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An excellent opportunity has arisen for a Consultant Haematologist to join an established and expanding haematology service in South West England.
The service is seeking to appoint the equivalent of two full-time consultants (20 PAs) following a colleague's retirement and the expansion of the consultant team to support current and future service provision. The opportunity can be offered as a 10 PA full-time post or as part-time posts, with flexible arrangements encouraged and open for discussion before interview.
The service is seeking general haematologists with an existing special interest, or willingness to develop a special interest, in either:

• Malignant haematology, or
• Classical/medical haematology

The successful candidate will join an established consultant team providing services across malignant, classical and laboratory haematology. The service supports a population of approximately 300,000 and operates a consultant on-call service.
The department places strong emphasis on job satisfaction, flexible working and work-life balance. It welcomes discussions around how the post can be tailored to the successful candidate's interests and needs.

 

Main Duties of the Job

The successful candidate will join the senior medical team and will be responsible for:

• Running outpatient haematology clinics.
• Providing consultant-led care to patients receiving day-case haemato-oncology treatment.
• Providing consultant-led care to inpatient haematology and haemato-oncology patients.
• Providing rapid assessment, treatment and clinical decision-making.
• Supporting the laboratory haematology service.
• Providing clinical leadership within the department.
• Supervising resident medical staff.
• Providing clinical and educational supervision to non-consultant grade doctors.
• Taking ownership and responsibility for their clinical workload.
• Contributing to medical leadership, management and service innovation.
• Promoting multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary working.
• Maintaining evidence-based standards of care.
• Participating in departmental and multidisciplinary clinical audit.
• Contributing to research and innovative practice within haematology.

Clinical Haematology Service

The service provides a broad range of malignant, classical and laboratory haematology.
The consultant team works alongside:

• 2 registrars.
• 2 Advanced Nurse Practitioners.
• 5 Clinical Nurse Specialists.
• A support worker.
• 3 dedicated haematology research nurses.
• Medical secretarial support.

The service operates on an attending consultant model, with the on-call consultant overseeing inpatient care during their on-call week.

Malignant Haematology

The service provides Level 2B haematological cancer services, including:

• Adult leukaemia treatment.
• Intensive chemotherapy for lymphoma.
• Autologous bone marrow transplantation as part of the regional transplant service.
• Haemophilia services.
• Management of myeloma, lymphoma and acute myeloid leukaemia.
• Local multidisciplinary team meetings.
• Regional MDT involvement for acute leukaemia and myeloproliferative neoplasms.
• Joint MDT working for complex lymphoma and transplant patients.
• Access to regional allogeneic transplantation and CAR-T services.

The department reported approximately:

• 100 lymphoma patients
• 50 myeloma patients
• 20 AML patients

with a rising number of new malignant diagnoses.

Inpatient Haematology

The inpatient service is based on an 18-bedded ward shared with oncology.
The multidisciplinary team includes dedicated:

• Dietitians.
• Occupational therapists.
• Palliative care staff.

The resident medical team consists of:

• 1 FY1 doctor.
• 1 FY2 doctor.
• 2 Locally Employed Doctors.

There is also a weekly bone marrow procedure/reporting list and dedicated facilities for intrathecal chemotherapy.

Day-Case & SACT Services

The day unit provides:

• Systemic Anti-Cancer Treatment (SACT).
• Blood transfusions.
• PICC line services.
• 24-hour telephone triage support for patients receiving SACT.

The service uses Beacon chemotherapy prescribing within the electronic patient record, supported by a dedicated oncology pharmacy team and aseptic cytotoxic preparation facilities.
The Person Specification specifically requires the successful candidate to be able to run, and have experience running, a SACT service.

Laboratory Haematology

The laboratory service is fully automated and uses an electronic laboratory information system.
The team includes:

• 11 WTE Biomedical Scientists.
• 3 Senior Biomedical Scientists.
• 2 Technical Managers covering Haematology and Blood Transfusion.
• 2 Associate Practitioners.
• 2 Medical Laboratory Assistants.
• 2 Transfusion Practitioners.

The laboratory provides a broad range of routine and specialist testing, including:

• Factor assays.
• Inhibitor screening.
• Thrombophilia testing.
• Antenatal sickle cell screening.
• Antenatal thalassaemia screening.
• Haemoglobin electrophoresis.

The haemoglobin electrophoresis service is also provided to other services across the wider region.
Candidates with a special interest in Transfusion, Laboratory or Classical Haematology are particularly welcomed where this complements the existing consultant team.

Haemophilia

The service also operates as a Haemophilia Centre, with established links to a regional Comprehensive Haemophilia Centre.

Research & Clinical Trials

The department has a dedicated Research and Development service and an established haematology research team.
The clinical trials portfolio includes both:

• Commercial trials.
• Non-commercial trials.

The department has a research-active consultant body committed to providing patients with access to new treatments and innovations. It also maintains links with neighbouring centres to enable patients to participate in studies where appropriate.
Desirable experience includes:

• Research experience.
• Ability to apply research outcomes to clinical practice.
• Publications in peer-reviewed journals.

Teaching & Supervision

The successful candidate will be expected to support and train resident medical staff.
Responsibilities include:

• Clinical supervision.
• Educational supervision.
• Supporting the development of non-consultant grade doctors.
• Teaching clinical skills to junior doctors and, where applicable, undergraduate and postgraduate learners.

Experience of teaching clinical skills to undergraduate and postgraduate doctors is desirable.

Clinical Governance & Audit

The Consultant will contribute to:

• Clinical governance.
• Departmental audit.
• Multidisciplinary audit.
• Evidence-based practice.
• Service improvement.
• Quality improvement.
• Development and implementation of innovative practice.

Audit experience is essential, while governance experience is desirable.

Person Specification

Qualifications & Training

Essential

• Full GMC registration with licence to practise, or eligibility for registration within six months of interview.
• MRCP and FRCPath, or equivalent.
• Must have Specialist registration

Desirable

• Higher degree.

Clinical Experience

Essential

• Experience and ability to run a SACT service.
• Ability to provide expert clinical opinion.
• Ability to take full and independent responsibility for patient care.
• Excellent communication skills.

Desirable

• Experience teaching clinical skills to undergraduate and postgraduate doctors.
• A special interest that complements the existing consultant team, such as:
• • Transfusion.
  • Laboratory Haematology.
  • Classical Haematology.

Specific Skills

Essential

• Ability to organise clinical practice efficiently.
• Strong attention to timeliness.
• Ability to manage administration and enquiries effectively.

Desirable

• Management experience.
• Interest in taking on a management role.
• Governance experience.

Teaching & Research

Essential

• Ability to support resident medical staff.
• Experience of clinical audit.

Desirable

• Research experience.
• Ability to apply research outcomes to clinical practice.
• Publications in peer-reviewed journals.

Personal Attributes

Essential

• Honesty and reliability.
• Flexibility according to service requirements.
• Ability to work within departmental and organisational guidelines.
• Ability to work effectively as part of a team.
• An enquiring and critical approach to work.
• Caring attitude towards patients.
• Excellent communication with patients, relatives, GPs, nurses and other professionals.
• Commitment to continuing medical education.

Apply now