An exciting opportunity for a Consultant Rheumatologist to join our friendly team and work with us at University Hospital Sussex (serving The Royal Sussex County Hospital) has arisen. This is a new post created to deliver, according to our rheumatology mission statement, excellence in care quality and innovation.

This 10 PA post, between Mon to Fri, has some allowance for working from home. There is no out of hours commitment.

The postholder will be expected to do 4 rheumatology clinics per week while supporting, contributing to training, and leading clinical decisions with our MDT.

There is an opportunity to develop a subspecialty interest of the candidate’s choice, but applicants with good experience in managing CTDs and vasculitis would be suited.

There are weekly radiology MDTS and consultant complex case reviews and monthly academic and ILD meetings. There are also ample opportunities for research and teaching and for formal affiliation with Brighton and Sussex Medical School.

This is a 10PA new consultant post to facilitate service demands and has been created to support consultant rheumatology services across the department, including inflammatory arthritis, CTD/vasculitis, and osteoporosis, designed to allow the successful candidate scope to develop a specialist interest in rheumatology.

Clinical supervision of a rheumatology SpR and advanced practitioners and teaching of medical students is also expected.

Clinical research is provided at the Clinical Investigation and Research Unit (CIRU) on the RSCH site. There are several ongoing clinical trials to which the successful candidate will be encouraged to be involved with. Dedicated time for these activities is given in the job plan.

General outpatient templates are standardized to a maximum of 3 new patients and 6 follow-up patients OR 10 follow-up patients with 30 minutes allocated for a new patient and 20 minutes for follow-up patients.

There are currently no designated inpatient beds for Rheumatology. Patients admitted remain under the acute admitting physician but with daily input from the Rheumatology SpR and consultant of the day. A 1:6 consultant rota for daytime Rheumatology on call/ward referrals is currently in place for which 1PA/week is allocated.

Triaging of referrals, responding to advice & guidance queries, homecare drug prescribing, and communication with patients, GPs & other hospital specialists is distributed amongst consultant colleagues and included in job planning.

At UHSussex we’re proud to be at the heart of the NHS. As one of the UK’s largest acute Trusts, we’re a leading example of the excellence, the ambition, and the values that have embodied the NHS for over 70 years.

Improving lives: We are a vibrant and inclusive organisation, with hardworking, talented, and dedicated individuals, who work together towards a common goal, to always put our Patient First. Our mission is summed up by our ‘where better never stops’ motto and no matter the role at UHSussex, you will play a part in driving us forwards and in improving the lives of patients across Sussex. We treat our patients and staff with the same compassion and empathy we expect for ourselves. We’re here for them when they need us, and we go above and beyond to meet their needs. This can be seen in our wellbeing programme for staff which is extensive and designed to support you when you need it because we know that to look after others we must first look after ourselves.

Build a career with us: As a university trust and a leader in healthcare research, we value learning, teaching, and training so that we can be the best that we can be. From the moment you start with us and throughout your career we will help you to grow and develop. We hope that in choosing UHSussex you are choosing a long and happy career where you will be able to see the difference you make and feel valued for all that you do.

This is a 10PA newly created consultant post to facilitate service demands and has been created to support consultant rheumatology services across the department, including inflammatory arthritis, CTD/vasculitis, and osteoporosis, designed to allow the successful candidate scope to develop a specialist interest.

Educational and clinical supervision of a rheumatology SpR, clinical supervision of nursing staff, and teaching of medical students is also expected. Clinical research is provided at the Clinical Investigation and Research Unit (CIRU) on the RSCH site. There are several ongoing clinical trials to which the successful candidate would be expected to contribute. Dedicated time for these activities is given in the job plan.

General outpatient templates are standardized to a maximum of 3 new patients and 6 follow-up patients OR 10 follow-up patients with 30 minutes allocated for a new patient and 20 minutes for follow-up patients.

There are currently no designated inpatient beds for Rheumatology. Patients admitted remain under the acute admitting physician but with daily input from the Rheumatology SpR and consultant of the day. A 1:5 consultant rota for daytime Rheumatology on call/ward referrals is currently in place for which 1PA/week is allocated.

Clinical supervision of specialist registrars & advanced practitioners and teaching of medical students is expected.

Triaging of referrals, response to advice and guidance emails, homecare drug prescribing, and communication with patients, GPs, and other specialists is distributed amongst consultant colleagues and included in job planning.

Attendance at departmental and governance meetings and engagement with departmental audit and service improvement plans are expected within the SPA allocation of the post.

On Call Commitment: There is no out of hours on call but the department runs a daily 1:5 “in hours” referral service for ward consults and GP phone advice and a weekly advice and guidance service for GP email requests and new patient referral triaging via the ERS online portal.