Corneal Fellow

Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust; Frimley; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading healthcare provider in the UK seeks an Ophthalmic Fellow to advance their career in cornea and external eye disease. This role includes managing outpatient clinics, performing cataract surgeries, and engaging in trainee education. Candidates must hold FRCOphth/MRCOphth or equivalent and have significant experience in cataract surgery. The position offers a supportive environment with opportunities for clinical, leadership, and management development.

Benefits

Full professional development opportunities

Supportive working environment

Commitment to work-life balance

Qualifications

• Must have performed over 400 phacoemulsification cataract surgeries.
• Possession of FRCOphth/MRCOphth or equivalent is essential.
• Registered with the GMC and licensed to practice.

Responsibilities

• Manage corneal and external eye disease outpatient clinics.
• Participate in the general ophthalmology on-call rota.
• Support the education of specialist trainees and engage in audits.

Skills

Cataract surgery

Corneal disease management

Teaching and training

Education

FRCOphth/MRCOphth or equivalent

Registered with GMC

Tools

Bausch & Lomb Victus femtosecond laser

Job description

Job Overview

Join a leading corneal team at Frimley Health, serving a population of over 1 million across multiple sites including Frimley Park and Heatherwood Hospitals. Under the expert guidance of Mr Tom Poole, Ms Hala Ali, and Ms Han Bin Lee, you will gain extensive experience in corneal and external eye disease with access to premium NHSBT and US corneal tissue supplies.

Benefit from cutting-edge technology including the Bausch & Lomb Victus femtosecond laser for advanced procedures such as mushroom DALK, PK, SALK, and CAIRS. The role includes 2 corneal theatre sessions weekly, a high-volume cataract list, monthly crosslinking, plus outpatient clinics.

Ideal candidates will be registered with the GMC, hold FRCOphth/MRCOphth or equivalent, be near completion of higher specialist training, and have independently performed 400+ phacoemulsification cataract surgeries. You will join the general ophthalmology on-call rota (1:12) and contribute to trainee education, audit, and research.

This fellowship is designed as a career stepping stone towards consultant-level expertise in cornea and external eye disease, offering rich clinical, leadership, and management development.

Apply now to advance your ophthalmic career at Frimley Health!

Main duties of the job

including advanced procedures using the Bausch & Lomb Victus femtosecond laser (mushroom DALK, PK, SALK, CAIRS). They will also run a high-volume cataract surgery list weekly at Heatherwood Hospital and a monthly corneal crosslinking list at Frimley.

Clinical responsibilities include managing corneal and external eye disease outpatient clinics at Frimley Park, providing comprehensive care for referrals from the wider Frimley Health region and beyond. The fellow will participate in the general ophthalmology on-call rota (currently 1:12), responding to urgent cases.

Teaching and training are integral, with the fellow expected to support the education of specialist trainees and specialty doctors in theatre and clinic. They will also engage in clinical audit and research activities to support service improvement and academic development.

The role involves close supervision by Mr Tom Poole and collaboration with the corneal team led by Mr Poole, Ms Hala Ali, and Ms Han Bin Lee. The fellow will develop clinical, leadership, and management skills in preparation for consultant-level practice in cornea and external eye disease.

Working for our organisation

Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust is committed to being an inclusive and disability confident employer and has been awarded the Gold for the Armed Forces Employment Recognition Scheme. We provide first class development opportunities for all staff and have a wide range of professional, management and leadership, and clinical skills training available.

Here at Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust, we know how important it is to have a healthy work life balance; this benefits not only individuals but the patients we care for too.

We encourage applications from people who wish to work on a flexible basis, recognising that flexibility may mean a range of different working patterns and hours, we do our utmost to work with our staff to meet their needs and the needs of our service and its users.

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Detailed Job Description And Main Responsibilities

The job plan is likely to consist of two corneal operating sessions a week at Frimley, one high volume cataract list a week at Heatherwood, and a monthly crosslinking list at Frimley, as well as corneal/external disease clinics at Frimley.

The corneal team is lead by Mr Tom Poole, Ms Hala Ali, and Ms Han Bin Lee. The successful candidate will be supervised by Mr Tom Poole. The corneal service has access to NHSBT corneal material and US corneal material, with no current shortage in supply. The department has a Bausch and Lomb Victus femtosecond laser which we use for mushroom DALK, PK, SALK and CAIRS.

The successful candidate is expected to be on the general ophthalmology on-call rota (currently 1:12) and be involved in the training of specialist trainees and specialty doctors in theatre and in clinic. There will be opportunities to carry out audit and research.

Candidates are required to be registered with the General Medical Council and hold a licence to practice. Possession of FRCOphth/MRCOphth or equivalent ophthalmic qualification is necessary. Applicants should be at senior Specialist Trainee grade or equivalent and be near to completing or have completed their higher specialist training in ophthalmology.

Candidates should have already performed 400 phacoemulsification cataract surgeries and the ideal candidate will be able to perform high volume cataract surgery independently.

The post is intended as a step up from specialist training, with a view to developing the clinical, management and leadership skills to prepare the successful applicant for a consultant post specialising in cornea and external eye disease.

Person specification

Cataract surgery

Essential criteria

• over 400 phacoemulsification cataract surgeries
  
  

Desirable criteria

• Experience of High volume lists
  
  

FRCOphth/MRCOphth

Essential criteria

• Possession of FRCOphth/MRCOphth
  
  

License to practise

Essential criteria

• Candidates are required to be registered with the General Medical Council and hold a licence to practice.
  
  

Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust (FHFT) has an outstanding reputation and a proud record of achievement. As a well performing, well led and ambitious Foundation Trust, we have exciting times ahead of us. We have an ongoing commitment to improving the health and care services for the 900,000 people we serve across Berkshire, Hampshire, Surrey and south Buckinghamshire.

We are proud of the ambitions laid out in our strategy, Our Future FHFT, including our vision to be a leader in health & wellbeing, delivering excellence for our communities.

We continue to invest in our services and facilities, including a £10 million upgrade to the hospital maternity unit as well as £49m major new Emergency Assessment Centre on our Wexham Park site. The opening of a brand new £100m state of the art hospital which replaced the existing hospital facility at Heatherwood and are planning to invest further in diagnostics and inpatient capacity at Frimley Park.

We have also made significant investment in our quality improvement and digital programmes to support our vision and we will ensure that we achieve our aim of providing the highest quality healthcare to our patients. Our new EPR – Epic – went live in June and we are already beginning to reap the benefits of this ambitious investment.

Our three core values, and the behaviours that support them, guide everything we do and set out what we expect of our staff in the way they treat patients, visitors, service users and each other, Committed to Excellence, Working Together and Facing the Future.

Apply online now