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Job summary

Main area
Consultant
Grade
NHS Medical & Dental: Consultant
Contract
Permanent
Hours
Full time - 10 sessions per week
Job ref
410-MED-7484237
Employer
Liverpool Heart & Chest Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Employer type
NHS
Site
Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital
Town
Liverpool
Salary
£109,725 - £145,478 per anum
Salary period
Yearly
Closing
26/10/2025 23:59
Interview date
10/12/2025

Employer heading

Liverpool Heart & Chest Hospital NHS Foundation Trust logo

CARDIOLOGIST WITH AN INTEREST IN COMMUNITY CARDIOLOGY

NHS Medical & Dental: Consultant

As the largest single site specialist heart and chest hospital in the UK, we, at Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital, have a clear vision 'to be the best cardiothoracic integrated healthcare organisation'.

We provide specialist services in cardiothoracic surgery, cardiology, respiratory medicine including adult cystic fibrosis and diagnostic imaging, both in the hospital and out in the community.

We serve a catchment area of 2.8 million people, spanning Merseyside, Cheshire, North Wales and the Isle of Man, and increasingly we receive referrals from outside these areas for highly specialised services such as aortics.

Heart and lung disease continue to be amongst the biggest killers in the UK and the communities we serve are marked by increased prevalence of cardiovascular disease, higher levels of heart failure, hypertension, coronary artery disease and an ageing population.

Our reputation for strong performance is important in delivering the best care for our patients and high quality clinical services. This is underpinned by a culture of research and innovation, delivered in modern estate and facilitated by technology. New and upgraded clinical areas are designed with patients and families fully involved to deliver their needs.

As part of our long term plan, we aim to form strong clinical and organisational relationships where possible. There is clear evidence that partnerships improve patient care and enhance quality and we aim to collaborate with a range of other providers and professionals with the aim to extending access and improve quality.  

Our vision is underpinned by five strategic goals:

  • Quality: to deliver the highest quality, safest and best experience for patients and their families by providing reliable care 
  • Service and Innovation: to develop our service portfolio for patients by developing innovative models of care
  • Value: to maintain financial viability, enhance service delivery and develop new models of care to improve the health of our patients and safely reduce costs
  • Workforce: to be the best NHS Employer by 2019 by attracting and retaining the best staff to deliver excellent patient care
  • Stakeholders: to develop productive relationships with key stakeholders in order to enhance our profile and reputation.

Our Mission

“Excellent, Compassionate and Safe care for every patient, every day”

Job overview

This post is for an enthusiastic, dynamic clinician who wants to be involved in a novel and innovative approach to delivering cardiovascular services. The post will be based at Liverpool Heart & Chest Hospital NHS Foundation Trust (LHCH) and will be centred on the development and delivery of a community-based cardiovascular diagnostic & assessment services to the population of Knowsley, Merseyside. There will be an option for a subspecialty session per week, if appropriate.
The original aim of Knowsley PCT was to commission a single, cohesive provider of community-based cardiovascular services (CCVS) in order to improve health outcomes in a patient-focussed manner. In addition, there was a strong desire to achieve equality of access across the region and to avoid/reduce the “unnecessary” use of secondary care services. 
Dr Clare Hammond, consultant cardiologist, currently oversees the clinical quality aspect of the service and supports service current delivery alongside cardiology consultant colleagues. Direct clinical activity in the form of community-based clinics will form the cornerstone of this post but there is enormous potential to improve and refine the current service model as well as develop innovative cardiac rehabilitation and heart failure services within both localities. 

Main duties of the job

Knowsley CCVS          4 direct clinical sessions (community clinics) – 3 of these sessions will be fixed and the fourth will be “flexible” providing cross-cover for annual leave/study leave.

Admin work                     2 sessions per week

Subspeciality                   1 fixed if appropriate

SPA                                        1.5 sessions per week

Triage                                   1 session per week

Working for our organisation

As the largest single site specialist heart and chest hospital in the UK, we, at Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital, have a clear vision 'to be the best cardiothoracic integrated healthcare organisation'.

We provide specialist services in cardiothoracic surgery, cardiology, respiratory medicine both in the hospital and out in the community.

We serve a catchment area of 2.8 million people, spanning Merseyside, Cheshire, North Wales and the Isle of Man, and increasingly we receive referrals from outside these areas for highly specialised services such as aortics.

Our reputation for strong performance is important in delivering the best care for our patients and high quality clinical services. This is underpinned by a culture of research and innovation, delivered in modern estate and our encouragement of flexible working in a variety of forms.

Please visit our website - https://www.lhch.nhs.uk/

Please follow this link for a tour of our site - https://bit.ly/36ylsoq

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The post is flexible in its nature and structure and full-time, part-time and job-share applications will be considered. The successful applicant(s) will be based at Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital and will work alongside Dr Clare Hammond, Consultant Cardiologist and Clinical Lead for Community Cardiology, in order to organise, develop and deliver a CCVS to the population of Knowsley.

Community-based clinics commenced in early April 2010 and are established in the three main “zones” of the borough of Knowsley (Kirkby, Huyton and Whiston). Eight clinical, consultant-led sessions are delivered per week. These are required to provide sufficient assessment and diagnostic capacity to meet pre-specified key performance indicators, each clinic being supported by ECG technicians and a highly specialised physiologist providing echocardiography. The successful applicant will be responsible for delivering high-quality patient care in the community setting, requesting appropriate non-invasive investigations and providing concise clinical diagnosis and management plans to the referring healthcare professionals. They will have the full support of colleagues at LHCH and access to diagnostic services (non-invasive and invasive) at LHCH if required. Administrative support and technician-led reporting of non-invasive tests are already in place at LHCH and can be expanded if necessary. 

The successful candidate will have full secretarial support, a personal computer (training available if required) and office accommodation.

The Trust supports the requirements for continuing professional development as laid down by the Royal College of Physicians and is committed to providing time and financial support for these activities.

The Trust has the required arrangements in place, as laid down by the Royal College of

Physicians, to ensure that all doctors have an annual appraisal with a trained appraiser and supports doctors going through the revalidation process.

The Trust supports the provision of a mentor for newly-appointed consultants.

RESEARCH & AUDIT      

Equivalent to one half-day per month. LHCH has a strong pedigree in the field of clinical research and audit and had a highly productive clinical quality and audit department. The successful applicant will, ideally, have some research experience and will be encouraged to contribute to the Centre’s research profile. The nature of the CCVS and the detailed data collection that will accompany it, lends itself perfectly to epidemiological studies and other clinical research as well as detailed audit projects. The success of the CCVS will be dependent on the quality of the data collected and subsequently audited and a number of key performance indicators will be based on clinical quality. It will be essential that the successful applicant(s) engages fully with this process and can disseminate all relevant findings to the cardiology directorate via monthly-held audit meetings. 

TEACHING & TRAINING

The successful applicant(s) will be required to continue the process of CCVS awareness amongst the community-based clinical staff working for the Knowsley population. Practice CVD leads could be invited to attend the CCVS (as observers) and those with a particular interest could receive more regularly training sessions. There is opportunity, in conjunction with the ICB to establish a more formal training programme for GPs interested in cardiovascular medicine. This could involve sessions in the community and at LHCH and ultimately improve the standard of cardiovascular medicine delivered in the community as a whole. LHCH is committed to the concept of specialist-nurse delivered services and the post-holder will be expected to actively contribute to their education and training.

 

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential criteria
  • MRCP (UK) or equivalent CCT (or within 6 months) in cardiology or general medicine
Desirable criteria
  • Higher degree eg MD, DM, DPhil, PhD

Management

Essential criteria
  • Demonstrates appropriate leadership skills but understands importance of breaking down hierarchical barriers to effective team-working. Contributed to service structure / delivery.
Desirable criteria
  • Attended NHS management conferences / courses. Committee member or chair of relevant steering group or project group. Involved in service development and experienced with working with CCGs and/or hospital Trust at managerial level

General Cardiology

Essential criteria
  • Registrar or consultant-level experience in the outpatient assessment of patients with cardiovascular disease, including interpretation of non-invasive cardiac investigation results
Desirable criteria
  • British society of echocardiography accreditation. Current ALS provider or instructor

Education / Training

Essential criteria
  • Evidence of teaching experience in a clinical setting. Demonstrates a desire to improve teaching skills. Evidence of presentations / lectures given (with any feedback).
  • Level 1 accreditation as an educational supervisor
Desirable criteria
  • Has attended approved course(s) to improve / refine teaching skills e.g. Teach the Teacher etc. University lecturer role or equivalent.
  • Level 2 accreditation as an educational supervisor

Research & Audit

Essential criteria
  • Evidence of published or presented research on cardiovascular medicine (abstract form or full peer-reviewed publication).
  • Evidence of audit activity
Desirable criteria
  • Has published research on cardiovascular epidemiology /primary or secondary prevention. Award of research degree. Successful research grant application(s).
  • Evidence of audit activity in cardiovascular medicine

Skills

Essential criteria
  • Demonstrates effective skills in a team environment
Desirable criteria
  • Evidence of exceptional communication skills e.g. 360 or other forms of independent feedback

Employer certification / accreditation badges

Veteran AwareArmed Forces Covenant (Silver Award)Care quality commission - OutstandingSVMQ Distinction

Applicant requirements

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Documents to download

Apply online now

Further details / informal visits contact

Name
Clare Hammond
Job title
Consultant Cardiologist
Email address
[email protected]
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