Consultant in Cardiology with An Interest in Coronary Intervention

Closing Date 27th March 2025
Interview date 16th April 2025
The appointee will perform first class diagnostic angiography and coronary interventions for elective outpatient cases, urgent inpatients (acute coronary syndromes) and primary PCI for ST elevation MIs.
On-call for primary PCI and general cardiology 1 in 8 (with internal cover).
The appointee will also cover clinics (mostly Rapid Access Chest Pain patients), ward rounds and administration duties and also have flexible cardiac catheter laboratory cover. The post will initially be based primarily at MMUH for ward rounds and oncalls. The Trust has reconfigured its services in preparation for the implementation of the Right Care Right Here Programme and the post-holder therefore is required have outpatient work continuing on at least one of the other sites.
The appointee will take equal responsibility with existing Consultants for the proper functioning of the clinical service, working with clinical and managerial colleagues towards achieving and maintaining national maximum waiting times and developing clinical pathways.
Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust (SWBT) is an integrated care organisation with a budget of approximately £600 million and over 7,000 staff. Diversity and social care is at the core of what we do as the Trust provides Community and Acute Services to over half a million people in an urban centre that demands massive regeneration and has substantial premature mortality.
**We have three strategic objectives**:
Our People - to cultivate and sustain happy, productive and engaged staff
Our Patients - to be good or outstanding in everything we do
Our Population - to work seamlessly with our partners to improve lives
Dr Vinoda Sharma is currently Specialty Lead for Cardiology; Dr Stavros Apostolakis is the Clinical Director for Admitted Care, of which Cardiology forms a part; Dr Chetan Varma (also a consultant cardiologist) is the Group Director for Medicine and Emergency Care. MMUH has Medical Admission Units adjacent to the Emergency Departments. The Trust runs a ward-based system for general medical patients.
Cardiology day time duties
The cardiology consultants provide a seven day service for cardiology patients at MMUH. The Consultant Cardiologist of the Week (non-Interventionist) carries out a ward round on the Cardiology A2 ward every day, supported by junior staff. MMUH Acute Medical Uniit (AMU) Ward Rounds are covered by Interventional Cardiologists in the morning. MMUH Cardiology Ward (A2) Rounds are covered by Non-Interventional Cardiologists (all-day). On the MMUH AMU, there is a daily consultant ward round on the acute medical unit (after initial assessment by the RMO and medical on-take team) in which patients needing prolonged specialist cardiac or catheter lab management are transferred the Cardiology A2 ward. All the patients requiring cardiology management are reviewed by the cardiology team with daily ward rounds on the cardiology wards, acute medical unit and ward referrals. All suspected acute coronary syndrome patients will be seen, as well as those with significant arrhythmias and those with heart failure.
Out-patient Clinics at Sandwell and City Hospitals
At Sandwell Hospital, the out-patient department is directly adjacent to the cardiology department and therefore access to exercise testing, echocardiography and rhythm management facilities. At City Hospital, the Birmingham Treatment Centre also provides out-patient facilities adjacent to the Cardiology Department. The appointee would have two cardiology clinics per week. There may be a requirement for the appointee to do outpatient work outside the hospital in line with the “Right Care Right Here” programme. At present there were a total of about 18000 outpatient attendances per year in the cardiology Dept. Modern IT systems (UNITY) support delivery of service to improve rapid turnover and communication with primary care and all our patient records are electronic.
Cardiac Catheterisation and Intervention
The Trust has a longstanding PCI programme and has undertaken coronary intervention with off-site surgical support from neighbouring cardiac surgical facilities for over 2 decades. On average more than 1200 interventional procedures including approximately 900 PCI’s are undertaken every year. A full range of diagnostic and therapeutic angioplasty devices are available including IVUS, OCT, pressure wire studies, rotational atherectomy, thrombectomy catheters, IVL etc.
We are a high volume radial centre with 96% of PCI cases undertaken radially in 2023. We utilise pressure wire in approximately 20% of our cases and intracoronary imaging (OCT or IVUS) in 20% of cases. We have the full range of tools for calcium modification including rotational atherectomy, IVL as well as orbital atherectomy.
A primary angioplasty service for acute myocardial infarction was established in the early 2000s, with 24 hours, 7 day service running since January 2005. There is a full Em