Consultant in Anaesthetics

NHS; Colchester; On-site; GBP 80,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

A regional healthcare provider in Colchester is seeking a Consultant in Anaesthetics to support the expansion of orthopaedic services. The role includes responsibilities in elective surgery and participation in on-call rotas. Applicants must be GMC registered or near eligibility, with experience in obstetric anaesthesia preferred. This full-time position offers a chance to work within one of the largest NHS organizations in England, focusing on patient care and continuous professional development.

Benefits

Generous pension scheme

27 days annual leave

Access to NHS discounts

Qualifications

• Must be on GMC Specialist Register in Anaesthesia or be eligible for entry within 6 months of interview.
• Experience of working within the NHS.
• Higher training in obstetric anaesthesia.

Responsibilities

• Support the expansion of elective orthopaedic surgery in ESEOC on the Colchester site.
• Participate in the general and obstetric on-call rota.
• Engage in consultant clinical responsibilities within the department.

Skills

Interpersonal and communication skills

Teaching of junior trainees

Management training

Education

FRCA or equivalent

Completion of training programme in Anaesthesia CCT

Periods of training in related specialty

Tools

ATLS

APLS

ALS

Job description

Go back East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust

Consultant in Anaesthetics

The closing date is 04 January 2026

An opportunity has arisen to join our team at Colchester Hospital, to help with the expansion of orthopaedic, vascular and bariatric services.

We are inviting applications for full time consultant posts in anaesthetics. Applicants with a special interest in orthopaedic, vascular and bariatric anaesthesia are particularly sought but we will equally consider those with other areas of specialist interest.

Applicants will have completed CCT or equivalent (Portfolio Pathway) and must be on the Specialist Register.

The Essex and Suffolk Elective Orthopaedic Centre (ESEOC) opened in October 2024, in the brand Dame Clare Marx Building (DCMB) on the Colchester site. The DCMB has eight operating theatres and three wards dedicated to elective orthopaedic surgery, making it one of the largest units of its kind in Europe. ESEOC will serve patients from across Suffolk and Essex with the potential for 10,000 cases per annum.

ESNEFT has been successful in gaining accreditation as a regional hub for revision knee surgery and is aiming to become a major regional centre for hip revision surgery as the network develops. We are applying for ESEOC to be recognised as a GIRFT Surgical hub.

These jobs will have an on-call and elective commitment at Colchester Hospital, there are a wide variety of other opportunities within the department, including vascular and paediatric work.

Main duties of the job

The post-holder's duties will be to support the expansion of elective orthopaedic surgery in ESEOC on the Colchester site. The on call will be at Colchester Hospital and we anticipate that most of the elective work will be job planned at Colchester. Cross-site working (at Ipswich) can be organised, depending on the interests of the applicants.

The new appointee will participate in their share of consultant clinical responsibilities within the department, which will include fixed or flexible operating theatre sessions and participation in the out of hours on-call rota.

The post-holder will participate in the general and obstetric on-call rota, with a frequency of 1:16. These on calls also cover out of hours vascular emergencies.

Consultants on call are resident from 5-10pm Monday-Friday and non-resident overnight. Weekend on calls are worked on a shift pattern, with one consultant (resident) covering Saturday and Sunday days (8am-8pm) and another consultant (non-resident) covering the nights (8pm-8am). The weekend night consultant also covers Friday night. This is detailed in the job plan and remunerated according to current contractual terms and conditions. The non-resident on-call attracts an availability supplement of 3%.

About us

We are ESNEFT and we provide hospital and community health services to almost one million people across east Suffolk and north Essex. Our dedicated staff deliver care from acute hospitals in Colchester and Ipswich, community hospitals, surgeries, community clinics and in patients' own homes. We are one of the largest NHS organisation in England, employing more than 12,000 staff.

We pride ourselves on supporting our staff. We offer a wide range of training and development opportunities, as well as flexible working options. Along with supporting you to achieve your career goals we offer a generous pension scheme, unsocial hours payments (where applicable), 27 days annual leave on commencement (pro rata) and access to a range of NHS discounts. Our Staff Health and Wellbeing programme offer a variety of services.

Our philosophy is that Time Matters to everyone. Across the Trust, we concentrate on improving the things we do and removing those which cause time delays for our staff and patients.

We are investing in our commitment to Time Matters with a partnership with leading electronic patient record (EPR) supplier Epic. This digital transformation will bring what's widely regarded as the world's best EPR system to ESNEFT, transforming life in hospital for staff and patients.

If you are passionate about patient care and want to develop your skills and knowledge, then we want to hear from you.

Find out about living and working here - www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkPu7HphU8A

Job responsibilities

A full list of duties and responsibilities can be found in the attached Job Description and Person Specification.

Person Specification

• Must be on GMC Specialist Register in Anaesthesia or be eligible for entry within 6 months of interview
• FRCA or equivalent
• Completion of training programme in Anaesthesia CCT or 7 years post-graduate training in anaesthetics
• Experience of working within the NHS
• Higher training obstetric anaesthesia
• Understanding of NHS management structure
• Taken part in teaching of junior trainees to the level required by the RCA
• Good interpersonal and communication skills
• Educational/ clinical supervisor (the necessary training will be provided for applicants that have not undertaken these roles previously)
• ATLS, APLS, ALS
• Periods of training in related specialty, e.g. Medicine, A&E
• Evidence of some management training, eg attendance at specific management course, specific management qualification
• Publications in refereed journals

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.

East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust