Consultant in Intensive Care Medicine and Anaesthesia

Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust; Chester; On-site; GBP 110,000 - 135,000; Full time

Job summary

Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is seeking a Consultant in Intensive Care Medicine and Anaesthesia to join our team. The post includes a full-time commitment to ICU hot weeks, ICU on-call and weekend cover, plus weekday anaesthetic sessions.

The ICU consists of 21 single rooms with flexible level 2/3 beds. The successful candidate will hold CCTs in ICM and anaesthesia or be within six months of attainment, and will contribute to on-call rotas and clinical leadership.

Qualifications

• GMC registration with licence to practise.
• FFICM or equivalent Diploma.
• CCT in Intensive Care or within six months of anticipated CCT.
• FRCA or equivalent Diploma.
• CCT in Anaesthesia or within six months of anticipated CCT.
• Minimum 7 years' experience in ICM and anaesthesia.
• Minimum 1 year NHS experience.
• FUSIC accreditation.

Responsibilities

• Provide intensive care cover alongside other Intensivists.
• Participate in ICU on-call rota and weekend cover.
• Undertake additional sessions in anaesthesia to meet a 10 PA contract.
• Contribute to appraisal, revalidation and professional development.

Skills

GMC registration

FFICM

ICM CCT

FRCA

Anaesthesia CCT

7+ years ICM/anaesthesia

NHS experience

FUSIC accreditation

Job description

Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Consultant in Intensive Care Medicine and Anaesthesia

The closing date is 24 November 2026

The department is seeking to appoint a Consultant in Intensive Care and Anaesthesia. The candidate will integrate into the team of existing consultants to provide a complete intensive care service, including the equivalent of a full-time commitment to ICU hot weeks, ICU on call and weekend cover as well as weekday anaesthetic sessions.

This post has arisen from a vacancy in the Department of Anaesthesia & Intensive Care. It will add resilience to ICU consultant staffing and support an appropriate ratio of consultants to patients as described in GPICS guidelines.

The Intensive Care Unit (ICU) consists of 21 single rooms, each of which can be used for either level two or three care. Fifteen beds are commissioned on a flexible level 2/3 basis, funded as seven level three and eight level two beds. The additional rooms allow for future expansion, provide surge capacity and allow the ICU team to work flexibly to accommodate patients while maintaining staff patient ratios. The unit supports the tertiary South Mersey Arterial hub's activity.

The successful candidate will hold CCTs in both ICM and anaesthesia. It is also open to those who are within six months of attaining their CCTs.

Main duties of the job

The successful candidate will be responsible for providing intensive care cover along with the other Intensivists. Currently most of the Intensivists are also Anaesthetists who provide elective and emergency anaesthesia care when not on their intensive care hot weeks or on the ICU. The ICU on-call commitment will be 1:12 (including this post) to cover the ICU on call rota. The weekend on-call commitment will be 1:12 for long days and overnight on call. There are additional short-day weekends (so that there are two Intensivists for the morning ward rounds) making the overall weekend commitment 1 in 7.

Irrespective of other commitments, the post holder will contribute fully to the ICU on call, daytime and weekend ICU consultant cover. In addition, the successful candidate will also undertake additional sessions in anaesthesia to work a 10 PA contract with core 1.5 SPA included to meet the needs for appraisal and revalidation.

About us

The Trust's services are provided from three locations: o The Countess of Chester Hospital: providing 473 general and acute beds. o Ellesmere Port Hospital: providing 60 beds as a rehabilitation, intermediate and outpatient facility. o Tarporley War Memorial Hospital: a base for community services which serve the local rural population. The Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust employs 5,964 staff (headcount) to provide care and treatment to a population of over 400,000 people living in Chester and West Cheshire which includes Ellesmere Port and Neston as well as the Deeside area of Flintshire. The Trust works collaboratively within the wider Cheshire and Merseyside Integrated Care System. Due to its location on the border with North Wales, the Trust also works closely with the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board. The Trust treats patients from England and some parts of Wales. During 2024/2025, there were approximately 643,000 patient attendances (inpatient, A&E, outpatient and diagnostic) ranging from a simple outpatient appointment to major cancer surgery

Job responsibilities

See Job Description for further details.

Recruitment selection processes are based on competence (see Person specification) and values. An applicant guide to help and support you through your recruitment journey can be accessed at the bottom of this page.

If you have a disability that meets the definition set out in the Equality Act 2010, and you can show that you meet the essential criteria described in the person specification for an available position, please answer YES to the question: Do you wish to be considered under the Guaranteed Interview Scheme?

Please inform the team if you have any special support needs to be considered as part of the interview and selection processes.

The trust offers a Guaranteed Interview Scheme to any armed forces community applicants who meet the essential criteria for the post.

If a DBS is required for your role, you are encouraged to enrol for the DBS Update Service. A small annual fee applies which is payable to the DBS Service. Please note applicants will be required to pay for their DBS check. Cost swill be deducted from their salary over the first three months of employment.

New entrants to the NHS will commence on the minimum of the scale stated above.

Applicants requiring sponsorship may wish to determine the likelihood of obtaining sponsorship for this position by assessing themselves against the criteria on the gov.uk website - https://www.gov.uk/check-uk-visa.

The Trust will not sponsor where the starting salary does not meet immigration rules

Person Specification

Qualifications & Skills

• Full registration with the GMC with licence to practise
• FFICM or equivalent Diploma
• CCT (or equivalent) with entry on Specialist Register for Intensive Care or within six months of anticipated CCT on the date of interview
• FRCA or equivalent Diploma.
• CCT (or equivalent) with entry on Specialist Register for Anaesthesia or within six months of anticipated CCT on the date of interview.
• Minimum of 7 years' experience in ICM and anaesthesia
• Minimum of 1 year worked within NHS
• FUSIC accreditation

Clinical Experience and Effectiveness

• Smooth progression through training consistent with personal circumstances
• Evidence of ALS competencies.
• APLS, ATLS or ETC

Teaching & Training Experience

• Evidence of achieving GMC standards to be recognised as a clinical supervisor
• Active regular participation in teaching and training of medical and para-medical colleagues
• Extensive / formal experience in medical education including regional teaching.
• Formal Educational Qualification
• Life support course instructor

Clinical governance/ management

• Active consistent engagement with clinical audit
• Regular commitment to continuing medical education
• Evidence of reflective practice
• Good understanding of NHS management structures
• Evidence of implementing change to improve patient care
• Evidence of leadership in anaesthesia/critical care
• Evidence of involvement in clinical research
• Presentations at regional and national meetings
• Publications in peer reviewed journal

Personal Attributes

• Evidence of: Good organisational skills, Commitment to team working, Leadership qualities, Good interpersonal skills, Excellent written and spoken English, Industry and enthusiasm, Flexibility in a changing work environment, Caring and responsible attitude to colleagues
• Evidence of: Potential for wider hospital leadership roles.

Other Requirements

• To live within 10 miles of the Trust (unless negotiated otherwise)
• Member of a medical indemnity organisation

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.

Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust