Specialty Doctor in Respiratory Medicine

Job responsibilities

The appointee will join the Respiratory Medicine department in the delivery of clinical excellence within the practice of Respiratory Medicine.

The Respiratory Department has been providing a Needs Based Care (NBC) service since January 2018 and this has been implemented in other Medical specialities where timely allocation is predicated on a patients clinical need and not on age. Early allocation of patients to a speciality team according to their clinical need, improved continuity of care across seven days, with minimal handovers and an identified single responsible consultant is associated with safer practice, improved clinical outcomes and higher levels of patient and workforce satisfaction.

There is a Cardiac Centre equipped to undertake coronary angiography and on site interventional cardiology. In addition, there is a 13 bedded Coronary Care Unit with facilities and skills to manage Level 2 patients. There is a 7-bedded Intensive Care Unit and 11-bedded High Dependency Unit.

There is a satellite renal dialysis unit near the Hospital. The base for this service is the sub-regional unit at the Lister Hospital in Stevenage. This development has facilitated renal out-patient services at Luton.

There are well-established services in Elderly and Stroke Medicine, Cardiology, Diabetes, Gastroenterology, Endocrinology, Rheumatology, Neurology, Neurophysiology, Dermatology and Genito-Urinary Medicine and close collaboration with Elderly Medicine, Emergency and Acute Services .

Department of Respiratory Medicine

The consultants share the inpatient respiratory service duties, including consultant cover for the respiratory base ward, respiratory HDU, medical outliers, the reporting of GP X-rays and review of medical patients by consultation request from non-respiratory wards, ITU and HDU. In line with the Needs Based Care Model the consultant will also contribute to the speciality take and front door in-reach. These activities are rostered equitably among 9 consultants across the year.

The department has a dedicated respiratory HDU within the main respiratory ward (ward 10). There is also a respiratory step down ward for female patients adjacent to this (ward 3).

Both in-patient and out-patient services are based at the Luton and Dunstable Hospital. Currently just over 140 beds are allocated for use by General Medicine and related specialties.

The Respiratory Service has 7 Respiratory Specialist Nurses and 1 extended scope Respiratory Physiotherapist/Lead Practitioner. The Respiratory Nurses provide an inpatient service to all wards, aiming to review all patients admitted with an exacerbation of underlying lung disease, as well as performing oxygen assessments and initiation of home oxygen therapy.

The Respiratory Inreach service is supported by the respiratory nurses on a daily basis and they accompany the consultant on the morning Inreach round. The Respiratory Nurses also run dedicated outpatient clinics. The service also offers admission avoidance (Acute Respiratory Assessment Service) and Early Supported Discharge/virtual ward. The Respiratory Nurses also provide support to the Pulmonary Rehabilitation Service.

Respiratory Nurses provide cover Mon-Fri 8-6 and Sat/Sun 8-1pmThe Luton and Dunstable University Hospital (L&D) has always been renowned for its friendly atmosphere and good working relationships. The Hospital has an excellent track record of financial and senior executive stability.

The Trust has University Hospital status which provides an academic environment to the hospital. In addition to postgraduate training, we welcome medical students from the UCL Medical School throughout the year and by arrangement with the medical school provide a programme of clinical placements to support their education. We have an excellent reputation for junior staff training. Within the Centre of Multi-Professional Educational & Training (COMET) is the Medical Education Department, the library including an IT suite, and the Training & Development Department. The main aim of the Medical Education Department is to promote postgraduate and continuing medical education and training for all doctors and dentists. The Hospital actively promotes career development and progression for all staff.

The Hospital has excellent access to the surrounding areas with easy access to central London and the rural Chilterns. The rural areas include many attractive villages and towns within easy reach of the Hospital including St Albans and Harpenden. Excellent schools are found nearby. There is also very good access to the Midlands and North by road using the M1 or A1, or by rail to one of the Lutons three stations. A direct link using the new Busway takes passengers from Luton Train station just 7 minutes to reach a stop that is within a short walking distance of the hospital. London Luton Airport is within fifteen minutes of the hospital.

Applicants must be fully registered with the UK General Medical Council, and have a minimum of 2 years clinical experience in Respiratory Medicine.

Candidates unable for personal reasons to work full-time are also invited to apply.

The appointment will be subject to full Occupational Health Clearance and Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service check for the successful candidates prior to commencement.

Please refer to the Job Description for full details of the post.

Application Completion

Essential

• ALL sections of application form FULLY completed

Specialty specific skills related to the post

Essential

• Ability to assess and manage all acute Respiratory emergencies.

Qualifications

Essential

• MBBS or equivalent medical qualification
• MRCP or equivalent

Eligibility

Essential

• Eligible for full registration with the GMC at the time of appointment.
• Evidence of achievement of Foundation competencies by time of appointment in line with GMC standards in Good Medical Practice
• Evidence of achievement of ST1/CT1 competences in a relevant specialty at time of application and likelihood of achieving ST2/CT2 competences in a relevant specialty by the start date of the post. To be eligible to work at this grade the appointee will have a minimum of 2 years clinical experience in this specialty.
• Eligibility to work in the UK.

Language Skills

Essential

• All applicants to have demonstrable skills in written and spoken English that are adequate to enable effective communication about medical topics with patients and colleagues, which could be demonstrated by one of the following: oApplicants have undertaken undergraduate medical training in English oApplicants have scores in the academic International English Language Testing System (IELTS) or equivalent equal to those required for recruitment to MMC specialty training programmes.
• If applicants believe that they have adequate communication skills but do not fit into one of the examples they need to provide evidence

Fitness to Practice

Essential

• Applicant's knowledge is up to date and fit to practise safely

Commitment to clinical governance / improving quality of patient care

Essential

• Clinical governance: Capacity to be alert to dangers or problems. Demonstrates awareness of good decision making. Aware of own limitations. Track record of engaging in clinical governance: reporting errors, learning from errors. Audit: evidence of active participation in audit. Teaching: evidence of interest and experience in teaching where required in the job.

Desirable

• Research Skills: Demonstrates understanding of the principles of research, evidence of relevant academic and research achievements. Teaching: evidence of experience in teaching where required in the job.

Health

Essential

• Meets professional health requirements (in line with GMC standards in Good Medical Practice)

Clinical Skills

Essential

• Acute care safe: up-to-date ALS. Hospital at night team working / experience. Out of hours experience relevant to the job. Relevant specialty clinical knowledge: capacity to apply sound clinical knowledge relevant to the job, specialty knowledge exam. Clinical judgement: experience in making clinical decisions and managing risk. Knows when to seek help, able to prioritise clinical need. Practical skills: shows aptitude for practical skills, required for the job. Proven ability to work effectively in different clinical settings required in the job.

Desirable

• ALS instructors certificate

Communication skills

Essential

• Effective communication skills: demonstrates clarity in written/spoken communication and capacity to adapt language as appropriate to the situation. Empathy and sensitivity: capacity to listen and take in others' perspectives. Works in partnership with patients: always considers patients preferences when discussing treatment options. Always considers the full impact of clinical decisions on the patients, Practice shared decision making. Directs and supports patients to access the information they need to support decision making.

Desirable

• 360 feedback Patient survey feedback and reflections.

Commitment to on-going professional development

Essential

• Learning and personal development: demonstrates interest in the specialty required for the job. Demonstrates a commitment to maintaining professional skills and knowledge relevant to the job. Demonstrates a willingness to fully engage in appraisal. Self-awareness and ability to accept and learn from feedback.

Desirable

• Extracurricular activities / achievements relevant to the job. Specialty exams.

Probity

Essential

• Professional integrity and respect for others: capacity to take responsibility for own actions and demonstrate a non-judgmental approach towards others. Displays honesty, integrity, awareness of confidentiality and ethical issues.

Personal skills

Essential

• Team working: demonstrated experience working in a team, values the input of other professional in the team. Managing others and team involvement: capacity to work co-operatively with others and demonstrate leadership when appropriate. Capacity to work effectively in multi-professional teams. Coping with pressure: capacity to operate under pressure. Demonstrates initiative and resilience to cope with the setbacks & adapt to rapidly changing circumstances. Problem solving & decision making: capacity to use logical /lateral thinking to solve problems & make decisions. Organisation and planning: capacity to organise oneself and prioritise own work. Demonstrates punctuality, preparation and self-discipline. Understands importance of information technology. Flexible approach to work: able to adapt and work with employers to deliver improved patient care. Equality and diversity: promotes equality and values diversity

Desirable

• Able to adapt to work with employers to deliver Leadership skills: experience in leadership Demonstrates skills needed for effective delegation within the team: 360 feedback Driver with a valid license.

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.

Certificate of Sponsorship

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).