A Vacancy at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
This post is for a Locum Consultant Paediatric Audiovestibular (AVM) Physician. In recognition of the pivotal role of an AVM in providing holistic care for children and young people (CYP) with hearing and balance disorders, the paediatric audiology and AVM department is now a part of the Community Neurodevelopmental Paediatrics within the newly formed Women’s and Children Division. This is a 0.5 WTE locum post with no on-call commitment.
In order to maintain the critical mass required for a high quality of care, paediatric audiology and AVM care is provided in a hub and spoke model over a wide geographical area with a population of just under one million. The team provides both secondary (Local Children’s Hearing Service) as well as tertiary (Specialist Centre) Audio-vestibular care for children in the greater Preston and Chorley/South-Ribble area. In the Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre, and Morecambe Bay area the paediatric audiology and AVM service from the Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (LTHTR) provides the tertiary care, and these areas have their own second tier or Local Children’s Hearing Service. The team works closely with ENT, Hospital and Community Paediatricians, Radiologists, Paediatric Neurologists, Geneticists, Cleft Surgeons, Ophthalmic Surgeons and others, who deliver a range of children’s services across Lancashire.
The post holder will work within the community services across Greater Preston, Blackpool, Chorley and South Ribble, Fylde and Wyre, and Morecambe Bay. They will:
- Undertake specialist medical assessment, investigation and clinical management of children up to the age of 20 with hearing and balance disorders through designated clinics at Fulwood Audiology Clinic in Preston.
- Undertake aetiological investigation of children diagnosed with permanent childhood hearing impairment in line with the NICE accredited guidelines from the British Association of Audio-vestibular Physician (BAAP).
- Provide medical opinion for children seen in the department by non-medical paediatric audiologists, requiring medical advice not previously anticipated.
- Contribute to the multidisciplinary assessment and management process involving one or more other disciplines. This may include the non-medical paediatric audiologists, audiological scientist, sensory advisory teachers, cleft lip and palate team, cochlear implant team, ENT, health visitors, community paediatrics, school nurse, SENCO, speech and language therapist amongst others.
- Arrange suitable surveillance for children with high risk of hearing and balance disorders, following established guidelines, such as children with Down’s syndrome, cleft palate, congenital cytomegalovirus infection, those receiving cytotoxic medications etc.
Child Health Clinical Business Unit
Paediatric Audiology and Audiovestibular Medicine is part of the Community Neurodevelopmental Paediatric department which sits within the Child Health Clinical Business Unit along with General Paediatrics and Neonatology. Secondary child health services are commissioned from Preston and Chorley & South Ribble CCGs. The acute children’s unit is based at the Royal Preston Hospital for the federated districts of Preston and Chorley, with a combined population of 390,000. All paediatric inpatient services are located on the first floor of the Royal Preston Hospital (64 beds) with neonatal services located in a unit (Sharoe Green Unit). There is a purpose-built paediatric outpatient unit on the Royal Preston Hospital site. Some outpatient clinics are also held at Chorley and South Ribble Hospital.
Royal Preston Hospital is the base for two tertiary paediatric neurologists. They also cover the whole of Lancashire by outreach clinics.
Surgical services for children exist in the disciplines of general paediatric surgery (elective service provided by a visiting consultant from Alder Hey), orthopaedic, burns and plastics, ENT, ophthalmology and some minor neurosurgery.
The Anaesthetics Directorate provides a service by a group of anaesthetists dedicated to maintaining paediatric skills for agreed procedures undertaken at the Royal Preston Hospital.
Please refer to the attached Job description, Person specification and Specialty/ Trust Brochure for further details on:
• What we can offer
• Job Plan/On-call Requirements
• The Team
This advert closes on Monday 10 Mar 2025