Consultant in Oncoplastic Breast Surgeon

NHS HIGHLAND

Raigmore Hospital

Consultant Oncoplastic Breast Surgeon

Hours 10 Pas/40 hours per week

£111,430 - £148,064 per annum pro rata

NHS Highland is seeking a third Breast Surgeon to join our excellent multi‑disciplinary team and replace a colleague retiring this year. Within the Highland Breast Centre in Inverness we host the North of Scotland Breast Screening Service which screened 14,000 women last year and provide a specialist symptomatic service for the populations of NHS Highland and NHS Western Isles. The Centre manages around 300 new breast cancer diagnoses each year.

It is expected that you will provide a surgical service for the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer patients. Experience of oncoplastic breast surgery is strongly desirable. We would also be very happy to accommodate any teaching or research interests due to close links with the University of Aberdeen.

In terms of work/life balance: there’s mountains, beaches, wild landscapes, thriving diverse towns and vibrant village communities, not to mention the scattered cottages nestled in isolation on your doorstep. NHS Highland looks after over 300,000 people spread over approximately 10,000 square miles… and that, well, that makes delivering a 21st Century standard of healthcare pretty interesting! We have to be innovative, forward‑thinking, engaging and embrace the challenges of a truly remote and rural population to ensure access to healthcare where and when it’s needed.

But don’t be fooled by the idyllic internet‑available photos of sprawling mountain ranges and seclusion; the Highlands has excellent transport links to the rest of the UK and beyond. Highland schools rank highly in Scottish league tables, housing options are excellent and Inverness is a dynamic and diverse city with all the modernity an urban dweller could desire.

NHS Highland covers an area from Caithness in the far north of Scotland to Campbeltown on the Kintyre peninsula. Secondary healthcare is provided by Raigmore Hospital in Inverness and rural general hospitals (RGHs) in Wick, Fort William and Oban. You will be one of three Consultant breast surgeons based in the Highland Breast Centre who provide a comprehensive service for the screening and symptomatic patients.

The Highland Breast Centre is purpose‑built and integrates both the symptomatic and screening patients in one department, the first of its kind in Scotland when it was built in 2004.

We are continually developing the skills of our non‑medical workforce with three Advanced Practitioners and three Advanced Practice Radiographers undertaking stereotactic biopsies and one qualified film reader currently in post. We are actively working on proposals to add to our non‑medical workforce with the appointment of a Consultant Radiographer, expected in 2025/26. Patients are supported by two Breast Care nurses with the aim to extend specialist nursing provision by adding an Advanced Nurse/Nurse Consultant expected in 2025/26.

We are recognised for our innovative and flexible approach, our strong team ethos and our high‑quality patient‑focused service. NHS Highland recognises and encourages staff to learn, maintain and develop skills throughout their careers. Facilitation of this is something that the service values highly and is here to support.

As a member of the North Cancer Alliance and the North of Scotland Breast Screening Service we benefit from being in a well‑established collaboration with two other Cancer Centres in Grampian and Tayside and the other five screening centres in Scotland providing excellent peer support. One of our surgeons is the regional clinical lead for breast cancer. We have links and a funded referral pathway to specialist plastic surgical services in Livingston.

Applicants are expected to make contact with the department before applying (find out more about us, let us know who you are; give us a call!) and we would strongly encourage those that are shortlisted to ensure they have spoken to the informal contacts and other relevant senior colleagues. You can ask for a Teams meeting to be set up.

Informal enquiries will be welcomed by Mr Nick Abbott or Mr Russell Mullen, Tel