Job summary
We are seeking experienced and highly credible senior clinicians to join our cadre of on-call Strategic Medical Advisors. This unique role is ideally suited to Consultants with experience in emergency medicine, critical care, pre-hospital care or other relevant acute specialties with recent experience of working in an ambulance setting who can provide calm clinical leadership during complex and high-consequence incidents or periods of operational demand.

As a Strategic Medical Advisor, you will provide expert medical advice and clinical assurance to the LAS Strategic Commander, helping to ensure that appropriate clinical resources are available and used effectively during major and mass-casualty incidents, periods of heightened operational pressure, public health incidents and other situations presenting significant clinical risk. This is a rare opportunity to apply your senior clinical expertise at a strategic level, helping to shape the medical response to some of the most challenging incidents and events faced by London and its emergency services.

Candidates must be willing to be available during their on-call period for immediate telephone advice, and also be available to mobilise and arrive at the location of the LAS Strategic Commander within 60 minutes of activation.

Candidates are asked to submit a succinct supporting statement evidencing how their experience relates to the attached person specification during application.

Main duties of the job
Key responsibilities include:

• Providing expert medical advice and clinical assurance to the LAS Strategic Commander during major incidents, mass-casualty events and other significant operational challenges.
• Supporting strategic decision-making to ensure appropriate clinical resources are available and utilised effectively.
• Acting as the senior clinical link between LAS, hospitals, NHS partners and other emergency services during incidents and periods of heightened demand.
• Providing strategic clinical oversight and advice within command structures, including the Command Cell and Emergency Operations Centre.
• Supporting the management of clinical risk during major incidents, public health events and periods of sustained operational pressure.
• Contributing to incident debriefs, organisational learning and post-incident reporting.
• Participating in a 24/7 on-call rota and being available to provide timely clinical advice and support when required.
• Attending training, continuing professional development activities, live exercises and table-top exercises to maintain operational readiness.

This is a unique opportunity to apply your clinical expertise at a strategic level, helping to shape London's response to major incidents and improve outcomes for patients during some of the capital's most challenging events.

About us
London Ambulance Service NHS Trust is the busiest ambulance service in the UK and one of the largest and most complex in the world. Serving over nine million people across the capital, we respond to more than two million calls for help each year and play a vital role in London's health and care system.

Our people provide care and support across a wide range of services, including 999 emergency response, NHS 111, urgent care, specialist clinical teams and major incident response. We work closely with hospitals, primary care, mental health services, local authorities and emergency service partners to deliver safe, effective and compassionate care for patients.

London is a truly global city, presenting unique opportunities and challenges. From large-scale public events and state occasions to major incidents and periods of exceptional demand, our teams are at the forefront of responding to some of the most complex operational environments in healthcare.

At LAS, our vision is to build a world-class ambulance service for a world-class city. We are committed to delivering outstanding patient care, supporting our people to thrive and fostering a culture of inclusion, innovation and continuous improvement. Recent years have seen sustained improvements in performance while continuing to respond to increasing demand and growing patient complexity.

Details
Date posted: 28 September 2026
Pay scheme: Hospital medical and dental staff
Grade: Doctor - other
Salary: £15,000 a year
plus 3% of basic pay on call payment
Contract: Honorary
Working pattern: Flexible working
Reference number: 308-OL-CORP-68
Job locations: Trust HQ, 220 Waterloo Road, LONDON, Greater London, SE1 8SD, United Kingdom; EOC Newham, Newham, LONDON, Greater London, E16 2QU, United Kingdom

Job description
Job responsibilities
NHS input to a major incident starts at the scene, with the Ambulance service assuming the lead. Co-ordination, activation and deployment of Medical Resources at a Mass Casualty Major Incident is the responsibility of the London Ambulance Service.

The role of the Strategic Medical Advisor is to provide support and advice to the Strategic Commander to ensure that appropriate clinical resources are available and utilised appropriately both at the scene of the incident and to the continuing patient responsibilities of the ambulance service.

The SMA will provide liaison between the scene and hospitals and provide support and guidance to partner healthcare providers and stakeholders, providing the clinical link be that the tactical clinical teams deployed as a response to major or mass casualty incidents, as well as public health and rising tide incidents.

Responsibilities:

• Providing extended, specialist medical management and advice in the pre-hospital environment, up to and including major and mass casualty incidents.
• To work closely with the Ambulance Service Strategic Commander within the Command Cell to co-ordinate patient treatment and transport.
• To assist in maintaining business as usual and provide strategic clinical guidance to stakeholders and partner agencies.
• To assist the Ambulance Service Strategic Commander at periods of excess demand or significant handover delays resulting in clinical risk
• Provide strategic clinical oversight and support at the command cell, Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) or at the scene as required maintaining close liaison with the LAS clinician in the Specialist Operations Centre / At Scene and the London Air Ambulance Medical Advisor at scene
• Provide specialist guidance and support to the ambulance command cell, assessing the medical implications and response to any mass casualty incident, as well as rising tide and public health incidents
• Before additional medical resources are requested the SMA and Strategic Commander should agree on their role at the scene and consider if this is the most effective use of resources
• Communicate with Strategic commander and LAS clinician in the Specialist Operations Centre / At Scene to establish the nature and complexity of casualties injuries so that appropriate plans and preparations are made to distribute patients.
• Ensure that advanced appropriate Clinical advice is available to the HART Team(s) attending the scene to ensure that the best possible outcomes for patients are achieved
• To provide business continuity support to the Ambulance Strategic Commander, EOC staff and Operational Staff at times of excessive demand to manage clinical risk, oversee call prioritisation and on rare occasions help mitigate the clinical risk where patients are cohorted prior to admission to hospital.
• To communicate clinician to clinician with the Acute Trusts and Foundation Trusts who are providing casualty receiving facilities or on standby to receive casualties. The Acute Trusts should be able to provide accurate information about each participating Acute Trusts capacity for theatre, critical care and bed availability. Clear information from the scene about children as casualties and burns patients is particularly important.
• Press enquires must not be dealt with by the SMA in isolation. Enquiries should be directed to the London Ambulance Service Trust Communications Department and advice sort from both the on-call Communications Manager and Police Press Officers if required to speak to the Media. The SMA should however be prepared to respond to media requests and participate in press conferences with the strategic ambulance commander if necessary
• Maintain an accurate and detailed log of events and decisions made must be maintained by the SMA throughout the incident suing either an approved paper log of NOGGIN
• The SMA should attend formal debriefs and ensure that the lessons learnt are shared in the form of a full post-incident report for NHS England Emergency Preparedness, Resilience & Response Team.
• Maintain own CPD and contribute to own personal development by participating in annual appraisal process and evidencing this to the LAS CMO, developing a PDP, and actively participating in agreed learning activities and evaluating effectiveness of learning in relation to role
• Annually to attend a minimum of 2 of 3 half days updates and one pre-planned event or exercise (live or table top)
• To achieve and demonstrate agreed standards of personal and professional development within agreed timescales
• Provide on call clinical advice for Advanced Paramedics

General Duties and Responsibilities:

• The duties and responsibilities of the post will be undertaken in accordance with the policies, procedures and practices of the Trust, which may be amended from time to time.
• Patient Safety is a key priority for the Trust. It is your responsibility to ensure that you are fully compliant with LAS policies and procedures in respect of patient safety, for example Risk Management, Infection Prevention and Control, Safeguarding children and vulnerable adults.
• To act in ways that support equality and diversity and the rights of individuals, ensuring own practice is in accordance with Trust policies. Identify and take action when own or others action undermines equality and diversity.
• To abide by the NHS values and the NHS Constitution, all staff must maintain the highest standards of care and service, treating every individual with compassion, dignity and respect, taking responsibility not only for the care you personally provide, but also for your wider contribution to the aims of your team and the NHS as a whole
• To raise concerns around risk, malpractice or wrongdoing at work, which may affect patients, staff or the organisation, at the earliest reasonable opportunity.
• Emergency driving is not a requirement for the role, but if currently trained and using this skill in a clinical role then the SMA may respond under emergency conditions

The duties and responsibilities of the post will be undertaken in accordance with the policies, procedures and practices of the Trust, which may be amended from time to time.

This job description is not intended to be an exhaustive list of duties and responsibilities, but to give an indication of the main areas of activity and involvement and is not, therefore, exhaustive.

It will be subject to review, in light of changing circumstances and in consultation with the post-holder.

Person Specification
Qualifications, Accreditations, Education
Essential

• See JD&PS

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.

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

Employer details
Employer name: London Ambulance Service NHS Trust
Address: Trust HQ, 220 Waterloo Road, LONDON, Greater London, SE1 8SD, United Kingdom
Employer's website: https://www.londonambulance.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)

Employer contact details
For questions about the job, contact: Business Manager to the Chief Medical Officer, Charlotte Clubley, charlotte.clubley@nhs.net

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.
Applicants must have current UK professional registration.