Job overview

Applications are invited for a locum consultant anaesthetist with an interest in paediatric anaesthesia.  Applicants should have the FRCA or an equivalent qualification and have suitable experience as described in the person specification in the job plan description. Applicants should be on the GMC Specialist Register or within six months of their expected CCT date at the time of interview. 

Main duties of the job

Children's’ anaesthesia is predominately managed in the Lanesborough Theatre complex.  Anaesthesia is provided for many different paediatric medical and surgical specialties – general surgery, urology, orthopaedics (including scoliosis service), plastics, maxillofacial, dental, ENT, ophthalmology, neurosurgery, general medicine and oncology. There is also a busy paediatric radiology service including interventional procedures.  St George’s is a major trauma centre covering a population of 2.6 million.  The ambulance service and air ambulance service bring many children involved in multi-trauma to the hospital.

St George’s has a PICU and step down unit with a total 14 beds, and is the regional centre for the South West London Neonatal Network managing 39 cots (12 intensive care, 9 high dependency care, and 18 special care).

The post holder is required to be a flexible member of the anaesthetic department.  There are 15 consultants in the paediatric anaesthetic group.  The group is dynamic and experienced, delivering anaesthesia to emergency paediatric patients and a large mixture of the paediatric surgical and medical groups.  On call responsibilities are for neonatal and paediatric patients, and this is directly supported in the initial months of the post. 

Working for our organisation

The Anaesthetic department consists of a friendly, approachable, and diverse group of specialists who are enthusiastic in both teaching junior staff and colleagues and learning new skills.  There is emphasis in wellbeing and supporting each other. The case mix at St George’s is varied and often complex and challenging. Given the huge expertise in the department, it is easy to seek advice / discuss with an expert in a certain field or acquire new skills. We actively encourage our colleagues to pursue the diverse range of opportunities that arise within the department, the Trust, medical school, South Thames School of Anaesthesia and the greater medical community. 

St George’s, Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals and Health Group cares for a population of four million people in South West London and North East Surrey. Our sites include St George’s Hospital, one of 11 major trauma centres in the UK and the largest healthcare provider and major teaching hospital in the area; St Helier Hospital, home to the South West Thames Renal and Transplantation Unit and Queen Mary's Hospital for Children; and Epsom Hospital, home to the South West London Elective Orthopaedic Centre (SWLEOC). 

 After years of collaboration, our two Trusts became a hospitals group in 2021. While remaining as two separate Trusts, being a hospitals group will help us to collaborate more closely on research, and the development, education, and training of our 17,000-strong workforce.