r/ConsultantDoctorsUK

BMJ article on the changes to medical training and their potential impact. Curious to hear what others think.

My partner is a newly CCT’d consultant who works in a clinic heavy specialty and has generated a small social media following over the last 2-3 years as a senior registrar.

Many of said followers have already expressed interest in seeing her on private, self-pay basis and she’s now keen on setting up a small online clinic to serve these patients.

She very much wants to be independent and not get involved with any private hospitals or providers. It seems therefore the biggest hurdle will be getting CQC registered and we would appreciate any advice on how best to approach this, if anyone here has done something similar, as well as approximately what the up front costs something like this would entail.

Year 3 cons. Been a member of the MDU since medical school. Wondering if still need the membership as costs >£700/yr (am aware tax deductible). I don’t do PP.

In past year involved in three cases that were referred to coroner. Had to attend inquest in person for one of them (outcomes in first two cases were open and shut with a narrative verdict).

I didn’t make use of my MDU membership for any of the cases and felt well supported by trust lawyers for the inquest I had to attend in person. Outcome of that was narrative with no prevention of future deaths report etc.

There have been associated complaints with all three cases which I have just dealt with in conjunction with trust complaints team (again well supported) without need to get MDU involved.

In view of these experiences, I am questioning what is the MDU membership actually doing for me and whether I should cancel the membership?

As above - I have private and nhs plans for indemnity (MPS) - i have always paid these from my own pocket. For the PP side I run through an LTD, as such can my indemnity be paid for via the company accounts/from ‘profit’? I’ve received mixed messages. I feel it’s a genuine necessity and expense for the business. TIA.

Hi,

I am wanting to know if any of you are on annualised contracts. Which specialty are you in and what is your experience.

I am recently CCTd in a surgical specialty, I am looking into whether this type of contract could work for me.

Hi All

New consultant here needing some advice on job planning:

I'm currently on 1.5 SPA to 6.5 DCC.

In true new consultant style, in addition to usual duties, I've also been given the 'opportunity' to manage both the rota and recruitment. Additionally I have teaching responsibilities and educational supervision.

My DCC is tight, There's no flex at all, I'm either on call, attending, or in a clinic. The clinics have 3 hours of patients, and 1 hour for admin, so there's no additional job planned DCC for clinic admin. Anybody who's ever done a clinic in the NHS will probably know that getting any admin done during a clinic is impossible. I've started logging all of the time spent doing patient admin, and all additional time spent doing SPA and have asked for a job plan review.

I know what I'm entitled to, what the BMA says, etc, but I'm also very aware of the NHS culture and departmental politics. I see jobs being advertised with just 1 SPA, so I'm also aware that nationwide trusts are pushing out SPA time and asking for more may take a bit of a fight. However, I feel this job plan is turning me into a bare minimum doctor and a bad team member. I don't want to take on anything 'consultanty' as I know it just joins the ever growing list of things I'm doing for free.

So essentially I either need a change in job plan or a change in attitude....advise please!

I'd be especially keen to know

-What's your SPA:DCC ratio if working <10 total PA's

-How have you negotiated any changes?

-Whats your allocated clinic time to admin ratio of in a specialty with lots of outpatient clinics?

-Have you successfully negotiated a change to your SPA to DCC ratio, and how easy was it?

Thank you !

Any advice welcome.

Currently a consultant (pretty junior).

Applied for two jobs in a different region. We need to move to that region pretty soon.

One has put out the job essentially for me (is how I read it) and I have an interview imminently.

Second place haven't shortlisted yet and I don't know how fast they'll be; this would be my preferred place, but far more uncertain whether I get it even though I know I'm a strong candidate.

In this climate, do I just need to bank what I can right now? Any thoughts or advice would be very welcome!

Thanks

Hi All

Currently an ST6 in Gastro, mid-late 30s, first kid on the way.

I enjoy the job but have no interest in pursuing it full time once I have completed speciality training.

I’ve focused on other interests and hobbies quite successfully throughout training so that full time work will be optional for me within the next couple of years.

I’ll probably still need £3-4k per month from part time work to lead the lifestyle that I want. Wife doesn’t work.

How easy is it to get a 50%/5PA part time consultant job in a department? What does this pay? Or would some kind of SAS role or locum endoscopist role be better suited?

I want to work max 2-3 days per week, or a full week maybe once or twice a month.

I enjoy ward/endoscopy and a bit of clinic but I don’t want to do it full time.

Any thoughts on if this is possible? What’s the consultant job market like now out there? Are part time consultants wanted, or only really job openings for full time?

Thanks for any advice

Lots of people talk about dropping PAs as the obvious way to regain control. For those who actually did it, any regrets? Did the workload genuinely reduce, or did the same amount of responsibility just leak into fewer paid sessions? Interested in both positive and negative experiences.

Has anyone had theirs yet? I rang in the past and simply been told unacceptable answers such as it’s not available and there is no timescale on when it will be.

We are long past the statutory limits they claim to work towards. Has anyone been successful in forcing them to provide the information? Is there anyway to escalate things? I really don’t want to go through another phone call with them without being armed with the recourse to get them to pull their fingers out and avoid them fobbing me off. I care less these days about the whole debacle, but I like to have all my numbers present and correct.

ST5 gen adult psych, currently in liaison in a DGH. Looking for concrete advice. SPR before me in team was fab clinically but my consultant said that he struggled to get into a Consultant mindset from being a SAS doctor for half a decade before resuming higher training.

My working theory is that the gap between senior reg and consultant isn’t clinical knowledge, it’s a set of habits nobody formally teaches: owning problems that haven’t been assigned to you, making decisions with the residual risk named rather than escalating for permission, carrying risk through someone else’s assessment when you’re supervising, refusing a referral without damaging the relationship.
Am seeking advice from seniors about what do you expect from senior registrars in terms of non-clinical aspects and how to develop these.

Query for consultants who are currently more than 10yrs into consultant life:

Assuming you’ve been in the NHS pension (both 95 and 2015) since you started work, are you currently contributing to any other form of pension?

Can you (considering AA)?

Or are you saving in other ways to bolster retirement income?

As a secondary question- are you planning to take early retirement?

I currently can’t figure out how to put anymore into a pension, without getting hit by a big AA tax bill- but I’m not sure if the NHS pension will be enough to live on in retirement; I’m curious what others are thinking.

Edited to add: thank you to everyone who has responded

I’m in the process of potentially relocating with my family within the UK. I’m keen to hear experiences of life as an EM consultant in different areas. I totally appreciate the pressures of working in the ED. It is not an easy job at all. However, are there aspects of your job that you love? Does your department allow good work/life balance? Do you like what the surrounding area offers you for your personal time? Do you have a fabulous team or a flexible rota?

We are considering Scotland or north west England due to family, but keen to hear from all over!

Thanks in advance.

Every specialty has problems, but some consultant jobs seem much more sustainable than others. Which specialties currently have a decent balance of pay, workload, OOH, autonomy, PP options, admin, and long-term sanity? And which look good from the outside but are actually grim?

Has anyone been to a paid communication skills course they can recommend ? I dont mean medical specific eg how to break bad news etc but generic coaching about tone of voice, fluency, eye contact, minimising ums and aah etc..?