Specialty Doctor Anaesthetics

Transformation Unit; St Leonards; Remote; GBP 64,000 - 103,000; Full time

Job summary

East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust seeks a Specialty Doctor in Anaesthetics based at Conquest Hospital or St Leonards or Eastbourne District General Hospital, with cross-site duties and weekend trauma participation. Applicants should have at least two years’ post-qualification experience in anaesthesia, with obstetric anaesthesia competency desirable and critical care experience required.

The post offers full-time hours (10 sessions per week) with an on-call component and a weekly SPA time

Qualifications

• Completed at least four years’ full-time postgraduate training, with at least two years in a relevant anaesthetic speciality.
• Experience in anaesthesia for emergency surgery is beneficial.
• Competency in obstetric anaesthesia is desirable; critical care experience is required.

Responsibilities

• Cover elective and emergency lists across hospital sites with consultant supervision.
• Provide anaesthesia for uncomplicated lists independently when appropriate; mentor available.
• Occasional obstetric and critical care coverage as needed to ensure safe staffing.
• Weekly SPA time for non-clinical duties, teaching, audit and governance.

Education

Postgraduate training in anaesthetics

Job description

Main area Anaesthetics Grade NHS Medical & Dental: Specialty Doctor Contract Permanent Hours Full time - 10 sessions per week (+ 1:8 Trauma Weekend cover) Job ref 374-CQEB-5002

Employer East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust Employer type NHS Site Conquest Hospital Town St Leonards on Sea Salary £63,696 - £102,689 per annum Salary period Yearly Closing 18/11/2026 23:59

Specialty Doctor Anaesthetics

NHS Medical & Dental: Specialty Doctor

We provide safe, compassionate and high quality hospital and community care to over half a million people living in East Sussex and those who visit our local area.

We are one of the largest organisations in East Sussex with an annual income of £650 million and we are the only integrated provider of acute and community care in Sussex. Our extensive health services are provided by over 8,000 dedicated members of staff working from two acute hospitals in Hastings and Eastbourne, three community hospitals in Bexhill, Rye and Uckfield, over 100 community sites across East Sussex, and in people’s own homes.

In 2020 the Care Quality Commission (CQC) rated us as ‘Good’ overall, and ‘Outstanding’ for being Caring and Effective. Conquest Hospital and our Community Services were rated ‘Outstanding’ and Eastbourne DGH was rated ‘Good’.

Our two acute hospitals have emergency departments and provide 24 hour a day care, offering a comprehensive range of surgical, medical, outpatient and maternity services, supported by a full range of diagnostic and therapy services. Our centre for trauma services and obstetrics is at Conquest Hospital, while our centre for urology and stroke services is at Eastbourne DGH. At Bexhill Hospital we offer a range of outpatient, day surgery, rehabilitation and intermediate care services. At Rye, Winchelsea and District Memorial Hospital we offer outpatients, rehabilitation and intermediate services. At Uckfield Community Hospital we provide day surgery and outpatient care.

In the community, we deliver services that focus on people with long term conditions living well outside hospital, through our integrated locality teams working with district and community nursing teams. Community members of staff also provide care to patients in their homes and from a number of clinics, health centres and GP surgeries.

Job overview

We are seeking speciality doctors in anaesthetics to join our busy and dynamic department at East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust. Successful candidates will be based at a primary hospital (either Conquest Hospital, St Leonards or Eastbourne District General Hospital) with the expectation of cross-site working. On calls will also be based at a primary hospital. Post holders must have at least two years’ experience in anaesthetics, with previous experience providing anaesthesia for emergency surgery beneficial. Competency in obstetric anaesthesia is desirable, and critical care experience is required.

Main duties of the job

Our vision is to build on developing an excellent, high-quality service, where individual team members are highly valued in the delivery of patient centred care. We are keen to achieve ACSA (Anaesthetic Clinical Service accreditation) status in the future.

The Trust anaesthetic department is split between Conquest Hospital and Eastbourne District General Hospital, with a busy and varied case mix on each site. We are a friendly, supportive department and successful candidates will be welcomed as equal and valued members of our team, which currently comprises of 43 consultant anaesthetists, plus a similar number of speciality doctors and trainees.

Working for our organisation

A wide range of staff benefits are available to our staff including staff development, enrolment in the NHS pension scheme, auto-enrolment to our Temporary Workforce Service, access to nurseries at Conquest Hospital and Eastbourne District General Hospital, staff restaurants and on-site staff accommodation.

In addition to an internal Occupational Health department, all staff also have access to free psychological support through our confidential Employee Assistance Programme which is available to staff 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Onsite parking is available for a small administration fee.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

During normal hours there will be the opportunity to develop skills and experience across the wide range of anaesthetic subspecialties available in the Trust. This will include covering elective and emergency lists on either hospital site, with an appropriate level of consultant supervision (dependent on complexity of cases and/or post holder experience). Successful candidates should be competent to provide anaesthesia for uncomplicated lists without direct supervision. However, a consultant mentor will always be available to advise in such cases and provide ad hoc support as needed. At times there will also be a requirement to cover obstetric services and critical care during normal weekday hours (rather than a theatre list); this will be dictated by clinical need and staffing numbers within the department and will be a shared responsibility by all, in order to ensure these unpredictable areas are always safely staffed. During normal hours, both obstetrics and critical care always have a dedicated consultant to provide support and direct supervision as necessary.

Successful candidates will be entitled to weekly SPA time, to be used for non-clinical administrative duties, teaching, training, audit, research, clinical governance and reflective practice.

The post holder will join the Trauma Weekend Team at the Conquest Hospital. This is recognised as currently contributing an average of 1.1 PA based on a 1: 8 weekend rota cycle, plus one bank holiday per member per year. The weekend activity is 0800 to 1800 Saturday and Sunday. There is no night-time activity.

Person specification

Training and Experience

• Completed at least four years’ full-time postgraduate training (or its equivalent gained on a part-time or flexible basis) at least two of which will be in speciality training programme in a relevant speciality or as a fixed term speciality trainee in a relevant speciality or shall have equivalent experience and competencies
• Wide experience in all aspects of anesthesia appropriate to working in a DGH setting – including critical care.

Patients come first at East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust.

Our vision is to be:

• The healthcare provider of first choice for the people of East Sussex.

Our mission is to:

• Deliver better health outcomes and an excellent experience for everyone we provide with healthcare services.

Our strategic objectives are to:

• Improve quality and clinical outcomes by ensuring that safe patient care is our highest priority.
• Play a leading role in local partnerships to meet the needs of our local population and improve and enhance patients’ experiences.
• Use our resources efficiently and effectively for the benefit of our patients and their care to ensure our services are clinically, operationally and financially sustainable.

Our aims are that all services delivered by the Trust are:

• Safe
• Effective
• Caring
• Responsive and
• Well led

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.