Locum Consultant Neonatologist

Ashford and St. Peter's Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust; Chertsey; On-site; GBP 114,000 - 151,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

NHS benefits and discounts

Job summary

Ashford and St. Peter's Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is seeking a Locum Consultant Neonatologist to join our team in the tertiary NICU at St Peter's Hospital, Chertsey. This is a full-time 10 PA post on a 12-month fixed-term contract commencing December 2026.

The post covers consultant-led care, the Surrey Neonatal Transport Service, and participation in education, research and governance. There is potential for a subsequent substantive post in the future.

Qualifications

• Full GMC registration required.
• CCT or eligibility for Specialist Register within 6 months of interview.
• Subspecialty neonatal medicine training (SPIN/GRID).
• MSc, MD or PhD preferred in neonatal specialty.

Responsibilities

• Share in the neonatal attending rota equitably across the service.
• Provide consultant-led clinical care in NICU, HDU, SCU and Transitional Care.
• Support Surrey Neonatal Transport Service (NTS) on a rota basis.
• Engage in education, research, quality improvement, audit and governance activities.

Education

Full GMC registration

Certificate of Completion of Training (CCT) or equivalent

Subspecialty training in neonatal medicine (Grid/SPIN)

MSc/MD/PhD higher qualification (neonatal related)

Job description

Main area Neonatal Intensive Care Grade NHS Medical & Dental: Consultant Contract Fixed term: 12 months (0.26 PAs (Transport)) Hours Full time - 10 sessions per week (0.26 PAs (Transport) and High Frequency Cat A & B on call) Job ref 323-MD0195-AM

Employer Ashford and St. Peter's Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust Employer type NHS Site St Peter's Hospital Town Chertsey Salary £113,565 - £150,569 0.26 PAs for Transport, Cat A & B Low Frequency on call Salary period Yearly Closing 20/10/2026 23:59 Interview date 05/11/2026

Locum Consultant Neonatologist

NHS Medical & Dental: Consultant

Job overview

We are looking for an exceptional Locum Consultant to join our team of 11 WTE neonatologists in our tertiary level medical NICU in St. Peter’s Hospital, Surrey. This is a full time (10PA) post on an initial fixed term contract for one year with an aim to commence from December 2026.

There is a plan for a subsequent substantive post to be advertised thereafter. We are a friendly and supportive team, and welcome pre-interview visits / meetings, so please do contact us if you are interested.

Main duties of the job

The successful post holder will participate fully in the consultant rota, covering the Neonatal Unit at St Peter’s Hospital and the Surrey Neonatal transport service.

The new post holder will provide direct consultant-led clinical care to patients, across all areas of the neonatal inpatient and outpatient service, assisting clinical decision-making and sharing equitably in the workload. The post holder will act as a clinical leader and senior member of the clinical team, supporting the wider multidisciplinary team to deliver cohesive care.

Working for our organisation

Ashford and St. Peters Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is the largest provider of acute hospital services to Surrey residents, serving a population of 410,00 people and employing approximately 4,800 staff.

Our vision is to provide an outstanding experience and best outcomes for patients and the team. We are committed to providing continuous professional development and flexibility to deliver our workforce plan.

We work in partnership with Royal Surrey Hospital NHS Foundation Trust through a collaborative Group Model, supporting joined-up services, workforce flexibility and development opportunities.

St Peter’s Hospital delivers complex medical and surgical care, maternity and emergency services. Day and orthopaedic surgery, ophthalmology and outpatient services are delivered at Ashford Hospital. Additional services are delivered at Woking Community Hospital.

Our Values provide us with the behaviours we respect and can commit to. By living our values through our everyday interactions, we can build a stronger, more resilient, and forward- thinking organisation, guiding us to achieve success and make a positive impact on how we deliver our services.

We can offer you the full range of NHS benefits and discounts.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The successful post holder will share in the neonatal attending rota equitably as per their job plan. A successful post holder would:

Provide direct consultant led clinical care to patients, across all areas of the service, including NICU, High dependency, Special care and Transitional Care.

The post holder also provides consultant led clinical support to Surrey NTS team, who work on a rotational basis with other KSS transport teams. Whilst most of this will be remote cover, the post holder is expected to go out on transfers on an ad-hoc basis to support the team as required.

Provide neonatal out-patient services and specialist clinics as necessary (eg: neurodevelopment or cardiac).

Have a continuing responsibility for the care of patients in his/her charge, ensuring safe handover as appropriate.

As part of the Consultant team, will provide comprehensive senior clinical cover to the Neonatal Service with an aim to promote and continue to develop a regional perinatal service by working jointly with Maternity team.

Work with existing Consultants and the multi-disciplinary team to provide a high-quality well-led service for patients/families of Ashford & St Peter’s, including the diagnosis, investigation, treatment and management of patients, in accordance with Trust policies and practices.

Engage fully with the care of relevant patients outside the department and provide a prompt opinion on request from consultant colleagues in other specialties when required.

Engage with medical, nursing, AHP’s, management and all relevant co-workers in the delivery of service objectives: to provide clinical leadership, improve the patient experience and ensure the highest quality clinical care.

Actively participate in and support other staff with education, research, quality improvement, audit and clinical governance activities, leadership and management roles involving a multi-disciplinary workforce across the service.

Participate in the professional training of the staff in the department, both medical and non-medical, and contribute as required to teaching sessions for other hospital staff as well as undergraduate and postgraduate staff. This includes educational and clinical supervision of junior medical staff and Advanced Neonatal Nurse Practitioners (ANNPs).

Support recruitment, appraisal, development and mentoring activities to a multi-disciplinary, multi-professional team.

Undertake any other duties appropriate for a consultant.

Any changes will be by negotiation and will be reflected in the job plans of the team.

The job plan will be broadly based on the information below. The timings of the sessions indicated may alter slightly, but the overall composition of the job plan is not expected to change significantly without expansion of the team/further team discussions.

The Consultant Neonatologist (10 PA post) will continue to follow a 11-week cycle. This advertised post will have a line on the rota which includes covering Surrey NTS service. There may be additional clinical hours required to cover the DCC activities based on the service needs as the new post holder develops more expertise in other SPA lead roles. Transport cover in daytime (09:00 – 16:00) is onsite and is expected to be able to go out for transport to support middle grade doctors and nursing team. The equivalent of nine days off per 11-week cycle is built into the rota, providing an average working week of circa. 4.2 days.

Circa 8 – 8.5 DCC PA (with prospective cover) and circa 1.5 - 2.00 SPA (1SPA core, 0.25 SPA for lead roles within the service and additional educational supervision SPA) to the Neonatal Intensive Care.

Additional 0.26 DCC PA for responsibility allowance towards KSS Neonatal Transport service for non-resident cover for evening hours outside of 09:00 – 16:00 hours and overnight cover.

The post holder will be required to participate in the department rota on a 1:9 to 1:11 basis varying due to LTFT consultant workforce with restricted oncall duties. The on-call availability supplement will be Category A Low Frequency. This is built within the rolling rota. The PAs may be adjusted depending on the needs of the department, subject to the job-plan and agreed work commitment, such as colleague cover and additional duties.

Person specification

Qualifications

• Full registration with the General Medical Council with licence to practice.
• Certificate of Completion of Training (or equivalent) by the time of taking up the post or be accredited for inclusion on the General Medical Council’s Specialist Register. Candidates are welcome to apply within 6 months of their CCT date.
• Subspecialty training in neonatal medicine (Grid training or equivalent – SPIN training)
• MSc, MD or PhD higher qualification preferably related to neonatal specialty

Experience

• Evidence of thorough and broad training in neonatal medicine.
• Ability to take full and independent responsibility for the clinical care of patients.
• Evidence of leadership work in neonatal medicine
• Experience of neonatal transport
• Echocardiography and point of care ultrasound skills

Please note that adverts may close early, so early application is encouraged.

Certificate of Sponsorship
In line with UKVI guidance, we are unable to provide a Certificate of Sponsorship for Band 2 and Band 3 roles.

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.

Name Vennila Ponnusamy Job title Consultant Neonatologist, Specialty Lead Email address [e-mail]