Job responsibilities
Clinical
The clinical, professional and administrative base for the post is the Royal Glamorgan Hospital (RGH) and Dewi Sant Hospital (DSH) they are 6 miles apart, travel time roughly 15 minutes by road.
The department currently has 2.4 WTE Consultant Rheumatologists (Prof Rhian Goodfellow, Dr Jim Martin and Dr Ceril Rhys-Dillon), supported by a Senior Clinical Research Fellow (0.5 WTE Clinical Rheumatology / 0.5 WTE Rheumatology research), Rheumatology/ GIM STR, a FY1 doctor and 5 clinical nurse specialists (3 of whom are prescribers).
The department typically undertakes around 10 inpatient cases, 660 new outpatient and 3730 outpatients follow-up outpatients per annum. This includes new, follow up & monitoring patients seen by the rheumatology team.
The Rheumatology Department at RGH & DSH is mainly outpatient (OPD) based, and receives support from the Department of General Medicine during instances when rheumatology patients require acute admission. Outside normal working hours, the care of inpatients is supported by the on-call medical team, but with advice and input from Rheumatology. Each Rheumatology Consultant works according to the BSR guidance seeing 6 new patients /12-15 FU patients per clinic during 4-5 clinics held each week. Appointments are a mixture of Face to Face, Telephone and Attend Anywhere if needed. OPD is supported by phlebotomy and nursing staff.
The successful candidate will be responsible for routine rheumatology work at RGH & DSH. The successful candidate would be expected to develop an additional area of specialist interest and work with the existing team to integrate this into the service. The current post incorporates two DEXA reporting sessions. There is scope for further specialist interest work in Osteoporosis (with a supported DEXA scanner), Vasculitis & Lupus. We also provide an Early arthritis service and Axial Spondyloarthropathy service.
The post holder will have continuing responsibility for the care of patients under their care, allowing for proper delegation to, and training of staff.
The post holder, in liaison with consultant colleagues will have responsibility for the proper functioning of the department in line with any Health Board operational / strategic plan(s) (as amended from time to time).
The post holder will support junior medical staff in day to day clinical activities within the department.
The post holder will be expected to formulate a personal development plan in conjunction with the Clinical Lead for Rheumatology to identify training and development needs.
There is no formal out of hours on call arrangement with out of hours cover currently provided by the on call physician. Time off in lieu of out of hours work is not anticipated to be required.
Travelling as necessary between hospitals/clinics will be required to undertake clinical and management duties.
The post holder will have continuing professional responsibility for the care of patients under their care in liaison with consultant colleagues, allowing of proper delegation to, and training of staff. In liaison with consultant colleagues, the post holder will have responsibility for the proper functionality of the department in line with the operational policy / Strategic Plan of the Health Board.
The post holder will be required to participate in the Health Boards risk management process, clinical governance and any other healthcare governance activities within the department, the directorate, and the Health Board. Adherence to Caldicott Principles is mandatory.
The post holder will be encouraged to participate in research and development in line with our Research and Development strategy. The time required for clinical governance, teaching and research activities will be agreed through the job planning process.
The post holder will be required to maintain a licence to practice through revalidation, to participate in annual appraisal using the all Wales online Medical Appraisal Scheme (MARS) and to formulate a Personal Development Plan in conjunction with the Clinical Director, to identify training and development needs. You will be expected to participate in sufficient personal and professional development to fulfil Royal College requirements. The post holder will also be required to undergo annual job plan review and to agree and meet service outcomes.
The post holder will be expected to make significant contribution to the service and service group planning process through active participation in the clinical service group structure.
The post holder will adhere to policies which cover radiation exposures as currently outlined in IRMER regulations.
The Health Board is committed to meet its obligations to minimise infection. The post holder will be required to comply with current procedures for the control of infection, not to tolerate non-compliance by colleagues and to attend training in infection control provided by the Health Board.
Education and Training
If appropriate the post holder will be named in the contracts of junior medical staff as the Educational Supervisor, overseeing their training and being the initial source of advice for junior doctors regarding their careers within the guidelines of the specialist bodies and medical royal colleges. Medical trainees in Wales are required to agree an education contract jointly between them the Health Board and Health Education Improvement Wales (HEIW).
The post holder will teach and train medical undergraduates in line with the Undergraduate Teaching Programme.
- The post holder will participate actively in the departments undergraduate teaching programme.
- The post holder will welcome medical students into learning environments with specific approval of any patients involved.
- The post holder will engage and involve medical students in clinical activities where possible and appropriate.
- The post holder will provide informal and bedside teaching to undergraduate medical students where appropriate particularly during ward rounds, in the emergency department, during outpatient clinics and during operations and procedures.
- The post holder will give feedback to medical students
- The post holder will participate in undergraduate examinations particularly clinical examinations for Swansea and Cardiff students if required to do so.
- The post holder will be responsible to the honorary lecturer and honorary senior lecturer for the purpose of undergraduate medical education.
The post holder will participate in the specialtys postgraduate teaching sessions.
There will be opportunities for the post holder to develop specific teaching interests and take up formal, remunerated clinical teaching sessions which will be integrated into the job plan.
Research
The post holder will be encouraged to participate or actively support research and development in line with our Research and Development Strategy and in discussion with the Director of Research and Development. The time required for supported research activities will be agreed through the job planning process. The Rheumatology Team at RGH have a strong record of Research activities and are currently the only BILAG site in Wales. The department partakes in many Rheumatology Clinical Trials and Registers: BILAG-BR, BSR Biologics register, NEIAA, VROOM, SOCRATES, HAVEN, UK GCA Consortium.
