Applications are invited for the post of Consultant Cellular Pathologist which is a whole-time (10 PA) post offering an exciting opportunity for a highly motivated medic to join a dynamic, rapidly expanding team, delivering multidisciplinary acute care at St Helens & Knowsley Teaching Hospitals (STHK).
The new appointee will join the STHK Pathology Service, an established joint pathology service following the merger of services at St Helens & Knowsley Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust and Southport and Ormskirk Hospitals NHS Trust.
Applicants are required to hold Fellowship of the Royal College of Pathologists (UK or equivalent qualifications), to hold full GMC registration and on Specialist Register or within six months of receipt of Certificate of Completion of Training (CCT) at the time of interview. CESR candidates must have written GMC confirmation of successful application.
Candidates should have wide experience in histopathology with possible additional experience in cytology and morbid anatomy.
Interviews will take place on Friday, 10th February, 2023
Main duties of the job
The appointee will be expected to take an equal share of the workload in cellular pathology. Participation in cytology reporting can be discussed with interested applicants, if appropriate. Special interests will be encouraged to accommodate those of the appointee and existing staff members, as well as the needs of the combined department.
An interest in urological pathology, dermato-pathology or gynaecological pathology would be particularly welcome; however, the department is flexible and is willing to consider applicants with any other areas of interest. Medicolegal post mortems are not part of the NHS contract and are performed at the request of the coroner; participation is not essential; however, the new appointee would be welcome to help provide this service if desired (subject to agreement by the coroner).
The post is based at Whiston Hospital although flexibility with regards to duties at the Southport site will be expected.
The appointee will be responsible with the existing consultants for providing comprehensive, reliable and timely Histopathology, Cytopathology and Morbid Anatomy services to the Trust hospitals, local General Practitioners and other service users. There is no consultant out of hours (on call) service.
About us
Our Achievements
St Helens and Knowsley Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust is the only acute Trust in Cheshire and Merseyside, and one of the few in the entire country, to achieve the title of OUTSTANDING, rated by the Care Quality Commission.
We provide a full range of acute adult services to our local population of approximately 360,000 and provide tertiary services across a much wider area in the North West, North Wales and Isle of Man. We are a Major Trauma Unit and the Mersey Regional Burns Unit.
Our ‘5 Star Patient Care’ strategy is at the heart of all that we do; supporting our vision to provide world class services for all our patients by getting it right for every patient, every time.
Our latest achievements include:
- Acute Trust of the Year – HSJ Awards November 2019
- Trust rates Outstanding by the CQC – Inspection August 2018
- Top 100 places to work in the NHS (NHS Employers and Health Service Journal)
- Best acute trust in the North West for quality of care (NHS Staff Survey 2021)
- Best place to work in the North West (NHS Staff Survey 2021)
In the NHS Staff Survey 2021 the Trust scored the highest marks in the North West for the following areas:
- Standard of care
- Best place to work
- Care of patients being the Trust’s priority
- Staff commitment
- Staff morale
- Compassionate and inclusive
- Providing a safe environment for staff
Job description
Job responsibilities
For more information regarding the main responsibilities and requirements essential for this role please refer to the supporting documents heading and review the job description and person specification which will outline the duties of the role including a proposed job plan.
St Helens & Knowsley Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
A 338 million (PFI) investment has re-built and modernized both Whiston and St Helens Hospitals, resulting in modern state of the art health care facilities for the treatment and care of patients. St Helens Hospital was completed in 2008 and Whiston Hospital in 2010. The hospitals include 887 inpatient beds with state-of-the-art CT and MRI facilities existing on both hospital sites. CT and MRI scanners at St Helens have also recently been upgraded including installation of a high field 3 Tesla MRI scanner. The DEXA scanner is also located at St Helens Hospital.
The Trust provides a full range of acute inpatient, outpatient, day case and emergency services to local communities of St Helens, Knowsley, parts of Halton and Liverpool. The Regional Plastic Surgery and Burns Unit also extends its services to the whole of Cheshire, Merseyside, North Wales, and the Isle of Man.
As a trust, our aim is to provide a high-quality service to all patients. We strive to meet the best standards for professional care whilst being sensitive and responsive to the needs of individual patients. Our valued workforce is recognized for their unique skills and talents with our teams of experts winning national awards on a regular basis.
Whitton Hospital
Whiston Hospital a busy teaching hospital which provides a comprehensive range of acute Medical and Surgical Services, Emergency Services, Maternity Services, Paediatrics and Medicine for Older People. The Regional Burns and Plastic Surgery Units are also based on this site. There is a Critical Care Unit consisting of ICU, HDU, CCU and an onsite Cardiac Catheter Laboratory. The stroke consultants deliver 24/7 thrombolysis to eligible patients presenting with acute stroke. There is a 30-bed Stroke Unit which accommodates both acute stroke patients and those with rehabilitation needs.
St Helens Hospital
St Helens Hospital is an Ambulatory Care Center providing Intermediate Care and Day Surgery. Rheumatology, Dermatology and Diabetes services are based on this site and within easy reach of other acute specialties at Whiston Hospital.
Southport & Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust
The Southport & Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust was formed from the merger on 1st April 1999 of the acute hospitals in the two towns of Southport and Ormskirk. The range of services provided at each site has been the subject of review over recent years. The program of reconfiguration and expansion of service provision planned at the time of merger is now completed.
The Cellular Pathology Service is provided to the two Hospitals – Southport and Formby DGH and Ormskirk DGH (total of 493 beds) as well as to local general practitioners serving a population of 225,000.
Southport and Ormskirk hospitals provide a comprehensive secondary referral service to the residents of Southport, Formby, Ormskirk and surrounding districts. Service provision includes General Medicine and Surgery, Orthopedics and Trauma, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Paediatrics and Neonatal Medicine, Clinical Haematology, Cardiology, Gastroenterology, Respiratory Medicine, Rheumatology, Urology, Intensive Care, High Dependency, Rehabilitation Medicine, dedicated Day Care Unit, Cancer Services, Psychiatry, Dental services, Ophthalmology and ENT surgery.
The majority of acute services are based on the Southport site. Women’s and children’s services are based at Ormskirk together with elective Orthopedic Surgery, some elective General Surgery and Rehabilitation Medicine. There are out-patient facilities at both sites. There is a Consultant led 24-hour adult Accident and Emergency Department at Southport and a Consultant led 24-hour children’s Accident and Emergency service at Ormskirk together with a nurse-led adult Minor Injuries Unit.
In addition, there is a supra-regional tertiary referral center for spinal injuries at Southport. The Spinal Injuries Unit receives regional referrals of all spinal injuries and supra-regional referrals of patients requiring life-long ambulatory ventilation following high cervical spinal injuries. There are various opportunities to participate in the units active research programme. The main 24-hour blood sciences pathology laboratory is based at Southport together with the Mortuary. A body store and blood science hot laboratory is based at Ormskirk.
Laboratory Premises, Establishment and Management
St Helens and Knowsley NHS Trust is the lead partner with Southport and Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust in a joint pathology service. The majority of the Cellular Pathology work has been centralized on the Whiston Hospital site. Limited reporting, MDT attendance and mortuary activity remains on the Southport site.
Life in Merseyside
Merseyside, which includes the great city of Liverpool, is within easy reach of North Wales, the Lake District and the Peak District and provides an interesting mix of rural and urban life.
Liverpool is a vibrant, music city which has undergone a renaissance in recent years and has recently been named European City of Culture.
High quality schools are available in Liverpool, Wirral and Rainhill areas. The area has many sports facilities including championship golf courses, several sailing clubs and one of the finest windsurfing venues in Britain. Merseysiders are renowned for their friendliness and quick-witted humor and the region sports two of the finest football teams in the Premier League.
The town of St Helens is renowned for its glassworks and rugby. The district has a population of around 340,000 and is of mixed residential, industrial, and rural character. It is situated on the edge of Merseyside, between the open countryside of Cheshire to the south and Lancashire to the north.
Manchester City Center is a short 23 miles from Whiston Hospital; Accesses to motorway networks are a short 5-minute drive (including M62 and M6).
Both Whiston and St Helens Hospitals are within easy reach of the City of Liverpool (20 minutes by car), and access to motorway networks (including M62, M6, M57 and M58) is also convenient.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Full and Specialist registration (and with a license to practice) with the General Medical Council (GMC), or be eligible for registration within six months of interview Applicants that are UK trained, must ALSO be a holder of a Certificate of Completion of Training ( CCT), or be within six months of award of CCT by date of interview Applicants that are non-UK trained, will be required to show evidence of equivalence to the UK CCT CESR candidates must have written GMC confirmation of successful application
- MBBS or equivalent medical qualification
- FRCPath or equivalent
Desirable
- MD/PHD or equivalent medical qualification
Knowledge sand experience
Essential
- Appropriate knowledge base and ability to apply sound clinical judgment to problems
- Demonstrates the necessary range, depth and breadth of competencies specified in histopathology, cytology and morbid anatomy
skills
Essential
- Demonstrates ability to undertake robust audit / research within team structure within the last 3 years
- Able to supervise junior medical staff
Desirable
- Evidence of relevant research eg presentations, publications in peer reviewed journals within the last 3 years
- Evidence of relevant academic achievements, eg degrees, awards, in the last 3 years
Other
Essential
- Able to build rapport, listen, persuade & negotiate
- Capacity to use logical/lateral thinking to solve problems/make decisions
- Able to work in multi-professional teams
- Demonstrates initiative & resilience to cope with changing circumstances
BMJ Ref: BMJ-100569/409-4669985