Job overview
The Department of Ophthalmology at James Cook University Hospital is looking to appoint an NHS Locum Consultant Ophthalmologist with a view to making substantive to augment the services we provide at South Tees NHS Trust.
The ophthalmology department is a cohesive unit which has steadily expanded over the last ten years covering all major sub speciality areas within ophthalmology.
The successful candidate will be joining the corneal & external eye disease ophthalmology team. The department has a busy corneal and external eye diseases service that is currently lead by a single corneal consultant.
The growth and expansion of the service has led to the recruitment of another corneal subspecialist to manage the workload.
Main duties of the job
The primary focus of the position is to deliver a comprehensive subspecialty medical and surgical corneal service for the catchment area of the hospital supporting the existing consultant in the service.
Applicants need to be familiar and practiced in the surgical management of modern corneal grafting techniques for emergency conditions and for those patients that require long term visual rehabilitation.
The newly appointed consultant will be expected to provide necessary support and guidance to the eye casualty team with regards to the management of acute corneal and external eye disease disorders.
In addition, the appointed consultant will be expected to contribute to the provision of emergency ophthalmic care through participation in the general consultant on-call rota and to provide general ophthalmic care for conditions which do not need subspecialty input.
Within the hospital and department there are established research facilities and there will be opportunities to contribute to undergraduate and postgraduate education.
The post holder will join the on-call rota on a 1 in 16/18 rota (with prospective cover in DCC).
Working for our organisation
The group model means that the two organisations remain separate so they can represent their communities really effectively, but it has the flexibility to enable the trusts to work at scale to take strategic decisions which benefit the group as a whole and the patients we serve.
This is not a merger. Both trusts remain as separate organisations keeping their own existing identities and names but going forward, when they are working together, they can now collectively be known as University Hospitals Tees.
The two trusts are the areas largest employers, with a budget of around £1.2billion and more than 15,000 staff who deliver acute, tertiary and community health and care services across the Tees Valley, North Yorkshire, County Durham and beyond. University Hospitals Tees will deliver better outcomes for:
1. Patients by ensuring equal access to treatment and sharing best practice on how to deliver care.
2. Staff by enabling them to work on all of the groups sites more easily and develop career opportunities.
3. The wider population by collaborating to work on endemic health issues and having a coherent voice to represent the people of the Tees Valley and parts of County Durham and North Yorkshire.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Please see the full job description and person specification document(s) for the main responsibilities of the role.
Person specification
Qualifications & Training
Essential criteria
4. Full GMC registration
5. FRCOphth or equivalent
Desirable criteria
6. Training in appraisal techniques
7. Relevant CCT or equivalent (equivalence must be confirmed by PMETB/GMC by date of AAC)
8. Entry onto the GMC Specialist Register or eligibility for entry within 6 months of the date of the AAC
Clinical Experience and Effectiveness
Essential criteria
9. Extensive experience in General Ophthalmology
10. Subspecialist experience in Corneal surgery and management of external eye diseases
11. Ability to manage corneal emergencies
12. Understanding of quality improvement activities such as audit
13. Recognised subspecialty fellowship or good evidence of subspecialty practice in a recognized medical institution
Desirable criteria
14. Ability to undertake high volume cataract surgery with a complex case mix
Teaching & Training Experience
Essential criteria
15. Experience of supervising resident medical staff
16. Evidence of management and administration experience
Desirable criteria
17. Other teaching skills/experience
18. Management training
19. Success in obtaining funding for research
Personal Attributes
Essential criteria
20. Good leadership skills
21. Ability to communicate effectively with colleagues, patients, relatives, GPs, nurses and other agencies
22. Enthusiasm and ability to work under pressure
23. Good organisational and management skills
24. Commitment to training and continuing medical education (CME)
25. Caring attitude to patients
26. Ability to work within a multidisciplinary team
27. Resident within 10 miles or 30minutes of the hospital
28. Flexibility to respond to changing service needs
29. Clear recognition of boundaries in respect of sessional work outside the hospital
Desirable criteria
30. IT skills
31. Experience in team working outside of work
32. Ability to meet the travel requirements of the post
Disclosure and Barring Checks (DBS)
It is now the policy of South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust that all successful candidates who are new to the Trust who require DBS clearance for the post they have been offered, are required to pay the cost of their DBS. The method of payment for this is via salary deduction from your first month's pay.
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is committed to promoting equality of opportunity, celebrating and valuing diversity and eliminating any form of unlawful discrimination across our workforce, ensuring our people are truly representative of the communities we serve. All individuals regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation are encouraged to apply for this post. We welcome applications from the Black and Minority Ethnic (BAME) Network; LGBT+ Network; Disability and Long-Term Health Conditions Network, Faith Network, Childless not by Choice Network and the Menopause Support Group.
As an inclusive employer, we are here to support you.
If you have any special requirements to help you with your application, email our team at
Right to Work in the UK
The Trust welcomes applications from all candidates who meet the criteria for the role. Please note that from January 2021, to work in the UK all candidates who are not UK or Republic of Ireland (RoI) nationals require sponsorship unless you have permission to work via another route. Non UK / RoI candidates wishing to apply can self-assess the likelihood of obtaining a Certificate of Sponsorship here Work in the UK - (.
Please provide full and accurate details of your current immigration status on the application form. Your current immigration status will not be considered as part of the shortlisting or interview process.
Please note that not everyone needs a Skilled Worker visa. If you are applying for a vacancy in health or adult social care, you may be eligible to apply for the Health and Care Worker visa instead.
We are able to offer sponsorship for a Health and Care Worker or Skilled Worker visa, subject to candidate and position eligibility. Please review the job eligibility guidance for skilled workers here: Skilled Worker visa: Your job - ( and for the Health and Care Worker visa here: Skilled Worker visa: eligible healthcare and education jobs - (
Please note: if the job you are applying for does not meet the eligibility criteria above, we will be unable to offer you sponsorship and you will need to explore whether you may be eligible to apply for an alternative immigration route which will secure your right to work in the UK before you apply. If you are in the UK already on a visa, please ensure you have no restrictions that would prevent you from taking this post.
The Trust encourages and supports all applicants to be fully vaccinated against both COVID19 and influenza.
Please be aware, there are occasions where some vacancies may close prior to the closing date advertised. This will only happen where sufficient applications are received AND will be made evident on the job advert.
Please note if you are successfully shortlisted, we will contact you via the email address that you have applied from so please ensure you check your emails regularly.
Existing employees of South Tees NHS Foundation Trust currently on the Redeployment Register, who meet the essential criteria for this post, will be shortlisted and interviewed prior to all other applicants.