Consultant Ophthalmologist VR Surgery

Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust

Consultant Ophthalmologist VR Surgery

The closing date is 18 May 2026

We are looking for a skilled Consultant Ophthalmologist - Vitreo Retinal to join our well established VR service at Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust. This is an exciting opportunity to work across multiple sites, delivering high quality care to patients from across the region.

Your primary base will be Southend Hospital, where you will run both outpatient clinics and theatre lists, providing specialist services to patients from all areas of the Trust. You will also be expected to deliver care through a mix of face to face and virtual clinics at any of our sites, so travel will be required.

In addition to clinical duties, you will play a key role in supervising junior doctors and fellows in both clinic and theatre, supporting their development and ensuring the highest standards of patient care.

If you are passionate about advancing Vitreo Retinal services and thrive in a collaborative, multi site environment, we would love to hear from you!

Main duties of the job

In this role, you will contribute to delivering exceptional ophthalmology services across Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust. Your key responsibilities include:

Clinical Duties:

• Performing surgical procedures in theatre.
• Leading and participating in outpatient clinics.
• Driving the development and improvement of ophthalmology services.
• Teaching and mentoring colleagues to support clinical excellence.

Organisational Duties:

• Promoting a collaborative, team focused environment aligned with our Trust values.
• Taking on managerial and budgetary responsibilities as required.
• Providing education and training to primary care colleagues and junior medical staff through case based reviews and formal teaching sessions.

This is an exciting opportunity to shape services, share expertise, and work within a supportive, multidisciplinary team committed to delivering outstanding patient care.

About us

Our ambition is to deliver excellent local and specialist services, to improve the health and well being of our patients, and provide a vibrant place for staff to develop, innovate and build careers.

We aim to make the most of our skills and experiences so we can become the best we can be. As one organisation we will recruit the finest and retain more specialist staff due to more employment opportunities across our Trust.

Qualifications

• MB ChB or evidence of equivalent.
• Full GMC licence.
• FRCOphth or equivalent.
• Evidence of thorough and broad training and experience in all aspects of general Ophthalmology.
• CCT in Ophthalmology or CESR.

Knowledge and Experience

• Must be able to demonstrate a high level of clinical experience and competence in all aspects of the Ophthalmology specialty.
• Experience of supervising trainee doctors, clinically and surgically including cataract surgery.
• Extensive experience in the management of urgent eye care.
• Understanding of clinical governance and the individual responsibilities it implies.
• Surgical experience in Vitreo Retinal and across a range of Ophthalmology procedures including elective and acute.
• Publication of audit results.
• Ability to supervise research.

Skills

• Ability to communicate effectively with clinical colleagues, colleagues in Ophthalmology, other specialties and support staff.
• Ability to develop effective working relationships on an individual and multidisciplinary basis with all levels of staff.
• Ability to take responsibility and show evidence of leadership.
• Ability to help manage and lead the department balancing departmental and personal objectives.

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.

Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust

£109,725 to £145,478 a year Per Annum (Pro Rata for Part Time)