Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The post holder is expected to gain wide range of experience in all aspects of tertiary paediatric neurology delivered at Alder Hey. 

The appointee will have the opportunity to participate in the acute and long-term assessment and management of children with a wide range of neurological disorders in both inpatient and outpatient settings. 

The post holder will develop skills in the modern inter-disciplinary diagnosis and management of children with neurological disorders. This includes the appropriate use and interpretation of advanced investigations (neuroimaging, electrophysiology, histopathology, molecular genetics and metabolic investigations), interact with a wide array of professionals at local, national and international level as well learn about the various treatment options.

The fellow will be expected to attend outpatient neurology clinics as well as multidisciplinary clinics that the neurology team supports. There is also a well-established joint neurology transition clinic held both at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital and the Walton Centre for Neurology and Neurosurgery held at the Walton Centre. Other regular departmental meetings which the fellow will be expected to attend include the weekly neurology team meetings, weekly educational meetings, and the weekly neuro-radiology meetings.  

The job plan is subject to re-negotiation and annual review with the Clinical Director and General Manager, any changes being made by agreement with the department.   

The candidate would have opportunities to attend general neurology and specialty clinics based on interest and service requirements. The job plan will also have independent general neurology or epilepsy clinics based on candidate’s experience, with support from consultants as required.       

If any candidate wants to have a focused experience in a specialist are of neurology, that could be facilitated balancing with acute neurology cover.  

About the Paediatric Neurology Department 

The new Alder Hey Children’s Health Park has opened in October 2015, and has dedicated Neurology and Neurosurgery Wards and Neurophysiology Department. 

The Neurology Ward admits children requiring inpatient neuro-rehabilitation with integrated facilities including therapy rooms and a specialist rehabilitation school classroom. The neurophysiology department is located between the Neurology and Neurosurgery Wards and provides EMG and nerve conduction studies as well as formal sleep studies (3 cubicles on the Neurology Ward). The department also supports on-site video-telemetry (3 cubicles on the Neurology Ward) and invasive video-telemetry (I cubicle on the Neurosurgery Ward). 

The neurology unit has close links with the Department of Community Child Health which provides community neuro-disability services, Child Mental Health Services also provided by the Trust, Clinical Genetics (based at Liverpool Women’s Hospital) and also with the Walton Neurosciences Trust, a adult neurological centre. There is also close working with the radiology department with access to advanced neuromuscular and neuroimaging techniques including a 1.5T and 3T intraoperative MRI scanner, SPECT and angiography. There are weekly neuro-radiology meetings. Much of the work undertaken by the department involves children outside Liverpool, including Merseyside, Cheshire, North Wales, the Isle of Man and parts of Lancashire and Shropshire as well as elsewhere in the UK. An extensive peripatetic, outreach service is provided to 13 separate hospitals and child development centres, in both general and specialist paediatric neurology in conjunction with the local general and community paediatricians. The paediatric neurology department has developed tele-medicine clinics with these partner sites across the North West. The Consultant team.

The departmental ethos is forward-looking and offers consultant-delivered care. SuperSpeciality Areas The neurology department offers several tertiary and quaternary services. This includes:

Neuromuscular Services (lead Dr Rajesh Madhu) and supported by Dr.Stefan Spinty and Dr.Rajesh Karuvattil – Alder Hey is a MDUK Centre of Excellence for delivering Neuromuscular Services. We provide holistic multidisciplinary care to patients with Neuromuscular disorders in the Northwest of England and the North Wales. 

Epilepsy Service (lead, Dr Suma Muthugovindan) provides a comprehensive service across the Northwest and North Wales and also outside the region including Epilepsy surgery. 

Neuro-rehabilitation service (lead, Dr Ramiah Ramalakshmi) provides inpatient management of children with acquired brain injuries supported by a multidisciplinary therapy team (“HIRT

– Head Injury Rehabilitation Team”). There are weekly team meetings. 

Spasticity service (lead, Dr Ramiah Ramalakshmi) provides a multidisciplinary service for children with tone disorders run in conjunction with a specialist physiotherapist. Multidisciplinary clinics with orthopaedics, neurosurgery and upper limb surgery are held regularly. Interventions provided include botulinum toxin for upper and lower limbs, intrathecal baclofen, selective dorsal rhizotomy and deep brain stimulation. The service is currently supported with specialist input from the consultant team at The Evelina Hospital in London.

Neuro-inflammatory Service (lead, Dr Rachel Kneen) provides a joint service with the paediatric rheumatologists. Dr Kneen also has a clinical and research interest in CNS infectious diseases. Liverpool has an international reputation for research into CNS infection and the department is involved with teaching and research projects in this area. 

The neurology inpatients benefit from access to a comprehensive range of specialist therapists from physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech and language therapy, clinical psychology with additional neuropsychological expertise. The educational rehabilitation unit sited within the neurology ward allows assessment and educational re-integration of children following brain injury, including those who have been discharged.