Consultant Anaesthetist

Consultant Anaesthetist

Closing date: 26 February 2026

University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust is delighted to offer a fantastic opportunity to work with us.

Please see below for the detailed job description of the role.

We are appointing Consultant Anaesthetists in University Hospital Southampton. This large department offers all major specialties and there are opportunities for you to undertake a wide variety of work. The elements we require in particular are thoracic, orthopaedic/trauma, spinal & neurosurgery, vascular, ophthalmic anaesthesia, pre-assessment clinic and anaesthesia for endoscopy and interventional radiology.

We require the services of anaesthetists who can undertake weekend general/obstetric/neuro work to begin with. However, we anticipate opportunities to join specialist on call rotas in due course. This will be your choice, subject to mutual agreement with the Care Group Lead and the needs of the Trust.

We also cover surgical specialities at Lymington New Forest Hospital & the Hampshire Orthopaedic Centre, and sessions are available there. A wide range of anaesthetic skills are needed, therefore applications from candidates with subspecialist skills are welcome.

We are concerned for the well-being of our Consultants and attention is paid to work life balance in the detailed construction of job plans. Although we are a large department overall, we are able to offer a supportive environment for work. There is a culture of collaboration and co-operation across the Department. We are passionate about patient care and believe that is best achieved by well supported staff.

As one of the largest acute teaching Trusts in England, we offer learning and development opportunities to help you achieve the career you aspire to. UHS is rated 'Good' by the CQC and in the latest national NHS Staff Survey, we were in the top 10 acute trusts for staff engagement and for staff recommending the hospital as a place to work or receive care.

We support flexible working and will consider requests taking into account the needs of the service. UHS employees are able to access a range of NHS discounts, are entitled to a minimum of 35 days paid holiday (pro rata), and we offer a generous pension scheme.

Southampton is an attractive place to live and work situated on the south coast, with an international airport and direct trains to London. The New Forest National Park and beaches of the Jurassic coast are also right on our doorstep. The city offers living costs 20% lower than London and 14 schools rated outstanding by Ofsted.

We believe that using technology wisely shows strong time management and commitment to innovation. However, personalising your recruitment application to highlight your unique skills and experiences is crucial. Relying too heavily on generic, AI-generated content instead of drawing from your own strengths and accomplishments may lead to your application being rejected if multiple candidates present identical or similar information.

There is a need for a wide range of subspecialty areas, including major general surgery, vascular surgery, ophthalmic surgery, endoscopy, anaesthesia for neuro-surgery and neuro-radiology, spinal surgery, orthopaedic surgery and Major Trauma Centre work.

We also cover multiple surgical specialities at dedicated elective sites such as Lymington New Forest Hospital and the Hampshire Orthopaedic Centre in Winchester. Non-weekday working for this role will start with weekend elective and non-elective session cover. In the longer term there will be opportunities for appointees to move onto specialist on call out of hours rota instead, although this is not mandatory.

The job plan would include approximately 5 all day lists per fortnight. One of these is expected to be a long list, to include an evening session. There may be a pre-assessment clinic requested, which may be generic or may be aligned to the individuals sub-specialty work.

For an overview of the position, please refer to the attached Job Description and Person Specification document. This includes a detailed breakdown of the key…