Northampton General Hospital NHS (UHN) Trust is seeking a skilled and motivated anaesthetist to join its Anaesthetics & Critical Care department as a Senior Clinical Fellow. This is an exceptional opportunity for a doctor at ST3-equivalent level, or above, to work in a high-performing, supportive department with genuine breadth of clinical exposure across a fully equipped modern theatre suite, a busy obstetric unit, and a brand new 16-bed Level 3 ICU.
The department offers more than a clinical post. With 11 dedicated ICM consultants, a strong culture of education and mentorship, and an explicit commitment to supporting post holders in long-term career progression, including transition to SAS roles and the CESR pathway, this is a post designed for doctors who want to invest in a department that will invest back in them.
The post is offered on a fixed-term basis, initially for 2 years, subject to satisfactory performance, with a 6-month probationary period. Clinical time is divided across theatres, labour ward, and the ICU, with rotations typically organised in 3-month blocks. Initially, for the first 6 months, clinical time will be based on the ICU with support from the consultant faculty to integrate into the department and the trust. While this is a locally employed (non-training) post and does not count towards CCT, the department provides a structured, supervised, and educationally rich environment with genuine opportunities for subspecialty development.
Northampton General Hospital is one of the largest employers in the area and we are on an exciting journey. All of our divisions are committed to doing things better, with more efficiency as we update, modernise, and advance. We have also entered into a Group Model with neighbouring Kettering General Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and become University Hospitals of Northamptonshire.
Our Excellence Values
Compassion
Accountability
Respect
Integrity
Courage
We want to recruit the best people to deliver our services across the University Hospitals of Northamptonshire and help to unleash everyone’s full potential. As an organisation, we value how we communicate and promote our vacancies to all communities.
We are a Defence positive trust, supporting our reservists, veterans, spouses and partners.
The Hospital Group encourages applications from people who identify from all protected groups, especially those from BAME, Disabled and LGBTQ+ backgrounds as these are underrepresented in our hospitals.
We understand that we need to work with colleagues from diverse backgrounds and make sure the environment they work in is inclusive and collaborative.
We have active Networks that promote and support colleagues from all backgrounds. This ensures everyone feels supported and has a sense of belonging working for Kettering and Northampton General Hospitals.
The post holder will function at senior trainee-equivalent level across theatres, labour ward, the intensive care unit, and on the on-call rota, with consultant support available at all times. Clinical time is divided into 3-month rotations across these areas; the first 6 months will be ICU-based to support integration into the department.
Intensive Care Unit (ICU)
- Attend twice-daily ward rounds as the senior resident, reviewing all Level 2 and Level 3 patients, generating and documenting management plans, and identifying patients requiring escalation to consultant level.
- Initiate and titrate ventilatory support, sedation and analgesia regimens, vasopressor and inotrope therapy, and renal replacement and other organ support in conjunction with the consultant team.
- Perform and supervise core ICU procedures including central venous access, arterial line insertion, bronchoscopy, and chest drain insertion, using an appropriate safety and consent framework.
- Act as the first senior clinical responder to acutely deteriorating ICU patients, initiating management of sepsis, respiratory failure, haemodynamic instability, and multi-organ dysfunction, and escalating appropriately.
- Contribute to escalation discussions and goals-of-care conversations with patients and families, with consultant guidance, including in the context of end-of-life decision-making.
- Coordinate safe intra-hospital and inter-hospital transfer of critically ill patients, including full pre-transfer assessment, stabilisation, documentation, and handover.
- Contribute to ICU governance: attending M&M and clinical governance meetings, completing audit and QIP work, and engaging with departmental quality improvement priorities.
Theatres
- Conduct pre-operative anaesthetic assessment of elective and emergency surgical patients, formulate an appropriate anaesthetic plan, and identify and escalate high-risk cases to consultant level.
- Deliver general, regional, and combined anaesthesia for cases of varying complexity across vascular, colorectal, maxillofacial, ENT, major gynaecology, urology and orthopaedic surgery, adapting technique to patient comorbidity and surgical requirements.
- Manage intra-operative physiological instability, including haemodynamic compromise, airway difficulty, and acute deterioration, with the judgement and skill expected of a senior trainee.
- Provide post-operative handover to the recovery team and initiate immediate analgesia planning, including referral to the Acute Pain Service where appropriate.
- Assess and manage emergency surgical referrals out of hours, including pre-operative workup and conduct of unplanned or urgent cases overnight and at weekends with consultant support available.
- Contribute to peri-operative care of high-risk patients, including those with significant cardiorespiratory comorbidity, in liaison with the consultant team.
Labour ward
- Conduct obstetric anaesthetic assessment of women referred for epidural analgesia or anaesthetic review, including those with significant medical or obstetric comorbidity, and formulate an appropriate management plan.
- Site and manage labour epidurals, including troubleshooting of inadequate or patchy blocks, conversion for operative delivery, and recognition and management of complications.
- Deliver spinal and general anaesthesia for elective and emergency operative deliveries, including category 1 caesarean section, with the speed, competence, and composure expected at senior trainee level.
- Respond to obstetric emergencies including major obstetric haemorrhage, eclampsia, cord prolapse, and maternal collapse, taking an active clinical lead with consultant guidance as appropriate.
- Provide anaesthetic input to the management of high-risk antenatal patients in liaison with the obstetric and midwifery teams, including pre-operative review and planning for women with complex medical histories.
- Participate in multidisciplinary review and handover of complex or deteriorating obstetric patients.
On-call responsibilities
The post holder will provide resident registrar-level anaesthetic and critical care cover overnight and at weekends as part of the department’s on-call rota, with an approximate frequency of 1 in 5. Consultant support is available at all times, on-site or by immediate telephone, but the post holder is expected to exercise independent senior clinical judgement.
- Provide senior resident anaesthetic cover for emergency theatre work overnight and at weekends, including pre-operative assessment, conduct of anaesthesia, and post-operative care for unplanned and urgent surgical cases across all specialties.
- Provide senior resident cover on labour ward out of hours, including response to obstetric anaesthetic emergencies, category 1 caesarean section, and major obstetric haemorrhage, with consultant backup available.
- Conduct senior review of acutely deteriorating ward and ICU patients out of hours, including initiation of immediate management and escalation to the on-call consultant where indicated.
- Provide clinical oversight and supervision of more junior resident medical staff on the on-call rota, including foundation doctors and core trainees.
- Attend and contribute to crash calls and cardiac arrests as a senior member of the resuscitation team.
- Maintain clear contemporaneous documentation and ensure safe clinical handover at the end of each on-call period.
Hours of work are 48 per week on a full shift pattern, compliant with the Resident Doctor Contract 2016 and the European Working Time Directive. Rota patterns may evolve over time; changes will be implemented fairly and with appropriate notice.
Teaching, education and supervision
- Attend and contribute to the department’s FRCA teaching programme.
- Participate in simulation and skills workshops.
- Support and supervise more junior doctors on the shop floor and on-call.
- Maintain a clinical logbook and engage with annual appraisal in line with GMC revalidation requirements.
Clinical governance and quality improvement
- Contribute actively to the department’s governance agenda: reporting incidents and near misses, participating in audit and QIP cycles, contributing to M&M reviews, and maintaining compliance with NICE guidelines, RCoA and FICM standards, and Trust policies.
- Ensure all clinical practice reflects the principles of GMC Good Medical Practice.
