The Breast Surgery Unit at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital

LAS Breast & General Surgery

Applications are invited for the post of LAS Breast & General Surgery. The successful
candidate will work in the Breast Surgery Unit and with the Breast MDT with strong links to
the psychology department, endocrinology department, nuclear medicine department,
clinical chemistry department and Clatterbridge Centre for Oncology. The post holder will
support the elective activity of the unit by assisting in clinics and theatres and would also be
expected to support the F1/CT1 Doctors on ward rounds and would be expected to
undertake appropriate administrative activities and assist with medical student teaching.
The post holder will also contribute to the general surgical Registrar on call rota at the Royal
Liverpool University Hospital.

The Clinical Component

The post holder will be required to contribute to the delivery of the breast surgery service at
RLBUHT. They will contribute to the diagnosis and treatment of patients suffering from
breast conditions in the Royal Liverpool University Hospital. The work will be closely
supervised by consultant surgeons and physicians attached to the unit. They will be trained
in and assist in breast surgery procedures including benign, malignant, cosmetic and
reconstructive surgery and will carry out pre and post-operative care as necessary. The
incumbent will also be responsible, with other junior staff, for the day to day care of
patients. Prospective audits are practised by the directorate. Specialist Registrars will be
responsible for the collation and presentation of departmental audit data at regular audit
meetings held in house and at regional meeting with other centres in the North of England.

Facilities in the Breast Unit

The Breast Unit shares a bed base with endocrine surgery and ophthalmology and has 15 in-
patient stay beds, access to a 6 bedded day-case area, based on one ward. The patients are
looked after by an expert team of nurses on the unit who also carry out pre-operative
assessment.

The Royal Liverpool University Hospital is exceptionally well equipped for all diagnostic and
therapeutic procedures necessary for the efficient care of breast surgery patients. There is
24-hour access to the emergency theatres and all routine pathology services. The radiology
department is equipped for emergency and elective diagnostic procedures, including MR
and CT scanning. The library facilities in the hospital are supplemented by excellent medical
libraries at the Liverpool Medical Institute and University of Liverpool Cohen Library. All
these libraries provide online reference services. Postgraduate teaching is provided by in-
house seminars, x-ray conferences and audit meetings. There is a wide range of
postgraduate teaching activities at the RLUH including tuition in special surgical techniques
and pre-fellowship courses. Grand Rounds are held once a week in term time.
Research

The Unit has a good record of clinical investigation. Staff contribute regularly to national
and international meetings. As a teaching hospital the post holder will have the opportunity
to participate in audit and clinical research.

Unit Staff

Ms Geraldine Mitchell (Clinical Director)

Ms Anne Tansley
Ms Emma de Sousa
Mrs Julia Henderson
Mr Mysore Chandrashekar
Professor Christopher Holcombe
Mrs Uma Sridharan
Miss Susannah Shore (Endocrine Surgery)
Ms Alison Waghorn (Endocrine Surgery)

Other surgical staff consist of 2 Specialist Registrars, 1 CT and 2 F1s

We have a team of 3 Advanced Nurse Practitioners, 7 Breast Care Nurses, 1 Breast

Reconstruction Nurse and pre-operative assessment nurses. There are also a Ward
Manager, Ward Sister, ward nursing staff and HCAs. We have a dedicated team of
administrative and clerical staff including in-patient booking.

The Clinical Load

The Royal Liverpool University Hospital is a busy tertiary referral centre for breast surgery.
Patients, both screening and symptomatic, are referred to the Breast Unit from across
Merseyside. There is collaborative MDT working. The unit will deal with approximately
1000+ procedures including approximately 500 cancers per year. There is close
collaboration with the Clatterbridge Centre for Oncology with several MDTs including a
screening MDT and cancer MDT.

Teaching

Medical students are attached to the breast & endocrine surgery unit. Specialist Registrars
will be expected to give clinical teaching and occasional lectures to undergraduates. There
is also nurse training and mentorship to which the Specialist Registrars are expected to
contribute.

Duties

Attend regular operating lists, outpatient clinics, audit and academic meetings and case
conferences.
Take part in daily morning ward rounds to be held with all the other junior surgical staff on
duty.

The post holder will also contribute to the general surgical Registrar on call rota at the Royal
Liverpool University Hospital.

Conditions of Service

This post is covered by the Hospital Medical and Dental Staff (England and Wales) Terms
and Conditions of Service. The post holder is required to be fully registered with the General
Medical Council (GMC) and hold a licence to practice.

Standards of Conduct and Behaviour

You are required to work to the standards set out by the General Medical Council in Good
Medical Practice. This includes protecting patients when you believe that a doctor’s or
other colleague’s conduct, performance or health is a threat to them. If, after establishing
the facts, it is necessary, you must follow the Trust’s procedures in this matter and inform
your Clinical Director or Medical Director in the first instance.

The Trust has a set of expected behaviours for all employees and additional behaviours and
skills that are expected of managers and supervisors.

Leave Arrangements

All leave should be applied for in accordance with the Trust’s Leave Policy, normally giving six
weeks’ notice of any leave, other than in exceptional circumstances.

Training

The jobholder must take responsibility in agreement with his/her line manager for his/her own
personal development by ensuring that Continuous Professional Development remains a
priority. The jobholder will undertake all mandatory training required for the role.

Health & Safety

All staff are responsible for working with their colleagues to maintain and improve the quality
of services provided to our patients and other service users. This includes complying at all
times with the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust Policies, including Health and Safety
policies, in particular by following agreed safe working procedures, and reporting incidents
using the Trust Incident Reporting system.

Equality & Diversity

The jobholder must comply with all policies and procedures designed to ensure equality of
employment and that services are delivered in ways that meet the individual needs of
patients and their families. No person whether they are staff, patient or visitor should
receive less favourable treatment because of their gender, ethnic origin, age, disability,
sexual orientation, religion etc.

The Trust's Equality and Diversity Policy ensures that barriers to employment for
disadvantaged groups are identified and removed, and that no person is treated less
favourably on the grounds of their race, ethnic group, religion, impairment, age, gender,
sexual orientation or mental health status. Reasonable adjustments will be made for
disabled applicants and post holders where required.