Job overview

This post offers significant clinical & surgical training in vitreo-retinal & cataract surgery in addition to exposure to medical retina & general ophthalmology through the emergency eye clinic & the general ophthalmology on call service.

The weekly timetable includes: Three VR theatre sessions, four VR clinics (independent and supervised), one Emergency Eye Clinic, one admin and one teaching session. The training opportunity includes one to one teaching & training clinically & surgically with the related regular feedback. The VR service provides a broad range of VR related clinical and surgical procedures.  While this fellowship is designed to be a first step towards a more comprehensive VR fellowship, it aims to support the clinical and surgical knowledge and skills development of the post holder in order to progress to be able to function with a higher level of autonomy both clinically and surgically at a high standard of care based on the initial baseline clinical knowledge and surgical skills of the successful candidate.

Hence, even trainees with some previous VR experience may find it very useful for their development toward full autonomous as a vitreoretinal surgeon.

The successful applicant will be expected to participate in 1 in 7 general Ophthalmology on call rota. The successful applicant will be expected to engage with the management of the VR emergencies & the smooth running of the clinics, theatre sessions & the pre- & post-operative care of the VR patients.

Main duties of the job

The successful candidate will engage with the monthly clinical governance meetings be actively involved with service development, audit & research. The teaching programme is provided locally & in the south west region through the regional specialist retinal meetings, South West Ophthalmic Society meetings & the teaching programme of the Peninsula Medical School.

The ophthalmology department is located in a dedicated facility in Truro. There are other community centres and hospitals in Cornwall where the Trust provides ophthalmology outpatient clinic facility.

The VR service, currently runs in Truro is modern, well equipped with a two Heidelberg fluorescein and ICG angiography with HD OCT and OCT-A, two Optos ultra wide field combined fundus photography, Angiography, Autoflourescence & OCT,  Topcon Triton Photo/OCT/OCT-A, Zeiss OCTs, Pascal, YAG and SLT lasers, ABSolu A/B/S/UBM ultrasound & Pentacam corneal topography.

Medisoft is the electronic patient record and is in use in all clinics and theatres. Dragon medical software is in use for voice recognised digital typing.  OphthalSuite provides access to all ophthalmology images throughout the county through Medisoft.

The department has two operating theatres in Truro and one theatre in West Cornwall Hospital  Penzance. All  equipped with modern OPMI Lumera 700 ZEISS microscopes and Alcon Infiniti machines. The VR theatre is located at in Truro and is equipped with Alcon Constellation machine for posterior segment surgery.

Working for our organisation

Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust is the biggest provider of healthcare services in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. Our three main sites are Royal Cornwall Hospital Truro, St Michael’s Hospital Hayle and West Cornwall Hospital Penzance, our staff and services are available across the region.  

The Trust employs 5,000+ staff, has a budget of £380 million and 750 beds. We work with health and social care organisations -including NHS Kernow and NHS England- to ensure local healthcare needs are met. We provide acute medical, surgical and specialist services to around 500,000- which can increase significantly during busy holiday periods. 

The Trust has teaching hospitals status as part of the University of Exeter Medical School. Keeping at the forefront of medical advances, we continually develop clinical services and are committed to maximising the range of specialist care offered locally. 

We can offer you a rewarding career in a supportive working environment. We have extensive educational links to help you realise your full potential and develop skills to provide outstanding healthcare to the local community. 

Enjoy an outstanding quality of life in a place that offers surfing beaches and fishing harbours to beautiful countryside and historic towns. With clean air, plenty of opportunities for outdoor activities and excellent schools, colleges and universities (including adult education) it is the ideal place for families and for you to develop your own career.