[F]resh attempts are being made to advertise for paediatric consultants to work in West, North and East Cumbria.
Ongoing attempts to recruit to North Cumbria University Hospitals NHS Trust have proved challenging over the past couple of years as national workforce shortages mean specialists are in high demand across the country and are often attracted to larger centres.
The Paediatrics team along with the Trust’s Human Resources team have spent time redesigning the job offer and associated materials in an attempt to make posts at the Trust more attractive. Feedback from community groups – including West Cumbria Voices For Healthcare, the West Cumbria Community Forum and the newly formed maternity and paediatrics Working Together Group – has also helped shape the new job offers.
The jobs are currently out to advert and the posts are based across the organisation at both West Cumberland Hospital in Whitehaven and the Cumberland Infirmary in Carlisle.
There is a clear vision for integrated children’s health services in West, North & East Cumbria which says that: The children and families of Cumbria should expect:
- Fair access to safe, sustainable and high quality services and support to achieve a healthy future
- Joined-up services that are close to home and delivered in partnership with children, their families and other agencies
The Trust is looking for candidates who are interested in developing innovative paediatric practice; helping to bridge the gap between acute hospital care, community paediatrics and primary care.
Christine Brereton, director of human resources at North Cumbria University Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “Over the past year, there has been a huge amount of focus on the development of children’s services meaning there has never been a better time to join the team which is the message we are trying to convey along with other positive factors such as the fact the Trust is now out of special measures and Child Health Services are rated as ‘good’ in every domain by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
“Many Trusts are struggling to recruit paediatricians and over the past couple of years we have advertised regularly and offered additional financial incentives for people to come and work in North Cumbria but we have had limited success.
“We have had a lot of feedback from staff and our communities about how we could make the jobs here more attractive so have spent some time working with paediatric teams to make sure we have a really competitive offer.”
In a further bid to attract doctors to the Trust, a ‘Revised Benefits Package’ has been developed which is not a ‘one size fits all’ policy but offers a range of pick and mix options which includes generous relocation packages, salary retention bonuses and career development.
The new paediatric job descriptions were shared with members of the Working Together Steering Group and the West Cumbria Community Forum with more information suggested and included and further feedback is welcomed moving forward.
The second meeting of the Working Together Steering Group will be held tonight (Thursday 13 July) which is focussing on how the community and the NHS can work more collaboratively on the delivery of maternity and paediatric options following the public consultation last year. Everyone is welcome to attend the session which will take place from 6-8pm in the meeting room at the United Reform Church in Whitehaven.
More information and the agenda can be found HERE.
Paediatric consultant roles are being advertised HERE.
