Consultant Gastroenterologist with special Interest in ERCP & EUS

An excellent opportunity has arisen to join our expanding patient centred and supportive Gastroenterology department at Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Our hard-working and forward-thinking team are keen to develop the Gastroenterology and Liver service and would welcome similar minded candidates to join our department. This is an exciting time to join us following investment of £4.0 million recurrent funding to support a blended workforce and £4.5 million capital investment to refurbish our Endoscopy unit in 2023/2024. There will be opportunity to support Endoscopy service development and outpatient transformation as part of a blended workforce as we develop our sub-speciality services and establish novel outpatient pathways.

Our Gastroenterology and Liver service is one of the busiest in the UK – we offer a broad range of diagnostic and therapeutic services for all gastroenterological conditions. Our recently refurbished JAG accredited, performance driven and patient centred Endoscopy unit delivers approximately 15,000 procedures per annum and is a spoke centre for the North-West Endoscopy training academy and is the admin hub for Bowel cancer screening within the Lancashire region.

Main duties of the job

The post holder is expected to have a broad experience of Gastroenterology, and Endoscopy, contributing to the core Gastroenterology elective and emergency service whilst having a specialist interest in ERCP and EUS service delivery and development.

This post will provide the successful candidate with an excellent opportunity to contribute to the clinical and endoscopic management of those presenting with hepato-pancreato-biliary disease.

The post-holder will contribute to outpatient activity providing outpatient clinics, advice and guidance to General practitioners and triage and follow-up of referrals through a Clinical assessment service and will be responsible for managing their own cohort of outpatient Gastroenterology and hepato-pancreato-biliary patients.

A commitment to Endoscopy is expected and with appropriate allocation in the job plan the candidate will make an equal contribution to the care of Gastroenterology inpatients and the out-of-hours GI-Bleed endoscopy service which is 1:6 at present with plans to transition to a 1:8 model with further recruitment.

The post holder will be required to manage the care of GI related inpatients on a dedicated Gastroenterology ward as well as Gastroenterology outliers and also contribute to a Gastroenterology and Hepatology in-reach service whilst on-call. No GIM commitments are included in the role.

The post-holder will also contribute to teaching and training, supervision of trainees and research activity.

About us

Our Department is part of the Surgery, Anaesthetics, Critical Care and Theatres (SACCT) Division and physically comprises a Gastroenterology and Endoscopy Unit and a Gastroenterology ward.

We offer a consulting service in Gastroenterology and Hepatology with dedicated Luminal, IBD, Pancreatic, Nutrition and Liver clinics. The current Gastroenterology workforce comprises 6.8 whole time equivalent (WTE) Consultants, 9 Gastroenterology Registrars supported by a blended workforce of Specialist Nurses and Trainee ACP’s.

Our large JAG accredited Endoscopy unit has 6 Endoscopy procedural rooms. The Endoscopy unit benefited from £4.4 million capital investment during 2023/2024. We are a performance driven and responsive service utilising an Endoscopy performance dashboard to improve and maintain standards. We carry out approximately 15,000 endoscopic procedures per annum and are a spoke centre for the North-West Endoscopy training academy and admin hub for Bowel cancer screening within the Lancashire region. We have 8 Clinical Endoscopists, 3 trainee Clinical Endoscopist and have also been successful in securing funding to recruit to an Endoscopy Nurse Consultant post as well.

We have a dedicated 17-bed Gastroenterology ward. We do not look after any GIM patients and have strict criteria for admission to the Gastroenterology ward. We also look after Gastroenterology outliers and are launching a Gastroenterology in-reach service into the Acute Medical Unit from December 2024.

Job description
Job responsibilities

Indicative Job Plan

There is shared care of inpatients under the Gastroenterology team on the Gastroenterology ward with a Consultant currently being ward based for 1 week out of every 6 weeks. The appointee will make an equal contribution to the care of Gastroenterology inpatients and the out-of-hours GI-Bleed endoscopy service which is 1:6 at present with plans to transition to a 1:8 model with further recruitment. All on-call weeks are followed by a post-on-call (POC) week where Clinical Assessment Service triage, a post-on-call clinic and a fast-track clinic are delivered. The POC week is followed by standard normal weeks until the next on-call cycle. Elective activity (outpatient clinics, endoscopy lists) is mainly concentrated in the 5-week period off the ward.

The job plan comprises 10 Programmed activities including allocation for the current on call commitment. Job plans will be formally reviewed within the first 6 months after appointment and agreed according to evidence from actual activity.

Predictable emergency on call (Gastroenterology / GI Bleeding Service) is 1.5 DCC. Category A for unpredictable emergency work. This includes a daily ward round on the Gastroenterology ward at weekends when on-call.

Please see the Job Description for indicative job plan. As part of job planning discussion, there would be opportunity to negotiate delivery of agreed clinical activity within the standard week over 4 days if preferred.

Person Specification
Education & Qualification
Essential

• Full registration with the GMC
• CCT in Gastroenterology and General (internal) Medicine. Entry on the Specialist Register or eligible for inclusion within 6 months of the interview date for the post
• MRCP or equivalent

Desirable

• HPB Fellowship with advanced ERCP and EUS training
• Formal qualification in medical education
• Higher degree (eg. MD or PhD)

Experience and Knowledge
Essential

• Experience teaching undergraduates and postgraduates with demonstration of effective teaching skills
• Experience in undertaking audits and understanding of the principles of audit and research
• A minimum of 2 years experience of ERCP
• MRCP 1& 2 completed

Desirable

• Experience in service development and improvement in Gastroenterology
• Experience in undertaking Gastroenterology related research with publication in peer reviewed journals
• Previous experience of working in the NHS / experience of NHS working practices and systems
• Active participation in British Gastroenterology Society activities and/or membership of sub-speciality organisations such as ECCO, EASL.
• A minimum of 2 years NHS experience
• A Minimum of 100 Endscopy Procedures completed per year

Skills and Ability
Essential

• Enthusiasm and commitment to Gastroenterology
• Endoscopy – Gastroscopy and Colonoscopy
• Endoscopy – ERCP
• Ability to motivate and inspire a multi-disciplinary team and work sensitively within teams and across organisationsy to organise and prioritise workload and to delegate responsibility and supervise staff.
• Leadership skills – ability to take responsibility, show leadership and make decisions. Participation in a management training course.
• Commitment to CPD and completing revalidation when appropriate as per GMC recommendations as well as completion of annual appraisals.
• Ability to communicate effectively in English, both oral and written.
• Good IT skills and ability to use a computer
• Agreement to live within 15 miles of the Trust or within 30 minutes travel by car. Car owner with full driving licence

Desirable

• Endoscopy – EUS

382-DOC111-24

#J-18808-Ljbffr