Consultant Neonatologist

The successful applicant(s) will join the current team of 9 consultants and 2 SAS Doctors, working in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) within the Southwest Neonatal Operational Delivery Network. The service undertakes approximately 3500 Intensive Care and High Dependency Care days and in around 4500 Special / Transitional Care days per year. The service benefits from a team of 1 Nurse Consultant, 9 ANNPs, 6 ENNPs as well as a two-tier team of junior medical staff whose cover duties are exclusively to the neonatal service. The unit supports the nursing team to train as Qualified in Speciality (QIS) adhering to BAPM staffing guidance.

The appointee will participate in providing cover to the neonatal service in a week on service model of care, providing consultant delivered care in 4 types of attending weeks in an 8-week cycle (NICU Service, Neonatal Transport and Transitional & Perinatal Care/Medical Education) and on call weeks Mon-Thurs. During attending weeks, other activities will be suspended to allow commitment to the acute daily workload and service needs of those clinical domains. There are opportunities to gain additional experience in neonatal transport by participating in the multi-centre collaborative on-call roster for the Southwest Neonatal Advice and Retrieval Service (SoNAR).

Main duties of the job NICU Service

The NICU Service Consultant is responsible for the day-to-day running of the neonatal unit, including morning and afternoon handover ward rounds and supervision of junior medical staff. All admitted patients are allocated to the NICU Service Consultant of the week.

Transitional & Perinatal Care / Medical Education

The Transitional Care Consultant is responsible for the day-to-day running of the transitional care ward, including morning ward rounds and supervision of junior medical staff. Fetal medicine liaison and antenatal counselling services are also provided by this consultant.

see JD for full duties

Working for our organisation We are a people business - where every member of staff matters and can make a difference. Patients are at the heart of everything we do. Joining University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust means becoming part of a team of dedicated staff, who are committed to leading the way through innovation, clinical excellence and great customer care. The Trust has great opportunities for career development in a highly progressive working environment. We offer all of this in a vibrant, modern city with a historic reputation for adventure. We recognise that work life balance is important for our colleagues and so we invite requests from applicants around less than full time/flexible working for our advertised roles. We commit to giving this full consideration in each case. We encourage people from diverse backgrounds to apply for our roles, as diversity strengthens our teams. It is sometimes necessary to close vacancies before the closing date. If you have not heard from us within 4 weeks of the closing date, please assume that you have not been shortlisted.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities NICU Service

The NICU Service Consultant is responsible for the day-to-day running of the neonatal unit, including morning and afternoon handover ward rounds and supervision of junior medical staff. All admitted patients are allocated to the NICU Service Consultant of the week.

Transitional & Perinatal Care / Medical Education

The Transitional Care Consultant is responsible for the day-to-day running of the transitional care ward, including morning ward rounds and supervision of junior medical staff. Fetal medicine liaison and antenatal counselling services are also provided by this consultant. All inborn infants are allocated to the TCW Consultant of the week unless admitted to NICU. Undergraduate medical student teaching including an end-of-week formal feedback session is delivered by the TCW Consultant, as are the multi-professional education sessions for the NICU nursing and junior medical staff.

Southwest Neonatal Advice and Retrieval Service (SoNAR)

The Transport Consultant undertakes telephone liaison with all Peninsula units each morning as well as the SoNAR North Hub to co-ordinate and undertake neonatal transfers as necessary during working hours Monday to Friday. Out-of-hours medical cover is provided from the North Hub. Opportunity exists to partake in this voluntarily outside job-plan, remunerated by extra-contractual arrangements.

On Call Week

The fourth service week consists of Mon-Thurs on call cover resident until after the 9pm NICU ward round and then non-resident.

It is expected that the consultant will be fully available to respond to clinical service needs during on-service weeks (external commitments must not compromise this).

Continuing responsibility

The new consultants will have continuing responsibility for the care of their patients and for the proper functioning of the department. However, it is expected that the appointee will wish to embrace the team-based approach to patient care and parental communication that the consultant neonatologists work to. The new consultants will share in the provision of cover for consultant colleagues on leave.

Subspecialty interest

The job plan for the new consultants will include time for the development of a special interest, which will be encouraged and welcomed. Subspecialty interests complementing the department's existing range are cardiology, respiratory, developmental outcome, nutrition, transport medicine, research and medical education.

Non-clinical duties

The new appointees will be expected to take part in the non-clinical activities of the department including full participation in the training and supervision of junior doctors and other staff, participation in clinical audit, continuing professional development as defined by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, clinical governance, and annual appraisal / revalidation. The consultants will undertake the administrative duties associated with the care of their patients and the running of the clinical department.

Person specification

• Full GMC Registration Registration on the Specialist Register CCST/CCT in Paediatrics (Neonatal Medicine) or equivalent qualification overseas OR CCST/CCT in Paediatrics (with a minimum of EITHER 3 years post-core neonatal training in a UK tertiary neonatal centre OR 2 years post-core neonatal training in a UK tertiary neonatal centre AND 1 year of training in an allied specialty eg. Paediatric cardiology, genetics, paediatric intensive care, paediatric neurology) (or eligible for CCT and registration with training as above within 6 months of interview) MRCPCH (or equivalent)
• Able to demonstrate recent experience and practice in neonatal medicine as a sub specialist MSc, DM, PhD or equiv. higher degree

KNOWLEDGE & EXPERIENCE

• Wide neonatal experience including Neonatal Transport Advanced skills in neonatal medicine. NLS Provider course (or APLS or equivalent) Basic skills in information technology Valid level 3 safeguarding training Evidence of teaching medical undergraduates, junior doctors, and other health care professional staff Evidence of commitment to lifelong learning Evidence of previous management experience
• Special interest within neonatology Skills in diagnostic & functional neonatal echocardiography APLS, NLS, ARNI or EPLS instructor Advanced IT skills. Appraisal and assessment training Formal training in education Experience of organising teaching programmes or specific teaching events. Completion of management training course

APTITUDE & ABILITIES

• Ability to coordinate and manage the sick infant who requires transport Understanding of the principles and importance of clinical governance. Knowledge and experience of clinical audit, including one or more completed projects. Logical, analytical, and self-critical approach to clinical practice. Evidence of understanding of research techniques & design, and the ability to interpret published results. Ability and commitment to practice evidence-based medicine.
• Formal training in neonatal transport medicine Experience of air transport Formal audit training Ability to demonstrate achievement of change. Potential to develop and lead local and Network Neonatal Services. Published works in peer reviewed journals Ability to supervise research. Commitment to continuing research

DISPOSITION / ATTITUDE / MOTIVATION

• Clear evidence of career progression Leadership skills Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English. Can work as part of a multiprofessional team. Can prioritise work and manage own time.
• Willingness and enthusiasm to develop special areas and interests

Medical/Doctor recruitment: Unsolicited CVs and Candidate Profiles/Details

University Hospitals Plymouth has a commitment to sourcing candidates directly and as such we do not accept speculative CVs from agencies.

We do, however, work with a defined list of preferred HTE Framework suppliers who may be invited to support us in sourcing candidates for particular roles.

In line with our preferred supplier list, we only pay agency fees where we have a signed agreement in place and an agency has been instructed by a member of the Trust's Medical Workforce team.

We do not pay agency fees where speculative and unsolicited CVs are submitted to the Trust or Trust employees by any other means than the official route above. Where this is not observed the Trust reserves the right to contact these candidates directly and initiate discussions without payment of any agency fee.
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