected to undertake annual appraisals and revalidation process as laid out by the GMC. The postholder shall also be supported and mentored by the Clinical Lead / Clinical Director / Medical Director and the Trust Senior Management team.

GENERAL MANAGEMENT RESPONSIBILITIES

Ensure the appropriate governance and risk management arrangements are in place for the services you are responsible for and take appropriate action to identify and manage risk and to maintain safety of users, staff and others in accordance with relevant regulations, policies and procedures;

It is essential to ensure that the highest standards of infection prevention and control are maintained to ensure patient and client safety and maintain confidence in the Trust. As a Manager, you must ensure that you implement all instructions/ policy in this area and that all staff are made aware of and fully comply with these;

Where the post-holder has responsibility for managing a budget, ensure that services are managed and developed both in accordance with agreed and funded priorities as set out on a yearly basis and in accordance with Standing Financial Instructions, particularly ensuring your compliance with payroll documentation procedures and timescales;

Ensure the necessary arrangements are in place in regard to the ‘Knowledge and Skills Framework’ outlines, where this applies, for the posts for which you have management responsibility and ensure that each member of staff has an annual development and performance review, a personal development plan and that arrangements are in place to ensure that staff have maximum opportunity to progress through gateways in their pay bands and to contribute effectively towards our objectives;

Promote a culture of continuous service improvement amongst your staff, encouraging their participation and that of service users in reviewing and modernising current services and in service development;

Make sure you are trained and competent in the relevant policies and procedures which apply to the management of staff and other resources and abide by these policies; seeking advice as necessary from senior management or specialist staff as necessary;

Communicate effectively with staff and maintain productive working relationships amongst your staff and with others;

Delegate appropriate responsibility and authority to staff in order to ensure optimum and effective service delivery and decision-making, whilst retaining overall accountability and responsibility for outcomes;

Promote a culture of learning and development and facilitate arrangements for and participate in training and development of staff as agreed for the performance of their duties. Where training is in accordance with relevant standards make sure you have the relevant competences in order to carry out this responsibility;

Promote equality of opportunity for all by personal action, both in the management of your staff and in the provision of care to service users in accordance with the Trust’s Equality of Opportunity Policy and Equality Scheme;

Take responsibility for ensuring appropriate standards of environmental cleanliness and for encouraging staff to maintain standards in their work area. Have an awareness of environmental issues and take appropriate action, for example to ensure the efficient use of energy and other resources, recycling etc.;

Make sure that staff are aware of Trust policies regarding the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018, the Freedom of Information Act 2000, the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 and Records Management and that they must not disclose, withhold, retain or dispose of any information unless legally authorised.

GENERAL RESPONSIBILITIES

Employees of the Trust will be required to promote and support the mission and vision of the service for which they are responsible and:-

At all times provide a caring service and to treat those with whom they come into contact in a courteous and respectful manner

At all times demonstrate practice the HSC values of Working Together, Excellence, Openness & Honesty and Compassion

Carry out their duties and responsibilities in a manner which assures patient and client safety

Comply with all instructions in regard to Infection Prevention and Control

Demonstrate their commitment by their regular attendance and the efficient completion of all tasks allocated to them

Comply with the Trust’s Smoke Free Policy

Carry out their duties and responsibilities in compliance with health and safety policy and statutory regulations

Adhere to equal opportunities policy throughout the course of their employment

Ensure the ongoing confidence of the public in service provision

Adhere to the Code of Conduct for HSC Employees which aims to guide staff, managers and employers in the work that they do and the decisions and choices they have to make. Professional staff are expected to follow the code of conduct for their own professions as well as this code.

RECORDS MANAGEMENT

All employees of the Northern Health & Social Care Trust are legally responsible for all records held, created or used as part of their business within the Northern Health and Social Care Trust, including patient/client, corporate and administrative records whether paper based or electronic and also including e-mails. All such records are public records and are accessible to the general public, with limited exceptions, under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, the Environment Regulations 2004, the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. Employees are required to be conversant and to comply with the Northern Health and Social Care Trust policies on Information Governance including (for example) the ICT Security Policy, Data Quality and Data Protection Policy and Records Management Policy and to seek advice if in doubt.

SALARY

£110,681 - £145,517 per annum (pro-rata for part-time)

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

HOURS

Normal full-time hours of duty are 10 PAs per week (see attached job plan)

Opportunities for flexible working are available for all staff in line with the flexible working policy.

MEDICAL

Appointment will be subject to a successful pre-employment health assessment.

HOLIDAYS

We offer an attractive annual leave package for medical staff as detailed below

Grade

Annual Leave entitlement

Public/Statutory Holidays

Consultant

*6 weeks & 2 days on entry to the grade

*6 weeks & 4 days after 7 years’ service

10 days

*All entitlements are pro–rata for part time staff

PENSION

The post-holder can participate in the Health Social Care Pension Scheme.

NORTHERN TRUST BENEFITS

You can explore the benefits on offer to you in the Northern Trust by clicking here

WAITING LIST

A waiting list may be compiled for similar permanent/temporary, full/part time posts which may arise within the next 6 months.

PAY PROTECTION

Legacy Trust Staff who apply for a promotion after 1 April 2011 should be aware that they will lose their legacy protection arrangements and will be entitled to pay protection in accordance with circular HSS (JNF)(1) 2011.

This circular will also apply to legacy staff who are currently in receipt of protection and who move post on promotion.

RELOCATION /REMOVAL EXPENSES

Eligible staff can avail of our attractive relocation / removal package upon request.

CRIMINAL OFFENCES, INVESTIGATION AND CHARGES

Having a criminal record will not necessarily debar you from working with the Trust. This will depend on the nature of the position, together with the circumstances and background of your offences or other information contained on a disclosure certificate. Where it is necessary to obtain an Access NI disclosure the Trust operates in line with the Access NI Code of Practice (www.nidirect.gov.uk/publications/accessni-code-practice).

If you require further information or a copy of the policy on the recruitment of ex-offenders or the policy on the Secure Handling, Use, Storage and Retention of Disclosure Information, please contact the Trust Human Resources Department

CLOSING DATE

Completed application forms should be submitted via www.jobs.hscni.net or returned to Medical Resourcing, Holywell Hospital, 60 Steeple Road, Antrim, BT41 2RJ or medicalandseniorresourcing@northerntrust.hscni.net on or before the closing date.

Canvassing, either directly or indirectly, will be an absolute disqualification.

We will review this Job Description and it may include any other duties and responsibilities we determine in consultation with the jobholder. We do not intend it to be rigid and inflexible but rather to provide guidelines within which the jobholder works.

April 2026

PERSONNEL SPECIFICATION

Title of Post: Consultant in Acute Medicine, Antrim Hospital

Notes to applicants

You must clearly demonstrate on your application form under each question, how you meet the required criteria as failure to do so may result in you not being shortlisted. You should clearly demonstrate this for both the essential and desirable criteria.

Shortlisting will be carried out on the basis of the essential criteria set out in Section 1 below, using the information provided by you on your application form.

Proof of qualifications and/or professional registration will be required if an offer of employment is made – if you are unable to provide this, the offer may be withdrawn.

Volunteering experience may be considered appropriate in particular for roles within the context of direct patient/client care.

ESSENTIAL CRITERIA

SECTION 1: The following are ESSENTIAL criteria which will initially be measured at shortlisting stage although may also be further explored during the interview/selection stage. You should therefore make it clear on your application form whether or not you meet these criteria. Failure to do so may result in you not being shortlisted. The stage in the process when the criteria will be measured is stated below.

Factor

Criteria

Method of Assessment

Qualifications/ Registration

Experience

Full registration or eligibility for registration

(must be registered at time of appointment)

with the General Medical Council (GMC),

London and a Licence to Practice.

Entry on the GMC Specialist Register for Acute Medicine via

a. CCT (proposed CCT date must be within 6 months of interview date) or

b. Portfolio Pathway/CESR or

c. European Community Rights

At the date of taking up the post, the successful candidate must be registered with the Royal College of Physicians for CME or CPD.

Shortlisting by Application Form