Lead Clinical Endoscopist

Lancashire Teaching Hospitals; Chorley; On-site; GBP 50,000 - 70,000; Full time

Job summary

A healthcare provider is seeking a Lead Clinical Endoscopist to manage and develop the endoscopist team and deliver high-quality endoscopic services. The ideal candidate should be a registered nurse with significant endoscopy experience and strong leadership skills. This role involves performing advanced endoscopic procedures and training medical staff. You will work closely with clinical teams to maintain JAG accreditation and improve patient care standards.

Benefits

Access to development opportunities

Supportive work environment

Contributions to research and clinical governance

Qualifications

• Must have significant experience in endoscopy and service development.
• Required advanced clinical decision-making skills.
• Need evidence of leadership in quality improvement.

Responsibilities

• Lead and manage the clinical endoscopist team.
• Perform diagnostic and therapeutic endoscopy independently.
• Train trainee clinical endoscopists and other staff.

Skills

Advanced communication skills

Expert clinical knowledge in gastrointestinal endoscopy

Leadership and management

Clinical audit and governance

Education

Registered first level nurse or equivalent

Degree in nursing or specialist practice

Clinical skills qualification (JAG approved)

Non-medical prescribing qualification

Job description

Job overview

Well it’s not often a brand new post like this comes up and what an opportunity it is! This is a role which involves working as a Clinical endoscopist and managing and developing the Clinical endoscopist team. This really is a career opportunity for the right person who wants to progress.

Your passion for endoscopy, excellent communication skills coupled with your experience of working as a Nurse / Clinical endoscopist will make you flourish in this role and enrich our team. Each week you will have 3 fixed endoscopy lists with 2 further ad‑hoc lists and be delivering an endoscopy service across 2 sites, including the provision of gastroscopies, flexible sigmoidoscopies and colonoscopies.

The role also involves working with and training the Trainee Clinical endoscopists / medical / non‑medical trainees.

Working closely with the consultant and nursing teams you will help us to provide the highest standards of patient care and achieve national targets to meet service need and ensure continuing JAG accreditation.

Main duties of the job

The Lead clinical endoscopist has a clinical responsibility to work independently and autonomously and carry out diagnostic & therapeutic OGDs, flexible sigmoidoscopy and colonoscopy and cover endoscopy lists for other endoscopy colleagues.

You will lead, develop and line manage the Clinical endoscopist and trainee clinical endoscopist team by providing support, advice and education (both formal and informal) on all aspects of endoscopy management. You will be expected to provide formal training to Trainee clinical endoscopists, nursing staff and other staff in endoscopy and have completed the Train the trainer qualification (or complete this within 6 months of appointment).

The role will support the endoscopy leadership team in ensuring excellent standards within the endoscopy units across the Trust and to maintain JAG accreditation.

The role involves managing patients appropriately through the diagnostic pathway using pre‑assessment, outpatient clinics, telephone clinics and MDT review.

The post also involves participating in research, risk management and clinical audit and representing the Trust in relevant clinical networks (e.g., attending the Bowel Cancer Screening Programme Board meetings) and in joint work with local, regional and national bodies.

You will be accountable for your own professional actions and practice endoscopic procedures in accordance with the mandatory requirements of the JAG and BSG.

Working for our organisation

We have two JAG accredited endoscopy units (one in Royal Preston Hospital & one in Chorley Hospital) each with 2 endoscopy rooms. The units perform a wide range of inpatients and outpatients endoscopic procedures including:

• GI diagnostic & therapeutic procedures; Endoscopic Mucosal Resection (EMR) / Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) / Endoscopic Ultrasound (EUS)
• Bowel cancer screening programme
• Diagnostic & therapeutic bronchoscopy including: EBUS / TBNA) / Endobronchial Valves & coils and stents / Thoracoscopy / IPC placement / laryngoscopy for ILO

We want to invest and develop you, to help you grow, learn more skills and reach your full potential. You will have access to appropriate development opportunities, support, guidance and, of course, a great team behind you all the way. As a Trust, we have loads of initiatives to support our staff – way more than we can describe in an advert, so have a look at our internet pages to give you a flavour.

Working with us gives you the knowledge and sense of pride that every activity you do genuinely makes a difference to support our patients & staff, ensuring we keep thriving & delivering outstanding healthcare right across our local towns.

Everything we do centres around patient care which means your role is pivotal and something really to be proud of.

Detailed job description & main responsibilities

Duties to include but not limited to :

• Provides line management, mentorship and support to trainee clinical endoscopist(s) and clinical endoscopists, provides advice to medical, nursing and other health care professionals on endoscopic procedures
• Develop the trainee clinical endoscopists and clinical endoscopists within the team to ensure the trainees are signed off as competency in a timely manner
• Lead on Freedom of Information Act requests as required and within prescribed timescales
• Undertakes diagnostic and therapeutic upper and lower GI endoscopy using advanced clinical knowledge, skills and decision making to ensure excellent care for patients, working at an advanced level practice autonomously as well as within a multi-disciplinary team
• Utilises advanced communication skills, including sharing sensitive and complex information with patients / family / carer and when providing advice and promoting lifestyle changes
• Demonstrates advanced theoretical and practical clinical knowledge required to perform the range of work encompassed within the clinical endoscopist role ensuring all work (including conscious sedation) is carried out within the defined boundaries of clinical endoscopic practice and Trust guidelines
• Contribute to clinical activity / data collection / audit as required
• Develop the independent prescribing role of the clinical endoscopist and support the implementation of patient group directions in the Trust
• Overall responsibility for vacancy / talent management in the Clinical endoscopy team (including trainees), ensuring all vacancies are recruited to in a timely manner and in line with the Trust Recruitment & selection policy
• Responsible for workforce planning

Please see job description for more information.

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential criteria

• Registered first level nurse or equivalent allied health professional qualification.
• Degree in nursing / specialist practice or equivalent.
• Teaching in practice or equivalent.
• Clinical skills qualification (JAG approved colonoscopy, flexible sigmoidoscopy & upper GI endoscopy).
• Bowel Scope Accreditation (or achieved within six months of appointment).
• JAG accredited train the trainer qualification (or achieved within six months of appointment).
• Evidence of expert professional / clinical knowledge in gastrointestinal endoscopy.
• Immediate Life Support training.
• Advanced communications skills training.
• Non-medical prescribing qualification.
• Master’s degree or working towards.
• Achieved a level 7 module of study (or within 2 years of starting).

Desirable criteria

• Post registration management and / or leadership course or evidence to demonstrate equivalent experience.
• Advanced Nurse Practitioner or similar at postgraduate degree level.
• Qualification in history taking and physical examination.

Knowledge

Essential criteria

• Post registration experience working as an autonomous and advanced practitioner in relevant field.
• Significant experience in endoscopy / gastroenterology & service development.
• Evidence of development of protocols.
• Evidence of management and multidisciplinary team leadership
• Experience of clinical governance including audit, risk management, accountability and evidence-based practice
• Experience of implementing change.
• Evidence of involvement / implementation of GRS standards.
• Experience of patient / user involvement initiatives
• Demonstrate specialist expertise underpinned by theory acquired through CPD
• Experience of motivating staff and improving individual and team performance
• Evidence of leadership in continuous quality improvement
• Evidence of involvement in and promoting research and incorporating research into practice at a local level
• Knowledge of BSG guidelines.

Desirable criteria

• Project management training / experience.