Consultant in Obstetric Anaesthesia in Leicester

Applications are invited for a whole-time Consultant in Obstetric Anaesthesia. It is an exciting time to join our welcoming and friendly team of 16 Obstetric Anaesthetic Consultants based at the Leicester Royal Infirmary. This is a level 3 hospital which sees nearly 6000 deliveries per year. We are engaged in patient focused elective and emergency obstetric care, pre‑operative and high risk assessment clinics. We are the regional referral centre for maternal medicine, abnormally invasive placenta and neonatal care. We are looking for proactive, motivated, forward thinking, and dynamic individuals to join our clinical team. This post is an important part of our on‑going development of Obstetric services in UHL NHS Trust, offering the successful applicant the opportunity to work closely with the existing Anaesthetic Consultants to provide a high standard of care across maternity services. We are seeking consultants with dedication, determination, and drive to work closely with colleagues throughout the organisation and you will benefit from the support of an experienced and enthusiastic multi‑professional team committed to the delivery of brilliant patient care.

Main duties of the job:

• Maintenance of the highest clinical standards in the management of patients.
• To share with colleagues responsibility for the day-to-day management of patients.
• To promote new ways of working and co‑ordinating care for patients in the community and to ensure that services are based on effective and integrated partnerships across the health community.
• Take part in multidisciplinary case conferences.
• Supervise and train junior medical staff.
• To be involved in appraising and assessing juniors.
• Teaching, research and administration.
• To proactively develop the service.
• To actively participate in both departmental and Trust matters concerning Clinical Governance and audit.

About us:

Our new strategy, developed with the support and feedback of colleagues, patients, and partners, is our compass for the next seven years (2023‑2030). We have four primary goals: high‑quality care for all, being a great place to work, partnerships for impact, and research and education excellence. We will embed health equality in all we do - taking active steps to reduce the avoidable differences in healthcare that some people face, working in partnership with communities. Our strategy is underpinned by new values and we will work to ensure they are an everyday reality for all: we are compassionate, we are proud, we are inclusive, we are one team.

This is an exciting moment as we look to the future with clarity on what we already do well and where we need to focus our energies to make an even bigger difference for the people we serve. UHL is fully committed to continuing medical education for consultants. The successful candidate will be expected to contribute to departmental quality improvement activity and the clinical supervision of postgraduate trainees in Anaesthesia. The UHL Department of Anaesthesia is committed to working towards the Anaesthesia Clinical Services Accreditation scheme of the Royal College of Anaesthetists.

Job responsibilities:

• The overriding purpose is to support the provision of highest quality patient care through personal actions and continuous improvement.
• Responsibility for the provision of a safe and efficient Obstetric anaesthetic service for elective theatres and delivery suite emergency care at UHL including pre‑operative assessment and perioperative care.
• To provide specialist high‑risk Obstetric anaesthesia outpatient clinic work.
• To participate in the Obstetric Consultant Anaesthetist non‑resident on‑call rota as well as evening and weekend resident rota.
• To support the Anaesthetic department in delivering high quality elective and emergency theatre sessions and provide flexibility to support the service.
• To work flexibly to support the workload and cover for colleagues' annual leave and other authorised absences.
• Flexibility within the role will be required as we reconfigure, working towards a single‑site UHL maternity service.
• To participate in service development and business planning in collaboration with the other Consultants in the department, the CMG and local GPs and commissioners within the local CCGs.
• Professional supervision and management of junior medical staff including the observance of local employment and human resource policies and procedures.
• Participating in medical audit, the Trusts Clinical Governance processes and in CPD; CPD is provided in job plans and attendance at audit and other governance meetings is mandatory.
• Managerial, including budgetary responsibilities where appropriate and compliance with standing orders and standing financial instructions of the Trust.
• In line with GMC Good Medical Practice it is the responsibility of the post‑holder to ensure that all duties are carried out to the highest possible standard, and in accordance with current quality initiatives within the area of work.
• The post‑holder is expected to participate in teaching and training of junior staff and other clinical staff groups.
• The appointee will also have supervision responsibilities for junior medical staff within the speciality.
• If appropriate the post‑holder will be named in the contract of junior staff as the person responsible for overseeing their training and as an initial source of advice to such doctors regarding their careers.
• The post‑holder is expected to participate in professional continuing medical education; study leave is provided for this purpose.
• The post‑holder will be expected to undertake the Trust Corporate and Directorate specific Induction and competency Programmes appropriate to role.
• The post‑holder will be required to maintain their continuing professional development (CPD) to be able to successfully revalidate.
• As per the Trust requirement the successful candidate will be required to have annual appraisal and attend / keep fully up to date with statutory and mandatory training as stipulated.

Person Specification:

Qualifications / Training:

• Full GMC registration
• MB;BS or Equivalent
• Fully Accredited for Higher Specialist Training or will be eligible for inclusion on the Specialist Register within 6 months of the interview date.
• FRCA or Equivalent
• MRCS or equivalent
• BLS
• Membership of relevant Specialist Societies or Associations.
• Higher degree e.g. MSc, MD or equivalent.

Experience / Clinical Skills:

• Fully trained in Anaesthesia.
• Have completed or will have completed advanced training in Anaesthesia.
• Excellent clinical skills and experience requisite to meeting all aspects of the Job Plan.
• Ability to apply sound clinical judgment to problems.
• Demonstrates clear, logical thinking / analytical approach.
• Evidence of clinical or research commitment and a relevant specialty interest.
• Experience in Neonatal Anaesthesia.
• Experience in Maternal medicine.

Management:

• Ability to work effectively as part of a multidisciplinary team and supervise juniors.
• Experience of leading teams and awareness of leadership styles.
• Ability to effectively organise, prioritise and manage clinical workload.
• Understanding of wider health agenda and modern NHS.
• Ability to work to overcome barriers to change (negotiating, influencing and persuasion skills).
• Knowledge and understanding of clinical governance issues.
• Management training on an accredited course.
• Awareness of Service Development issues.

Communication Skills:

• Demonstrable skills in written and spoken English that are adequate to enable effective communication with patients and colleagues.
• To be empathic and sensitive; capacity to take others perspectives and treat others with understanding.
• Highly Developed Emotional Intelligence.
• Demonstrable track record of successful change management.
• Proven ability to maintain focus in a demanding environment.

Motivation:

• Personal integrity and reliability.
• Ability to motivate and develop both medical Staff and non‑medical staff.
• Commitment to further develop the post and the service provided.

Audit/ Quality Improvement:

• Effective participation in and a commitment to clinical audit.
• Participation in a quality improvement programme.
• Experience of quality improvement work and audit.
• Undergone training in teaching and willingness to organise relevant audit activities including quality improvement evidence.
• Completion of formal courses in Audit and quality improvement.
• Published Audit including quality improvement.

Teaching:

• Experience of and a commitment to training/ teaching undergraduate and postgraduates.
• Appraisal and assessment skills & ability to assess clinical competencies.
• Enthusiastic and ability to inspire and lead others.
• Post Graduate qualification in teaching and training.
• Willingness to develop new approaches to teaching.

Equality & Diversity:

• Able to demonstrate a commitment and understanding of the importance of treating all individuals with dignity and respect appropriate to their individual needs.

Research:

• Ability to appraise research critically.
• Ability to supervise juniors undertaking research projects.
• Evidence of recent research and development activity.
• Understanding and interest in research.
• Publications in nationally and internationally recognised peer‑reviewed journals on subjects relevant to the specialty.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check:

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.