Detailed job description and main responsibilities

This is an exciting opportunity to join Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust as a Consultant in Intensive Care Medicine with a specialist interest in Clinical Toxicology. This new post expands our critical care and emergency services at the Midland Metropolitan University Hospital (MMUH), though you may be asked to provide services at other sites. We particularly welcome candidates with additional clinical or diagnostic skills that will enhance our consultant team.
Applicants must be on the GMC Specialist Register or eligible within six months of the interview date, demonstrating broad training and experience in both critical care and clinical toxicology. We seek enthusiastic individuals eager to bring new skills, knowledge, and techniques to our department. We are committed to developing and supporting our consultants, with a strong focus on leadership and management. Our Critical Care service is proudly rated “Outstanding” by the CQC, and our Clinical Toxicology service is one of only four specialist inpatient services in the UK, closely aligned with the National Poisons Information Service (Birmingham Unit) hosted at SWB.
There is some flexibility in job planning, but the role is envisioned as 75% critical care and 25% clinical toxicology. The successful applicant will contribute to the non-resident critical care on-call rota and provide daytime and on-call cover for the West Midlands Poisons Unit. We fully support professional development, allocating up to 2.5 programmed activities for this, in addition to study leave. interest in education, governance, risk management, simulation training, and supervising trainees is highly desirable.
Anaesthesia, Critical Care and Pain Management Directorate
You will join a well-staffed Directorate comprising 46 Consultants, 18 SAS Doctors, 12 ACCPs, 1 APP, and a robust team of resident doctors. We provide comprehensive anaesthetic services, excluding cardiac, neuro, and inpatient vascular, and serve as a tertiary referral centre for ophthalmology and gynaecological oncology, with an excellent reputation for training.
Critical Care
Our “Outstanding” rated Critical Care service at MMUH is dynamic and patient-centred, fostering exceptional multidisciplinary teamwork. The new 30-bed unit across three zones features a new ventilator fleet, advanced patient monitoring, dialysis systems, and a comprehensive electronic patient record with bedside device integration. The ICU operates a closed system with a dedicated consultant roster providing 24/7 cover. We aim for a 1 in 16 non-resident on-call frequency. Weekday cover involves two duty consultants (alternating standard or evening shifts) and an additional consultant for outlier support and on-site/off-site on-call. Weekends are covered by two duty consultants until 1400h, then one. Experienced ST/SAS doctors, ACCPs, and resident doctors provide continuous unit coverage. We have a 24-hour outreach service and a developed nursing education program. Regular multidisciplinary team meetings focus on safety, quality, and governance, including ICU Morbidity and Mortality reviews. Our ICU team actively participates in simulation teaching sessions, including a dedicated simulation bed space.
Clinical Toxicology
You will be involved in the day-to-day activities of the clinical toxicology team at MMUH. This includes direct clinical care for patients with acute or chronic poisoning and acute drug/alcohol withdrawal syndromes, with on-call duties for the West Midlands Poisons Unit typically on a no more frequent than 1:6 rota. This involves telephone advice out-of-hours, with occasional in-person attendance for complex cases. Weekend and public holiday on-call duties include face-to-face reviews of toxicology patients on the ward and in-reach reviews across the hospital. You will contribute to policy, management, and governance activities, including staff training, research, and audit.
If NPIS-accredited, you will contribute to providing written and verbal clinical toxicological advice to healthcare professionals throughout the UK and to TOXBASE®, the online information database of the NPIS. This service is a regional base for the National Poisons Information Service. While the current job plan does not include outpatient sessions, the service offers rapid-access outpatient assessments for drug and alcohol addiction. You will support the Drug and Alcohol Care Team (DACT) in delivering direct clinical care and advising on alcohol and drug-related health issues.