Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust

Bank ST4 - Paediatrics

The closing date is 09 April 2026

Job summary

The appointee will be expected to undertake audit and quality improvement projects, as well as to attend clinical governance meetings, mortality and morbidity meetings, regional and national educational meetings. Research activity is encouraged.

The appointee will actively participate in the local educational programme of teaching undergraduates as well as postgraduates.

Our Paediatric department is currently recruiting an enthusiastic, dedicated and experienced Trust Clinical Fellow (ST4-ST8 Level) to join our team. Ideally, you will have a minimum of one year's NHS experience at registrar level.

Our Neptune Children's Ward was commissioned in May 1995 and is situated in a wing of nucleus design. Neptune Children's Unit has 27 beds and a seven bedded Paediatric Page 2 of 11 Page 4 of 11 Assessment Unit for triage assessment and treatment. The PAU has an annual throughput of approximately 4,000 children.

On the Children's Ward elective, emergency and day-stay surgery is accommodated as well as medical emergency and day-stay admissions. There are three six bedded rooms, a four-cot nursery divided into separate cubicles and remaining beds are within side-rooms. There are several high dependency beds on the ward to enable sick children to be managed locally where possible.

Excellent links are in place with Great Ormond Street and other tertiary centres, many providing visiting Consultants for joint specialist multidisciplinary clinics.

Main duties of the job

MAIN DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES

1.2 Southend Hospital

The hospital itself currently has around 730 beds and 19 operating theatres with plans to expand day surgery facilities. Southend is a cancer centre and offers major colorectal, gynaecology and urology surgery, ranging from open total pelvic exenterations to laparoscopic and robotic surgery. Our perioperative care is national award winning for its novel combined anaesthetic and geriatrician pre-assessment clinics for older people with colorectal cancer and we are approved to offer perioperative medicine as a specialist interest area of training.

Southend is also a busy orthopaedic trauma unit and was one of only three hospitals in the UK which recorded improved performance across all key indicators last year. We also have dedicated paediatric day stay lists, including eyes and dental, ENT, an obstetric unit with 3500 deliveries a year and consultant-led ringfenced elective caesarean section lists, and a critical care unit led by anaesthetists, commissioned for 9 level 3 beds and 8 level 2 beds.

About us

Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust is now one of the largest in the country, with a workforce of approximately 17,000 who serve a population of 1.2 million people.We work together, and in conjunction with MSE Health and Care Partnership, to deliver excellent local and specialist services, to improve the health and wellbeing of our patients in a compassionate way, and provide a respectful, but vibrant place for staff to develop, innovate and build careers.From facilities through to consultant specialists we want to be the best, to achieve this we need to recruit not just those who are the finest in their field but also those who have the potential to be. Yes, experience is important but so is outlook - if you are dynamic, forward-thinking and enthusiastic we want you to join us.

We not only offer you a good working environment with flexible working opportunities, but also the opportunity to develop your career with access to appropriate training for your job and the support to succeed and progress.

Date posted

26 March 2026

Pay scheme

Hospital medical and dental staff

Grade

Doctor - other

Salary

Depending on experience Book Specific

Contract

Bank

Working pattern

Flexible working

Reference number

Bank ST4 - Paediatrics

Job locations

MSE Trust

Essex

SS00RY

Job description

Job responsibilities

Neptune Ward:

Neptune Children's ward is a general paediatric ward that caters typically from birth to 16 years. There are 10 side rooms (prioritised for those requiring isolation) and one six bedded bays that cater for those children requiring emergency, elective or high dependency care. Neptune Ward has a playroom, adolescent room, parent's room, treatment rooms and a designated waiting room. We aim for a minimum of five and a maximum of eight members of staff during the day. At least one member of staff each shift is certified in European Paediatric Life Support. The skill mix ranges for Ward Sisters to HCAs. Working alongside the nursing staff we are lucky to have a team of Play Specialists that are invaluable in helping both patients and parents through procedures.

Neptune has both a Practice Educators and Clinical Nurse Specialist. The Practice Educator assists in teaching and supporting staff especially when there are high dependency patients on the ward or in need of transfer to a specialist centre. The Clinical Nurse Specialist performs specialised diagnostic tests (e.g. endocrine, sedation for MRI) and treatment within her own caseload. Neptune Ward has designated physiotherapists, paediatric dieticians and a clinical psychologist. It is linked with the Paediatric Outpatient Department. There is an on-going commitment to enhancing practice and the ward echoes the Trust's commitment to the training and development of all staff.

Neonatal Unit:

Located on the second floor, the neonatal unit is closely connected to the Southend specialist fetal medicine unit. It has 2 ITU, 3 HDUs, 11 special care cots and 2 cubicles. It also provides 2 rooms for the families to spend time with their babies in preparation for discharge. As a level 2 neonatal unit, we provide a high-level care for babies above 27 weeks of gestation and 800g. The team also stabilise babies born at Southend hospital who need level 3 care and closely liaises with PANDR team for their safe transfer.

The team provides transitional care for the babies in the postnatal ward as part of their daily responsibilities.

Paediatric Assessment Unit (PAU):

The Paediatric Assessment Unit (PAU) is an acute medical assessment unit that caters typically from birth to 16 years old children. PAU is co-located within Neptune Paediatric Ward. There is a six bedded bay, an isolation room, a PAU treatment room and a PAU waiting room. Within PAU, children are assessed and receive treatment before either being discharged home or admitted to paediatric in-patient facilities. Children will be directly referred to PAU by their GP, A&E, Paediatric Community Nurse or Midwife. Patients will be triaged before being reviewed by the experienced Paediatric medical team. Patients may be asked to attend PAU for a booked blood test or an urgent review.

Paediatric Outpatient Services:

The Acute Paediatric Outpatient Department is located on the Ground Floor in the Carlingford Centre at Southend Hospital. The department provides both general and specialist clinics for the families of children from birth to approximately sixteen years of age, depending on the individual childs needs. These include asthma/allergy/respiratory, cardiac, diabetes, endocrinology gastroenterology, general surgery, genetics, bed-wetting and constipation, rheumatology, seizure, dietetic and post special care baby unit clinics. Multidisciplinary clinics in diabetes, cystic fibrosis, epilepsy, coeliac disease are conducted with participation of dietetics, clinical psychology and nurse specialists. There are specialist tertiary teams that do joint clinics in genetics, gastroenterology, respiratory, cystic fibrosis and asthma and cardiology.

Supporting Services/Facilities

All registrars take part in a training programme with regular supervision and appraisal. There is an active audit programme, and all Resident doctors are expected to actively participate in it. The registrars are also encouraged to undertake clinical research projects and quality improvement projects leading to service development under the supervision of the consultants. They are expected to present and, in some cases, publish their findings.

The department has a busy academic programme, which includes core curriculum topics, journal club, audit and monthly mortality and morbidity meetings. There are regular presentations at the Grand Round to which the registrar contributes.

4 DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE POST

Provision of Paediatric Services within the Hospital with responsibility for the prevention, assessment, diagnosis and treatment of illness within the Paediatric department.

Close working with medical, nursing and allied health professionals to assist in providing high quality patient care.

The post holder will be accountable to the clinical supervisor and Dr Hamed as clinical lead of department.

Induction: The candidate will undergo hospital Induction immediately on taking up the post.

Orientation: The successful candidate will undergo a period of 4 6 weeks orientation that will include observing consultants in clinic, shadowing registrars on call and shadowing registrars in the wards. In some cases, a longer period of orientation may be required. This will be decided by the educational supervisor and departmental clinical lead.

Candidates will take clinical responsibilities and be placed on the on-call rota only after the supervising consultant deems them competent to do so.

To be on the cardiac arrest rota, the candidate will need to have received ALS certification.

The post holder will meet with the educational supervisor to discuss personal development plans within the first six weeks of commencing the post.

Clinical: The Clinical Fellow colleagues will be responsible for both inpatient and outpatient work.