Consultant Anaesthestist with a Special Interest in Obstetrics

University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust; Plymouth; On-site; GBP 80,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

A prominent NHS trust in the UK seeks a Consultant Anaesthetist with a special interest in obstetrics. In this role, you will provide high-quality anaesthesia services for various specialties while actively participating in teaching and managing your job plan to suit personal and service needs. The department values flexibility and promotes work-life balance, ensuring an environment where you can thrive professionally. Opportunities in research and collaboration with the University of Plymouth further enhance this exciting position.

Benefits

Flexible working arrangements

Commitment to professional development

Collaborative work environment

Qualifications

• Broad, current clinical experience of adult anaesthesia.
• SIA/fellowship or extensive experience in obstetric anaesthesia.
• Research, presentations, or publications in paediatric anaesthesia.

Responsibilities

• Deliver expert anaesthesia care for procedures across various specialties.
• Engage in undergraduate and postgraduate education.
• Contribute to innovation in maternity anaesthesia services.

Skills

Compassionate care

Colleagability

Education

CCT in anaesthesia (or expected within 6 months)

FRCA (or equivalent)

Job description

Consultant Anaesthestist with a Special Interest in Obstetrics

We're excited to invite a Consultant Anaesthetist with a special interest in obstetric anaesthesia to join our dynamic, forward-thinking department. This role involves elective and emergency obstetric work, clinics, peri-operative planning, and contributing to the innovation and improvement of our maternity anaesthesia services. We are committed to addressing inequities in maternity care and seek a colleague passionate about making care safer and more equitable for all women.

Joining our team means becoming part of a warm, collaborative department that has proudly held ACSA Accreditation since 2015. We are known for clinical excellence, dedication to research, and consistently positive feedback from our rotating trainees. We highly value work-life balance and offer flexible working arrangements to support your wellbeing. Our vibrant social program and the dedicated anaesthetic coffee room—fondly known as the 'Back Bar'—help foster strong team connections.

Located on the beautiful Devon/Cornwall border, you'll enjoy the best of both worlds: the amenities of a lively city alongside the tranquility of moors and sea. It's an ideal place to live, work, and thrive.

Main duties of the job

We are seeking a dedicated and experienced Consultant Anaesthetist to join our team, providing high-quality anaesthesia services across a broad range of specialties. The successful candidate will be expected to deliver expert anaesthesia care for procedures spanning general surgery, major trauma, obstetrics, neurosurgery, and beyond. At the core of our work is a commitment to putting people at the heart of our service, ensuring the highest standards of care for our patients in a compassionate and professional manner.

In addition to clinical duties, the post holder will actively contribute to teaching and training. We have a strong partnership with the University of Plymouth, and as part of this role, you will engage in both undergraduate and postgraduate education. This will involve mentoring junior doctors, delivering lectures, and supporting clinical learning. You will also be encouraged to participate in continuing medical education and quality improvement activities, ensuring ongoing professional development for both yourself and the team.

As the department evolves, your job plan will adapt to meet service development needs, while also aligning with your personal professional interests. This is an exciting opportunity to shape the future of peri-operative care in a collaborative and forward-thinking environment.

About us

We are a people business—where every member of staff matters and can make a difference. Patients are at the heart of everything we do. Joining University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust means becoming part of a team of dedicated staff, who are committed to leading the way through innovation, clinical excellence and great customer care. The Trust has great opportunities for career development in a highly progressive working environment. We offer all of this in a vibrant, modern city with a historic reputation for adventure.

We encourage people from diverse backgrounds to apply for our roles, as diversity strengthens our teams. It is sometimes necessary to close vacancies before the closing date. If you have not heard from us within 4 weeks of the closing date, please assume that you have not been shortlisted.

If you have any issues with applying online and need additional support including reasonable adjustments with the application process please contact the recruitment manager for this post who will put you in touch with the recruitment team. We recognise that work life balance is important for our colleagues and so we invite requests from applicants around less than full time/flexible working for our advertised roles. Please contact the recruiting manager to discuss this prior to your application submission. We commit to giving this full consideration in each case.

Job responsibilities

We hope to provide at least one session per week dedicated to obstetric-related activity. An indicative 10 PA job plan is included within the candidate pack; however, we strongly believe that a job plan should work for both the individual and the service. The successful applicant will have the opportunity to meet with the Service Line Director prior to starting to agree a personalised job plan that reflects their skills, interests, and preferred working patterns.

We recognise that flexibility is key to supporting wellbeing and long-term career satisfaction. We are proud of our track record in offering highly flexible working arrangements and are committed to helping colleagues balance their professional and personal lives. We're also keen to support people focusing on the areas of practice they enjoy most we know that when people do what they love, they bring their best selves to work.

Job plans typically include 1.5 PAs of generic Supporting Professional Activities (SPA) time, though this can be tailored depending on roles in education, management, research, or quality improvement.

We run a first-on call rota for anaesthesia (excluding cardiac, ICU, and paediatrics), supported by a second-on call consultant. When on first-on call, you must be within 30 minutes of the hospital, and within 45 minutes for second-on call. Resident trainees provide overnight support in obstetrics, emergency theatre, ICU, and cardiac ICU, ensuring senior support is well integrated into our system.

As part of our commitment to sustainability and work-life balance, we have a clear and supportive process for taking colleagues off the on-call rota in the latter stages of their career, if desired.

We would be happy to discuss any aspect of the job plan, rota, or working arrangements. Informal visits to the department, hospital, and local area are warmly encouraged.

Person Specification

shortlisting requirement

• CCT in anaesthesia (or expected within 6 months)
• FRCA (or equivalent)
• Broad, current clinical experience of adult anaesthesia.
• SIA/fellowship or extensive experience in obstetric anaesthesia
• Research / presentations / publications in paediatric anaesthesia
• evidence of compassionate care

personal attributes

• colleagability

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.