Consultant in Anaesthesia

The Anaesthetic Department falls within the Surgical Care Group and comprises Anaesthetics, ITU, Theatres, Chronic Pain, Acute Pain, Pre-assessment and Day Surgery, along with surgical specialties. Clinical Director for Anaesthetics, Theatres and Intensive Care Medicine is Dr James Limb (Trustwide). The Lead Clinician for the Anaesthetic department at Darlington Memorial Hospital (DMH) is Dr Jothika Thimappa. The successful applicant will primarily work at DMH and Bishop Auckland Hospital (BAH), although there may be a requirement to work at other trust sites.

The anaesthetic departments culture is one of mutual respect with collective responsibility for the workload within the hospital. Anaesthetic services are currently provided for elective and emergency patients requiring anaesthesia and/or resuscitation at DMH, BAH, UHND and Shotley Bridge. At DMH site there are 11 operating theatres covering Community Dental, ENT (Day case), General Surgery (including major colorectal surgery, breast surgery and bariatric surgery), Orthopaedic and Trauma Surgery, Obstetric and Gynaecological Surgery, Ophthalmology and Urology (Day case). Emergency lists are provided in routine hours for Orthopaedic trauma, General surgery and Gynaecology, as well as an out of hours emergency theatre.

There is a Consultant-led pre-assessment service with weekly clinics including CPEX testing. The obstetric department, located on the 6th floor has its own theatre. An anaesthetic nurse provides assistance for all theatre cases. DMH has an 11 bed combined ICU and high-dependency care.

The unit is located adjacent to the theatre suite. This unit is used flexibly between level 2 and 3 beds. Three consultant sessions are allocated on each weekday. Facilities for renal replacement therapy are available for 3 patients.

Plans are in the final stages for the expansion of ICU to 15 spaces. Anaesthesia for CT Scanning and MRI services is available. The use of regional techniques (neuraxial, upper and lower limb blocks) is widespread within the department. Facilities exist on the wards to continue major nerve blockade post-operatively and there is the support of an excellent acute pain service.

Out of hours cover is provided by a 3 tier resident on call rota. They are supported by 2 consultant on-call rotas, one covering theatres and obstetrics, and one covering ITU although the rotas support each other when busy and for covering A&E/Paeds emergencies/transfers. At the weekend there are dedicated consultants who cover critical care and orthopaedic trauma lists during daytime hours, as well as other theatre emergencies. Consultants and Speciality Doctors are actively encouraged to support the weekly DMH based FRCA teaching programme.

This comprehensive programme is available to all trainees and pre-FRCA Speciality Doctors and receives excellent feedback from both trainees and the School of Anaesthesia. MAIN DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES The post holder will undertake clinical work in conjunction with their clinical colleagues (24 Consultants, 9 specialty / specialist doctors and an average of 13 trainees) and other professional staff in order to maintain and develop Anaesthetic Services and develop specialist skills in accordance with the needs of the department. The post holder will have a continuing responsibility for the care of patients in his/her charge and will contribute to the proper functioning of the department of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care Medicine. Furthermore, the post holder will be required to undertake administrative duties directly associated with the care of patients.

The post holder will supervise junior medical staff and have responsibility to ensure continuing patient care at all times. For management purposes, the post holder will be accountable to the Lead Clinician for ensuring the effective and efficient use of resources allocated. The post holder will have scheduled activity with regular anaesthetic sessions based on a 4 week rolling session plan; a degree of flexibility will be expected to meet the needs of the service. SPA activity will be timetabled within the weekly job plan.

**During some working weeks, flexibility in the ratio of DCC**: SPA may be required although SPA time will always be paid back. As additional responsibilities are acquired, the number of SPAs may alter with remuneration agreed through the job planning process. The post holder must be willing to undertake elective sessions in all sites undertaking surgery. The post holder must possess a UK driving license and be able to present for scheduled list start times as required by the Trust.

The post holder will be expected to deputise in the absence of colleagues. The post-holder will be expected to perform additional duties in emergency and unforeseen circumstances as are essential for continuity of patient care. The post holder will be responsible for the professional management and supervision of junior medical staff. The post holder will be