ST3+ Trust Doctor in Cardiothoracic Surgery | Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust in London

Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust is one of the UK’s leading University Teaching Hospitals at the cutting edge of clinical practice and research. The Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Imperial was formed as a result of the merger between the departments at St Mary’s and Hammersmith Hospitals in 2010. The recognised areas of expertise in those departments have been retained, and we offer all aspects of cardiac and thoracic surgery except for cardiopulmonary transplantation. There is specific expertise in complex aortic surgery, minimally-invasive surgery, and mitral valve repair.

In thoracic surgery, video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (via multi-, bi-, or uniport) is routine for anatomical and lesser lung resection as well as in surgery for pleural and mediastinal pathology. Following recent expansion, there are 4 substantive Consultant Thoracic Surgeons and 6 substantive Consultant Cardiac Surgeons at Imperial. The department has 2 Specialty Doctors (1 cardiac, 1 thoracic), 2 NTNs, and 7 Trust SpRs. We have developed a unique nursing role (Advanced Cardiothoracic Nurse Practitioners) to support resident doctors on the wards. The elective thoracic work is supported by a team of 5 Lung Specialist Nurses and 2 x Pre-assessment nurses. A Hospital-at-Night scheme operates out-of-hours. The Cardiac Intensive Care Unit is run and staffed by the Directorate of Anaesthesia and Critical Care.

Responsibilities include:

• Pre-operative assessment and preparation of patients to undergo thoracic surgery, in outpatients, for urgent referrals (including emergency trauma cover at St Mary’s site) and the specific cardiothoracic pre-assessment clinics.
• Capacity to be a competent operating surgeon with direct or indirect supervision and also assisting the consultants in the operating theatres as required and providing training/supervision to more junior staff and Surgical Care Practitioners, as appropriate.
• Continuing responsibilities for post-operative critical care of the patients undergoing cardiac and thoracic surgery and subsequent Level 0/1 care on the wards.
• Post-operative follow-up of patients in the outpatient, chest drain or wound clinics, working where indicated.
• Partaking in the middle-grade on-call rota.
• The accurate and timely recording of clinical data, both written & electronic, as outlined in the Principles of Good Medical Practice described by the GMC, participation in clinical audit and familiarity with Trust IT and information systems.
• Communicating effectively with both junior and senior medical colleagues, nursing staff (including Clinical Nurse Specialists for Lung and Cardiothoracic ANPs for ward care), HCSs/AHPs and other hospital staff. Particularly good communication skills with patients, their relatives, and carers.

There will be opportunities to make presentations and to be involved in teaching. At Imperial College Healthcare, you can achieve extraordinary things with extraordinary people, working with leading clinicians pushing boundaries in patient care. Become part of a vibrant team living our values - expert, kind, collaborative, and aspirational. You’ll get an experience like no other and will fast forward your career. Benefits include career development, flexible working and wellbeing, and a staff recognition scheme. Make use of optional benefits including Cycle to work, car lease schemes, season ticket loan or membership options for onsite leisure facilities.

The statutory requirement to be fully Covid-19 vaccinated as a condition of employment from April 2022 is subject to legislative review. At Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, we strongly encourage and support vaccination uptake as this remains the best line of defence against COVID-19. The successful applicant may have contact with patients and service users and as part of our pre-employment checks and risk assessments, we will ask all candidates to confirm whether or not they have been fully vaccinated or have a medical exemption. As part of our continued response to Covid-19, we are still conducting the majority of our interviews virtually. We are committed to equal opportunities and improving the working lives of our staff and will consider applications to work flexibly, part-time or job share. Please talk to us at interview.

This post would be especially suited for someone with prior experience in Cardiac or Thoracic Surgery at ST3+ or equivalent level, having MRCS or equivalent, wishing to progress to CCT in Cardiothoracic surgery.