We are seeking to appoint Consultant Radiologists to join our friendly Radiology Team at Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust. We are seeking General Consultant Radiologists and are happy to consider applications across all specialty interests, to help complement our team and grow our services. his post will support routine clinical work and further develop the sub-specialty interests in the department. Full active support will be given to staff pursuing their CSER. The successful candidates will be based at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Woolwich or University Hospital, Lewisham, with rotation to the other Hospital sites as required.
The general radiology commitment will include plain film reporting, ultrasound, MRI and CT work, and will have timetabled commitments in these. We will be flexible in accommodating an area of specialist interest, and with the department covering the full spectrum of imaging services the opportunities are broad.
This is an exciting opportunity to join a vibrant radiology department. We are currently driving improvements through a major transformation programme to improve patient flows, fulfil rising demand, and install rigorous service management. This is in addition to the capacity that will be created when the two CDC's become operational in March 2025.
Our people are our greatest asset. When we feel supported and happy at work, this positivity reaches those very people we are here for, the patients. Engaged employees perform at their best and our Equality, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) initiatives contribute to cultivate a culture of engagement. We have four staff networks, a corporate EDI Team and a suite of programmes and events which aim to insert the 5 aspirations:
Job description
Job responsibilities
Job Plan
This proposed plan is for a 10 PA post.Flexibility in the job plan will be made if part time working.
Duty
Programmed Activities
Plain film reporting, Ultrasound, CT, MRI
3.5 4.5 Direct Clinical Care
Sub-specialty Interest
2 3 Direct Clinical Care
Administration/Teaching /Research/Audit
1.5 Supporting Professional Activities
7 Day working
1 Direct Clinical Care
The job plan will be reviewed annually and may be negotiated to meet service needs.
*The job plan will include plain film, Ultrasound, CT, MR , duty radiologist sessions and a session in lieu of 1 in 8 on call.
*Additional SPA time can be negotiated if additional duties are taken on including teaching and management
You will be provided with admin support and both office space and work station for reporting.
On Call Commitment:
On-call is on a pro-rata basis with all the other consultants in-post for all radiology cases, which includes adult and general paediatric imaging. Currently the successful candidate will join the on call which is a 1 in 8 rota.
On site working will be required during weekends (four hour period) and bank holidays and to cover extended day working.
Currently day off will be given in lieu of on call.
Night time on call is supported by outsourcing CT images 7 days a week; this is from 6pm to 8 am on both sites but may change in the future. On call cover is still required for major incidents and IT failures
Suggested Weekly Programme:
The post holder will work on both the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) and University Hospital Lewisham (UHL) sites to support and develop the radiology services on both sites. For those unable or not wishing to work full time, consideration will be given to a part time appointment.
Consideration will also be given to potential cross-trust appointments with other NHS trusts if the candidate had skills or research which need programmed time elsewhere. Where possible we will try and give the postholder one day a week of working from home.
The appointment will be remunerated at 10 PAs and this will be divided into 8.5 PAs Direct clinical care and 1.5 PA Supporting professional activities, or a 9:1 split depending on how much involvement with supporting activities will be undertaken. This is for discussion if application is successful.
Radiology Departments at Lewisham & Greenwich NHS Trust
University Hospital Lewisham
The main department is modern and spacious, having been extensively refurbished in recent years and has a rolling programme for replacement of Imaging equipment. The main department is supported by three Philips digital General Xray rooms installed in 2019. Two further DR X-ray rooms serve the Accident and Emergency department (one commissioned in December 2021 and the other to be replaced in early 2024).
We have two CT scanners on the main Lewisham site, One of them is a state of the art GE revolution CT scanner which was replaced in 2022 and an interim modular CT scanner was installed at great pace during phase 1 Covid and is now lined up to be replaced with a second state of the art CT scanner by GE in early 2024. Our CT scanners are witnessing growing demand each year especially more recently for cardiac and colonic scans. We aspire to deliver urgent 2WW CT scans within 3 days of referral and report these studies within 48 hours of examination.
We have two recently acquired Siemens 1.5T MRI scanners facilities to scan and monitor a wide range of patients including intubated patients.
The department houses a digital fluoroscopic and interventional room. Both due for replacement in the next 12months.
We have a dedicated Breast imaging suite with the latest Hologic digital mammography equipment including stereotaxis and tomosynthesis (installation September 2021) to support the symptomatic breast service. A DEXA service is provided in the radiology department.
There are 5 General Ultrasound rooms in the main department with Canon and GE equipment and we provide a wide range of sonographer led ultrasound scanning services (general and obstetric) to support the womens health service. Ultrasound equipment is replaced at regular 7-year intervals (general) and 5-year intervals (obstetric).
All the on call Consultants in Lewisham Hospital site have PACS workstations for home viewing of CT images on call and to support working from home clinical duties. The on-call work is out-sourced between 6pm and 8am on all 7 days of the week. We also offer home working sessions for Radiologists one day a week to support reporting and reduce travel and carbon foot print
We performed a total of approximately 250,000 examinations on this Hospital site last year.
Queen Elizabeth Hospital
The main department is very modern and spacious having been extensively refurbished as part of a major rebuilding of the existing Queen Elizabeth Military Hospital in 2000.
The main department houses 5 general X-ray rooms and a further X-ray room supporting orthopaedic clinics within the main out-patient department. *We have recently replaced all our general X-Ray rooms with the latest DR technology.
The department has 6 General Ultrasound rooms and 5 obstetric ultrasound rooms to support the womens health service in Womens outpatients.
The department has two state of the art GE Revolution CT scanners installed in 2018 and 2022 with a CT specific workstation for complex reconstructions including volume rendered images, cardiac and peripheral angiography.
A 1.5T Siemens MRI was replaced in in March 2022 and a second MRI scanner is planned for 2024.
A GE screening / interventional room is on site and due for replacement in 2024.
The department also houses an interventional cardiac catheterisation suite along with a 6 bedded recovery area.
The department has a Dexa scanning service which has a high level of input by the Rheumatologists at QEH.
A full symptomatic Breast imaging service equipped with the latest state of the art Hologic mammography unit including stereotaxis, which supports the breast clinics in main outpatients.
Teleradiology support is provided for on call work from home. On call work is outsourced between 6pm and 8am on all 7 days of the week.
We have recently relocated the Nuclear medicine (SPECT/CT), to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) site. The new unit installed at QEH is a GE SPECT CT unit NM870DR.
We implemented a unified RIS/PACS system across all sites in May 2022. This now provides each site with Soliton RIS and Sectra PACS solution with VNA. We will continue to use voice recognition (VR) reporting and will be progressing a new ICE electronic requesting system (internally and externally) for all radiology examinations in Jan 2024. The Radiology digital strategy is closely aligned to the SE London Imaging Network, which we play a very active role in.
We performed a total of approximately 250,000 examinations last year on this Hospital site
Responsibilities of the post
a. Clinical Responsibilities
1. To provide high quality health care for patients referred for diagnosis and treatment, including outpatients, inpatients.
2. To contribute to the general radiology work of the Trust and assist in achieving all waiting time targets including 2 and 18 week waits
3. To complement the existing expertise within the department
4. To contribute actively to all aspects of the hospital affairs, as deemed appropriate by the Department/Division.
5. To be actively involved in MDT meetings providing cover for colleagues as required
6. To provide prompt effective advice for General Practitioners and Hospital Doctors.
7. To provide cover for Consultant colleagues during periods of annual leave.
8. To contribute to all other aspects of the Division and Hospitals affairs, including relevant Consultant and Directorate meetings.
b. Medical Education & Teaching
- To contribute to regular training and teaching sessions.
- To provide teaching to undergraduates, postgraduates and trainees in radiology, and radiographers in co-operation with other members of the Consultant staff.
- Participate in medical student, FY1 and FY2 teaching
- Teaching and mentoring Specialist Registrars (Radiology
c. Clinical Audit and Clinical Governance
- Active participation in audit and research projects; implementing findings as appropriate in clinical practice
- To lead and / or participate in the Errors and Discrepancy meetings in Radiology
- To support the Hospitals Clinical Governance Strategy and to participate in clinical audit.
- To participate in educational and audit meetings and meet CPD requirements.
- Continuing Professional Development
- Participate in continuing professional development at local and national level
- Implement audit and research findings as appropriate in clinical practice
- Prepare and participate in an annual appraisal in accordance with Trust policy
- A willingness to undertake additional professional responsibilities at local, regional or national levels
- Policy, Planning and Management
- Support the Trust to deliver quality patient care
- Contribute to the development of clinical and organisational protocols and guidelines
- Assist in the development of the Annual Service Plan for the Directorate and Division and participate in the strategic planning of the service
- Comply with all Trust policies
- To lead or participate in the development of improved workflow through the Radiology Department, ensuring better patient experience and increased efficiency. This is a specimen plan reflecting proposed activities. Flexibility in these sessions is necessary depending on the changing demands on the service.