East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust

Senior Clinical Fellow in Ophthalmology- interest in Medical Retina

The closing date is 19 November 2026

Job summary
We are looking for an enthusiastic clinician who has the necessary ophthalmic skills to support the lead clinician in both clinic/theatre management. This post will mainly be based in Medical Retina therefore experience in this is desirable. There will be the opportunity to do comprehensive ophthalmology, especially if there are particular skills and competencies that need to be acquired by the post-holder in order to further their career aims. The department regularly supports Drs interested in applying for CESR. The timetable would include clinics, laser, and theatre lists in subspeciality/general cataract theatre. The post holder will be encouraged to continue to work with the wider team in the development of the integrated eye service.

The successful applicant will be required to participate in medical/clinical audit arrangements in the Trust.

On Call Arrangements
The post holder will be required to participate in a 1 :7 on call rota.

Administrative Arrangements
The successful applicant will have access to office accommodation/secretarial support.
The post holder will have a named Mentor.

Continuing Professional Development/Research
The post holder is expected to develop and maintain a programme of continuing professional development in accordance with the recommendations of the NHS and Royal College of Ophthalmology. The post holder is expected to contribute to the research output in the department, supporting current ongoing projects during research sessions.

Main duties of the job
Introduction & Background
The successful applicant will join a Consultant led clinical team covering all aspects of Ophthalmology services. This is a fixed term post for 12 months.
The Eye Unit provides a comprehensive Ophthalmology service with a catchment area of approximately 521,000 people.
The service encompasses of outpatient clinics (conducted at the Royal Blackburn and Burnley General Teaching Hospitals), an emergency eye service at Burnley General Teaching Hospital and a dedicated twin theatre suite based on the Burnley site. In addition, we have outreach clinics at Accrington, Rossendale and Clitheroe. The medical team includes Consultants, Associate Specialists, Specialty Doctors, Staff Grades and also trainees at ST 1 - 6 level. There is a subspecialty lead structure in place. The current medical staff is as follows:
Mr Bertie Fernando, Clinical Director (Eyelid, Lacrimal and Oculoplastics)
Mrs Rajitha Ajit, Consultant (Eyelid, Lacrimal and Oculoplastics)
Mr Hasan Usmani, Consultant (Glaucoma and cornea)
Ms Salwa Abugreen, Consultant (Medical Retina)
Mrs Mey Mohan, Consultant (Paediatrics)
Mr Chintan Sanghvi, Consultant (Diabetes and Medical Retina)
Mr Philip David, Consultant (Surgical Retina)
Mr Vikas Shankar, Consultant (Glaucoma)
Mr Rohan Sawant, Locum Consultant (Glaucoma)

About us
East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust was formed in 2003 from the merger of Blackburn, Hyndburn and Ribble Valley NHS Trust and the Burnley Hospitals NHS Trust. East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust provides a caring service to a population of approximately 520,000.
Services are provided from two main sites, the Royal Blackburn Teaching Hospital and Burnley General Teaching Hospital. The Royal Blackburn Teaching Hospital and Phase V at Burnley General Teaching Hospital are significant PFI developments.
In 2006 a service reconfiguration, 'meeting patients needs' was implemented which resulted in the Blackburn site becoming the centre for all acute services in East Lancashire. The ED at Blackburn is the only ED for East Lancashire and since 2012 has become a Trauma Unit in the Lancashire Trauma network with the trauma centre at the Royal Preston Hospital. The ED is supported by Urgent Care Centres at Blackburn and Burnley and a Minor Injuries Unit at Accrington.
Burnley is the site for the East Lancashire Women and Newborn Centre with an in-patient obstetric unit. There is a midwife led birthing unit off the Hospital site in Blackburn.
In 2012 the Royal Blackburn Teaching Hospital was designated as one of the Lancashire Vascular Centres.
The Trust has close links with a number of Tertiary Centres in Lancashire, Manchester and Liverpool.

Details
Date posted: 12 November 2026
Pay scheme: Hospital medical and dental staff
Grade: Doctor - other
Salary: £67,325 a year per annum
Contract: Fixed term
Duration: 12 months
Working pattern: Full-time
Reference number: 435-MQ156-26
Job locations: Royal Blackburn Hospital, Haslingden Road, Blackburn, BB23HH, United Kingdom

Job description
Job responsibilities
The medical team work closely with the nursing team and also with a range of technical, orthoptic and optometrist staff who offer support with visual field tests, OCT, photography, Glaucoma screening, follow up and other extended clinical roles.

Outpatient Department (RBH)
The outpatient department is a purpose built unit consisting of clinic rooms with state of the art computer and digital dictation equipment. There are dedicated rooms for visual field assessment, orthoptic assessment, OCT, FFA, Pascal, SLT and YAG Laser, Intravitreal injections and Minor Operations.

Clinics
A variety of general and specialist clinics take place. These include Cataract, Medical Retina, Cornea, Diabetic Eye Disease, Macular, Glaucoma, Paediatric Ophthalmology, Oculoplastics and Intravitreal injections. In addition there are Nurse led A&E, Cataract, Glaucoma and Intravitreal injection clinics.
The Unit also runs an emergency service based at Burnley General Teaching Hospital.

Surgery
The Unit performs around 4,686 operations a year of which a significant proportion are Phacoemulsification procedures, the vast majority of which are undertaken under topical anesthesia. In addition there is a well-established Vitreo-Retinal, Oculoplastic, Paediatric and Corneal Transplantation, Glaucoma and medical retina service.
There are two dedicated Ophthalmic theatres with modern microsurgical facilities, two Infinity Phacoemulsification machines and an constellation machine that was recently acquired for Vitreoretinal surgery.

The strategic aims of the Ophthalmology Department are:

• To provide up-to-date, friendly and efficient care in areas of general ophthalmology and to facilitate referral to specialist care as appropriate.
• To keep waiting times for outpatient and inpatient care within the Trust guidelines.
• To work with NICE, CCG, or local guidelines for the best provision of care within established financial boundaries.
• To meet standards set out in government directives e.g. "Action on Cataracts", and to formulate and follow pathways formulated for such purpose.

Person Specification
Registration
Essential: Registered with GMC
Education
Essential: MB BS or equivalent; Specialist Training (or equivalent) in Ophthalmology
Desirable: Diploma in Ophthalmology or Higher Degree; Fellowship of the Royal College of Ophthalmologists (or equivalent); Experience in medical retina
Experience
Essential: 2-3 years as an Ophthalmic SHO or equivalent; 4 years as Ophthalmic Registrar/ST or equivalent; experience of working in an emergency setting/eye clinic; Broad general ophthalmic training; Good surgical skills including independent cataract surgery
Desirable: Research experience; Surgical experience at Registrar/ST level; Subspecialty interest- medical retina

Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Certificate of Sponsorship
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website.
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement.

UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see the NHS Careers website.

Employer details
Employer name: East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust
Address: Royal Blackburn Hospital, Haslingden Road, Blackburn, BB23HH, United Kingdom
Employer's website: http://jobs.elht.nhs.uk/

Employer contact details
For questions about the job, contact: Clinical Director for Ophthalmology, Mr Bertie Fernando, bertie.fernando@elht.nhs.uk, 01282805252

East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust's privacy notice is available on the employer's website.