ARCC (TVW) Transfer Doctor (Resident) | Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust

The ARCC (TVW) Transfer Service is hosted by Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust, in partnership with South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust. The Transfer doctor role involves working alongside a dedicated team of Transfer Practitioners (Paramedics/Ambulance Nurses) and Emergency Care Assistants (ECAs) to deliver duty shifts under remote supervision of the Duty Consultant.

The primary role of the service is to triage, coordinate and provide clinical support for all referrals to ARCC TVW, supporting the referring and receiving hospitals and clinical team(s) to prioritise and maximise the utilisation of resources. The main purpose of the role is to undertake inter-facility transfers of adults in need, or likely to need critical care. The service provides inter-facility transfers for adult patients who require, or are likely to require, critical care monitoring and/or interventions during transfer.

Transfers are primarily within the Thames Valley and Wessex region but also include out-of-region transfers and mutual aid to other regions and transfer services, including for older paediatric patients. Transfer Doctors will act as a point of advice and information to organisations and clinicians seeking to undertake an inter-facility transfer, working in partnership with the remote duty consultant to triage patients against the regionally agreed scope.

Key Responsibilities:

• Assessment, resuscitation, stabilisation, and transfer of critically ill adult patients referred to ARCC (TVW) from hospitals across Thames Valley, Hampshire, Dorset, Wiltshire, and surrounding areas.
• Collaborative working with Transfer Doctors and Transfer Practitioners to deliver high-quality care.
• Work in close collaboration with the Single Point of Contact (SPOC), duty consultant and consultants at the transferring and receiving hospitals to coordinate a safe and successful patient transfer.
• Active contribution to the administration, development, and operational delivery of the ARCC (TVW) service.
• Participation in clinical governance activities including audit, research, service evaluation, and continuous quality improvement.
• Delivery of training for Transfer Practitioners and new Duty Consultants.
• Contribution to the ARCC (TVW) outreach programme, acting as a named point of contact and liaison for a designated hospital.

What does Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust offer you?

As part of our BHT family, you’ll benefit from learning and development opportunities to support your career progression. Alongside NHS benefits of generous annual leave entitlement and pension scheme, you'll have access to NHS discount schemes. We provide a range of health and wellbeing services to promote a healthy, happy workforce.

What do we stand for?

Our vision is to provide outstanding care, support healthy communities and be a great place to work. Our mission is to provide personal and compassionate care every time. We are working hard to increase diversity at all levels within the trust. We believe a diverse workforce can have a positive effect on both staff wellbeing and patient outcomes. We welcome applications from black, Asian and minority ethnic candidates, LGBTQ+ candidates, candidates with disabilities and care-experienced candidates.

We make employment decisions by matching our service needs with the skills and experience of candidates, regardless of age, disability, gender, gender identity, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, or sexual orientation.

Clinical Responsibilities:

• Safe and timely transport of all patients, including those requiring time-critical intervention.
• Provision of telephone and telemedicine advice to referring hospitals and clinicians regarding patient management, transfer suitability, and optimisation under supervision from the Duty Consultant.
• Triage and prioritisation of transfer requests, including joint agreement with referring units on transfer urgency and level of care under supervision from the Duty Consultant.
• Accurate and comprehensive documentation of clinical decisions, transfer categorisation, and internal notes using systems such as Refer-a-Patient.
• Daily management of controlled drugs, including checking, documentation, and secure storage.

Management & Clinical Governance:

• Active contribution to the administration, development, and operational delivery of the ARCC (TVW) service.
• Participation in clinical governance activities including audit, research, service evaluation, and continuous quality improvement.
• Regular attendance at clinical governance days (held face-to-face and virtually).
• Engagement with service development initiatives and feedback processes.
• Participation in post transfer debriefs, incident reviews and case reviews.

Education & Training:

• Delivery of training and supervision for Transfer Practitioners and other Allied Health Care Professionals.
• Facilitation of case-based discussions, simulation, and equipment reviews during transfer shifts.
• Support for clinical education and transfer safety within referring hospitals.
• Promotion of safe transfer practices and collaborative working across the regional network.
• Undertake the Trust Corporate and Directorate specific induction and engage with competency programmes appropriate to role.
• Comply with mandatory training and professional re-registration requirements.
• Maintenance of personal clinical competence and currency in critical care transfer.
• Attendance at education days and engagement with ongoing professional development relevant to the role.

General Information:

Changes to this job description may be subject to change according to service needs and developments, which will take place in consultation with the post holder as appropriate.