Heart Failure Fellow

**Company Description**
Here at Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust, we are proud to provide expert, compassionate care for our local population. We are ranked as the third in the country for research, embedding education and training across the organisation. Our main hub is the Queen Alexandra Hospital, which is one of the largest hospitals on the south coast employing over 8,700 staff.

Our patients come from all walks of life and so do we. We hire great people from a wide variety of backgrounds because it makes our hospital stronger. If you share our values and our enthusiasm for getting it right for patients, colleagues, and our community, you will find a home at Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust

A dedicated heart failure diagnostic pathway has been in place since 2014 and all local GPs have access to NTproBNP. The Department provides electronic advice and guidance every weekday to GPs, and rapid access diagnostic clinics stratified according to NTproBNP in accordance with NICE 2018 guidelines. Approximately 1400 patients are seen annually. Increasing numbers of additional patients are seen remotely and managed in primary care in consultation with the GP. The clinics are supported by HFNS and patients are referred to community services as appropriate. Same day emergency care (SDEC) for heart failure is also available every weekday. There are specialist cardio-oncology and sarcoid clinics approximately quarterly. The community based nurses are supported by a weekly remote video MDT and real time support for urgent cases. The heart failure service has strong links with palliative care services.

Most patients hospitalised with heart failure are reviewed by Trust based HFNS. NTproBNP is available for assessment of inpatients at the Trust. There is a weekly heart failure MDT and virtual board round of these patients who are not on the cardiology ward. There is an ambulatory day case heart failure service with the capacity to see 4 patients every weekday. This is run by the HFNS and supported by the medical team as needed, and usually results in admission avoidance. We have strong links to advanced heart failure centres with a quarterly MDT. We also provide heart failure specialists services to the Isle of Wight with monthly clinics and MDTs.

There is the facility within the coronary care unit for CPAP, circulatory support with intra-aortic balloon pump, and ultrafiltration for drug refractory fluid overload is available in collaboration with the renal department. Ambitious plans for a modern inpatient heart failure unit are in development. It is recognised that audit and assessment of quality and patient experience are essential for optimal service delivery and the department’s data are submitted to the National Heart Failure audit hosted by NICOR.

During a typical week the Fellow will contribute to:

- 1-2 heart failure clinics: new and follow patients
- Referral management (electronic triage and advice and guidance to primary care)
- 2 Heart failure MDT meetings
- 2 Device therapy MDT
- 2-4 device list sessions for pacing and complex device implantation
- Monthly pacing/device follow-up clinic
- Review of ward patients and emergency acute heart failure presentations in ED and MAU as appropriate
- Heart failure ward rounds and supporting heart failure nurses
- Research/Service Development
- Cardiology ward cover (1 full week every 10 weeks)

Opportunities to participate in coronary angiography, echo, stress echo, TOE or cardiac CT will be scheduled into the timetable if required but are not expected.

The post will include a contribution to the cardiology middle grade out of hours service on a 1:10 basis. Out of hours ward cover includes some general medical inpatient ward cover.

We have an excellent track record and reputation for training. Our previous fellows give uniformly positive feedback on the quality of training, have consistently published abstracts and papers, delivered presentations at national meetings, and have gone on to secure prestigious consultant posts.

**Qualifications**
Full GMC registration with a licence to practice

MRCP

**Experience**

Higher professional training in cardiology and heart failure

**Clinical Skills**
Demonstrable skills and experience of managing acute and chronic cardiology conditions, in particular heart failure
Understanding of clinical risk management

**Knowledge**
Able to demonstrate appropriate level of clinical knowledge
Knowledge and use of evidence-based practice
IT skills
Effective, confident presentation ability
Experience in and outside speciality

**Additional Information**
The health and wellbeing of our staff is at the forefront of everything we do. We are proud to be able to offer our staff some fantastic benefits including our on-site Nursery, access to our free Beach Hut for those long summer days, our on-site Wellness Centre including a gym and a swimming pool, access to our fantastic staff networks including LGBTQ, Race Equ