Clinical Fellow in Transcatheter Valve Intervention
Job Description
Job summary
An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Clinical Fellow in transcatheter valve intervention to join the team at Leeds General Infirmary. This is aimed at trainees who have recently completed, or are nearing completion of, PCI training. It is focussed on transcatheter valve intervention, in particular transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI). Leeds performs over 500 TAVI procedures annually, using multiple platforms, including JenaValve Trilogy. Leeds has a strong record of innovation in TAVI, and has an active research programme supported by 4 research nurses. Leeds also has a mitral and tricuspid intervention programme, including trans-catheter edge-to-edge repair. The Fellow will participate in all aspects of the trans-catheter valve intervention programme, and would expect to be fully trained as an independent TAVI operator at the end of the 12 month Fellowship and gain useful experience in mitral, tricuspid, and other structural intervention procedures.
Main duties of the job
The Fellow will participate fully in all aspects of the transcatheter valve intervention programme, including 1 clinic per week, assessment of urgent in-patient referrals, post-procedural management, analysis of pre-procedural CT scans, and presentation at the MDT.
This post will be one of two trans-catheter valve Fellows in Leeds. Between them the Fellows will be involved in all of the 500+ cases in the 12-month post.
The Fellows would be involved in mitral and tricuspid procedures, and would gain experience in trans-septal puncture and mitral intervention.
The Fellowship would also offer continued involvement in PCI, in order to maintain expertise. However, it will not offer full training in PCI to more junior trainees, since the focus is on structural intervention.
Whilst there is no formal commitment to out of hours work, there may be opportunities to contribute to gaps on the StR on call rota where appropriate.
About us
Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust is one of the largest acute health providers in the UK and based in one of the fastest growing and vibrant cities in the north.
Our Trust is recognised for our staff engagement, great care and rated GOOD by the Care Quality Commission.
The Cardio-Respiratory CSU champions the Leeds Way values.
Patient-centred
Collaborative
Fair
Accountable
Empowered
The Trans-catheter Valve Intervention team is the Flagship service of the CSU, with a national & international reputation for excellence and innovation. The team is also renowned for togetherness and friendship.
Leeds Teaching Hospitals is committed to our process of redeploying 'at risk' members of our existing workforce to new roles. As such, all our job adverts are subject to this policy and we reserve the right to close, delay or remove adverts while this process is completed. If you do experience a delay in the shortlisting stage of the recruitment cycle, please bear with us while this process is completed, and contact the named contact if you have any questions.
Job responsibilities
This appointment will be based at the West Yorkshire Heart Centre, Leeds General Infirmary.
Leeds General Infirmary is the largest tertiary cardiac centre in the United Kingdom, providing services to a population of 2.8 million in West Yorkshire, with supra-regional services to the broader population of Yorkshire & Humber, constituting 5.8 million. The cardiology department consists of 2 inpatient wards (one acute admissions ward), a day case interventional ward, a day case radial lounge, 6 lab catheter suite and a 10 bed coronary care unit. Leeds is a high volume PCI centre performing 2200 PCI per annum, of which 1100 are primary PCI maintaining the centres status as the busiest PPCI centre in the UK.
The transcatheter valve intervention programme in Leeds is delivered by four interventional cardiologists: Professor Dan Blackman, Dr Chris Malkin, Dr Mike Cunnington, and Dr Noman Ali.
This Fellowship is aimed at interventional trainees who are nearing completion of, or have recently completed, their PCI training. The Fellowship would be focussed on transcatheter valve intervention, in particular transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI). Leeds performs approximately 600 TAVI procedures annually. Currently Evolut FX+, SAPIEN 3 RESILIA, and Navitor Vision valves are used. Standard TAVI procedures are performed under local anaesthetic. More than 95% of procedures are trans-femoral, with percutaneous axillary access the alternate access route of choice. We have also performed trans-caval and BASILICA procedures. Leeds has a strong record of innovation in TAVI, having been the first centre in the UK to use Lotus, undertaken the first-in-human Evolut study, the first-in-human Triguard cerebral embolic protection study, and been at the forefront of cerebral embolic protection and subclavian/axillary access. We are one of only a few centres in the UK currently performing TAVI cases with Jena Trilogy Valve for aortic regurgitation. There is an active research programme supported by 4 research nurses, with multiple peer-reviewed publications in the field.
Leeds has an established mitral intervention programme and is the sole centre for provision of trans-catheter edge to edge repair (TEER) for the 5.8 million population of Yorkshire & Humber, with approximately 50 procedures expected to be performed annually. Leeds has also been involved in trials of a number of novel trans-catheter mitral valve repair and replacement devices including Intrepid, High-Life, Carillon, and Millipede. We also perform mitral valvuloplasty, TAVI-in-mitral valve / ring procedures, paravalvular leak closures, and we are about to start a tricuspid TEER programme.
The post is fixed term for one year, expected start date 6th October 2025.
Person Specification
Clinical Experience and Career Progression
Essential
- Extensive experience of general clinical cardiology
- Experience as an independent operator in PCI
- At least 4 years experience in medical specialities Involvement in research
Desirable
- Completion of a recognised training programme in Cardiology or within 18 months of completion Competent independent operator in PCI
- Involvement in TAVI procedures as secondary operator
- Completion of a full-time research programme leading to an MD/PhD Peer-reviewed publications in the field of interventional cardiology
Qualifications
Essential
- MBChB or equivalent
- Current ALS certification or equivalent
- Evidence of achievement of Foundation and CT/ST competencies in medicine (as defined by the curricula relating to Core Medical training)
Desirable
- MD, PhD or equivalent
- Completion of a recognised training programme in Cardiology within the last 3 years, or within 18 months of expected completion date
Eligibility, Fitness to practice, and Language Skills
Essential
- Eligible for full registration with the GMC at time of appointment and hold a current licence to practice
- Eligibility to work in the UK
- Is up to date and fit to practise safely
- All applicants to have demonstrable skills in written and spoken English adequate to enable effective communication about medical topics with patients and colleagues.
Desirable
- Experience of working in the UK National Health Service
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.
Certificate of Sponsorship
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
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
Leeds Teaching Hospitals
Address
Leeds General Infirmary
Great George Street
Leeds
LS1 3EX
