Job summary
- Main area
- Anaesthetics
- Grade
- NHS Medical & Dental: Specialty Doctor
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Full time - 10 sessions per week
- Job ref
- 249-7155182
- Employer
- Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Great Western Hospital
- Town
- Swindon
- Salary
- £52,530 - £82,400 per annum
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 30/04/2025 08:00
Employer heading

Specialty Doctor in Anaesthetics
NHS Medical & Dental: Specialty Doctor
Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is a unique organisation, serving as the sole integrated provider in the Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon, and Wiltshire system. Our scope extends beyond boundaries as we oversee adult community services in Swindon and provide acute care from the Great Western Hospital.
Our 5,500 staff have 1.2m patient contacts a year, with 13,000 operations carried out in our Theatres, around 4,000 babies born, and our emergency attendances are now well over 100,000 per year. Those numbers only tell part of our story about what an exciting time it is to join Great Western Hospitals.
We are cultivating a culture that fosters our ambitions, prioritising equality, diversion, inclusion, wellbeing, and leadership. We aim to create an environment where every member of our team can truly thrive.
The Trust is a Disability Confident Employer; all applicants who have a disability can opt to be considered under the guaranteed interview scheme, which means that, providing they meet the minimum essential criteria for the post, they will be offered an interview. We are also proudly accredited as a Veteran Aware organisation and have signed The Armed Forces Covenant.
If we receive a high volume of applications, we may close adverts prior to the published closing date. Therefore, we advise you to complete and submit your application as soon as possible.
Job overview
As a Trust, we place high importance on staff wellbeing, you will be offered a wide variety of support to help you maintain your wellbeing and to help colleagues maintain theirs. The Trusts Health and Wellbeing team has won a National Award during 2020 for the work they have done locally.
We are looking for someone with at least two years of anaesthetic experience, ideally in the NHS. You must have obstetric anaesthetic competencies. The job plan will comprise two days of elective theatres per week and a 1:12 on call commitment. The post-holder is expected to be able to cover the labour word out of hours, without direct supervision.
We are a medium sized DGH with a range of surgical specialties. These include orthopaedics and trauma, general surgery, urology, obstetrics and gynaecology, ENT, oral surgery, ophthalmic surgery and breast surgery.
We have 15 theatres in our Main Theatres suite, a separate theatre in oral surgery and two maternity theatres. The anaesthetic offices are located at one end of the theatre suite, adjacent to the Critical Care Unit. There is a large comfortable room for the use of trainees and SAS doctors.
Main duties of the job
Job Responsibilities
- To provide anaesthetic services for elective and emergency care according to rota allocation.
- To support training and educational activities within the trust.
- To support audit, research and service development projects under the guidance of departmental QI lead
- To maintain continuous professional learning and development.
Clinical Duties
- To assess patients before surgery, agree an anaesthetic plan and deliver safe anaesthesia with an appropriate level of local or distant supervision. To provide high quality post-operative analgesia and comprehensive handover to Recovery staff. To follow up patients post-operatively, as dictated by clinical need.
- To provide out of hours cover in CEPOD theatre or Labour Ward, working with the rest of the on call team to optimise efficiency and patient safety.
- To ensure safe and effective prescribing following the Trust prescribing guidelines.
- To deliver training and education to all levels of staff, as directed by the senior clinical staff.
Working for our organisation
Our STAR values are at the heart of everything we do. You can expect to see them in the way we act and the way we treat each other. Our values make us who we are. We will expect your values and behaviours to reflect the STAR Values of the organisation:
Service We will put our patients first
Teamwork We will work together
Ambition We will aspire to provide the best service
Respect We will act with integrity
Visiting or Questions
We are a friendly department and would welcome any interested candidates to visit the Trust or to get in touch to ask any questions that you might have. To discuss the role or arrange a visit, please contact Dr Lucy Williams via [email protected]
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
The Duties outlined below are not definitive and may be changed in accordance with the needs of the service.
Job Responsibilities
- To provide anaesthetic services for elective and emergency care according to rota allocation.
- To support training and educational activities within the trust.
- To support audit, research and service development projects under the guidance of departmental QI lead
- To maintain continuous professional learning and development.
Clinical Duties
- To assess patients before surgery, agree an anaesthetic plan and deliver safe anaesthesia with an appropriate level of local or distant supervision. To provide high quality post-operative analgesia and comprehensive handover to Recovery staff. To follow up patients post-operatively, as dictated by clinical need.
- To provide out of hours cover in CEPOD theatre or Labour Ward, working with the rest of the on call team to optimise efficiency and patient safety.
- To ensure safe and effective prescribing following the Trust prescribing guidelines.
- To deliver training and education to all levels of staff, as directed by the senior clinical staff.
Learning & Development
- To keep up to date with current medical practice in anaesthesia. To participate in annual appraisal and effectively maintain a continuous professional learning and development plan agreed with you through the appraisal process and with the support of the SAS doctor development program to support career progression. Attempts at FRCA examinations will be encouraged and supported
- To contribute to audit, research, and quality improvement projects and participate in the supervision, teaching and assessments of medical students and more junior colleagues as needed.
General Responsibilities
- To comply with all policies and procedures of the Trust in all areas but especially around clinical and health and safety issues. To complete all required mandatory training and HR processes.
- To raise concerns around any aspect of Trust activity with an appropriate member of staff as per the Trust’s policies and procedures. To promote at all times the Trust values and ways of working as outlined in the person specification.
- To be a co-operative and supportive member of the anaesthetic team, ensuring that any issues are raised with the Clinical Lead.
- To provide additional support as needed to all health professional students on placement at the Trust.
Clinical
- To maintain training and knowledge about safeguarding issues for vulnerable adults and to support other staff in acting appropriately if safeguarding issues are raised.
- To complete mandatory training requirements as determined by the Trust which will include a working knowledge of the Mental Capacity Act and Protection of Liberties Safeguards legislation.
- To ensure all clinical activity undertaken is evidenced base, clinically safe and within the competence of the clinician performing it.
- To maintain good contemporaneous clinical record keeping and communications necessary to ensure effective coordination and continuity of care.
- To understand the need for and comply with the Trust governance processes and procedures to ensure patient and colleague safety and best possible care.
- To comply with GMC guidance and to follow the principals of Good Medical Practice at all times. To alert the Medical Director if your registration or one of the other doctors working for the organisation is brought into question, regardless of the reason for this.
- To ensure you have sufficient medical indemnity to practice in the Trust.
- To participate in annual appraisal and all actions needed to meet the requirements for revalidation and have a licence to practice from the GMC
- To maintain individual and team professional resilience by developing self-awareness and valuing the importance of self-care.
Depending on experience, you will anaesthetise for solo lists or be doubled up with senior anaesthetists for training and development. This post is ideal for candidates wanting to increase their anaesthetic experience before applications for ST4 training posts as well as those wishing to pursue an anaesthetic career outside the traditional training route. You will build your skills and confidence and continue to add to your portfolio.
You will have 1SPA (4 hours) a week to support professional development. You will meet the requirements for annual appraisal and contribute to quality improvement within the department.
We have SAS doctors on a range of contracts, including the 2021 Specialist contract. Many of our SAS doctors are very experienced and we are keen to attract some early career SAS anaesthetists to support our resident on call rota and potentially stay with us for career progression.
We are located in the main Hospital building, which has excellent travel links (including good onsite parking), with many cities within easy range. The Trust is located on the edge of Swindon with access to a variety of outstanding areas to live which include both urban or village areas with short commutes to the site.
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
- MBBS, MBChB or equivalent
- Full GMC registration and license to practice
- At least 4 years post registration
Desirable criteria
- All or part of Primary FRCA
Clinical Experience
Essential criteria
- Clinical experience equivalent to anaesthetic CT3
- Demonstrated ability to cover Labour Ward out of hours without direct supervision
- Experience of transfer of critically ill patients within the hospital and on inter-hospital transfers
Desirable criteria
- Experience in critical care
Management Administration
Essential criteria
- Leadership & management experience appropriate for level of training
Teaching & Research
Essential criteria
- Understands principles of research, Audit and Quality Improvement
- Evidence of participation in audit cycle / quality improvement
- Experience of specialist palliative care teaching of postgraduate and undergraduate cohorts
Desirable criteria
- Experience organising educational events
- Evidence of publications
- Evidence of design and delivery of postgraduate education
Personal Attributes
Essential criteria
- Committed to continuing personal development and medical education
- Effective interpersonal skills.
- Flexibility in a rapidly changing environment
Applicant requirements
You must have appropriate UK professional registration.
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Hamish Breach
- Job title
- Clinical Lead Anaesthetics
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 01793 605228
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