Consultant Radiologist – General Radiology with Subspecialty Interest (Five Permanent Posts)

£113,565 to £150,569 a year per annum pro rata
UK, South West
Permanent
NHS foundation trust in the South West | Five permanent consultant posts

 Overview
 A well-regarded NHS foundation trust in the South West is appointing five permanent consultant radiologists. The posts suit general radiologists with a subspecialty interest, and the trust welcomes applications across all subspecialties. It would particularly like to hear from candidates with experience in chest and cardiac imaging, neuroradiology, head and neck, and breast imaging.

The posts are open to doctors on the GMC Specialist Register. Whether you gained entry recently or have been a consultant for some years, this is an excellent opportunity to take up a substantive post in one of the most attractive parts of the country, with London, Bristol, Bath and Oxford all within easy reach.

The department
The radiology department is fully digital and well equipped, performing more than 220,000 examinations a year. Equipment includes 128-slice CT scanners, a new dual-source cardiac CT scanner, two 1.5T MRI scanners, a recently installed SPECT CT, digital screening rooms and modern ultrasound. Additional CT and MRI capacity is provided through the trust’s Community Diagnostic Centre.

The department is a Siemens CT reference centre and is regularly visited by other trusts wishing to learn from its working practices. It runs an active skills mix programme, with radiographers undertaking ultrasound, emergency department and mammography reporting. Same-day diagnostic pathways are in place for suspected cancer in breast, gynaecology and urology.

The breast centre hosts the regional breast screening service, screening nearly 100,000 women over each three-year cycle from a static site and two mobile units, alongside a symptomatic service. The unit uses Hologic mammography with tomosynthesis and vacuum-assisted biopsy, localisation is usually performed with Magseed, and a contrast-enhanced mammography service is being introduced shortly.

The consultant body is described by its own members as a happy, functional and hard-working team. Up to three specialty registrars rotate through the department from Bristol, and the trust is part of a wider hospital group serving more than a million people across the region.

The posts
Each post carries 10 PAs, with full-time and part-time arrangements considered. The job plan has Royal College of Radiologists approval and will be finalised with the Clinical Lead around three months after starting, shaped around the appointee’s subspecialty interest and the needs of the service. Additional SPAs for education, governance and leadership roles can be agreed during job planning.

The on-call commitment is notably favourable. Consultants are resident on call from 5pm to 8pm on weekdays and from 9am to 5pm at weekends, with an external teleradiology provider covering overnight. There is no overnight consultant on-call. The rota is currently 1 in 13 and will become less frequent as these posts are filled, and on-call payback is annualised into the job plan as a half-day each week. Home reporting workstations can be provided.

Non-vascular intervention forms part of the role. Post holders will contribute to multidisciplinary team meetings, undergraduate and postgraduate teaching, audit and clinical governance, and the development of their subspecialty in line with the department’s strategy. The trust has well-established teaching links with the universities of Oxford and Bristol and active research collaborations with Oxford, Bristol and the University of the West of England.

Person specification

Essential

• Full registration with the GMC
• Entry on the GMC Specialist Register in Clinical Radiology
• FRCR (UK) or equivalent
• Clinical training and experience equivalent to that required for a UK CCT
• Expertise across the full range of radiological imaging
• The ability to take full and independent responsibility for the clinical care of patients
• Competence in non-vascular intervention

 Desirable

• A subspecialty interest in chest and cardiac, neuroradiology, head and neck, breast, interventional radiology, MSK or paediatrics
• Experience of audit and service management
• Demonstrable multidisciplinary team leadership
• Management or leadership training

Please note that the department currently has several locum consultants in post, and the trust is therefore unable to support candidates pursuing the Portfolio Pathway at this time. A successful outcome and entry on the Specialist Register are essential at the point of enquiry.

Benefits
These are permanent posts on national consultant terms, with membership of the NHS Pension Scheme. Consultants may join the department’s established private practice, which operates as a co-operative. Further benefits include home reporting, no overnight on-call, protected SPA time, study leave and support for external professional work such as examining.

The area
The trust sits in one of the best-connected parts of the South West. The Cotswolds and the North Wessex Downs are on the doorstep, offering market towns, villages and open countryside, while Bath and Bristol are around 40 minutes away by train. Oxford is under an hour by road. London is also close at hand, with fast mainline services into Paddington in around an hour and Heathrow within easy reach by road. For doctors currently working in the North, the Midlands or further afield, this is a real chance to move nearer the capital and the South without the cost of living there.

Housing is considerably more affordable than in London, Bristol, Bath or Oxford, and the area offers a wide choice of homes, well-regarded schools and an easy commute. Consultants here can enjoy a high quality of life alongside a rewarding substantive career.

Making an application
All CVs should be submitted through BDI Resourcing. BDI Resourcing will handle the introduction, keep you updated on shortlisting, and support you through compliance and relocation. The trust’s closing date is early November, so early contact is strongly advised. For a confidential discussion, please contact: Nicola Humroy, Director of Diagnostics, BDI Resourcing nicolahumroy@bdiresourcing.com | 07507 565 111

BDI Resourcing offers a referral fee for successful recommendations.