Job responsibilities
The Anaesthetic Department falls within the Surgical Care
Group and comprises Anaesthetics, ITU, Theatres, Chronic Pain, Acute Pain,
Pre-assessment and Day Surgery, along with surgical specialties. Clinical
Director for Anaesthetics, Theatres and Intensive Care Medicine is Dr James
Limb (trustwide). The Lead Clinician for the Anaesthetic department at
Darlington Memorial Hospital is Dr Jothika Thimappa.
The successful applicant will primarily work at DMH and
Bishop Auckland Hospital (BAH), although there may be a requirement to work at
other trust sites. The anaesthetic departments culture is one of mutual
respect with collective responsibility for the workload within the hospital.
Anaesthetic services are currently provided for elective and
emergency patients requiring anaesthesia and/or resuscitation at DMH, BAH, UHND
and Shotley Bridge.
At DMH site there are 11 operating theatres covering
Community Dental, ENT (Day case), General Surgery (including major colorectal
surgery, breast surgery and bariatric surgery), Orthopaedic and Trauma Surgery,
Obstetric and Gynaecological
Surgery, Ophthalmology and Urology (Day
case). Regional Anaesthesia is well
established and supported by a regional fellow post and an acute pain team.
Emergency lists are provided in routine hours for
Orthopaedic trauma, General surgery and Gynaecology, as well as an out of
hours emergency theatre. There is a Consultant-led pre-assessment service
with weekly clinics including CPEX
testing. Anaesthesia for CT scanning and MRI services is
available.
The obstetric department, located on the 6th floor has its
own theatre with dedicated elective lists in the main theatre suite. An
anaesthetic nurse provides assistance for all theatre cases.
DMH has an 11 bed combined ICU and high-dependency care
located near the theatre suite. This unit is used flexibly between level 2 and
3 beds. Three consultant sessions are allocated on each weekday to provide 15
sessions over the week with a rota based on continuity of care. Consutlant led RaCI plus nurse led IV and
Acute Intervention Teams support our work.
Weekend work is completed as part of the out of hours commitment with 12
hour shifts. The majority of specialist
support is provided via in house referrals with otherwise good relations with
our tertiary referral hospitals. Renal
and neurology specialities based at James Cook University Hospital provide in
house reviews. Our consultant group form
a supportive team and recent appointments include a job share with James Cook
Hospital and with Acute Internal Medicine.
Trust wide collaboration between the intensive care units and specialist
support within the trust occurs with regular Critical Care Delivery Group
meetings chaired by the Clinical Director for Anaesthetics and Critical Care.
At the weekend there are dedicated consultants who cover
critical care and orthopaedic trauma lists during daytime hours, as well as
other theatre emergencies.
Consultants and Speciality Doctors are actively encouraged
to support the weekly DMH based FRCA teaching programme. This comprehensive
programme is available to all trainees and pre-FRCA Speciality Doctors and
receives excellent feedback from both trainees and the School of Anaesthesia.
MAIN DUTIES AND
RESPONSIBILITIES
The post holder will undertake clinical work in conjunction
with their clinical colleagues (24 Consultants, 9 specialty / specialist
doctors and an average of 13 trainees) and other professional staff in order to
maintain and develop Anaesthetic Services and develop specialist skills in
accordance with the needs of the department.
The post
holder will have a continuing responsibility for the care of patients in their charge and will contribute to the proper functioning of the department
of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care Medicine. Furthermore, the post holder will
be required to undertake administrative duties directly associated with the
care of patients. The post holder will supervise junior medical staff and have
responsibility to ensure continuing patient care at all times. For management
purposes, the post holder will be accountable to the Lead Clinician for
ensuring the effective and efficient use of resources allocated.
The post
holder will have scheduled activity with regular anaesthetic sessions based on a
4 week rolling session plan; a degree of flexibility will be expected to meet
the needs of the service. SPA activity will be timetabled within the weekly job
plan. During some working weeks, flexibility in the ratio of DCC:SPA may be
required although SPA time will always be paid back. As additional
responsibilities are acquired, the number of SPAs may alter with remuneration
agreed through the job planning process.
The post
holder must be willing to undertake elective sessions in all sites undertaking
surgery. The post holder must possess a UK driving license and be able to
present for scheduled list start times as required by the Trust.
The post
holder will be expected to participate in teaching.
Research
and clinical audit activities, which are considered to be an integral part of
normal duties, will be encouraged. Research funding may be available following
successful application to local committees.
The post
holder will be encouraged and supported to develop services, courses and to
undertake innovation.
The post
holder will be expected to deputise in the absence of colleagues.
The
post-holder will be expected to perform additional duties in emergency and
unforeseen circumstances as are essential for continuity of patient care.
The post
holder will be responsible for the professional management and supervision of
junior medical staff. The post holder will be expected to receive training and
participate in educational and clinical supervision.
The post
holder will be expected to participate in clinical governance arrangements in
line with national and local guidelines.
If you are
involved in the care of a patient who subsequently initiates a claim against
the Trust you will be expected to provide, free of charge, an opinion and
statement of facts about the case.
PROPOSED TIMETABLE AND JOB PLAN
The job plan
This is an indicative job plan, the final job plan/on-call
arrangements will be agreed in partnership prior to appointment.
The following provides scheduling details of the clinical
activity and clinically related activity components of the job plan which occur
at regular times in the week. Agreement
should be reached between the appointee and their Clinical Director with regard
to the scheduling of all other activities, including the Supporting
Professional Activities.
The job plan for approximately the first three months will
be based on the proposed timetable shown below.
A formal job plan will be agreed between the appointee and their
Clinical Director within 3-6 months, and
approved by the Medical Director. The job plan will then be reviewed annually
in accordance with the Trust policy on Consultant Job Planning.
Each theatre session is 5.25 hours. Remuneration is 1.3125
PAs per working session (which includes
pre and post op care).
The proposed Darlington Memorial Hospital / Bishop Auckland
Hospital job plan:
Week1:Tuesday Trauma AM,General PM
Wed General
AM General PM
Fri ENT
AM
Week2: Tues AM ICM,
Gynae PM
Wed AM ICM
Thurs AM ICM, Gynae PM
Week3:Wed General AM, General PM
Thursday
Trauma AM ,Trauma PM
Fri ENT
AM
Week4: Tues AM ICM,
General PM
Wed AM ICM
Thurs AM ICM, Gynae PM
Expected allocation of programmed activities for a 10.06 PA
contract : Direct Clinical Care 8.56 PA (includes 2PA for on call)
Supporting professional activity (SPA) 1.5 PA
