Specialty Doctor - Stroke Medicine

Integrated Care System; Torquay; On-site; GBP 45,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

A regional health trust in Torquay seeks a Specialty Doctor in Stroke Medicine to provide high-quality care across the stroke pathway. The role involves teamwork, mentoring foundation doctors, and engaging in service development. Candidates should possess relevant qualifications and demonstrate at least three years of experience in stroke medicine within a multidisciplinary context. This position offers an opportunity for professional development and is exempt from on-call commitments.

Benefits

Opportunity for career progression

Supportive working environment

Mentoring opportunities

Qualifications

• At least three years of middle grade experience in Stroke Medicine.
• Ability to fulfil job plan requirements.
• Ability to manage stroke patients with minimal supervision.

Responsibilities

• Deliver specialized clinical expertise to patients and multidisciplinary teams.
• Lead daily ward rounds and multidisciplinary meetings.
• Teach and supervise junior doctors and medical students.

Skills

Independent patient management

Effective communication

Multidisciplinary teamwork

Leadership

Time management

Education

MB. ChB. or equivalent

MRCP (UK) or equivalent

Diploma in Geriatric Medicine

Diploma in Palliative Care

Tools

Stroke thrombolysis training

Advanced Life Support (ALS)

Job description

Go back Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust

Specialty Doctor - Stroke Medicine

The closing date is 21 August 2025

This is a substantive specialty doctor post (employed as per the specialty doctor contract) working across the hyper-acute, acute, and rehabilitation stroke services within Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust. The post focuses on providing consistent high-quality care to patients with stroke across their care pathway.

The specialty doctor (Stroke Medicine) post will offer experience across the whole stroke pathway; TIA clinics, hyper-acute care including cerebral reperfusion assessment and delivery, acute management, and rehabilitation. There is a particular focus on multidisciplinary team working and ensuring the delivery of excellent, patient-centred care.

The post holder will not be required to undertake out-of-hours or on-call commitments.

The role includes 1 PA of SPA time, supervision of foundation doctors, and offers the opportunity to work towards CESR if desired.

The department encourages an interest in service development and quality improvement.

Main duties of the job

o The post holder will join the Stroke Medicine team at Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust to provide specialised clinical expertise, expert advice, and leadership to patients, carers, and trust staff.o The post holder will work within the existing interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary teams based across the hyper-acute, acute, and community stroke services.o The main responsibilities include direct delivery and leadership of stroke care foro Acute admissions - cerebral reperfusion assessment and delivery and facilitating the front door acute stroke pathway.o Inpatients - participating in daily ward rounds, & multidisciplinary meetings.o TIA clinics.o Stroke rehabilitation medicine - the post may include working at the Stroke Rehabilitation Unit based in Newton Abbot Community Hospital.o The post will involve, clinical supervision of foundation doctors, delivery of teaching sessions to medics and the wider MDT, and engagement with undergraduate medical students.o The department will support the post holder to develop a specialist interest and to work towards CESR if desired.o The department is rapidly developing, and the post holder would need to have a flexible working attitude and a desire to provide high quality stroke input a across a diverse and changing range of clinical encounters.

About us

Why Work With Us

Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust is an integrated organisation providing acute health care services from Torbay Hospital, community health services and adult social care. When we formed our integrated care organisation in October 2015 we became the first Trust in England to join up hospital and community care with social care. As one organisation, we are working with our partners to improve the way we deliver safe, high-quality health and social care.

The Trust runs Torbay Hospital as well as four community hospitals, stretching from Dawlish to Brixham. We also provide health and social care to the local population.

We have around 500,000 face-to-face contacts with patients in their homes and communities each year and see over 78,000 people in our Emergency Department annually. We serve a resident population of approximately 286,000 people, plus about 100,000 visitors at any one time during the summer holiday season.

Job responsibilities

Responsibility for patients and client care

Practise in a middle grade role (equivalent to registrar grade), with supervision from consultant colleagues across hyper-acute, acute, and rehabilitation stroke services. There will be training for OP clinics including TIA clinics. Provide timely and comprehensive assessment and treatment of stroke patients and conducting an NIHSS assessment in accordance with the stroke guidelines. Practise using a patient-centred approach, championing the patients wishes and goals when negotiating investigation and treatment plans. Facilitate safe and timely patient discharges using a Home First approach whenever able. Work in a variety of settings, for example; acute and rehab stroke wards, the emergency department, TIA clinics, general outpatient clinic, community hospitals, and provide liaison support to other non-stroke wards. Practise and promote a high standard of written and verbal communication with patients, carers, and colleagues. Respect patients dignity, ensure confidentiality and work to overcome communication barriers. Practise safe prescribing and safe use of medical devices. Be aware and comply with legal framework for practice including consent framework, data protection, and equality and diversity.

Responsibility for supervision, leadership and management

Lead a team of junior doctors and multidisciplinary colleagues, be approachable and a role model. Engage with acute, community, and stroke specialty colleagues in a collaborative way. Demonstrate an understanding of leadership styles and use this to create effective and successful team relationships. Demonstrate the ability to appropriately challenge others, escalating concerns when necessary. Engage with annual appraisal, job planning and reviews of performance and progression. Post holders will be supervised by a named stroke Consultant available to contact each day as needed. Post holders will be allocated a supervisor whilst in this clinical post to discuss development goals and guide learning.

Communication and working relationships

Deliver regular teaching to junior and MDT colleagues. Participate in our departmental medical students teaching programme. Clinically supervise foundation doctors and provide on the job training. Be involved in assessing and providing formal or informal feedback for colleagues in medical and non-medical roles.

Person Specification

Qualifications

• MB. ChB. or equivalent
• MRCP (UK) or equivalent
• Diploma in Geriatric Medicine
• Diploma in Palliative Care

Knowledge

• Able to take responsibility for independent management of patients with minimal supervision
• Able to fulfil the requirements of the job plan
• Able to communicate effectively and work well with patients, their relatives and the multidisciplinary team (MDT)
• At least minimum three years of middle grade experience in Stroke Medicine
• Certificate of Stroke thrombolysis training or equivalent neurology training
• Experience in Hyperacute stroke centre
• Participation in research, including literature review to guide clinical practice
• Publications in peer-reviewed journals
• Evidence of service development
• Advanced Life Support (ALS) in date

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust