Job summary
This joint post is for a Consultant Cardiologist with a special interest in Interventional Cardiology. The appointee will be based at St Helens & Knowsley Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (STHK) for six Programmed Activities and have approximately four Programmed Activities at Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital (LHCH) to perform catheter lab based coronary intervention, including contributing to the regional Primary PCI service.
The appointee will be expected to be proficient in the performance of modern cardiac interventional procedures, and to participate in the development and introduction of new interventional procedures subject to Trust policy.
The Job plan is based on whole time 10 Programmed Activities (PAs) :-
6 Programmed Activities based at STHK Trust and 4 Programmed Activities at LHCH. Any additional PAs will be agreed mutually.
The successful candidate must be registered with the GMC with a valid licence to practice. You will also have completed Specialist Training (or equivalent) and be entered on the Specialist Register of the GMC, or have a CCT date within six months of the date of interview
The interviews will take place on Tuesday, 4th July, 2023
Main duties of the job
The work schedule will be based on a standard 24-hours contract of 6 programmed activities . The clinical timetable has been designed to consider commitments in both Trusts. It is, however, open to discussion and alteration with the aims of being in the best interests of the service and meeting individual needs. The work schedule will include 4.5 Programmed Activities for direct patient care.
There are Outpatient clinics at Whiston and at St. Helens Hospitals, accounting for travel time.
Inpatient responsibilities will be for the Coronary Care Unit while on call and the cardiology ward during routine inpatients care. There are 17 patients seen on a ward round in CCU and cardiology ward. The arrangement is subject to review as clinical demand change.
Approximately 4 PAs are allocated to the LHCH portion of the role which encompasses a PPCI on call commitment and weekend ACS lists (1:20), fixed routine PCI lists (approximately one day per week) and an administration and SPA component.
On call arrangement will be 1:10 in Whitson hospital and 1:20 for of primary PCI at LHCH. A supplement of 3% is paid for on call availability.
About us
St Helens & Knowsley Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust is the only acute Trust in Cheshire and Merseyside, and one of the few in the entire country, to achieve the title of OUTSTANDING, rated by the Care Quality Commission.
We provide a full range of acute adult services to our local population of circa 360,000 and provide tertiary services across a much wider area in the North West, North Wales, and Isle of Man. We are a Major Trauma Unit and the Mersey Regional Burns Unit.
Our '5 Star Patient Care' strategy is at the heart of all that we do; supporting our vision to provide world class services for all our patients by getting it right for every patient, every time.
Our latest achievements include:
- Acute Trust of the Year - HSJ Awards November 2019
- Trust rates Outstanding by CQC - Inspection August 2018
- Top 100 places to work in the NHS (NHS Employers & Health Service Journal)
- Best acute Trust in the North West for quality of care (NHS Staff Survey 2021)
- Best place to work in the North West (NHS Staff Survey 2021)
In the NHS Staff Survey 2021 the Trust scored the highest marks in the North West for the following areas.
- Standard of care
- Best place to work
- Care of patients being the Trust's priority
- Staff engagement
- Staff morale
- Compassionate and inclusive
- Providing a safe environment for staff
Benefits of working for us
We provide many benefits for staff. Please see attached Staff Wellbeing & Benefits booklet for more information. Accessible version available upon request.
Job description
Job responsibilities
For more information regarding the main responsibilities and requirements essential for this role please refer to the supporting documents heading and review the job description and person specification which will outline the duties of the role including a proposed job plan.
St Helens & Knowsley Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
A £338 million (PFI) investment has re-built and modernised both Whiston and St Helens Hospitals, resulting in modern state of the art health care facilities for the treatment and care of patients. St Helens Hospital was completed in 2008 and Whiston Hospital in 2010. The hospitals include 887 inpatient beds with state-of-the-art CT and MRI facilities existing on both hospital sites. CT and MRI scanners at St Helens have also recently been upgraded including installation of a high field 3 Tesla MRI scanner. The DEXA scanner is also located at St Helens Hospital.
The Trust provides a full range of acute inpatient, outpatient, day case and emergency services to local communities of St Helens, Knowsley, parts of Halton and Liverpool. The Regional Plastic Surgery and Burns Unit also extends its services to the whole of Cheshire, Merseyside, North Wales, and the Isle of Man.
As a Trust, our aim is to provide a high-quality service to all patients. We strive to meet the best standards for professional care whilst being sensitive and responsive to the needs of individual patients. Our valued workforce is recognised for their unique skills and talents with our teams of experts winning national awards on a regular basis.
Whiston Hospital
Whiston Hospital a busy teaching hospital which provides a comprehensive range of acute Medical and Surgical Services, Emergency Services, Maternity Services, Paediatrics and Medicine for Older People. The Regional Burns and Plastic Surgery Units are also based on this site. There is a Critical Care Unit consisting of ICU, HDU, CCU and an onsite Cardiac Catheter Laboratory. The stroke consultants deliver 24/7 thrombolysis to eligible patients presenting with acute stroke. There is a 30-bed Stroke Unit which accommodates both acute stroke patients and those with rehabilitation needs.
St Helens Hospital
St Helens Hospital is an Ambulatory Care Centre providing Intermediate Care and Day Surgery. Rheumatology, Dermatology and Diabetes services are based on this site and within easy reach of other acute specialties at Whiston Hospital.
Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital
LHCH provides medical and surgical adult cardiothoracic services to the people of Merseyside, North Wales, Isle of Man, and parts of Lancashire and Cheshire. This catchment area has a population of 2.8 million people.
The hospital provides a full range of invasive and non-invasive diagnostic cardiopulmonary facilities. There are five cardiac catheterisation laboratories for diagnostic procedures, PCI and electrophysiological work. There is a separate pacing theatre. A further hybrid theatre is used for cardiac pacing, aneurysm surgery/aortic stenting and transapical TAVI.
During the last year, over 1000 pacing procedures, 2000 catheters, 2300 PCI procedures (850 PPCIs) and 1000 EPS procedures were performed and more than 400 complex pacing/device procedures.
The centre is an NHS Trust, which has seen a great deal of development in the last few years. As a result of major capital investment, the centre can provide:
- 200 medical and surgical beds
- 42 medical beds.
- A dedicated, state of the art day case radial lounge for elective and ACS patients
- 69 surgical beds (including 4 HDU step-down)
- 34 bedded critical care unit (potential to expand to 40)
- 10 CCU beds; 24 surgical ITU beds (potential to expand to 30)
- Eight dedicated cardiothoracic surgical operating theatres
- Endoscopy suite
- Recovery room
- X-ray department with two multi-channel spiral CT scanners and 3.0 and 1.5T MRI scanners
- Pulmonary function and oesophageal laboratory
- Five cardiac catheterisation laboratories
- One dedicated pacing theatre and a shared pacing/aneurysm theatre
- Research laboratories
- Electronics workshop
- Pulmonary function and oesophageal laboratory
A 10-roomed private wing also forms an important part of the centre. There are major building projects and on-going developments. Work has started on an expansion and redesign of the catheter lab suite as well as the cardiology ward to accommodate a direct NSTEMI service.
There are strong links with local secondary care cardiologists and a strong local network (Cheshire and Mersey Cardiac network) to which the appointee would be expected to contribute. There are regular meetings of the Cardiology Network for Cheshire and Merseyside which is a clinical forum. There are inter-trust educational and audit meetings and research links with the Royal Liverpool University Hospital and various university departments.
Life in Merseyside
Merseyside, which includes the great city of Liverpool, is within easy reach of North Wales, the Lake District and the Peak District and provides an interesting mix of rural and urban life.
Liverpool is a vibrant, music city which has undergone a renaissance in recent years and has recently been named European City of Culture.
High quality schools are available in Liverpool, Wirral and Rainhill areas. The area has many sports facilities including championship golf courses, several sailing clubs and one of the finest windsurfing venues in Britain. Merseysiders are renowned for their friendliness and quick-witted humour and the region sports two of the finest football teams in the Premier League.
The town of St Helens is renowned for its glassworks and rugby. The district has a population of around 340,000 and is of mixed residential, industrial, and rural character. It is situated on the edge of Merseyside, between the open countryside of Cheshire to the south and Lancashire to the north.
Manchester City Centre is a short 23 miles from Whiston Hospital; accesses to motorway networks are a short 5-minute drive (including M62 and M6).
Both Whiston and St Helens Hospitals are within easy reach of the City of Liverpool (20 minutes by car), and access to motorway networks (including M62, M6, M57 and M58) is also convenient.
Job description
Job responsibilities
For more information regarding the main responsibilities and requirements essential for this role please refer to the supporting documents heading and review the job description and person specification which will outline the duties of the role including a proposed job plan.
St Helens & Knowsley Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
A £338 million (PFI) investment has re-built and modernised both Whiston and St Helens Hospitals, resulting in modern state of the art health care facilities for the treatment and care of patients. St Helens Hospital was completed in 2008 and Whiston Hospital in 2010. The hospitals include 887 inpatient beds with state-of-the-art CT and MRI facilities existing on both hospital sites. CT and MRI scanners at St Helens have also recently been upgraded including installation of a high field 3 Tesla MRI scanner. The DEXA scanner is also located at St Helens Hospital.
The Trust provides a full range of acute inpatient, outpatient, day case and emergency services to local communities of St Helens, Knowsley, parts of Halton and Liverpool. The Regional Plastic Surgery and Burns Unit also extends its services to the whole of Cheshire, Merseyside, North Wales, and the Isle of Man.
As a Trust, our aim is to provide a high-quality service to all patients. We strive to meet the best standards for professional care whilst being sensitive and responsive to the needs of individual patients. Our valued workforce is recognised for their unique skills and talents with our teams of experts winning national awards on a regular basis.
Whiston Hospital
Whiston Hospital a busy teaching hospital which provides a comprehensive range of acute Medical and Surgical Services, Emergency Services, Maternity Services, Paediatrics and Medicine for Older People. The Regional Burns and Plastic Surgery Units are also based on this site. There is a Critical Care Unit consisting of ICU, HDU, CCU and an onsite Cardiac Catheter Laboratory. The stroke consultants deliver 24/7 thrombolysis to eligible patients presenting with acute stroke. There is a 30-bed Stroke Unit which accommodates both acute stroke patients and those with rehabilitation needs.
St Helens Hospital
St Helens Hospital is an Ambulatory Care Centre providing Intermediate Care and Day Surgery. Rheumatology, Dermatology and Diabetes services are based on this site and within easy reach of other acute specialties at Whiston Hospital.
Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital
LHCH provides medical and surgical adult cardiothoracic services to the people of Merseyside, North Wales, Isle of Man, and parts of Lancashire and Cheshire. This catchment area has a population of 2.8 million people.
The hospital provides a full range of invasive and non-invasive diagnostic cardiopulmonary facilities. There are five cardiac catheterisation laboratories for diagnostic procedures, PCI and electrophysiological work. There is a separate pacing theatre. A further hybrid theatre is used for cardiac pacing, aneurysm surgery/aortic stenting and transapical TAVI.
During the last year, over 1000 pacing procedures, 2000 catheters, 2300 PCI procedures (850 PPCIs) and 1000 EPS procedures were performed and more than 400 complex pacing/device procedures.
The centre is an NHS Trust, which has seen a great deal of development in the last few years. As a result of major capital investment, the centre can provide:
- 200 medical and surgical beds
- 42 medical beds.
- A dedicated, state of the art day case radial lounge for elective and ACS patients
- 69 surgical beds (including 4 HDU step-down)
- 34 bedded critical care unit (potential to expand to 40)
- 10 CCU beds; 24 surgical ITU beds (potential to expand to 30)
- Eight dedicated cardiothoracic surgical operating theatres
- Endoscopy suite
- Recovery room
- X-ray department with two multi-channel spiral CT scanners and 3.0 and 1.5T MRI scanners
- Pulmonary function and oesophageal laboratory
- Five cardiac catheterisation laboratories
- One dedicated pacing theatre and a shared pacing/aneurysm theatre
- Research laboratories
- Electronics workshop
- Pulmonary function and oesophageal laboratory
A 10-roomed private wing also forms an important part of the centre. There are major building projects and on-going developments. Work has started on an expansion and redesign of the catheter lab suite as well as the cardiology ward to accommodate a direct NSTEMI service.
There are strong links with local secondary care cardiologists and a strong local network (Cheshire and Mersey Cardiac network) to which the appointee would be expected to contribute. There are regular meetings of the Cardiology Network for Cheshire and Merseyside which is a clinical forum. There are inter-trust educational and audit meetings and research links with the Royal Liverpool University Hospital and various university departments.
Life in Merseyside
Merseyside, which includes the great city of Liverpool, is within easy reach of North Wales, the Lake District and the Peak District and provides an interesting mix of rural and urban life.
Liverpool is a vibrant, music city which has undergone a renaissance in recent years and has recently been named European City of Culture.
High quality schools are available in Liverpool, Wirral and Rainhill areas. The area has many sports facilities including championship golf courses, several sailing clubs and one of the finest windsurfing venues in Britain. Merseysiders are renowned for their friendliness and quick-witted humour and the region sports two of the finest football teams in the Premier League.
The town of St Helens is renowned for its glassworks and rugby. The district has a population of around 340,000 and is of mixed residential, industrial, and rural character. It is situated on the edge of Merseyside, between the open countryside of Cheshire to the south and Lancashire to the north.
Manchester City Centre is a short 23 miles from Whiston Hospital; accesses to motorway networks are a short 5-minute drive (including M62 and M6).
Both Whiston and St Helens Hospitals are within easy reach of the City of Liverpool (20 minutes by car), and access to motorway networks (including M62, M6, M57 and M58) is also convenient.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Full GMC registration and on Specialist Register or within six months of receipt of Certificate of Completion of Training (CCT) or equivalent at time of interview CESR candidates must have written GMC confirmation of successful application
- MBBS or equivalent medical qualification
- MRCP or equivalent medical qualification
Desirable
- MD/PHD or equivalent medical qualification
Knowledge and Experience
Essential
- Clinical training and experience equivalent to that required for gaining UK CCT in cardiology
- Demonstrates the range, depth and breadth of competencies required as a general cardiologist
- Extensive experience of all aspects of modern cardiac intervention
- Ability to offer expert clinical opinion on a range of problems, both emergency and elective
- Ability to take full and independent responsibility for clinical care of patients
- Ability to advise on efficient and smooth running of a specialist service
- Ability to organise and manage outpatient priorities, waiting lists and catheter lab time
- Ability to manage and lead a cardiology team
- Experience of supervising junior doctors
- Ability to teach clinical and operative skills
- Level 1 accreditation as an educational supervisor
- Ability to apply research outcomes to clinical problems
- Peer reviewed publications
Desirable
- A subspeciality interest e.g. complex PCI
- Ability to manage and lead a subspecialist service, cardiology directorate and working parties as appropriate
- Experience of audit management
- Experience of teaching basic clinical skills to undergraduates
- Experience of supervising SpR's
- Ability to supervise postgraduate research
- Level 2 accreditation as an educational supervisor
- Success in grant applications
Skills
Essential
- Ability to work in a team
- Good interpersonal skills
- Ability to communicate effectively with patients, relatives, GP's, nurses and other agencies.
Other
Essential
- Enquiring, critical approach to work
- Commitment to continuing medical education
- Willingness to undertake additional professional responsibilities at local, regional or national level.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Full GMC registration and on Specialist Register or within six months of receipt of Certificate of Completion of Training (CCT) or equivalent at time of interview CESR candidates must have written GMC confirmation of successful application
- MBBS or equivalent medical qualification
- MRCP or equivalent medical qualification
Desirable
- MD/PHD or equivalent medical qualification
Knowledge and Experience
Essential
- Clinical training and experience equivalent to that required for gaining UK CCT in cardiology
- Demonstrates the range, depth and breadth of competencies required as a general cardiologist
- Extensive experience of all aspects of modern cardiac intervention
- Ability to offer expert clinical opinion on a range of problems, both emergency and elective
- Ability to take full and independent responsibility for clinical care of patients
- Ability to advise on efficient and smooth running of a specialist service
- Ability to organise and manage outpatient priorities, waiting lists and catheter lab time
- Ability to manage and lead a cardiology team
- Experience of supervising junior doctors
- Ability to teach clinical and operative skills
- Level 1 accreditation as an educational supervisor
- Ability to apply research outcomes to clinical problems
- Peer reviewed publications
Desirable
- A subspeciality interest e.g. complex PCI
- Ability to manage and lead a subspecialist service, cardiology directorate and working parties as appropriate
- Experience of audit management
- Experience of teaching basic clinical skills to undergraduates
- Experience of supervising SpR's
- Ability to supervise postgraduate research
- Level 2 accreditation as an educational supervisor
- Success in grant applications
Skills
Essential
- Ability to work in a team
- Good interpersonal skills
- Ability to communicate effectively with patients, relatives, GP's, nurses and other agencies.
Other
Essential
- Enquiring, critical approach to work
- Commitment to continuing medical education
- Willingness to undertake additional professional responsibilities at local, regional or national level.
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).
