Specialty Doctor Anaesthetics

Job details

• Branch: Trustwide (SEHSCT)
• Location: Trustwide (SEHSCT)
• Directorate: Medical & Dental
• Functional Area: Anaesthetics
• Salary: (See job details)
• Contract Type: Permanent
• Opening Date: 30/04/26
• Closes: Fri, 22 May 2026 @ 4:00 PM
• Interview Dates: To be confirmed

Notes

This is a new substantive post providing anaesthetic services based at the Ulster Hospital available from 5 August 2026. The post holder will join the anaesthesia department in providing Anaesthetic and Intensive Care Services in the Ulster Hospital.

JOB DESCRIPTION

POST: Specialty Doctor Anaesthetics

DIRECTORATE: Surgery, Elective, Maternity & Paediatrics

Location: South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust

Initially Ulster Hospital, however the post holder may be required to work on any site within the South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust

REPORTS TO: Associate Clinical Director ATICS

RESPONSIBLE TO: Clinical Director ATICS

JOB SUMMARY

This is a new substantive post providing anaesthetic services based at the Ulster Hospital available from 5 August 2026.

The post holder will join the anaesthesia department in providing Anaesthetic and Intensive Care Services in the Ulster Hospital.

This is a full time post, however applications from practitioners who wish to contract for a reduced number of planned activities, or on a job share basis are welcome.

Profile of the South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust

The South Eastern Health & Social Care Trust (SET) is an Investors in People (IIP) accredited organisation, employing approximately 12,500 Staff.

It is an integrated Trust, incorporating acute hospital services, community health and social services. The Trust serves a population of 440,000 people and covers a wide geographical area from Bangor in the north, Portaferry in the East, to Newcastle in the South and Moira in the West. The 5 main hospital bases are the Ulster, Lagan Valley, Ards, Downe and Bangor Community Hospitals.

The Ulster Hospital

The Ulster Hospital is the major acute hospital for the Trust and delivers the full range of acute services for the population. This includes a type 1 Emergency Department which is open 24/7 (23/24 ~135k new & unplanned attendances), a comprehensive range of diagnostic services, the full range of outpatient, inpatient and day case medical and surgical services, cancer care, coronary care, obstetrics, paediatric services and a psychiatric inpatient unit. The regional Plastic and Maxillo-Facial services are mainly delivered from the Ulster site.

The Ulster Hospital has undergone significant redevelopment with the building of a permanent renal unit, new maternity hospital, a new inpatient ward block and most recently an acute services ward block recently opened to add to, a new theatre block and Critical Care Complex that opened in November 2010.

The new Inpatient Ward Block (IWB) was opened in February 2017 with 288 single en-suite rooms, 4 day surgery theatres and 3 endoscopy rooms.

The Acute Services Ward Block (ASB) is now operational. It includes 213 single en-suite rooms, a new x-ray department including CT, MRI, Nuclear medicine. The Emergency Department, which completes the final stage of the £280m Phase B redevelopment project, opened on the 6 September 2023.

The Ulster Hospital is a major teaching hospital associated with Queens University of Belfast and with the Ulster University. The library is linked to Queens University Medical Library and comprehensive on-line search facilities and other resources are provided through library connections. Facilities for Med-line and Cochrane Database are also available. Research opportunities are also being developed, particularly in the field of bronchiectasis, lung cancer and health related technology.

Lagan Valley Hospital

Lagan Valley Hospital is located in the city of Lisburn. It is a 30-minute commute from the Ulster Hospital. It is situated close the M1 motorway, with easy access from Belfast. The Emergency Department team operate an Urgent Care Centre, which is a phone first system (appointment only), Monday to Friday from 8am-6pm. The Emergency Department is closed at weekends.

The hospital has 84 inpatient medical beds, a psychiatric inpatient unit and a Dementia Assessment and Treatment Unit, as well as outpatient, diagnostic, day-case services for the local population.

The Downe Hospital

The Downe Hospital is located in the culturally historic town of Downpatrick, a 40-minute commute from the Ulster Hospital. The Downe Hospital has an Urgent Care Centre, operated by the Emergency Department Team. The Urgent Care Centre is open 8am-6pm Monday-Friday. There is also a Minor Injury Service on Saturday and Sunday 9am-5pm.

The hospital has 48 inpatient beds for a range of medical conditions based across 2 wards. Ward 1 is focused on acute frailty in older people and rehabilitation led by consultant geriatricians. Ward 2 is a general medical unit led by physicians who have a special interest in endocrine medicine The Downe provides the Trust wide Bowel Screening Service and Sexual Health Service, as well as a range of outpatient, diagnostics and day-case services, such as cataract surgery. Two Primary Care practices are located on the first floor, along with community and dental services.

Ards Hospital

Ards Community Hospital provides a comprehensive range of health, primary and social care services, including an X-Ray Department, GP Ward, Medical, Surgical, Gynaecology and Psychiatry Outpatients Department and GP Out of Hours services. The Trust’s breast screening service is delivered from a new building on the site.

Bangor Community Hospital

Bangor Community Hospital provides a range of health, social and primary care services, including an Outpatients Department, a Therapy & Rehabilitation Centre, and an X-Ray Department. Gynaecology outpatients and urogynaecology clinics are held on this site. The continence service for the area is based in Bangor Hospital and urodynamic studies are performed on an outpatients basis.

ORGANISATIONAL RELATIONSHIPS

Anaesthetics is part of the Surgery sub- directorate, which comprises General Surgery, Urology, Plastic Surgery, Oral and Maxillo-Facial Surgery, Trauma and Orthopaedics, Anaesthetics, Theatres and Intensive Care.

The Senior Management Team for the directorate comprises

Dr Paul Foley, Clinical Director ATICS

Dr Rachel Deyermond, Dr Damien Hughes Associate Clinical Directors ATICS

Miss Jeni Hamilton, Clinical Manager, Theatre and ICU

Mrs Mary Jo Thompson, Clinical Manager, Cancer services

Mrs Lydia James, Business Manager

The appointee will be expected to work with professional colleagues and local managers in the efficient running of clinical services, and will share with his/her consultant colleagues in the medical contribution to management

STAFFING

Anaesthetic services within the Trust are provided by 55 Consultants, 5 Specialty doctors, and 19 Resident Doctors.

The Consultant staff are:-

Dr D Carson Dr N Chogle

Dr R Corry Dr S Cullen Dr R Darling Dr R Deyermond

Dr D Donnelly Dr A Eggleton

Dr C Farrell Dr P Foley

Dr A Gallagher Dr C Gowers

Dr G Harper Dr C Hawthorne

Dr D Hendron Dr P Hodgkinson

Dr D Hrabovsky Dr D Hughes

Dr C Jamison Dr C Lamb

Dr L Laverty Dr D Lee

Dr A Lowe Dr J McAteer

Dr J McCaffrey Dr G McClune

Dr H McGourty Dr B McKay

Dr M S McKinney Dr S McNicol

Dr L McNulty Dr K McPartland

Dr C Mitchell Dr C Montgomery Dr S Mooney Dr C Murray Dr S O’Connor Dr N Oliver Dr C Philpott Dr DJ Potti

Dr C Renfrew Dr M Stafford

Dr C Russell Dr P Stewart

Dr G Thompson Dr N Wallace Dr C West Dr E Wilson

Dr C Yap Dr H Smyth

Dr S McGuire Dr C Coary

Dr M McCague Dr P Headley

Dr S Henry

Specialty Doctors are: -

Dr M Carson, Dr J Cochrane, Dr O Magee, Dr A Maguire and Dr J Mulhern.

Supervising Consultant

All Consultants will be involved in day-to-day support. Dr Paul Foley will be their manager and responsible for allocating an appraiser.

Departmental Induction will be available to the successful candidate.

The Trust has appointed a SAS Lead to ensure the effective co-ordination and provision of the development needs of SAS doctors across all specialties.

KEY DUTIES / RESPONSIBILITIES

The post holder will provide Anaesthetic and Intensive Care Services throughout the Trust.

They will be expected to participate in the Ulster Hospital Specialty Doctor out of hours rota.

Provide anaesthesia cover for theatres, obstetrics, intensive care and emergency airway calls

Participate in handover to other team members

Participate in clinical audit arrangements

Appropriately deal with emergency anaesthesia and calls to the obstetric unit

Ensure adequate staff cover maintained at all times

Administrative duties that would be part of the post include those associated with care of patients and sharing with colleagues the efficient organisation of the specialty.

The post holder will participate fully in clinical audit and research, and ensure that, by means of continued professional education, skills and expertise are maintained.

Maintain CPD and participate in regular audit. Fulfilment of continuing professional development (CPD) is a requirement by the Royal College of Anaesthetists. Practicing evidence-based medicine and effective team working within the multi-disciplinary team is essential. Participation in clinical audit and appropriate quality assurance exercises is a contractual requirement. The post-holder will be expected to attend / participate in ‘rolling’ medical audit meetings, and be involved in regional audits.

Undertake statutory/clinical training sessions.

To maintain professional standards and obligations as set out by the general medical council and comply in particular with the GMC’s guidance on good medical practice as amended or substituted from time to time.

The appointee will be expected to participate in all aspects of the Clinical Governance structures developed by the Trust to monitor, maintain and develop quality and effectiveness of care. As indicated above, this will include involvement in audit and appraisal. Attention to continuing professional development will also be required.

Comply with local policies including monitoring, annual leave, study leave, etc

Office accommodation, secretarial support and pc will be provided.

Continuous Professional Development

The Trust is committed to Continuing Medical Education (CME) and will facilitate study leave up to a maximum of 30 days in any period of 3 years including pay and expenses in the UK.

The Trust will ensure that the specialty doctors have the support needed to develop skills, experience and responsibilities to enable them to meet the requirements of threshold one and two, so they can progress in their career. The Trust and department are supportive of career advancement through the Portfolio Pathway if the candidate wishes to pursue this.

Teaching, Audit, Research and Quality Improvement

The Ulster Hospital is a major teaching hospital that receives a large number of medical students. It is affiliated with the Queen's University Belfast and the Ulster University. The successful candidate will be expected to take an active interest in the teaching of undergraduates and Doctors in Training. If formal roles incorporating teaching are agreed with the post holder, the job plan will be reviewed and adjusted accordingly.

Participation in clinical audit together with quality improvement activities, contributes to medical appraisal and revalidation. The post holder will contribute to this programme and undertake their own audit projects. The Trust’s audit department can provide expertise on audit design, give practical support with data collection and advice on presentation of findings.

The Innovation, Research and Development (IRD) department offers a comprehensive service designed to support research activity within the Trust. The IRD office can assist with new research proposals by helping to secure approvals from regulatory authorities and providing support during the course of the project.

The Trust has established a Quality Improvement Academy to support staff with quality improvement and innovation work.

JOB PLAN

The Job Plan consists of a 10 Programmed Activities (PA) contract with 9 PAs of Direct Clinical Care and 1 Supporting Professional Activities (SPA).

Direct Clinical Care duties will include preoperative assessment and postoperative management of patients.

The job plan outlined below is indicative but may change to meet the needs of the new appointee and the constantly changing needs of the Directorate

If required to work at a different site this will be factored into the pa allocation/ job plan of the successful applicant. It will also be subject to regular review (no less than annually) to ensure that the allocation of PA’s, and in particular the split between DCC and SPA’s remains appropriate. Any changes will be made with agreement between the post holder and clinical management. If it is not possible to agree a Job Plan, either initially or at an annual review, there are agreed procedures for facilitation and appeal with the final decision being binding on both the doctor and the Trust

Job Plan

Additional PA’s may be offered if required by the commissioners.

Day

Time

Location

Work

Category

PAs

Monday

08:00-13:00

Flexible Theatres

UHD/LVH

Anaesthesia services

DCC

1.25

Tuesday

09:00 – 13:00

Flexible, theatres

CPD, Audit

SPA

1.0

Wednesday

13:00-18:00

Flexible Theatres

UHD/LVH

Flexible

DCC

1.25

Thursday

08:00-13:00

Theatres,

UHD

Anaesthesia and analgesia

DCC

1.25

13:00-18:00

Theatres,

UHD

Anaesthesia and analgesia

DCC

1.25

Friday

Saturday

As below

Sunday

As below

Out of hours working

19:30-08:30

Alternate

weekday night

plus 1 in 8 weekends Total number of nights per annum week day (21) and Fri/Sat/Sun (18)

Resident, UHD

Anaesthetic services

DCC

4.0

Total

10

DH – Downe Hospital; UHD – Ulster Hospital, Dundonald; DCC – Direct Clinical Care; PA – Professional Activity; SPA – Supporting Professional Activity

Pastoral and Wellbeing Support

The Anaesthetics/ICU department and the Trust is committed to supporting the wellbeing of all staff and to the goal of successful and satisfying careers. Informal support is strong among the medical staff group

There is a Consultant Lead for Support and Well-being in the department who coordinates and organises activities and social meetings.

The Clinical Director or other nominated colleague as agreed will normally provide formal pastoral support, following a significant event or other need.

The Trust also provide staff with access to Inspire a free, confidential and immediate support service via a telephone helpline.

The Trust has an active wellbeing program, which provides an excellent selection of free courses and activities for staff from stress management to yoga and couch to 5K groups.

Occupational Health

The Occupational Health & Well-being Service aspires to provide services that are professionally sound, ever improving and innovative to support the physical, mental and social well-being of its employees.

The Occupational Health Team undertakes to always respect the individual and offers a complete service, from facilitating health at work to rehabilitation back to the workplace.

The service will endeavour to provide services that are convenient and easy to use and strive to ensure the suitability of the workplace environment to the employee's physiological and psychological needs

CONDITIONS OF SERVICE

Terms and Conditions

The new National Terms and Conditions of Service for Specialty Doctors 2021 will apply.

Salary

As per the current salary scale under National Terms and Conditions of Service for Hospital staff as updated via HSC circular on rates of pay, the most recent HSC (TC8) 05/2025 with effect from 1 April 2025 and all uplifts thereafter.

Appointment

The full-time appointment will be for 10 PAs per week.

Registration

The appointee will maintain registration through Revalidation with the General Medical and/ or Dental Council (London) and hold a valid licence to practice.

Annual Leave

Annual leave entitlement is 5 weeks (25 days) per year in the first 2 years’ of service thereafter it is 6 weeks (30 days). Pro rata for less than full time.

Where the appointee in his/her immediately previous regular appointment attracted the 6 weeks annual leave per annum, this entitlement will remain. Pro rata for less than full time.

After 7 years’ completed Specialty Doctor service annual leave will rise to 6 weeks and 1 days (31 days). Pro rata for less than full time.

Revalidation

Commitment to the revalidation process ensuring that medical staff are keeping up to date and are fit to practice as per the standards defined by the GMC in Good Medical Practice.

Appraisal

Appointees are required to participate in Doctor Appraisal and Annual Job Planning processes in accordance with DHSS&PS requirements.

Medical

Before taking up duty the successful candidate may be required to produce to the employing authority a certificate of fitness from a Medical Practitioner.

General Responsibilities

All employees are required to comply with the procedures, policies and codes of practice within the Trust.

Indemnity

Employees are normally covered by the DoH Indemnity against claims for medical negligence. However, certain circumstances may not be covered by the Indemnity, especially where a separate fee is received. The Department of Health,therefore advises that membership of a medical defence organisation is maintained.

Governance

The postholder must satisfy the Trust’s requirements in respect of continuing education and clinical governance.

Equality

The Trust is an Equal Opportunities employer and welcomes applications from all sectors of the community irrespective of their religious belief, political opinion, race, gender, marital status, dependants, age, sexual orientation or disability.

All staff are required to comply with the Trusts policy on Equality of Opportunity and ensure it is promoted through his/her own actions and those of any staff for whom he/she has responsibility.

Superannuation

These posts will be superannuable unless the successful candidate decides to opt out of the scheme or is ineligible to join, and the remuneration will be subject to deduction of superannuation contributions in accordance with the Health Services Superannuation Scheme. There is reciprocity between the Northern Ireland Scheme and that in Great Britain.

Health & Safety

All employees must fully comply with the Trust’s various Health and Safety Policies and Procedures and Practices including relevant legislation and Codes of Practice.

Conduct

Staff must maintain high standards of personal accountability and abide by the Code of Business Conduct.

Members of staff are expected at all times to provide a caring service and to treat those whom they come into contact in a courteous and respectful manner.

Performance

Employees are expected to demonstrate commitment to the Trust by ensuring regular attendance at work and the efficient discharge of their duties.

Raising Concerns

All employees will promote and support effective team working, fostering a culture of openness and transparency.

All employees will ensure that they take any concerns raised with them seriously and act in accordance with the South Eastern Health & Social Care Trust’s Raising Concerns Policy and their professional code of conduct, where applicable.

Records Management

All employees of the Trust are legally responsible for all records held, created or used as part of their business within the Trust including patient/client, corporate and administrative records whether paper based or electronic and also including emails. All such records are public records and are accessible to the general public, with limited exceptions, under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, the Environmental Information Regulations 2004, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. Employees are required to be conversant with the Trust’s policy and procedures on records management and to seek advice if in doubt.

Environmental Cleaning Strategy

The Trust’s Environmental Cleaning Strategy, recognises the key principle that “Cleanliness Matters. It is everyone’s responsibility, not just the cleaners”. Whilst there are staff employed by the Trust who are responsible for cleaning services, all staff employed by the Trust have a responsibility to ensure a clean, comfortable and safe environment for patients, clients, residents, visitors, staff and members of the general public.

Infection Prevention & Control

All Staff should co-operate fully with regard to Trust policies and procedures relating to infection prevention and control. All staff should be aware of the Trust’s Infection Prevention & Control strategy and their local reduction of infection plan and know their role, in keeping with key principle Infection Prevention and Control is everyone’s business.

Staff, in delivery of all care must:-

Wash their hands thoroughly between each patient contact.

Be compliant with Standard Infection Control Precautions, Hand Hygiene and decontamination and other relevant infection prevention and control measures.

Be aware of the Infection Control guidance within the Trust’s Infection Control Manual and ensure they obtain mandatory Infection prevention control training or other specific infection control related training as required.

Hygiene & Prevention of Infection

You will at all times be required to observe hygiene/infection prevention & control standards and notices in operation throughout the Trust. Hygiene and control of -infection are key elements in delivery of safe, quality services and you will, in certain jobs, be required to undertake an appropriate training course at the expense of the Trust.

Personal Public involvement

Staff members are expected to involve patients, clients and their families in developing, planning and delivering our services in a meaningful and effective way, as part of the Trust’s Personal Public Involvement (PPI) Strategy.

Trust Policies/Codes of Conduct

Staff must adhere at all times to all Trust policies/Codes of Conduct, including for example: Smoke Free Policy

IT security Policy and Code of Conduct

Standards of attendance, appearance and behaviour

This is not intended to be a comprehensive list of all the duties involved in the post and may be amended to meet the changing needs of the South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust; consequently an employee may be required to perform other duties appropriate to the post as assigned to them.

eHealth

The South Eastern Health & Social Care Trust has invested in eHealth to deliver better, faster, safer care to our community and is committed to supporting staff to utilise associated information systems that directly and indirectly inform care. Trust staff are therefore required to commit sufficient time to ensure that they acquire and/or retain the core technology skills required to support their role.

PERSONNEL SPECIFICATION

JOB TITLE Specialty Doctor Anaesthetics

DEPARTMENT / DIRECTORATE Anaesthetics, Surgery sub-directorate

Ref No: <to be inserted by HR> <Month & Year>

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. Please note the Trust reserves the right to use any desirable criteria outlined in Section 3 at shortlisting. You must clearly demonstrate on your application form how you meet the desirable criteria.

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.

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

Experience

Qualifications/ Registration

Hold Registration with the General Medical Council London and licence to practice

Have at least 4 years full time postgraduate training (or its equivalent gained on a part-time or flexible basis). At least 2 years (or equivalence) in a relevant specialty training programme or as a Fixed Term Specialty Trainee in a relevant specialty

OR

Have equivalent experience and competencies

Have obtained Initial Assessment of Competence in Obstetric Anaesthesia Certificate or equivalent.

Shortlisting by Application Form & Interview

Other

Hold a current full driving licence which is valid for use in the UK and have access to a car on appointment. This will be waived in the case of applicants whose disability prohibits driving but who have access to a form of transport approved by the Trust which will permit them to carry out the duties of the post.

Shortlisting by Application Form

SECTION 2: The following are ESSENTIAL criteria which will be measured during the interview/ selection stage:

Knowledge and Interests

Knowledge of the role of the post and ability to identify priorities in clinical care

Demonstrate a knowledge of current developments in Anaesthetics

Demonstrate a knowledge of current trends in HPSS and within medicine

Demonstrate understanding of the importance of audit and research

Interview