Locum Consultant Gastroenterologist (6 month fixed term)

Locum Consultant Gastroenterologist (6 month fixed term)

Applications are invited for the post of a 10 PA Locum Consultant in Gastroenterology and General Medicine at Whittington Health. This locum post has been developed to cover for a member of staff on long term leave as well as address the growing demand in gastroenterology services.

We are a thriving and expanding department with increasing outpatients and endoscopy referrals. We aim to provide a first-class gastroenterology service in North London and to meet the challenge of government targets. We conduct regular audits to ensure our department provides a high-quality service.

We are a four room unit that was opened in the Day Treatment Centre in 2007. At present, there are 40 lists running per week with dedicated upper GI and colonoscopy lists. We have had recent approval to utilise the fourth endoscopy room to accommodate the expanding demand for endoscopy and by working closely with neighbouring organisations. We are also a JAG accredited Site.

The Department is a core service within the Medical Division, treating approximately 4000 new outpatients per year, some 500 specialist inpatients, and performing over 8500 endoscopies per year.

The appointee is responsible to the Chief Executive and Medical Director for the satisfactory conduct of his/her professional duties. All doctors are expected to be familiar with the GMC's "Good Medical Practice" and to always work within its guidance.

Main duties of the job

The appointee will be an enthusiastic doctor, fully accredited in general medicine and Gastroenterology. We are looking to appoint a locum consultant colleague who will complement the existing skills/interests of the department. A commitment to providing the best possible care to gastroenterology patients, and to working with colleagues to develop improved systems for their management is essential. Furthermore, expertise and experience in teaching and re-engineering of outpatient clinics would also be an advantage. A proven ability to work effectively with existing colleagues and management is of the utmost importance. ERCP skills are not required for this post. We expect the new appointee to be fully involved in the teaching commitment, audit activities, and management aspects of the department.

The timetable will be made up of 10 programmed activities. There is no General Internal Medicine (GIM) on call or acute medicine commitment. There will be a rotating month as the consultant for the ward when three times weekly ward rounds will be performed and other DCC cancelled accordingly. A sample timetable for a non-ward month is attached.

The appointee will be provided with an administrative space, Information Management and Technology facilities, and appropriate secretarial support. The timetable below is intended to be indicative of the job plan for this post but may be subject to change and this will be discussed with the successful candidate.

About us

Whittington Health serves a richly diverse population and works hard to ensure that all our services are fair and equally accessible to everyone. Nowhere is this more obvious than in the way we look after our staff. We aim to employ a workforce which is as representative as possible of this population, so we are open to the value of differences in age, disability, gender, marital status, pregnancy and maternity, race, sexual orientation, and religion or belief. The Trust believes that as a public sector organisation we have an obligation to have recruitment, training, promotion and other formal employment policies and procedures that are sensitive to these differences. We think that by doing so, we are better able to treat our patients as well as being a better place to work.

Job responsibilities

The appointee will be expected to play a role in educating undergraduate students, postgraduate doctors, and nurses in all specialties. We expect all Consultants at the Whittington to get thoroughly immersed in undergraduate teaching and assessment. There are many pathways to further the medical education training and scholarship for those committed and interested.

Consultants have continuing responsibility for the care of patients in their charge and for the proper functioning of their department. They are expected to undertake administrative duties associated with the care of their patients and the running of their clinical department. The appointee will be expected to take responsibility for maintaining his/her continuing medical education to the standard set by the relevant Royal College, and to plan their continuing professional development jointly with the Trust to develop the clinical service. All consultants will take part in annual appraisal and job planning, and to agree a personal development plan each year which reflects the developmental needs of both the individual and the service.

Consultants are expected to assume responsibility, both singly and corporately, for the management of junior medical staff. They are expected to be responsible for approving and monitoring junior staff rotas, leave and locum arrangements. Consultants are expected to concern themselves with the professional development, both clinical and personal, of their trainees. In this respect each Consultant acts as a personal educational adviser to one or more trainees. Consultants are required to participate in setting learning agreements and formally appraising junior staff and will themselves be appraised in accordance with the policies of the Trust.

Medical administration

The appointee will be expected to take part in the administration of the department and work with clinical and managerial colleagues on matters relating to the clinical service. The appointee will also be encouraged to take part in management concerning Whittington Health as a whole.

Audit

The appointee will be required as part of their duties to participate in the audit and clinical effectiveness activities overseen by the audit and effectiveness department; to attend the Training and Audit half days and to ensure that trainees within the department also take part in these activities.

Research and Development

Whittington Health is a research active organisation, where participation in research is encouraged and supported. The appointee will be expected to play an active role in delivering the Whittington Health research strategy that aims to increase the number of National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) portfolio studies that open and recruiting. This will allow more patients to benefit from participation in research studies. In addition, the research strategy aims to increase the number of studies that investigate integrated care and the benefits that our patients experience from Whittington Health's formation as an integrated care organisation. Protected time for conducting funded research may be negotiated as part of the annual job planning process.

Honorary senior lecturer

The successful candidate for this consultant post will be eligible to apply for Honorary Senior Lecturer or Honorary Clinical Senior Lecturer as applicable at UCL on the understanding that they will participate in undergraduate teaching, including acting as an examiner, and/or support and facilitate research activities. Criteria and application forms can be obtained at .

Person Specification Qualifications

• Full GMC Registration
• Membership of the Royal College of Physicians, or equivalent.
• Entry on the General Medical Council (GMC) Specialist Register via one of the following - Certificate of Completion of Training (CCT) date must be within 6 months of the interview) - Certificate of Eligibility for Specialist Registration (CESR) - European Community Rights
• Experience in transformation projects and department changes.
• An appropriate higher degree (eg. MD or PhD equivalent)

Teaching

• Experience of and commitment to undergraduate and graduate teaching.
• Skills to support Trainee Doctors and Specialist Nurses.

Training

• Experience of and commitment to undergraduate and graduate teaching.
• Skills to support Trainee Doctors and Specialist Nurses.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Excellent telephone skills.
• Ability to communicate clearly and effectively with patients and their families.
• Ability to communicate clearly with one's colleagues on professional matters and in an interactive environment.

Flexible thinking

• Able to work in a multi-disciplinary team with consultants, trainees, nursing staff and allied health professionals.
• Ability to establish and maintain excellent collaborative relationships with staff of all grades.

Quality improvement and Clinical Audit

• A commitment to quality improvement and clinical audit.
• Good computing skills. Fast familiarisation with the use of electronic prescribing, investigation requesting, patient management and imaging review software packages.

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.