Locum Consultant in General Paediatrics | Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
| Posting date: | 24 April 2026 |
|---|---|
| Salary: | Not specified |
| Additional salary information: | £109,725 - £145,478 per annum, pro rata |
| Hours: | Part time |
| Closing date: | 07 June 2026 |
| Location: | Luton, LU4 0DZ |
| Company: | Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust |
| Job type: | Permanent |
| Job reference: | 7963296/418-M-PD-475 |
Summary
The Paediatric Department at the Luton and Dunstable Hospital provides out-patientservices, acute medical, elective medical admissions and surgical in-patient services to thelocal population and neighbouring units. There is a comprehensive range of generalmedical and surgical specialist and several tertiary outreach clinics.
This appointment is a General Paediatric LTFT locum post (average 3 days/week) based on the Luton and Dunstable site. We are looking for a consultant with special interest which would complement the department.
The post holder will be expected to contribute to the acute Paediatric ward attending, Paediatric Assessment Unit (PAU) 1 in 7 weeks and Night on call rota cover 1 in 14 nights.
It is expected that the post holder, once appointed, will work in partnership with the existing Consultant Paediatricians to provide a safe and resilient service.
Maintenance of the highest clinical standards in the management of Paediatric and Neonatal patients
· To share, with colleagues in the Paediatric Department, the management of children requiring emergency review, assessment, and admission to the Paediatric Unit
· To share with consultant colleagues in providing the on-call non-resident out-of-hours rota
· Teaching and training of resident and locally employed doctors, nursing staff and medical students
· To support speciality specific training and development
· To actively participate in both departmental and Trust matters concerning Clinical Governance and audit
· To have responsibility for and actively participate in continuing professional development (CPD)
· To share with colleagues in the department and trust speciality knowledge and experience.
Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust provides hospital services to a growing population of around 700,000 people living across Bedfordshire and the surrounding areas across two busy hospital sites in Bedford and Luton. Both hospital sites offer key services such as A&E, Obstetrics-led Maternity and Paediatrics. You will be joining a friendly, high performing Trust committed to ensuring the health and wellbeing of staff. As one of the largest NHS Trusts in our region you will have access to a programme of high quality training and development to help you grow your career. The Trust continues to be committed to delivering the best patient care using the best clinical knowledge and technology.
Our Values
We not only recruit based on qualifications and experience - we recruit individuals who demonstrate the behaviours which underpin our Trusts core values. We achieve this by using values based recruitment. We are dedicated to making our recruitment practices as inclusive as possible for everyone, we are committed to promoting equality and diversity, and creating a culture that values differences.
Please note that vacancies may close prior to the advertised closing date when sufficient number of applications have been received. All new staff will be subject to a probationary period covering first 6 months in post. Travel between hospital sites may be required. Please review all documents attached to ensure you familiarize yourself with all requirements of the job.
This well-established post is part of a friendly and enthusiastic team of 22 General Paediatricians providing out of hours, inpatient and outpatient care for local children. The unit aims to deliver a consultant led service.
The appointee will be required to attend on the ward and support acute admissions on PAU as outlined in the table above. They will also have an average of 2 clinics per month when not providing acute inpatient care. For the purpose of Job planning a year iscalculated as 42 weeks, this allows for A/L and S/L.
The Trust is part of the Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes Health and Care Partnership (Integrated Care System), which is now part of the Central East ICB cluster. As a result of this, the successful candidate may be required to adapt their job plan in the future to work across more than one site within the area; this may also include delivering aspects of care in community settings which supports the Trust’s vertical integration strategy.
1. Duties and Responsibilities
· Maintenance of the highest clinical standards in the management of Paediatric and Neonatal patients
· To share, with colleagues in the Paediatric Department, the management of children requiring emergency review, assessment, and admission to the Paediatric Unit
· To share with consultant colleagues in providing the on-call non-residents rota
· Teaching and training of resident and locally employed doctors, nursing staff and medical students
· To support speciality specific training and development
· To actively participate in both departmental and Trust matters concerning Clinical Governance and audit
· To have responsibility for and actively participate in continuing professional development (CPD)
· To share with colleagues in the department and trust speciality knowledge and experience.
Attending WeeksApproximately 1:7 with prospective cover
The general paediatricians work an Attending Week. This is spread over two weeks asMonday to Thursday and then Friday to Sunday over two consecutive weeks. During the attending week, the appointee will be expected to be fully available for the wards and paediatric emergencies and will be responsible for the day-to-day management of all paediatric patients on the unit, liaising with the patient’s own consultant where appropriate.
When attending, the appointee will be expected to lead the daily handover round on thegeneral paediatric unit, supervise the resident and locally employed doctors and support ward work where necessary. They will also be expected to teach medical students attached to the ward and participate in an evening handover round with the overnight on-call consultant at 16.30.
The time on the wards will also be spent teaching and training trainees and supportingnursing staff as necessary. There will also be opportunity during this week when free toattend regular teaching and meetings.
Non- Attending weeks:The appointee will undertake an average of 2 outpatient clinics per month. These will be general paediatric clinics.
He/she will share the teaching and administration duties within the department and SPAactivity.
A departmental Grand Round is held every Thursday afternoon, which all consultantsattend wherever possible.
The on-call commitment is approximately 1:14 non-resident on call nights. The appointee will be expected to take hand over at 16.30, be resident on site till 22:00 supporting the evening team. After attending the night-time handover with the junior and middle grade team the appointee will be non- resident on call. He/she will be expected to support and attend the unit as required by the night team.
The post requires the appointee to be resident within 10 miles or 30 minutes travelling distance of the hospital while on call. There is an on-call availability supplement of 3% in the contract for Class Aavailability.
This advert closes on Sunday 24 May 2026