Information for Professionals

The Hospital:

The Trust has been identified as one of the top organisations to work for in the UK Public Sector. We were one of only two Acute Trusts to be included in the inaugural Sunday Times 75 Best Places to Work in the Public Sector. The Trust is actively pursuing a total quality approach through self-assessment, which led to our being the first NHS Radiology Department to receive ISAS accreditation in 2010; this has very recently been renewed. Management structures are designed to ensure that maximum devolution and decision-making rests with the Clinical Directorate Teams.

The Blackpool Victoria Hospital serves a resident population of approximately 440,000 inhabitants. There are large seasonal fluctuations in population with Blackpool and surrounding areas of the Fylde Coast, attracting up to 16 million visitors a year. The Victoria Hospital is a District General Hospital with 849 beds and serves the three surrounding boroughs of Blackpool, Wyre and Fylde.

The hospital was originally located on Whitegate Drive, and was opened in 1894. The hospital was subsequently moved to East Park Drive, where it is located today. The foundation stone of the new building was laid by Lord Derby on 9 June 1933. The present hospital opened in 1935, but has seen continuous development and expansion since, with a new surgical ward and theatre block in 1994, a new, 6-ward medical block, housing a new Accident and Emergency unit in 2002 and the new Macmillan oncology suite was opened in 2003. A new regional cardiology and cardiothoracic surgical block was opened in 2005; this development included the building of a new ring road around the hospital campus.

The hospital has a consultant staff numbering over 110, encompassing all major medical and surgical specialties. In addition, there are visiting consultants in the specialties of nephrology, neurology, neurosurgery, plastic surgery and radiotherapy.

The hospital provides some regional services in Haematology and is the tertiary referral centre for haematological malignancies for Cumbria and Lancashire.

The hospital is the site of the newly-commissioned Lancashire Cardiac Centre which provides comprehensive cardiology and cardiothoracic surgical services for the adult population of Lancashire and South Cumbria, numbering approximately 1.6 million. The Lancashire Cardiac Centre is a new 52 million purpose-built hospital, containing 3 cardiology laboratories (with potential to expand to 4), three cardiothoracic theatres (with potential to expand to 4), 14 cardiothoracic critical care beds (with potential to increase to 20), a non-invasive cardiac investigation unit, 7 coronary care unit beds, 89 in-patient beds, 20 day-case beds, a dedicated outpatient department, a 6 bedded private patient facility, office accommodation and an education centre containing a lecture theatre, meeting rooms and a library area.

The Trust has established a medical workforce planning group to ensure that appropriate infrastructure enhancement supports new developments or extensions of clinical services.

There is a recently refurbished Education Centre with close links to the University of Central Lancashire and input from the University of Manchester. There is a regular lecture programme and weekly postgraduate meetings.

The Area:

Blackpool is a large coastal holiday resort, surrounded by the largely agricultural Fylde Coast peninsula. Nearby are the urban areas of Lytham St. Annes, which is a largely residential town, and Fleetwood, which is a fishing port and a ferry terminal. Local  major industries include British Aerospace and British Nuclear Fuels, and light industries including Lofthouses (Fisherman’s Friend lozenges).

A major employer in the area is the Civil Service which has multiple departments in the area. A large part of the local economy is based upon the tourist industry, with around 16 million visitors to the town each year. There are good motorway links with Manchester and Liverpool that are less than 1 hour away by road. The local railway line connects to the West Coast Main Line at Preston, giving access within 2 ½ hours to London and Scotland. Blackpool International Airport has daily flights to a number of international destinations. The Lake District is also within one hour by car.

Our consultants typically live in Lytham St. Annes, Preston or in Poulton-le-Fylde. These places offer a great cultural and agricultural diversity, outside the tourist attractions of Blackpool. Lytham St Annes has even been voted as one of the top 10 places to live in the Northwest! If you are interested in a position at Blackpool Victoria Hospital, feel free to ask any of our staff for living arrangements/opportunities!