Paediatric Oncology Consultant in Northampton

This is a Substantive Consultant Paediatric Post with interest in oncology and haematology which has arisen due to the relocation of one of our longstanding paediatric colleagues.

The post offersan exciting opportunity to join the C&YP Haematology & Oncology Team, part of the award-winning Child Health Directorate at Northampton General Hospital. You will join a creative, dynamic, forward thinking, multi-disciplinary team that aims to shape healthcare for the Children of Northamptonshire as the team adapts to the evolving needs within Child Health and the growing population of Northamptonshire. We are constantly striving to be able to provide safe, effective care for our Haem/Onc cohort of patients close to home where possible, and are able to provide inpatient, outpatient and day case chemotherapy including infusional and intrathecal chemotherapy. The Child Health Team were recently awarded the Clinical Team of the Year 2024 award from the Trust.

The post holder will have the opportunity to further develop the Haematology and Oncology service alongside the Clinical Lead for this area, and will also contribute to the Acute General Paediatric service with general paediatric outpatient clinics, on calls, and Consultant of the Week and PAU weeks on the rota.

It is essential that the post-holder should hold the MRCPCH (UK) or an equivalent qualification and be on the GMC specialist register or will obtain a relevant CCT/CESR(CP) within 6 months of interview.

Main duties of the job

To deliver high standard of care by working closely with medical and nursing colleagues and other supporting staff

To develop clinical pathways by collaborating with colleagues

To manage a flexible approach to service provision and the needs of the service

Clinical:

To participate in a consultant of the week and on-call rota on the general paediatric wards and Paediatric Assessment Unit (PAU).

To support junior doctors and nursing staff

To hold outpatient clinics

To join with the existing team to cover the care of the C&YP in Northamptonshire with oncological and non-malignant haematology diagnoses including large cohort of haemoglobinopathy patients

To be actively involved in the East Midlands Children's and Young Persons' Integrated Cancer Service through attendance at MDTs and educational meetings

To take over the care of an existing out-patient cohort

To participate in the clinical governance and audit projects

To participate in Trust and Department's Quality Improvement Programmes

To undertake the clinical risk management and clinical governance activities of the department and Trust

To participate in CPD activities as required by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health

If you enjoy teaching, there are plenty of opportunities to develop this role including working with our excellent simulation centre.

To ensure services are compliant with national and local guidelines and standards.

About us

We recognise that AI tools can support application writing; however, candidates are asked to keep their use to a minimum. Responses should reflect your own experience, skills and knowledge, as over-reliance on AI-generated content may result in generic answers that do not accurately represent your abilities.

University Hospitals of Northamptonshire (UHN) brings together Kettering General Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and Northampton General Hospital NHS Trust. As a group, we are committed to improving services for our communities through collaboration, modernising care delivery and striving for excellence. Working together enables us to share expertise, strengthen services and create greater opportunities, and there may be a requirement to work across sites depending on service needs.

Our Excellence Values are Compassion, Accountability, Respect, Integrity and Courage. UHN welcomes applications from all backgrounds and is committed to an inclusive working environment. We are proud signatories of the Armed Forces Covenant and hold the Gold Award under the Employer Recognition Scheme. Candidates who identify as members of the Armed Forces community and meet the essential criteria will be guaranteed an interview.

Job responsibilities

A formal job plan and timetable will be agreed between the new Post Holder and theClinical Director and will be effective from the commencement date of the appointment.

The post holder will join the Consultant of the Week and Paediatric Admissions Unit rota.

Consultant of the Week:

This involves covering the Paediatric Wards, Monday to Friday 0830 to 1700hrs. You are present at the 08:30 handover from the night team, and the 16:30 handover to the evening team. During those weeks the post holder is not expected to do routine clinics.

Paediatric Admissions Unit:

This involves covering the Paediatric Admissions Unit, Monday to Friday, 09:00 17:00. The Consultant carries the admissions bleep whilst covering PAU. During those weeks the post holder is not expected to do routine clinics.

General Paediatric and Haematology/Oncology Service Duties

The initial timetable (when the post holder is not on Consultant of the Week rota) is as follows:

• Day (0900 to 1700hrs)
• am
• pm
• Monday
  • Oncology Ward Work
  • General Paediatric Admin
  • Regional Solid Tumour MDT
  • SPA
• Tuesday
  • General Paediatric Admin
  • General Paediatric clinic
  • Oncology admin
  • Weekly Oncology MDT
  • Monthly Psychosocial MDT
• Thursday
  • OFF
  • OFF
• Friday
  • Monthly Haemoglobinopathy Clinic
  • General Paediatric clinic
  • Basic SPA
  • Out-patient related admin
  • Basic SPA

Job Plan

The job plan is based on 42 weeks.

Those activities will be within the limits of 10PAs.

PA Calculation

Basic SPA

1.50

Clinic + Patient Admin

4.32

1.69

Consultant of the week

2.49

TOTAL

10.00

Contents of Job Plan

All new appointees will start as per Trust policy on 10 PA's under the new Consultant contract. The division of timetable should reflect commitment to 8.5PA's, direct clinical care and 1.5 PA supporting activities which will include continued professional development, audit, teaching and research/management. The job plan will be reviewed annually in accordance with the Trust policy on Consultant Job Planning. Agreement will be reached between the appointee and their Clinical Director with regard to the scheduling of all other activities prior to starting the job.

On call Commitments

The appointee will join 1:8.5 rota for the paediatric on call team for general paediatrics there is a separate neonatal rota.

There are both Tier 1 and Tier 2 doctors on site 24 hours a day. The consultant on-site availability varies between winter and summer on-calls as below:

Winter weekday on-calls

From 1st October 1st March the post holder will not be expected to be on-site until 16:00 for the afternoon handover (cancelling clinical commitments on on-call days). They are expected to be on-site from 16:00 22:30. They are then able to complete their on-call off-site if the clinical situation allows

Summer weekday on-calls

From 1st March 1st October the post holder will work a normal working day and then attend the afternoon handover. Following this, they are able to complete their on-call off-site if the clinical situation allows

Weekend days are split, with one person undertaking Friday and Sunday and a separate person undertaking Saturday on-call. The on-call will be 24 hours 08:30 08:30. The post holder will attend the morning handover at 08:30 and then conduct the ward round on both wards. They can then complete the on-call off-site if the clinical situation allows.

Support for the Role

You will be provided with secretarial support and computing facilities to be able to access all the information technology required for your role. We have online dictation, prescribing, discharge summaries, clinic letters, investigation requests and results and radiology.

All new consultants are invited to attend a series of monthly new consultant seminars to support you in your new role. These cover all aspects of being a consultant and working effectively at Northampton General Hospital.

All new consultants at NGH are offered access to a consultant colleague mentor within the trust who will be able to support you as you take on your new role.

You will be supported in acquiring CPD points with regular medical meetings on Wednesday afternoons, Grand Rounds and junior doctor education on Friday afternoons. Northampton General Hospital provides a study budget of £3000 over a three-year cycle and up to 30 days of study leave to attend external courses.

Person Specification

Qualifications & Training

• Full GMC Registration
• MRCPCH or equivalent
• A minimum of 12 months experience in paediatric oncology/ haematology at middle grade level at a tertiary centre including safe prescription and administration of chemotherapy
• MD, PhD, MSc or other higher degree

Subspeciality- Specific

• Entry on the Specialist Register or be an SpR or Trust Grade Doctor within 6 months of CCST / CESR date
• Level 3 Safeguarding training
• APLS provider status or equivalent
• Oncology SPIN qualification or equivalent training
• Member of Children's Cancer and Leukaemia Group
• Qualification in Medical Education
• Experience working independently at Consultant Level

Clincal Experince

• Ability to offer expert clinical opinion on and manage a range of problems in the acute paediatric setting
• Up to date knowledge of the outpatient management of common paediatric conditions. Ability to take full and independent responsibility for clinical care of patients in ward, emergency department and outpatient setting
• Ability to deal with complex clinical situations in the core areas of the post
• Experience of working in Paediatric Haemoglobinopathy and Paediatric Oncology clinics
• Experience of working in the UK
• Wide range of paediatric experience at middle grade level and oncology/haematology experience
• Experience of outpatient work and letter dictation without direct supervision

Clinical Audit

• Experience of clinical audit
• Presentations of audit findings at local/ regional/ national meetings

Training and Teaching

• Commitment to teaching and training
• Experience of teaching and supervising junior doctors
• Ability to teach clinical skills
• Attendance at Education supervisor course
• Formal training in teaching and educational supervision.
• Formal/informal teaching at the department

Academic Achievements and Research

• Understanding of Research and Evidence Based Medicine
• Ability to apply research outcomes to clinical problems
• Introduction to Good Clinical Practice training up to date.
• Involvement in research projects
• Presentations at local/ regional/ national meetings
• Publications in peer reviewed journals

Managment Experience

• Shows an understanding of clinical governance, patient safety and corporate risk
• Ability to manage and lead a multidisciplinary team
• Appropriate understanding of NHS directives regarding consultant clinical practice including clinical governance
• Ability to prioritise administrative tasks and to work co-operatively with administrative and clerical staff
• IT Skills
• Membership of local/ regional/ national committees
• Attendance of management meetings
• Attendance at management skills training courses
• Involvement in Quality Improvement projects

Interpersonal Skills

• Ability to work in a team
• Ability to communicate effectively with patients, relatives, GPs, nurses and other agencies
• Good interpersonal skills
• Good verbal and written communication skills
• Organisational skills
• Commitment to continuing medical education
• Flexibility, enthusiasm, role model, motivation and approachability
• Willingness to undertake additional professional responsibilities at local, regional or national levels as required

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.