Consultant in Thoracic Anaesthesia

Bristol NHS Foundation Trust; Bristol; On-site; GBP 85,000 - 110,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible working

Job summary

City and Weston hospital group is now part of the Bristol Foundation Trust, aiming to deliver exceptional local services for local people and specialist services across the South West. The department seeks a consultant in general anaesthesia with a specialist interest in thoracic anaesthesia to join the team based at the Bristol Royal Infirmary.

The post is 10 PAs and will require flexible working across Bristol Royal Infirmary, Weston General Hospital, St Michael’s Hospital, Bristol Eye

Qualifications

• FRCA (UK) or equivalent is required.
• Higher specialist training in Thoracic Anaesthesia is required.
• Ability to work flexibly to ensure smooth service delivery.

Responsibilities

• Based at Bristol Royal Infirmary with one clinical day per week at Weston General Hospital.
• Provide adult general anaesthesia including thoracic cases across multiple sites.
• Contribute to on-call rota and out-of-hours weekend rota.

Skills

Flexibility

Cross-site work

Teaching

Education

FRCA (UK) or equivalent

Higher specialist training in Thoracic Anaesthesia

Job description

As part of the transition to a Group Clinical Services structure within Bristol NHS Foundation Trust, there is an increased expectation of cross-site working.

Although roles will have a designated base, post holders are likely to be required to work across multiple Trust sites in line with service needs. Where this is not included in the initial job plan, any future requirement arising from the departmental restructures will be addressed through the job planning process. Travel time will be taken into consideration in line with contractual expectations.

North Bristol NHS Trust (NBT) and University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust (UHBW) have merged as of 1 st July 2026 to become Bristol NHS Foundation Trust. This will create an exciting future that brings together the best of both organisations. As a single, strong and sustainable organisation, we will not only be able to deliver better outcomes for our patients and fairer care for our population, but it will also provide greater opportunities for our people.
Bristol NHS Foundation Trust recognise the value of a healthy work-life balance. When applying, speak to us about how we might be able to accommodate flexible working, so your work life fits around your home life.

We particularly welcome applications from Black, Asian and minority ethnic candidates as they are under-represented within the Trust.
Our job adverts may close as soon as sufficient applications have been received. Considering this, if you are interested in this role, please do apply as soon as you can.

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Job overview

Substantive Advert City and Weston – THORACIC Anaesthesia Consultant
There never has been a more exciting time to join us; City and Weston hospital group is now part of the Bristol Foundation Trust, aiming to deliver exceptional local services for local people and specialist services across the South West.
The Department of General Anaesthesia sits within the Division of Surgery; however, the wider anaesthesia service bridges four clinical divisions of : Surgery (general anaesthesia and critical care), Weston, Specialised Services (cardiac anaesthesia) and Women’s and Children’s (paediatric and obstetric anaesthesia). The department of anaesthesia is seeking a consultant in general anaesthesia with a specialist interest in Thoracic anaesthesia to join the team based at the Bristol Royal Infirmary. The successful applicant will join a friendly, supportive and cohesive group of 45 substantive consultants within the general anaesthesia group. The post will be offered at 10 PAs.

Main duties of the job

This post will be based at the Bristol Royal Infirmary with one clinical day each week at Weston General Hospital. The post will address a flexible service requirement for adult general anaesthetic services for maxillofacial, ENT, dental, obstetrics, gynaecology, thoracic, upper & lower GI, trauma and orthopaedic surgery and ophthalmic surgery, long term IV access (ports/tunnelled lines, acute and chronic pain and pre-operative assessment. The post holder will be expected to contribute to the general on call rota and the predictable out-of-hours weekend rota across both sites.
The role will be split across the following hospital sites: Bristol Royal Infirmary, Weston General Hospital, St Michael’s Hospital, Bristol Eye Hospital and South Bristol Community

Working for our organisation

Bristol NHS Foundation Trust brings together more than 28,000 staff to deliver over 160 clinical services across thirteen hospital locations, operating from three main sites at Southmead, Bristol city centre and Weston.

With an annual turnover of £2.3 billion, we are now one of the largest NHS trusts in the United Kingdom. Our hospitals are spread across Bristol and Weston, join us and you can enjoy the very best of both worlds; city living within a stone’s throw of the countryside or beside the seaside, both with easy access to all that the South West has to offer.

Bristol NHS Foundation Trust values all people as individuals. As an equal opportunities employer actively working towards a diverse workforce we aim to recruit and retain a workforce which represents the rich diversity of the local population at all levels and are committed to designing our services around the needs of individual patients and those around them. Anonymous information will be used from your application in order to ensure we’re meeting our pledge.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

City and Weston is a large inner city teaching hospital group with close links to the University of Bristol. There is a strong tradition of teaching in the department, and we support the running of Bristol Medical Simulation Centre.

The applicant must hold FRCA (UK) or equivalent and be within 6 months of their CCT date at the time of interview or have gained CESR. They must have completed higher specialist training in Thoracic Anaesthesia. We are looking for applicants who are prepared to work flexibly to ensure smooth service delivery. More detailed person specification is available with the job description.

The Interview date is 30 th November 2026

Clinical Director for General Anaesthesia: Dr Ben Gupta

Deputy Clinical Director: Dr Liz Hood

General Manager for Anaesthesia: Mr Lee Bradley

Person specification

Qualifications & Training

• Full and specialist registration in either with the General Medical Council (GMC) Or
• Within 12months of obtaining expected CCT date at time of interview
• Higher academic qualification e.g. MD, PhD or equivalent

Experience

• Evidence of thorough and broad training and experience in tertiary thoracic anaesthesia
• Able to take responsibility for delivering service without direct supervision
• Evidence of a special interest and expertise that complements those of other consultants in the department and is consistent with the Trust’s service strategy

Clinical Knowledge and Skills

• Up to date knowledge and experience of relevant specialty
• Knowledge of NHS priorities with reference to specialty
• Broad range of IT skills

Clinical Governance and Audit

• Understanding of clinical governance and the individual responsibilities it implies
• Knowledge of the principles of clinical audit and evidence of participation
• Positive approach to evidence based practice
• Evidence of recent and regular engagement with continuing professional development (CPD) scheme

Research

• Knowledge of the principles involved in research
• Evidence of involvement in research
• Additional academic experience and qualifications e.g. PhD
• Evidence of publication of peer reviewed academic papers

Teaching and Training

• Experience of teaching medical students and AHP’s
• Experience of supervising trainees.
• Knowledge of teaching to a multidisciplinary team
• Educational Supervisor training completed
• Evidence of management training and evidence of learning from it
• Ability to organise efficient and smooth running of a specialist service
• Ability to cope with and effectively organise the workload of a consultant
• Ability to take on responsibility and show evidence of leadership
• Ability to work under pressure and cope with setbacks
• Ability to practice independently as a consultant
• Evidence of management/leadership experience and/or qualifications and courses

Interpersonal, communication and team working skills

• Ability to communicate effectively with patients, relatives, clinical colleagues, support staff and other colleagues.
• Good knowledge of, and ability to use, spoken and written English.
• Ability to present effectively to an audience, using a variety of methods, and to respond to questions and queries
• Ability to develop effective working relationships on an individual and multiprofessional basis with all levels of staff both within and across divisions
• Ability to be a flexible team member

Any other Personal Abilities and Aptitudes

• Ability to adapt and respond to changing circumstances
• Awareness of personal limitations
• Additional professional responsibilities at local, regional or national levels
• Trained as a Consultant Appraiser

Other

• Meets professional health requirements
• Agreement to travel to and work in other Bristol NHS Foundation Trust sites necessitated by the role

We hope that you will decide to join us and become part of this exciting journey, helping us to shape our future together.

As an equal opportunities employer actively working towards a diverse workforce we aim to recruit and retain a workforce which represents the rich diversity of the local population at all levels and are committed to designing our services around the needs of individual patients and those around them. Anonymous information will be used from your application to ensure we’re meeting our pledge.

The Trust is committed to investing in and caring for all our staff. We will support you in maintaining and improving your health and wellbeing, as well as your career development through management and training support - developing exceptional people for exceptional careers.

BFT is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people, and vulnerable adults.

To comply with Part 7 of the Immigration Act 2016 all applicants must be able to speak fluent English to an appropriate standard which will be assessed at Interview.

If you require sponsorship for a visa to work in the UK, to avoid disappointment, please check to ensure you are eligible under the UKVI points based system.

The Trust uses electronic new starter forms on Trac to collect personal details. Information collected is securely stored and used to set up the employee record on the ESR HR system.

By applying for this post, you are agreeing to Bristol NHS Foundation Trust transferring the information contained in this application to its preferred applicant management system. If you are offered a job, information will also be transferred into the national NHS Electronic Staff Records system.

Please be aware of scams – unless specified above, we will only communicate with you via @recruit.trac.jobs or nhs.net e-mails and we will never ask you for any payments.

IMPORTANT:

Please note that if you apply for a position with this Trust, you may be contacted via Trac or via email. This includes invites for job interviews. We therefore recommend that you regularly check your Trac account and email accounts. We may also contact you by texting the mobile number, if provided, on the application form.

Due to the high number of applications that are received for some posts we may close this vacancy before the advertised closing date. Therefore, please apply for this post as soon as you can, if you are interested and you meet the requirements of the Person Specification

Only those candidates who clearly demonstrate how they meet the person specification will be shortlisted for this job.

As a guide interviews should usually take place within 3 weeks of the closing date.

When providing employment reference details, please provide correct work-related email addresses so references can be sought promptly when we are looking to progress your application. Your referee must all be known to you in a line manager or professional lead capacity.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.