Job summary
This role is centred around providing senior clinical assessment, management and decision-making for infants, children and young people presenting acutely to the Paediatric Emergency Department and Paediatric Assessment Unit during peak demand periods.

The post holder will facilitate timely patient flow, reduce delays in assessment and admission, support junior medical staff, and ensure safe, effective, high-quality paediatric care acting as the senior resident paediatric decision-maker during the busiest afternoon/evening period, supporting both PED and PAU, expediting patient flow, reducing waiting times and ensuring safe assessment and disposition of acute paediatric patients.

Main duties of the job
Clinical Duties

• Undertake senior assessment of children referred to or presenting in PED and PAU.
• Provide a timely clinical review of children requiring paediatric input.
• Formulate management plans and initiate appropriate investigations and treatment.
• Make admission, discharge, and follow-up decisions.
• Manage acutely ill or deteriorating children, including those requiring HDU-level care pending consultant review.
• Participate in trauma, resuscitation, and emergency responses involving paediatric patients
• Perform practical procedures appropriate to middle-grade competency.
• Ensure high standards of clinical documentation and communication.

About us
Please submit your application as soon as possible, as we reserve the right to close adverts once sufficient applications have been received.

We recognise that AI tools can support application writing; however, candidates are asked to keep their use to a minimum. Responses should reflect your own experience, skills and knowledge, as over-reliance on AI-generated content may result in generic answers that do not accurately represent your abilities.

University Hospitals of Northamptonshire (UHN) brings together Kettering General Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and Northampton General Hospital NHS Trust. As a group, we are committed to improving services for our communities through collaboration, modernising care delivery and striving for excellence. Working together enables us to share expertise, strengthen services and create greater opportunities, and there may be a requirement to work across sites depending on service needs.

Our Excellence Values are Compassion, Accountability, Respect, Integrity and Courage. UHN welcomes applications from all backgrounds and is committed to an inclusive working environment. We are proud signatories of the Armed Forces Covenant and hold the Gold Award under the Employer Recognition Scheme. Candidates who identify as members of the Armed Forces community and meet the essential criteria will be guaranteed an interview.

Job responsibilities
PAU Responsibilities

• Provide senior decision-making to facilitate rapid assessment and safe discharge where appropriate.
• Review referrals from PED, GPs, community teams and other specialties in line with local pathways.
• Coordinate patient flow through PAU and support clear disposition planning.
• Liaise with consultant paediatricians regarding complex, high-risk or deteriorating patients.
• Support safe transfer of patients to inpatient wards, tertiary centres or other services where required.
• Assist nursing staff in managing periods of increased acuity and capacity pressure.

Paediatric ED Responsibilities

• Assess children presenting with acute medical, surgical and safeguarding concerns referred to Paediatrics
• Support ED clinicians in the management of paediatric presentations.
• Expedite referral and transfer of appropriate patients from PED to PAU.
• Assist in meeting national quality standards for timely assessment, treatment, and decision-making.

Leadership and Supervision

• Provide clinical supervision and support to junior doctors, advanced clinical practitioners and physician associates where applicable.
• Act as a senior clinical presence during the twilight period.
• Escalate concerns regarding patient safety, staffing or capacity pressures.
• Participate in multidisciplinary handover, escalation and bed management discussions.

Safeguarding

• Identify and appropriately manage safeguarding concerns.
• Work closely with safeguarding teams, social care and partner agencies where required.
• Ensure safeguarding documentation is completed to Trust standards.

Governance, Quality Improvement and Teaching

• Participate in audit, quality improvement and governance activity relevant to acute paediatric care.
• Contribute to incident reporting, governance reviews and shared learning.
• Maintain compliance with mandatory and statutory training requirements.
• Deliver bedside teaching and supervision for junior medical staff and medical students.
• Promote a culture of learning, reflection and professional standards

Person Specification
Qualifications & Education
Essential

• Full GMC registration with licence to practise
• MRCPCH or equivalent postgraduate qualification
• ST4 level or above in paediatric training, or equivalent middle-grade experience.
• Current APLS/EPLS certification.
• Level 3 Safeguarding Children training.

Knowledge & Experience
Essential

• Competence in assessment and management of acute paediatric presentations.
• Credible professional with sound professional knowledge and judgement
• Ability to lead and work as part of a multi-disciplinary team in a clinical division / directorate
• Ability to maintain a high level of concentration which is likely to be interrupted
• Knowledge, understanding and experience of child protection processes

Desirable

• Experience in Paediatric Emergency Medicine.
• Experience in paediatric HDU care.

Skills
Essential

• Ability to work independently while recognising limits of competence and escalating appropriately.

Desirable

• Leadership or service improvement experience.
• Instructor status in paediatric life-support courses.

Key competencies/personal qualities and attributes
Essential

• Passionate and committed to bring our Dedicated to Excellence values to life, improving the way we work With each other, particularly focusing on empowerment, equality diversity and inclusion of our staff, patients and service users
• The ability to prioritise and stay calm under pressure of changing work demands
• Able to work with staff at all levels across the trust
• To demonstrate on a daily basis the Trusts vision and values

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.

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 (Opens in a new tab).

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. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).