Detailed job description and main responsibilities

BACKGROUND

LHCH provides medical and surgical adult cardiothoracic services to the people of Merseyside, North Wales, Isle of Man, parts of Lancashire and Cheshire.  This catchment area has a population of 2.8 million people. It also provides a community-based cardiology, CVD rehabilitation and heart failure service to the population of Knowsley. This service commenced in 2010 and has been recognised nationally for clinical excellence & innovation. Approximately 6000 community-based appointments can be delivered with 12-lead ECG, transthoracic echocardiography, prolonged ECG monitoring andambulatory blood pressure monitoring all available at the various CCVS sites across Knowsley.

The hospital provides a full range of invasive and non-invasive diagnostic cardiopulmonary facilities.  There are seven cardiac catheterisation laboratories for diagnostic procedures, angioplasty and electrophysiological work and a pacing theatre. 

During the last year, over 1000 pacing procedures, 1700 catheters, 2900 PCI procedures (800 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 is able to provide:

§  180 medical and surgical beds

§  40 medical beds; 26 day case beds;

§  12 bed cystic fibrosis ward

§  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)

§  8 dedicated cardiothoracic surgical operating theatres

§  Endoscopy suite

§  Recovery room

§  X-ray department with a multi-channel spiral CT Scanner and MRI scanner

§  Pulmonary function and oesophageal laboratory

§  7 cardiac catheterisation laboratories

§  One dedicated pacing theatre and a shared pacing/aneurysm theatre

§  Research laboratories

§  Electronics workshop

§  Pulmonary function and oesophageal laboratory

A 14-roomed private wing also forms an important part of the centre. There are major building projects and on-going developments. There is a new build for the day ward associated with integration into the catheter laboratories with a day lounge model. There is a major upgrade to a surgical ward and the development of a dedicated research unit as part of the new links with the Brompton Hospital and Imperial College London

CLINICAL RESPONSIBILITIES

The post is flexible in its nature and structure and full-time, part-time and job-share applications will be considered. The successful applicant(s) will be based at Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital and will work alongside Dr Clare Hammond, Consultant Cardiologist and Clinical Lead for Community Cardiology, in order to organise, develop and deliver a CCVS to the population of Knowsley.

Community-based clinics commenced in early April 2010 and are established in the three main “zones” of the borough of Knowsley (Kirkby, Huyton and Whiston). Eight clinical, consultant-led sessions are delivered per week. These are required to provide sufficient assessment and diagnostic capacity to meet pre-specified key performance indicators, each clinic being supported by an ECG technician, a highly specialised physiologist providing echocardiography and a heart failure specialist nurse practitioner. The successful applicant will be responsible for delivering high-quality patient care in the community setting, requesting appropriate non-invasive investigations and providing concise clinical diagnosis and management plans to the referring healthcare professionals. They will have the full support of colleagues at LHCH and access to diagnostic services (non-invasive and invasive) at LHCH if required. Administrative support and technician-led reporting of non-invasive tests are already in place at LHCH and can be expanded if necessary. 

The successful candidate will have full secretarial support, a personal computer (training available if required) and office accommodation.

The Trust supports the requirements for continuing professional development as laid down by the Royal College of Physicians and is committed to providing time and financial support for these activities.

The Trust has the required arrangements in place, as laid down by the Royal College of

Physicians, to ensure that all doctors have an annual appraisal with a trained appraiser and supports doctors going through the revalidation process.

The Trust supports the provision of a mentor for newly-appointed consultants.

Specific Responsibilities

Knowsley CCVS                    4 direct clinical sessions (community clinics) – 3 of these sessions will be fixed and the fourth will be “flexible” providing cross-cover for annual leave/study leave.

Admin work                           2 sessions per week

CT                                           1 fixed and 0.5 flexible

SPA                                        1.5 sessions per week

Triage                                     1 session per week

RESEARCH & AUDIT          

Equivalent to one half-day per month. LHCH has a strong pedigree in the field of clinical research and audit and had a highly productive clinical quality and audit department. The successful applicant will, ideally, have some research experience and will be encouraged to contribute to the Centre’s research profile. The nature of the CCVS and the detailed data collection that will accompany it, lends itself perfectly to epidemiological studies and other clinical research as well as detailed audit projects. The success of the CCVS will be dependent on the quality of the data collected and subsequently audited and a number of key performance indicators will be based on clinical quality. It will be essential that the successful applicant(s) engages fully with this process and can disseminate all relevant findings to the cardiology directorate via monthly-held audit meetings. 

TEACHING & TRAINING

The successful applicant(s) will be required to continue the process of CCVS awareness amongst the community-based clinical staff working for the Knowsley population. Practice CVD leads could be invited to attend the CCVS (as observers) and those with a particular interest could receive more regularly training sessions. There is opportunity, in conjunction with the ICB to establish a more formal training programme for GPs interested in cardiovascular medicine. This could involve sessions in the community and at LHCH and ultimately improve the standard of cardiovascular medicine delivered in the community as a whole. LHCH is committed to the concept of specialist-nurse delivered services and the post-holder will be expected to actively contribute to their education and training.

ANNUAL LEAVE AND STUDY LEAVE

The post-holder will have full entitlement to annual and study leave.

GENERAL PROVISION AND SUMMARY OF MAIN CONDITIONS OF SERVICES

1.     General Provisions

1.1             The appointee will be expected to work with local managers and professional colleagues in the efficient running of services and will share with consultant colleagues in the medical contribution to management.  Subject to the provisions of the trust’s Terms and Conditions of Service, he/she is expected to observe the trust’s agreed policies and procedures, drawn up in the consultation with the profession on clinical matters and to follow the standing orders and financial instructions of Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital.  The appointee will be expected to follow the local and national employment and personnel policies and procedures.  He/she will be expected to make sure there are adequate arrangements for hospital staff involved in the care of their patients to be able to contact a consultant cardiologist when necessary.

1.2             All medical and dental staff employed by the centre are expected to comply with the trust’s agreed health and safety policies.

1.3             The appointee will have responsibility for the training and supervision of junior medical staff who work with him/her and will devote time to this on a regular basis.  If appropriate he/she will be named in the contracts of junior doctors in training grades as the person responsible for overseeing their training and as a main source of advice to such doctors on their careers. Educational supervisors must have level 2 accreditation as set out by the Dean of Medicine for Health Education North West.

2.     Main Conditions of Service

2.1            The successful candidate(s) will normally be required to live within 30 minutes drive of the trust.

2.2            Where, however the successful candidate already resides within 45 minutes drive of the trust, he/she will not be required to remove his/her home nearer.

2.3            Where the successful candidate’s present residence is more than 45 minutes drive from the trust, he/she will be required to move his/her home to meet the residential clauses of his/her contract, unless he/she has the written consent of the trust to the contrary.

2.4            The Terms and Conditions of Service state that the “removal expenses shall be reimbursed and grants paid only when the employing authority is satisfied that the removal of the practitioners home is required and the arrangements proposed are reasonable”.  Therefore, successful candidates are advised not to enter into contractual arrangements for the removal of their home until such a time as the formal approval of the trust is confirmed in writing.

2.5            If the appointment is on a part-time basis (9 PA’s or less) the successful candidate will not be eligible under the Terms and Conditions of Services for the reimbursement of removal and associated expenses.

 The timetable is flexible and establishing the nature and location of the community & hospital-based sessions will be the responsibility of the successful applicant(s) but will need to reflect emerging demand and commissioning arrangements.