Locum Consultant Anaesthetist | East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust

East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust; England; On-site; GBP 80,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

A regional healthcare provider in England seeks a Consultant in Anaesthesia for a fixed-term position. The role involves providing anaesthesia for various surgical specialties such as colorectal and orthopaedics, and requires effective communication skills with patients and staff. Applicants should hold GMC registration and either be on or due for entry to the specialist register. A commitment to teaching and supervision of junior staff is essential.

Qualifications

• Hold full registration with GMC and a licence to practise.
• On the specialist register or due for admission within six months.
• Communicate effectively and empathetically with patients.

Responsibilities

• Provide anaesthesia for a range of surgical specialties on site.
• Supervise and lead junior staff in the department.

Skills

Effective communication with patients

Effective communication with colleagues

Experience supervising junior staff

Leadership in service development

Teamwork

Education

Full GMC registration and licence to practise

Specialist registration or due admission within six months

Job description

Overview

We are looking to appoint a Consultant in Anaesthesia to join our busy, friendly department at East Lancashire Hospitals. This is a fixed term 6 month position.

Department and Service Scope

The department of Anaesthesia provides a comprehensive anaesthetic service to all specialties, with 27 theatres across 2 main sites in Blackburn and Burnley. The specialties include:

• Major cancer surgery in colorectal surgery, urology, gynaecology, ENT and maxillofacial surgery
• Robotic surgery for urology, colorectal and maxillofacial and gynaecological surgery
• Elective orthopaedic surgery on the BGH site with trauma and high risk elective surgery on the RBH site including inpatient paediatric surgery
• Regional vascular and hepato-pancreatico-biliary services
• A comprehensive nurse led preoperative assessment service with Consultant clinics including specialist vascular pre-op clinics and cardiopulmonary exercise testing.

We have a busy Obstetric Unit with approximately 6500 deliveries per year and a busy 32 bed critical care unit caring for 1600 patients per year. We take medical and surgical emergency patients and postoperative elective patients requiring a higher level of care.

Job Plan and On-Call

The job plan will consist of 10.2 PA per week, including 1.5 for SPA and 1.2 DCC PA attributable to on‑call. The remaining 6 sessions for anaesthetic services (1.25 PA per list). On‑call commitment is on a 1:11 basis (1.2 PA per week). This alternates between the Blackburn and Burnley sites. Blackburn is the acute site with ED and all general emergencies. Burnley on‑call is for Obstetrics and Gynaecology emergencies requiring anaesthesia.

Responsibilities

The successful candidate will be expected to provide anaesthesia for a broad range of surgical specialties on site, including Colorectal, Hepato‑Biliary, Vascular, Major Head & Neck, Orthopaedics and Trauma and for children having surgery over 6 months of age.

Qualifications and Skills

Applicants must hold full registration with GMC and a licence to practise. Applicants will either be on the specialist register or due admission to the register within six months. Applicants must possess the following skills:

• Ability to communicate with patients and relatives effectively and with empathy.
• Ability to communicate effectively and respectfully with colleagues and staff in all disciplines to facilitate best patient care.
• Experience of supervision of junior staff.
• Ability to lead the development of services and provoke best practice amongst the colleagues.
• Ability to work in a team and evidence of such.

Teaching and Development

The department takes trainees from the North West School of Anaesthesia. Teaching and training are high priorities within the department and all Consultants are expected to contribute to this. We also have a high commitment to teaching and training, receive excellent feedback from our trainees and have high exam pass rates.

Availability

This advert closes on Monday 5 Jan 2026.