Job summary
We seek a dynamic individual with a broad range of specialist skills in anaesthesia to join our team as a Locum Consultant
This post is covering Maternity Leave and is available from 16 July 2026 until 15 July 2027.
This post is aimed at adult anaesthetists with a very broad range of specialist skills. We would particularly welcome applicants with specialist skills in obstetric and regional anaesthesia. We anticipate sessions will be available within a flexible job plan according to the skills of the successful applicant.
In addition to the challenges of the role, we can offer you a commitment to teaching, education, research and audit.
Candidates for the post must be registered medical practitioners and on the Specialist Register at the time of application.
As a flexible working friendly organisation, we want to be sure that you can work in a way that is best for us and for our patients, and for you. Speak to us about how we might be able to accommodate a flexible working arrangement. If it works for the service, we will do our best to make it work for you.
Please read attached Job Description and Person Specification.
Main duties of the job
To provide anaesthesia, peri-operative management and pre-operative assessment services to elective and emergency patients on the RVI site and, potentially, on occasion, at the Day Treatment Centre (DTC) on the Freeman site.
For an informal discussion and further information regarding the opportunity and Directorate, please contact one of the Clinical Directors: Dr Ian Clement on 0191282 9813 - Ian.Clement@nhs.net or Dr Barry Paul on 0191 282 9833 - Barry.Paul@nhs.net .Alternatively please contact Dr. Sarah Metcalfe, Lead for Adult Anaesthesia on 0191 282 9817, or via email Sarah.Metcalfe@nhs.net or Dr Danny Morland, Lead for Obstetric Anaesthesia on 0191 282 3796, or via e-mail Danny.Morland@nhs.net.
Please read attached Job Description and Person Specification.
About us
Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is one of the busiest, largest and most successful teaching NHS foundation trusts in the country, with around 16,000 staff and an annual income of £1 billion. We have a long history of providing high quality care, clinical excellence, and innovation in medical research regionally, nationally and internationally.
We're also proud to be the second largest provider of specialised services in the country. This means we support people with a range of rare and complex medical, surgical and neurological conditions, cancers and genetic orders.
Our staff oversee around 1.84 million patients 'contacts' each year, delivering high standards of healthcare.
We are committed to promoting equality and diversity and recognise the benefit in providing an inclusive environment. We value and respect the diversity of our employees and aim to recruit a workforce which reflects the communities we serve, and is equipped to deliver the best service to our patients. We welcome all applications irrespective of people's race, disability, gender, sexual orientation, religion or belief, age, gender identity, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity and in particular those from under- represented groups.
Job description
Job responsibilities
Clinical:
Clinical duties will encompass all aspects of elective and emergency adult theatre anaesthesia with on call and some day-time commitments in obstetric anaesthesia.
Commitments in obstetric anaesthesia would include providing obstetric anaesthesia and analgesia on the tertiary level obstetric unit in addition to delivering a resident consultant evening session on Delivery Suite combined with the overnight on call (currently 1:8 rota)
The exact make-up of the job-planned week is open for negotiation and will involve service delivery within the surgical services identified below.
The successful applicant may be required to deliver some elective theatre work during planned evening sessions as part of their regular job plan.
The Surgical Directorate delivers a major upper and lower GI service, endocrine surgery and breast surgery; Neurosciences provide a regional service for neurosurgery and interventional neuroradiology; Plastic Surgery provides major reconstructive surgery, including head and neck, breast and lower limb, a regional burns service and a regional hand trauma service; Orthopaedics provide a trauma service, upper limb orthopaedics and a major spinal surgery service; Gynaecology run a gynae-oncology, uro-gynaecology and fertility service; there are also opportunities in maxillo-facial surgery, ophthalmology and oculoplastics and dental anaesthesia.
The RVI is a Major Trauma Centre the successful candidate will manage both the immediate presentations of major trauma and subsequent interactions with the peri-operative and pain service.
On-call will be for obstetric anaesthesia (approximately 1 in 8 frequency).
Administrative:
To participate in all aspects of Clinical Governance, making a significant contribution to multidisciplinary quality improvement and risk management activities in Peri-operative and Critical Care. The aims of QI will include;
Ensuring compliance with national guidelines relating to Anaesthesia
Helping to create an environment of continuously seeking to improve the quality of care
These activities will all be carried out in a multidisciplinary manner. Clinical governance, clinical effectiveness and audit meetings occur on six mornings and six afternoons every year. All members of the Directorate are expected to attend and contribute. These meetings are also utilised to deliver Trust mandatory training.
The five departments within the Directorate, Adult Anaesthesia, Adult Critical Care, Paediatric Anaesthesia, Obstetric Anaesthesia and Pain Management function managerially as a single department. You will be expected to undertake administrative duties in relation to the care of your patients and in relation to the running of the Department of Anaesthesia in co-operation with the Heads of Department, Specialty Manager and Clinical Director. You will be entitled to become a member of the Medical Staff Committee of the hospital.
Obstetric Anaesthetists are required to contribute towards Maternity Services Clinical Governance structures including representation at monthly meetings, guideline drafting, incident investigation and risk management.
To undertake anaesthesia administrative duties within a context of compliance with Directorate and Trust aims and objectives
Undergo Continued Medical Education (CME) in accordance with guidelines stipulated by the Royal College of Anaesthetists (RCoA) and pursue Trust objectives and your own personal development programme. This will be reviewed at annual appraisal and job planning. The Trust has a mentoring scheme, which new consultants are encouraged to use.
There are close links with the other two Directorates within the Trust at Freeman Hospital - Peri-operative Services and Anaesthesia services within the Cardiothoracic Directorate. There is a collaborative approach to workforce planning, Clinical Governance and risk management, therapeutics, equipment and education.
Research:
The Trust welcomes and encourages research as a high-profile activity that complements the service provided. The emphasis is on studies that fall within the National Institute of Health Research Portfolio.
The Peri-operative and Critical Care Directorate have recently gained the accolade of becoming an Academic Clinical Directorate within NUTH with the associated access to research funding. There is ongoing CLRN activity within the Directorate and several active awards for Greenshoot and Research Capability funding within the consultant body.
Teaching:
The Directorate places considerable emphasis on under-graduate and post-graduate education and has a remarkable success rate at RCoA examinations. You will be expected to make an active contribution to under-graduate and post-graduate teaching of Anaesthesia.
The Directorate wishes to play a key role in the regional development of training the next generation of anaesthetists.
Under-graduate education is provided to medical students from Newcastle University.
The Directorate also educates nursing staff, operating departmental personnel, professions allied to medicine, paramedic ambulance personnel and armed forces personnel.
The Northern School of Anaesthesia provides the hub for post-graduate anaesthetic education with teaching opportunities available to all Consultants.
All Consultants are expected to be actively involved in the clinical supervision of all postgraduate residents in the Directorate. Some will have specific responsibility for a small number of individuals as educational supervisor under the direction of the RCoA College Tutor.
Multidisciplinary teaching, learning and simulation is a key component of safety culture on Delivery Suite with consultant obstetric anaesthetists as leaders.
Flexibility:
In line with the Trusts core value of placing patients at the heart of everything we do, we are developing our service provision to be responsive to the needs of our patients. To meet those needs some staff groups will be increasingly asked to work a more flexible work pattern so that they can offer services in the evening or weekend. As a result any offer of employment to a consultant post will be subject to you agreeing to work a new more flexible pattern or working in the future if required, including evening and weekend work.
Please read attached Job Description and Person Specification.
Job description
Job responsibilities
Clinical:
Clinical duties will encompass all aspects of elective and emergency adult theatre anaesthesia with on call and some day-time commitments in obstetric anaesthesia.
Commitments in obstetric anaesthesia would include providing obstetric anaesthesia and analgesia on the tertiary level obstetric unit in addition to delivering a resident consultant evening session on Delivery Suite combined with the overnight on call (currently 1:8 rota)
The exact make-up of the job-planned week is open for negotiation and will involve service delivery within the surgical services identified below.
The successful applicant may be required to deliver some elective theatre work during planned evening sessions as part of their regular job plan.
The Surgical Directorate delivers a major upper and lower GI service, endocrine surgery and breast surgery; Neurosciences provide a regional service for neurosurgery and interventional neuroradiology; Plastic Surgery provides major reconstructive surgery, including head and neck, breast and lower limb, a regional burns service and a regional hand trauma service; Orthopaedics provide a trauma service, upper limb orthopaedics and a major spinal surgery service; Gynaecology run a gynae-oncology, uro-gynaecology and fertility service; there are also opportunities in maxillo-facial surgery, ophthalmology and oculoplastics and dental anaesthesia.
The RVI is a Major Trauma Centre the successful candidate will manage both the immediate presentations of major trauma and subsequent interactions with the peri-operative and pain service.
On-call will be for obstetric anaesthesia (approximately 1 in 8 frequency).
Administrative:
To participate in all aspects of Clinical Governance, making a significant contribution to multidisciplinary quality improvement and risk management activities in Peri-operative and Critical Care. The aims of QI will include;
Ensuring compliance with national guidelines relating to Anaesthesia
Helping to create an environment of continuously seeking to improve the quality of care
These activities will all be carried out in a multidisciplinary manner. Clinical governance, clinical effectiveness and audit meetings occur on six mornings and six afternoons every year. All members of the Directorate are expected to attend and contribute. These meetings are also utilised to deliver Trust mandatory training.
The five departments within the Directorate, Adult Anaesthesia, Adult Critical Care, Paediatric Anaesthesia, Obstetric Anaesthesia and Pain Management function managerially as a single department. You will be expected to undertake administrative duties in relation to the care of your patients and in relation to the running of the Department of Anaesthesia in co-operation with the Heads of Department, Specialty Manager and Clinical Director. You will be entitled to become a member of the Medical Staff Committee of the hospital.
Obstetric Anaesthetists are required to contribute towards Maternity Services Clinical Governance structures including representation at monthly meetings, guideline drafting, incident investigation and risk management.
To undertake anaesthesia administrative duties within a context of compliance with Directorate and Trust aims and objectives
Undergo Continued Medical Education (CME) in accordance with guidelines stipulated by the Royal College of Anaesthetists (RCoA) and pursue Trust objectives and your own personal development programme. This will be reviewed at annual appraisal and job planning. The Trust has a mentoring scheme, which new consultants are encouraged to use.
There are close links with the other two Directorates within the Trust at Freeman Hospital - Peri-operative Services and Anaesthesia services within the Cardiothoracic Directorate. There is a collaborative approach to workforce planning, Clinical Governance and risk management, therapeutics, equipment and education.
Research:
The Trust welcomes and encourages research as a high-profile activity that complements the service provided. The emphasis is on studies that fall within the National Institute of Health Research Portfolio.
The Peri-operative and Critical Care Directorate have recently gained the accolade of becoming an Academic Clinical Directorate within NUTH with the associated access to research funding. There is ongoing CLRN activity within the Directorate and several active awards for Greenshoot and Research Capability funding within the consultant body.
Teaching:
The Directorate places considerable emphasis on under-graduate and post-graduate education and has a remarkable success rate at RCoA examinations. You will be expected to make an active contribution to under-graduate and post-graduate teaching of Anaesthesia.
The Directorate wishes to play a key role in the regional development of training the next generation of anaesthetists.
Under-graduate education is provided to medical students from Newcastle University.
The Directorate also educates nursing staff, operating departmental personnel, professions allied to medicine, paramedic ambulance personnel and armed forces personnel.
The Northern School of Anaesthesia provides the hub for post-graduate anaesthetic education with teaching opportunities available to all Consultants.
All Consultants are expected to be actively involved in the clinical supervision of all postgraduate residents in the Directorate. Some will have specific responsibility for a small number of individuals as educational supervisor under the direction of the RCoA College Tutor.
Multidisciplinary teaching, learning and simulation is a key component of safety culture on Delivery Suite with consultant obstetric anaesthetists as leaders.
Flexibility:
In line with the Trusts core value of placing patients at the heart of everything we do, we are developing our service provision to be responsive to the needs of our patients. To meet those needs some staff groups will be increasingly asked to work a more flexible work pattern so that they can offer services in the evening or weekend. As a result any offer of employment to a consultant post will be subject to you agreeing to work a new more flexible pattern or working in the future if required, including evening and weekend work.
Please read attached Job Description and Person Specification.
Person Specification
Education, Qualifications and Specialist Skills
Essential
- Primary Medical Qualification.
- Full GMC Registration
- Entry onto the GMC Specialist Register at the time of application
- FRCA or equivalent
Desirable
- Other relevant undergraduate or postgraduate scientific or medical qualification
Clinical Experience
Essential
- Extensive experience in all aspects of general adult anaesthesia
- Extensive experience in caring for major surgical patients including emergency and major trauma cases
- Ability to manage on call demands and workload, providing leadership within an on-call team in a major, acute hospital with multiple concurrent workstreams, triaging appropriately and working with surgical colleagues
Desirable
- Higher/advanced training in obstetric anaesthesia (RCOA Stage 3 SIA equivalence) with experience of managing complex obstetric patients (including cardiac and predicted massive haemorrhage) and the ability to manage and prioritise patients within busy obstetric emergency lists and during on-call shifts.
- Skills and experience in acute pain management and regional anaesthesia to include upper and lower limb blocks
- Experience in peri-operative medicine, pre-operative assessment clinics and multidisciplinary team working
- Experience in management of neurosurgical cases to include interventional neuroradiology
- Experience and expertise in anaesthesia for children and adolescents
Management and Administration Experience
Essential
- Involvement with management and project leadership within the specialty.
- An understanding of Clinical Governance
- Evidence of having implemented change
Desirable
- Proven management and administrative experience and understanding of management goals
- Evidence of delivering projects within multi-agency teams
- Expertise in the utilisation of medical IT applications
- Evidence of engagement in Theatre Efficiency and Productivity Improvement work.
Teaching
Essential
- Experience of supervising junior medical staff
- Experience of participation in undergraduate and postgraduate teaching
Desirable
- Postgraduate qualification in medical education
- Evidence of broad education interest and skill set going beyond intra-departmental teaching
- Multidisciplinary teaching and simulation in the obstetric environment.
Research
Essential
- Evidence of involvement in and understanding of research methodology and publication of findings.
Desirable
- Publications in the last five years
Audit
Essential
- Evidence of participation in QI or audit
Desirable
- Evidence of having changed practice as a result of audit
- Evidence of having revisited the audit to assess improvement
- Presentation of QI work at regional or national level
Personal Attributes
Essential
- Alignment with the Trust's values
- Flexible approach to service delivery and committed approach to development.
- Committed to share in professional, managerial and teaching responsibilities necessary to fulfil the obligations of the Directorate to the Trust and its workforce
- A commitment to personal / unit CPD
- Ability and willingness to work the on-call rota
- Ability and willingness to work a more flexible pattern of working in the future if required, including evening and weekend work
Person Specification
Education, Qualifications and Specialist Skills
Essential
- Primary Medical Qualification.
- Full GMC Registration
- Entry onto the GMC Specialist Register at the time of application
- FRCA or equivalent
Desirable
- Other relevant undergraduate or postgraduate scientific or medical qualification
Clinical Experience
Essential
- Extensive experience in all aspects of general adult anaesthesia
- Extensive experience in caring for major surgical patients including emergency and major trauma cases
- Ability to manage on call demands and workload, providing leadership within an on-call team in a major, acute hospital with multiple concurrent workstreams, triaging appropriately and working with surgical colleagues
Desirable
- Higher/advanced training in obstetric anaesthesia (RCOA Stage 3 SIA equivalence) with experience of managing complex obstetric patients (including cardiac and predicted massive haemorrhage) and the ability to manage and prioritise patients within busy obstetric emergency lists and during on-call shifts.
- Skills and experience in acute pain management and regional anaesthesia to include upper and lower limb blocks
- Experience in peri-operative medicine, pre-operative assessment clinics and multidisciplinary team working
- Experience in management of neurosurgical cases to include interventional neuroradiology
- Experience and expertise in anaesthesia for children and adolescents
Management and Administration Experience
Essential
- Involvement with management and project leadership within the specialty.
- An understanding of Clinical Governance
- Evidence of having implemented change
Desirable
- Proven management and administrative experience and understanding of management goals
- Evidence of delivering projects within multi-agency teams
- Expertise in the utilisation of medical IT applications
- Evidence of engagement in Theatre Efficiency and Productivity Improvement work.
Teaching
Essential
- Experience of supervising junior medical staff
- Experience of participation in undergraduate and postgraduate teaching
Desirable
- Postgraduate qualification in medical education
- Evidence of broad education interest and skill set going beyond intra-departmental teaching
- Multidisciplinary teaching and simulation in the obstetric environment.
Research
Essential
- Evidence of involvement in and understanding of research methodology and publication of findings.
Desirable
- Publications in the last five years
Audit
Essential
- Evidence of participation in QI or audit
Desirable
- Evidence of having changed practice as a result of audit
- Evidence of having revisited the audit to assess improvement
- Presentation of QI work at regional or national level
Personal Attributes
Essential
- Alignment with the Trust's values
- Flexible approach to service delivery and committed approach to development.
- Committed to share in professional, managerial and teaching responsibilities necessary to fulfil the obligations of the Directorate to the Trust and its workforce
- A commitment to personal / unit CPD
- Ability and willingness to work the on-call rota
- Ability and willingness to work a more flexible pattern of working in the future if required, including evening and weekend work
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.
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see
NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
Additional information
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.
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see
NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
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