Job summary
We are looking for an enthusiastic and driven candidate to
be part of our microbiology clinical team, as a Consultant in Infection
(Medical microbiology or Medical Microbiology and infectious diseases). The
role is offered at 10.4 PA's with 1.4PA on call premium included. Part time
applications with prorate on call will be considered.
CDDFT pathology is embracing change and this is an
opportunity to help shape the service - new equipment and new laboratory
information systems are in the pipeline for delivery over the next 2 years, so
we are looking for someone with vision to fit into our team and support this
exciting period of change. There is the opportunity to take an active role in areas
including OPAT or clinical leadership.
The service provides a wide range of
microbiology, virology and serology testing to the County Durham and Darlington
population of 600,000. You will work closely with the laboratory and with
clinical staff across the Trust and primary care sector, providing diagnostic
results and clinical advice. On call provision is an expected part of this
role, supporting a 24/7 laboratory.
Main duties of the job
Be a member of Infection Control team and participate in
providing infection Prevention and control services to the Trust and other
users of the service helping consultant colleagues and infection control nurses
to deal with day to day infection control management across the Trust. Be
involved with root cause analysis and action planning where incidents occur.
This post will predominantly cover clinical service but in addition may have
the need for the appointee to attend RCA, MDT meetings where required.
The appointee, as part of the team, will be responsible for
the provision of a comprehensive, efficient and cost-effective diagnostic and
clinical microbiology service (including bacteriology, virology, mycology and
parasitology).
Provide appropriate advice and result
interpretation on the tests performed within the department at Consultant
level. This includes making interpretation and decisions on aberrant results
and discussions with clinicians including advice on interpretation and further
investigations. Ward rounds are an important part of the role.
About us
If you are being interviewed you must accept an interview slot in the system to continue, even if you have arranged with the manager
You must be able to produce ALL certificates stated essential in the person specification or you will not be able to complete pre-employment checks
We provide hospital services from two acute sites - Darlington Memorial Hospital and University Hospital of North Durham. We have a centre for planned care in Bishop Auckland and provide care from community hospitals in Chester-le-Street, Shotley Bridge, Barnard Castle, Sedgefield and Weardale as well as over 80 other community based settings and providing care in patients' homes.
We particularly welcome applications from disabled and Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) candidates as BAME and disabled people are currently under-represented
From April 1 2024 we are unable to offer sponsorship for healthcare roles that do not meet the minimum salary £23,200, to apply you must have Right to Work in the United Kingdom. If you are in the UK on a VISA please ensure you have no restrictions that would prevent you from taking this post
Full Job Descriptions can be found in the adverts supporting documents
Job description
Job responsibilities
This is a consultant post in Infection (Medical microbiology
or Medical Microbiology and infectious diseases)
The service is delivered mainly for 2 acute sites, the
University Hospital of North Durham and Darlington Memorial hospital. Based on
service needs and in agreement with the appointing manager and applicant, the
applicants base will be University Hospital of North Durham OR Darlington
Memorial Hospital. The post holder will however be required to work at any
location within the Trust.
The appointee will be expected to be involved in
implementing the Trusts Clinical Governance programme. This includes active participation in
clinical audit, quality, clinical guidelines/pathways, and professional development.
The post holder will provide, working with other colleagues,
clinical advice on medical microbiology to clinical staff in hospitals and in
the community, and within the area served by the laboratory and consultants in
communicable disease control, environmental health and others. This will
include participation in surveillance, hospital infection control and public
health microbiology.
The appointee will be expected to work with local managers
and professional colleagues in the efficient running of the services and will
share with Consultant colleagues in providing a clinical microbiology service
to the Trust and local CCGs. This post will predominantly cover clinical
service but in addition may have the need for the appointee to attend RCA, MDT
meetings where required.
Clinical
Provide appropriate advice and result interpretation on
the tests performed within the department under the overall supervision of the
Consultant Microbiologist.
Liaison with clinicians, hospital staff and GP`s
concerning the diagnosis and management of patients and prevention of
infection.
Liaison with Public Health England and Health Protection
Unit to manage infections and notification of notifiable diseases.
Attend and contribute to multidisciplinary team meetings
as required. Current opportunities include C. difficile MDT, OPAT MDT
(Outpatient antimicrobial therapy), Ortho MDT, and Endocarditis MDT
To provide medical input and oversight of policies,
procedures and guidelines produced with microbiology, or those produced by other
departments that impact on microbiology.
Provide advice and interpretation of test results to
clinicians, either directly, or via participation in the departments duty
rota.
This post will predominantly cover clinical service but in
addition may have the need for the appointee to attend RCA, MDT meetings where
required.
Out of Hours Responsibilities
Once the post holder is established they would be expected
to participate in the on call rota. There will be a compulsory on call
commitment as part of this post
Infection Control
The substantive post will involve working with the
Consultant colleagues and infection control nurses to deal with day to day
infection control management across the Trust.
Active involvement in investigation of infection control
incidents and in action planning and implementation to reduce hospital acquired
infection is expected.
There will be a need to be involved in root cause analysis
following infection control incidents.
There will also be a need to be involved in
decontamination issues.
Laboratory
To be involved in all aspects of the day-to-day operation
to UKAS standards of the Clinical Microbiology laboratory with appropriate
technical support.
Regular daily liaison with the laboratory technical staff
Reporting of laboratory results, authorizing and providing
medical interpretation as appropriate
The appointee will be a responsible for the provision of a
comprehensive, efficient and cost-effective diagnostic and clinical
microbiology service (including bacteriology, virology, mycology and
parasitology).
To provide clinical input to the laboratory manager to
enable effective management of the automated Clinical Microbiology activities
in the Trust including: Advising the section senior on the clinical
implications of quality issues (EQA and IQC) that can be used to help inform
their action plan.
Participate in the introduction of new methods and
preparations of business case/plan. The service is embracing new ideas to
enable us to support expanding and ever changing demands on microbiology.
Share responsibility for quality assurance performance
within the department including taking part in all relevant NEQAS programmes.
Works with operational members of laboratory staff to
implement the departmental policies.
Where possible ensures guidelines issued by the MHRA and NICE are
compiled with. Assesses the budgetary,
clinical and logistical implications of new guidance, whether National,
Regional or local and liaise with other departments in order to provide the
required level of service.
Provide clinical input whilst the department is evaluating
new methods or equipment and producing reports including statistical analysis
and graphical representations of data.
Monitor and advice on budgets and resources in the service
as required.
Provide clinical leadership and training of staff.
Managerial Roles
There is the opportunity to take an active role in
developing one of the key roles supported by the microbiology clinical team.
These include developing and leading:
The OPAT service.
Antimicrobial Stewardship team
Infection Prevention and Control
Orthopaedic Infection
Diabetic foot Infection service
Endocarditis MDT
There is also the opportunity for a suitably experienced
candidate to include the Microbiology Clinical Leadership role as part of this
post.
Additional activities would be considered through job
planning and allocation of funding (PA) once in post where appropriate. These
roles are managed on rotation and the candidate will be required to deliver one
or more of these roles.
The appointee will be expected to cover colleagues in their
absence, and will be expected to deputise in the absence of colleagues in cases
of annual leave, study leave and sickness as far as is practicable and ensure
continuous patient care
Liaison with other Consultant Microbiologists
Liaison with other consultants includes attending meetings
of the Microbiology Speciality Group and the Northern Region Consultant
Microbiology Group (NERMG).
MDT- Participation in MDTs is expected. Currently there are
MDTs for C. difficile (which is trust wide), Arthroplasty infection and
Endocarditis
Other roles
Teaching The Consultants will be expected to participate
in teaching of other junior medical staff, medical students and other staff as
appropriate.
Research Research activities are considered an inherent
part of normal clinical duties and would therefore be encouraged. Research
funding may be available for successful applications to the regional research
committee.
Audit and Clinical Governance The Trust has
established Clinical Audit and Governance Departments. Within Pathology there
is an active combined research & audit group with representatives from each
speciality. It is expected that the appointees will actively participate within
departmental audit and support cross-specialty audits
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- MBBS or equivalent medical qualification
- Full registration with the General Medical Council
- Inclusion of the GMC Specialist Register or within 6 months of expected date of CCT or CSST in Medical Microbiology and/or Infectious Diseases.
- AND
- Evidence of significant experience in a senior clinical role.
- MB ChB or equivalent
- FRCPath or evidence of equivalent.
- Full and specialist registration (and a licence to practise) with the General Medical Council (GMC)
- Eligibility to work in the UK.
Desirable
- Progression through further training with achievement of professional qualifications
- Training expertise
- Virology expertise
Experience
Essential
- Evidence of of significant experience in a senior clinical role e.g. Experience of independent working at Specialist Registrar or Consultant level.
- Experience of a wide range of general diagnostic work in Microbiology and Virology; including expert clinical management of infection and advising on Infection Prevention.
- Relevant specialty clinical knowledge:
- Capacity to apply sound clinical knowledge relevant to the job, specialty knowledge exam.
- Clinical judgement: experience in making clinical decisions and managing risk. Knows when to seek help able to prioritise clinical need.
- Practical skills: shows aptitude for practical skills, required for the job.
- Proven ability to work effectively in different clinical settings required in the job.
Desirable
- Working as a Consultant now.
- Experience of Infectious Diseases.
- Experience of advising infection control for estates projects
- Proven publication record in an area of clinical microbiology
- Demonstrate an interest in general microbiology and another specialty area
- Experience of team working and improving the effectiveness of the team
Statutory Registration
Essential
Special Skills & Knowledge
Essential
- Previous experience in a Clinical Microbiology laboratory at Consultant level or equivalent, or working towards this.
- Up to date knowledge of Microbiology including Infection Prevention at consulant level. Full understanding of relevant guidance on the management of patients and outbreaks.
- Practical ability, with developed technical skills, in the laboratory using a wide range of techniques.
- Ability to perform research, development and audit activities.
- Able to use basic computer programmes such as Work, Excel and Powerpoint.
- Able to manage clinical authorisation and clinical decision making.
Desirable
- Excellent knowledge of resistance mechanisms and management of complex infections.
- Good understanding and knowledge of modern Laboratory techniques including molecular methods and automation.
- Expertise in management of Infection Prevention problems.
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.
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 .
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 .
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see
NHS Careers website .
Employer details
Employer name
County Durham & Darlington NHS Foundation Trust
Address
University Hospital Of North Durham
North Road
Durham
DH1 5TW