King’s & Queen Square Complex Spinal Neurosurgery SC Fellowship

King's College Hospital; Greater London; On-site; GBP 74,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust in London invites applications for a Senior Clinical Fellow in Complex Spinal Neurosurgery. The post is a fixed-term 18-month fellowship with on-call commitments and a 40-hour work week, including on-call duties.

The role offers progression towards consultant positions and contributes to a national reference centre in spinal oncology, trauma and complex degenerative cases.

Qualifications

• Full GMC registration is required.
• Postgraduate surgical qualifications (MRCS/FRCS) or equivalent expected.
• St8 or post-CCT training considered.

Responsibilities

• Data collection and patient care on wards, assisting in theatre.
• Attend appropriate clinics and review relevant literature.
• Participate in the spinal neurosurgery rota during rotation.

Skills

CT/ST6 competences

Spinal surgery experience

Education

MRCS/AFRCS/FRCS or equivalent postgraduate surgical qualification

ST8 or post CCT

Full GMC registration

PhD, MD (original research)

ALS (or equivalent) within 2 years

Job description

King’s & Queen Square Complex Spinal Neurosurgery SC Fellowship

NHS Medical & Dental: Senior Clinical Fellow

Main area King’s and Queen Square Complex Spinal Neurosurgery Senior Clinical Fellowship Grade NHS Medical & Dental: Senior Clinical Fellow Contract Fixed term: 18 months (with on-call Commitment) Hours Full time - 40 hours per week (with on-call commitment) Job ref 213-DivisionC-8432126

Employer King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust Employer type NHS Site King's College Hospital Town London Salary £81,804 1 PA to cover on-call commitments - plus London allowance Salary period Yearly Closing 25/11/2026 08:00

King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is one of the UK’s largest and busiest teaching Trusts with a turnover of c£2.1 billion, 1.5 million patient contacts a year and more than 14,000 staff based across 5 main sites in South East London. The Trust provides a full range of local hospital services across its different sites, and specialist services from King’s College Hospital (KCH) sites at Denmark Hill in Camberwell and at the Princess Royal University Hospital (PRUH) site in the London Borough of Bromley.

We encourage all our staff to have a healthy work/life balance. In doing so, you can apply for flexible working from the beginning of your employment. We offer a range of options which are designed to suit different circumstances and priorities in line with service requirements.

Applications are invited to apply for the RCS Eng approved advanced fellowship programme in Complex Spinal Neurosurgery, a joint fellowship based at University College London Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and King’s College Hospital Foundation Trust. This clinical fellowship allows an experienced neurosurgical trainee to obtain sub-specialty experience across all aspects of complex spine neurosurgery. Both departments are national reference centres in the United Kingdom and are leading units in spinal oncology (primary and metastatic spinal cord), complex degenerative (including revision surgery) and spinal trauma. Fellows will be trained in complex intradural surgery, instrumentation and minimally invasive techniques using spinal robotics, navigation, ultrasound and spinal endoscopy

Main duties of the job

This post will provide successful fellows experience sufficient for consultant appointment as a complex spine specialist. The fellow will learn the following techniques:

1. Tubular and endoscopic access (cervical and lumbar)

2. MIS fusion and cement augmentation

3. Advanced spinal trauma surgery

4. Mini thoracotomy surgery and transoral surgery

5. Lateral and anterior lumbar surgery

8. Cervical and thoracolumbar deformity correction

9. Cranio cervical instrumentation (trauma and deformity)

10. Pelvis Instrumentation

The fellow is expected to complete the full 18 fellowship and will be fully supported in consultant job applications. Surgeons preparing to work as consultants must be intimately involved with the running of the neurosurgical service and in providing continuity of care for the patients since this will be an integral part of their practice as consultants. The fellow will therefore participate in the general neurosurgical rota during their rotation at King’s and Queen Square.

Working for our organisation

The Trust provides a full range of local and specialist services across its five sites. Transforming Healthcare is the vision at the heart of the King’s Strategy – 2026 to 2031. Together, we are pursuing six strategic ambitions: delivering high-quality patient care; being a great place to work; leading pioneering research, innovation and education; building strong and successful partnerships; providing timely and efficient care; and ensuring long-term financial sustainability. Achieving these ambitions will require all of us to work as one Team King’s, united by a shared commitment to our values of being caring, collaborative, inclusive and innovative. By living these values every day, we will transform healthcare for our patients, our communities and each other

We are at a pivotal point in our history and we require individuals who are ready to join a highly professional team and make a real, lasting difference to our patients and our people.

King’s is committed to delivering Sustainable Healthcare for All via our Green Plan. In line with national Greener NHS ambitions, we have set net zero carbon targets of 2040 for our NHS Carbon Footprint and 2045 for our NHS Carbon Footprint Plus. Everyone’s contribution is required in order to meet the goals set out in our Green Plan and we encourage all staff to work responsibly, minimising their contributions to the Trust’s carbon emissions, waste and pollution wherever possible.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The duties will comprise data collection, assistance with the care of patients on the wards, assistance in the operating theatre, attendance at appropriate clinics and review of appropriate literature and clinical data. Excellent neurosurgical operative experience can be obtained with senior supervision and feedback provided. The timetable for these activities is dependent upon which consultant the post holder will be working for, as is a list of possible review and research topics.The post holder will collect data relevant to the spinal pathway but will also be involved in the management of patients on the ward, assisting with operations in the theatre or operate within their experience, and assist at Outpatient Clinics which may involve travel to other hospitals.

Person specification

Education/Qualifications

• Full registration with the GMC
• Evidence of achievement of Foundation competences from a UKFPO affiliated Foundation Programme or equivalent by time of appointment in line with GMC standards/ Good Medical Practice
• MRCS/AFRCS/FRCS or equivalent postgraduate surgical qualification
• ST8 or post CCT
• Not previously relinquished, released or removed from a training programme in this specialty unless under exceptional circumstances
• PhD, MD (original research) Other degrees/qualifications
• Experience of spinal surgery and data collection.
• ALS (or equivalent) within 2 years

Skills/Knowledge/Ability

• Evidence of achievement of CT/ST6 competences in medicine at time of application (as defined by the curricula relating to Core Medical training) by the commencement of the ST3 training post (August 2012 or later), supported by evidence from work-based assessments of clinical performance (DOPS, Mini-CEX, CBD, ACAT) and Multi-Source Feedback or equivalent, ARCP or equivalent.

IMPORTANT

• Check your email account regularly as this is how we will communicate with you
• If you delete the job from any of your accounts, you may be prevented from accessing further communications
• To enquire about your application or inform us of any changes in your circumstances, please contact the named person on this advert
• Please provide email addresses for referees where possible
• Please review the documentation on our recruitment microsite, particularly the Trust’s criminal records checking policy
• All staff have a responsibility for safeguarding children and vulnerable adults and for ensuring they are aware of the specific duties relating to their role.
• Please note that the closing date is given as a guide. On occasion, we might close a vacancy early due to a high number of applications being received. You are advised to submit your application as early as possible to avoid disappointment.

AI tools like chatbots and virtual assistants can support you as you complete your application. For example, they can check for spelling or grammar errors, or help you to decide what to include. They shouldn’t however replace your own responses or be used to write the application for you.

Relying too much on AI can negatively impact your chances of success because automatically generated answers:

• might not be specific or relevant enough to address the criteria in the recruitment profile
• often seem generic and not personalised enough – an AI response won’t show your unique voice and perspective
• could misrepresent information about you, such as your qualifications, skills and experience

We monitor applications for any behaviour that could create an unfair advantage, and we check all references carefully. You are likely to be tested on your experience at interview, so be honest and make sure all the information in your application is correct.

King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust Annual Reports and Other Corporate Publications
King's Health Partners Academic Health Science Centre Website
King's College Hospital is part of King's Health Partners Academic Health Sciences Centre (AHSC), a pioneering collaboration between King's College London, and Guy's and St Thomas', King's College Hospital and South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trusts.

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.

Application numbers

Please note that the closing date is given as a guide. On occasions, we may close a vacancy early due to a high number of applications being received. You are advised to submit your application as early as possible to avoid disappointment.