About this role
Job summary
These two Consultant Neonatologist 10 PA posts are full time at 10PA
The neonatal unit is the regional surgical neonatal intensive care in the West Midlands. It has a total of 44 cots, including 24 intensive care and high dependency cots, and 20 special care cots. Activity levels for ITU and HDU are high and this is one of the busiest units in the country with a complex and varied case mix. There is a separate Transitional Care ward for 12 mothers and up to 16 babies.
Birmingham Women's Hospital cares for 7200 deliveries per year taking complex fetal medicine and maternal medicine referrals.
All consultant job plans include 1.5 core SPA, and 1 SPA for a lead role.
Post (A) will include 1 SPA for Fetal Medicine / Palliative Care lead
Post (B) will include 1 SPA for Education and Guidelines lead.
The Fetal Medicine/Palliative Care Lead will liaise closely with the Fetal Medicine and Palliative Care teams to develop clear pathways of neonatal involvement and to enhance palliative care starting with antenatal counselling and planning through to post-mortem care.
Education/Guideline Lead will coordinate the extensive education programme supporting the wider education with novel ideas and linking with the Governance Team to translate outcomes from incidents and reviews into measurable learning opportunities. They coordinate the planning and implementation of network guidelines and updating of local guidelines and SOP's.
Main duties of the job
The post holders will:
Be a key member of the Trust's senior medical team. Work closely with the Clinical Service Lead, consultant neonatologists, Directorate Manager and senior nursing team to ensure that the objectives of the Directorate are achieved and key neonatal strategies are implemented. Participate in the support service for surgical neonatal patients at Birmingham Children's Hospital Participate in the outpatient follow up of neonates Key Tasks
Maintain high clinical standards in management of well and ill newborns Share with colleagues the responsibility for day-to-day management of the NICU and all associated work Share on call commitment for NICU on a basic 1 in 14 basis. Night shifts are non-resident, but presence on the unit, if required, must be achievable within 30 minutes. Teaching and training of junior staff, neonatal nursing staff, visiting medical staff, midwives and medical students. Maintain appropriate CPD and mandatory training Participate in Health Education West Midlands activities including ARCP's and regional training days Participate West Midlands Operational Delivery Network activities Lead and participate in clinical governance, appraisal and revalidation where indicated Please see the attached Job Description for full details
About us
Birmingham Women's and Children's NHS Foundation Trust is the first of its type in the UK. Our Trust was formed in February 2017 to drive forward our commitment to provide the highest quality, world-class physical and mental health care for our women, children and families. Uniting our hospitals means more seamless care; more investment to make greater advances in our specialist treatment and world-leading neo-natal and fetal work. Importantly, it also gives us a greater voice in shaping the future of family-centred care.
Birmingham Children's Hospital is a UK leading specialist paediatric centre with an international reputation in several areas.
Birmingham Women's Hospital is one of two dedicated women's hospitals in the UK, with the busiest single site maternity unit, delivering more than 8,200 babies a year offering a full range of gynaecological, maternity and neonatal care.
Parkview Clinic is a Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service Mental Health (CAMHS) facility in Moseley, for young people aged 11-18 years who require admission due to significant psychiatric difficulties.
Our Trust is committed to creating the best place to work. We believe in promoting and enhancing inclusion, diversity and equality and encourage applications from all areas of the community, who meet the criteria for the role, regardless of age, gender identity, disability, race, religion or sexual orientation.
Job description Job responsibilities
Job Plan
The job plan will be based on the information below. The timings of the sessions indicated may alter, but the overall composition of the job plan is not expected to change without expansion of the team.
Consultant Neonatologist 10 PA post will continue to follow a 14-week cycle.
All consultant job plans include 1.5 core SPA, and 1 SPA for a lead role.
Post (A) will include 1 SPA for Fetal Medicine / Palliative Care lead
Post (B) will include 1 SPA for Education and Guidelines lead.
The Fetal Medicine Lead will liaise closely with the Fetal Medicine lead to come up with a clear pathway of neonatal involvement, and leading from a neonatal point of view in the Fetal Medicine and Fetal Surgical meetings. The Palliative Care Lead role will work closely with the fetal medicine, palliative care and bereavement teams to enhance palliative care starting with antenatal counselling and planning through to post-mortem care. A new service has started for antenatal palliative care clinics once per month in conjunction with Fetal Medicine team and palliative care team. The postholder will coordinate education and development of palliative care pathways.
Education Lead will coordinate the extensive education programme consisting of daily teaching at lunchtime, cotside teaching and supporting the wider education with novel ideas, such as workplace-based assessment clinics, preparation for postgraduate exams, and linking with the Governance Team to translate outcomes from incidents and reviews into measurable learning opportunities. The Guidelines Lead shall be involved in the planning and implementation of the network guidelines and will also be responsible for reviewing and ensuring updates of local guidelines and SOPs.
Provisional Assessment of Programmed Activities in Job Plan:
The contract will be for 10 programmed activities. This will be based on the nationally agreed whole-time contract.
Example of rolling 14-week work plan:
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
Mon
ICU
HDU
Night
Off
Flexi
Flexi
Flexi
SC
BCH
Flexi
Off
Handover
Flexi
Flexi
Tues
ICU
HDU
Night
Flexi
Flexi
Flexi
Flexi
SC
BCH
Flexi
Flexi
Flexi
Flexi
Flexi
Wed
ICU
HDU
Night
Flexi
Flexi
Flexi
Flexi
SC
BCH
Flexi
Flexi
Flexi
Flexi
Flexi
Thu
ICU
HDU
Night
Flexi
Flexi
Flexi
Flexi
SC
BCH
Flexi
PMRT
Flexi
Flexi
Flexi
Fri
Handover
HDU
Off
Flexi
Flexi
Flexi
Flexi
SC
BCH
Night
ICU
Flexi
Flexi
Flexi
Sat
HDU
Night
ICU
Sun
HDU
Night
ICU
ICU: 0830 2130 Flex: SPA/Clinic/Additional responsibilities
HDU: 0900 1700
SC: 0900 1700 Additional responsibility can include, case reviews, MDTs,
BCH: 0900 1300 bereavement follow-up
Night: 2100 - 0830
Consultant led clinics:
Monday am: Low Birthweight
Tuesday am: Renal/general
Wednesday am: General
Neurology
Wednesday pm: Cardiology
HIV/infectious diseases (monthly)
The post holder will:
Be a key member of the Trusts senior medical team. Work closely with the Clinical Service Lead, consultant neonatologists, Directorate Manager and senior nursing team to ensure that the objectives of the Directorate are achieved and key neonatal strategies are implemented. Participate in the support service for general surgical neonatal patients at Birmingham Childrens Hospital Participate in the outpatient follow up of neonates through the clinic system Support existing consultants in delivering a neonatal echocardiography and cranial ultrasonography service Key Tasks
Maintain high clinical standards in management of well and ill newborns Share with colleagues the responsibility for day-to-day management of the NICU and all associated work Share on call commitment for NICU on a basic 1 in 14 basis, covering separate day intensive care, non-intensive care, and night neonatal rotas. Consultant cover is required on a 24-hour, 7 day week basis, and changes may be necessary to support the service in case of unexpected absences which all consultants are expected to support. Resident cover when covering daytime intensive care is from 0830- 2130. Night shifts are non-resident, but presence on the unit, if required, must be achievable within 20 minutes. Responsibilities of the Post are within a 10 PA contract (see Job plan for details) Teaching and training of junior staff, neonatal nursing staff, visiting medical staff, midwives and medical students. Maintain appropriate CPD and mandatory training Participate in Health Education West Midlands activities including ARCPs and regional training days Participate West Midlands Operational Delivery Network activities Lead and participate in clinical governance, appraisal and revalidation where indicated
Principal Duties and Responsibilities
Clinical
This post provides excellent clinical experience in a very busy and varied service. The service is consultant led. Duties are based on a 1 in 14 rolling rota as outlined above, supervising care on the NICU and junior staff, liaising with obstetricians and with sub-specialist staff from BCH, support for parents and staff, and transitional care supervision.
Duties on the neonatal intensive care shifts involve acute care to babies requiring intensive and high dependency care. There is a special care week, 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday with additional clinical duties to provide support to the NICU consultant and manage antenatal counselling referrals, special care, postnatal and transitional care babies. A third consultant provides support to the high dependency care, and a further consultant provides visiting support for surgical babies in the Birmingham Childrens Hospital from 9am until 1pm. Nights are non-resident on-call shifts, with a telephone handover.
There is close communication at Consultant level between maternity and neonatal services to manage referrals and demand within the available resources.
There is shared responsibility for administration and development of services, training of medical and nursing staff, and staff appraisal. Services will include liaison with colleagues, managers and community nurses; co-operation with mortality and morbidity recording and governance processes; co-operation with collaborative audit, participation in clinical governance and risk management.
Clinicians will have high risk or general baby follow-up clinics most weeks when not on service
Education & Training
The University of Birmingham Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology is based at the Trust, and a number of medical students pass through on obstetric clinical attachment when neonatology is taught. Neonatal undergraduate teaching currently runs over a 1-week block, eight times annually. Consultant involvement in this process is expected. Postgraduate educational supervision of junior paediatric staff is shared. There is also some responsibility for neonatal nurse teaching.
Within the Trust there are regular educational meetings involving neonatal consultants:
Monday 1-2pm Journal Club
Tuesday 1-2pm Grand Round - junior staff presentation
Wednesday 1-2pm Consultant Led teaching
Thursday 9-10am Fetal medicine meeting
Thursday 1-2pm monthly Neuroradiology teaching
Thursday 1-2pm Consultant Led Teaching/ Simulation/ journal club
Friday 1pm Consultant meeting
There is an active simulation education programme supported by a simulation fellow in a brand-new state of the art fully immersive simulation lab that opened in December 2024. Simulation scenarios are run 2-4 times per month and the department runs several simulation courses including SHINE (Simulation Helping In Neonatal Emergencies), Communication, Palliative Care and Skills and Drills course.
CPD
This is an integral part of the post and involves active support of consultant education meetings. It is the Consultants responsibility to ensure they take entitled study leave as part of their personal development plan. Annual appraisal and revalidation will be undertaken.
Person Specification
Qualifications Essential
Fully registered with the GMC MRCPCH CCT in Paediatrics (Neonatal Medicine) or equivalent training, or within 6 months of CCT on the date of interview.
Desirable
Higher degree eg. PhD, MD
Previous experience Essential
Wide neonatal ICU experience. Advanced clinical skills in neonatal medicine. Valid date NLS or ARNI Valid Level 3 Safeguarding Is able to demonstrate having achieved the competencies equivalent to the Highest Specialist Paediatric Training.
Desirable
NLS/ARNI Instructor Competent in Neonatal Echocardiography and cranial ultrasonography
Skills/abilities/special aptitudes Essential
Basic management skills Good understanding of the structure and processes within the NHS including clinical governance Training in teaching/education An understanding of research methodology and critical appraisal Good organisational and time-management skills Good IT skills Good communication skills Meets the requirements of the GMC's Good Medical Practice Evidence of participation in clinical audit/QI Willingness to teach all grades of professional MDT
Desirable
Evidence of publications/presentation Educational supervision course
Personal qualities/motivation to post Essential
Ability to develop good working relationships. Drive and enthusiasm, A flexible approach Commitment to continuing personal development Highly motivated to neonatology, and a team player
Leadership Essential
To demonstrate ability to lead a multidisciplinary clinical team.
Desirable
Demonstrate a commitment to further develop leadership to director level
Practical requirement of the post e.g. hours of work, on call, travel Essential
Willing to re-locate as necessary to be able to provide to on-call commitment and attendance in a timely and appropriate manner Ability to work the hours required to ensure satisfactory performance of duties.
Desirable
Able to travel around the network as required.
Disclosure and Barring Service Check This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Certificate of Sponsorship Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
Employer details Employer name Birmingham Women's and Children's NHS Foundation Trust
Address Birmingham Women's Hospital
Mindlesohn Way, Edgbaston
Birmingham
B15 2TG
Employer's website https://bwc.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)