Fixed Term Consultant Rheumatologist - NHS

Job overview

An exciting opportunity for a Locum Consultant Rheumatologist to join our friendly team and work with us at University Hospital Sussex (serving The Royal Sussex County Hospital) has arisen. This is a new post created to deliver, according to our rheumatology mission statement, excellence in care quality and innovation.

This 10 PA post, between Mon to Fri has some allowance for working from home. There is no out of hours commitment.

The postholder will be expected to do 4 rheumatology clinics per week whilst supporting, contributing to training and leading clinical decisions with our MDT.

There is an opportunity to develop a subspeciality interest of the candidate’s choice but applicants with good experience in managing CTDs and vasculitis would be suited.

There are weekly radiology MDTS and consultant complex case reviews and monthly academic and ILD meetings. There are also ample opportunities for research and teaching and for formal affiliation with Brighton and Sussex Medical School.

Main duties of the job

This is a 10PA (8DCC, 2SPA) new consultant post to facilitate service demands and has been created to support consultant rheumatology services across the department, including inflammatory arthritis, CTD/vasculitis, osteoporosis and designed to allow the successful candidate scope to develop a specialist interest in rheumatology.

Clinical supervision of a rheumatology SpR and advanced practitioners and teaching of medical students is also expected.

Clinical research is provided at the Clinical Investigation and Research Unit (CIRU) on the RSCH site. There are several on-going clinical trials to which the successful candidate will be encouraged to be involved with. Dedicated time for these activities is given in the job plan.

General outpatient templates are standardised to a maximum of 3 new patients and 6 follow up patients OR 10 follow up patients with 30 minutes allocated for a new patient and 20 minutes for follow up patients.

Working for our organisation

We’re proud to be a Disability Confident Employer (Level 2) and a Veteran Aware Trust.

We treat our patients and staff with the same compassion and empathy we expect for ourselves. We’re here for them when they need us, and we go above and beyond to meet their needs. This can be seen in our Wellbeing Programme for staff which is extensive and designed to support you when you need it, including where possible, flexible working to support work life balance - because we know that to look after others we must first look after ourselves.

As a university trust and a leader in healthcare research, we value learning, teaching and training so that we can be the best that we can be. From the moment you start with us and throughout your career we will help you to grow and develop. We hope that in choosing UHSussex you are choosing a long and happy career where you will be able to see the difference you make and feel valued for all that you do.

We look forward to receiving your application and the start of your journey with UHSussex.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

There are currently no designated inpatient beds for Rheumatology. Patients admitted remain under the acute admitting physician but with daily input from the Rheumatology SpR and consultant of the day. A 1:6 consultant rota for daytime Rheumatology on call/ward referrals is currently in place for which 1PA/week is allocated.

Triaging of referrals, responding to advice and guidance queries, homecare drug prescribing and communication with patients, GPs and other hospital specialists is distributed amongst consultant colleagues and included in job planning.

Attendance at departmental and governance meetings and engagement with departmental audit and service improvement plans are expected within the SPA allocation of the post.

The post holder will be required to undertake the administrative responsibilities associated with the care of his/her patients’ and to contribute to the smooth running of the department in a timely and professional manner. They will be expected to take part in any rota associated with “in hours” management of inpatients and ward referrals and assist with urgent GP / patient queries and support the Allied Health Care professionals and junior medical staff.

We have a strong link with the medical school and there will be a teaching commitment to the 4th year medical student musculoskeletal module and other opportunities to help with Student Selected Components, and 4th year “Individual Research Projects”.

The successful candidate may want to participate in further Medical School teaching programmes after discussion with the department and as part of the job planning exercise with opportunity to apply for an Honorary Senior Lecturer role.

The clinical investigation research unit (CIRU) has state of the art equipment and staff who can co-ordinate and conduct clinical trials. The post holder will be expected to clinically assess patients who have been entered into clinical trials.

The post holder will be expected to engage with the managerial responsibilities of the department. An active role in departmental clinical governance and attendance at governance meetings will be expected.

Please see job description & Person specs for full details.

Person specification

Experience/ Qualifications

• • Basic medical degree
• • Postgraduate qualification or appropriate specialist qualification
• • Full GMC Registration with a licence to practice
• • CCT in Specialty or equivalent (equivalence must be confirmed by GMC by date of AAC)
• • Entry onto the GMC Specialist Register or eligibility for entry within 6 months of the date of the AAC

• • MSc Rheumatology
• • PhD Rheumatology

Clinical Skills and Experience

• • Evidence of advanced skills in management of general rheumatology and rare autoimmune rheumatic conditions.
• • Evidence of competency injecting joints
• • Understanding of clinical risk management

Knowledge

• • Breadth of experience in and outside specialty

Organisation and Planning

• • Experience and ability to work in multi-professional teams
• • Understanding of: NHS / Clinical governance / Resource constraints

• • Evidence of managerial skills: Achievements / Course attended

Teaching Skills

• • Evidence of an interest and commitment to teaching

• • Recognised teaching qualification

Academic and Research

• • Evidence of participation in audit

• • Research experience
• • Publications
• • Prizes and honours

Career Progression

• • Appropriate progression of career to date

Personal Attributes

• • Evidence of:- Good communication skills both oral and written

Important information for applicants:

Closing Adverts Early: In the event of exceptional interest, we may close adverts earlier than specified.

Some of our adverts are capped for a limited number of applications; therefore, the advert will close once the cap has been reached. We therefore encourage you to submit your application as soon as possible if you are interested in the position to prevent you from missing out on applying for the opportunity.

Flexible Working: If you would like to explore potential options regarding flexible working please speak with the appropriate recruiting/line manager.

DBS Checks: As part of our commitment to a safe working environment, we undertake a Disclosure and Barring Service check on all new employees where the role is eligible for a criminal record check . We make offers in line with the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1975.

Skilled Worker Visa: Applications for Skilled Worker sponsorship are welcome for the roles that meet the Visa and Immigrations eligibility criteria. For further information please visit the gov.uk website searching for Skilled Worker. It is your responsibility as the applicant to ensure that you meet this criteria.

UHSussex reserves the right to close the role early if we receive a high volume of applications

Further Information

For help with the application process for Nursing vacancies, please email [email protected].

For help with the application process for Non-Nursing vacancies, please email [email protected].