Job summary
Locum Consultant Clinical Microbiologist
University College London Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
An exciting opportunity has arisen for a 6-month (renewable by mutual agreement to up to 12 months) 10 PA Locum Consultant Medical Microbiologist post at UCLH due to retirement of colleagues to start July 2024. This post is likely to be advertised as substantive in due course after departmental restructuring.
Main duties of the job
This is a full-time post supporting Clinical Microbiology services at UCLH with a leading role in overseeing the clinical infection service to urology and thoracic surgery at the UCLH Westmoreland Street Hospital. This includes aspects of diagnosis and management of infection, antimicrobial stewardship and infection prevention and control.
The post holder will also have a leading role in providing microbiology support to maxillofacial surgery and share a role in microbiology liaison with oncology and paediatric haematology.
They will also contribute to the activity of the microbiology department in the rest of the Trust, including contributing to microbiology advice for Moorfields Eye Hospital, and support specialty training and undergraduate teaching for UCL medical students.
There is an on-call commitment associated with this post that will involve out-of-hours working that is included as scheduled activity in the total PAs.
About us
University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (UCLH) is one of the most complex NHS trusts in the UK, serving a large and diverse population. We provide academically led acute and specialist services, to people from the local area, from throughout the United Kingdom and overseas. Our vision is to deliver top-quality patient care, excellent education, and world-class research.
We provide first-class acute and specialist services across eight sites:
- University College Hospital (incorporating the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Wing)
- National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery
- Royal National ENT and Eastman Dental Hospitals
- University College Hospital Grafton Way Building
- Royal London Hospital for Integrated Medicine
- University College Hospital Macmillan Cancer Centre
- The Hospital for Tropical Diseases
- University College Hospital at Westmoreland Street
We are dedicated to the diagnosis and treatment of many complex illnesses. UCLH specialises in women's health and the treatment of cancer, infection, neurological, gastrointestinal and oral disease. It has world class support services including critical care, imaging, nuclear medicine and pathology.
At UCLH, we have a real 'One Team' ethos, and our values - safety, kindness, teamwork and improving, are central to the way we work. This is supported by our staff, who voted us as the #1 NHS Acute Trust to work for in the whole of England.
Job description
Job responsibilities
For the full Person Specification and more information regarding the main responsibilities of this role, please refer to the attached Job Description.
The Consultants job plan is expected to comprise 10 Programmed Activities per week on average including the on-call commitment (8.0 PAs Direct Clinical Care and up to 2.5 PAs Supporting Professional Activities). The majority of the job plan - for Programmed Activities related to direct patient care - follows a team-based approach. The part of the job plan related to wider departmental activities, supporting professional activities and personal objectives is more individually tailored. The post holder will be expected to discuss and agree a detailed job plan including personal and professional objectives with the Clinical Lead within three months of their start date; and the Consultant may be required to undertake a prospective diary exercise to inform this process.
The Clinical Microbiology department provides a liaison to the diagnostic microbiology laboratory, while providing clinical teams in the various hospitals thatmake up UCLH NHS Foundation Trust with clinical advice and antimicrobial stewardship input. The department works with the teams in Infection Prevention and Control as well as Infectious Diseases and Virology to provide a comprehensive Infection Service.
The Clinical Microbiology department is the largest centre for specialty training in Medical Microbiology in the Bloomsbury Infection Training Hub, which is part of the London Deanery. The Bloomsbury hub infection rotation offers a wide range of experience to train Medical Microbiology/Virology/Infectious Diseases Specialist Registrars to the standards required Core and Higher Specialty Infection Training for the Part 1 and Part 2 FRCPath examinations. UCLH Clinical Microbiology is a training centre with 4-5 microbiology trainees at any one time and a comprehensive training programme.
The departmental leads for specialty training in Microbiology are Dr Sophia de Saram and Dr Ana Soares. Consultants are expected to undertake an educational and clinical supervisory role for the specialty trainees.
The department is also involved in teaching undergraduate medical students, biomedical scientists and nurse specialists.
The post holder will have a commitment to high quality patient care, clinical governance, innovation, delivery of performance targets and excellence in training.
This post would be ideal for someone who is completing specialist training and looking to gain experience at Consultant level in specialist Microbiology.
The laboratory service for UCLH is supplied by Heath Services Laboratories (HSL) and the post holder will, together with the team of consultant colleagues, provide oversight of the processing of specimens in the laboratory including participation in laboratory working groups, as well as provide high quality reporting and clinical advice.
HSL is a partnership between The Doctors Laboratory (TDL), Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust (the Royal Free London) and University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (UCLH). The laboratory staff are HSL personnel.
The Infection Sciences laboratory participates in all the appropriate national EQA schemes and has an ongoing quality management programme.
The Infection Sciences laboratory is UKAS accredited. The Head of the Infection Sciences Laboratory is Alan Spratt. The HSL Specialty Lead for Microbiology is Dr Robin Smith (Consultant Microbiologist, Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust). UCLH Microbiology consultant staff contribute to several meetings HSL: HSL Infection Sciences Clinical leads meeting, UCLH HSL Governance meeting and working groups, which cover each laboratory section.
We are committed to sustainability and have pledged to become a carbon net zero health service, embedding sustainable practice throughout UCLH. We have set an ambitious target of net zero for our direct emissions by 2031 and indirect emissions by 2040.
Job description
Job responsibilities
For the full Person Specification and more information regarding the main responsibilities of this role, please refer to the attached Job Description.
The Consultants job plan is expected to comprise 10 Programmed Activities per week on average including the on-call commitment (8.0 PAs Direct Clinical Care and up to 2.5 PAs Supporting Professional Activities). The majority of the job plan - for Programmed Activities related to direct patient care - follows a team-based approach. The part of the job plan related to wider departmental activities, supporting professional activities and personal objectives is more individually tailored. The post holder will be expected to discuss and agree a detailed job plan including personal and professional objectives with the Clinical Lead within three months of their start date; and the Consultant may be required to undertake a prospective diary exercise to inform this process.
The Clinical Microbiology department provides a liaison to the diagnostic microbiology laboratory, while providing clinical teams in the various hospitals thatmake up UCLH NHS Foundation Trust with clinical advice and antimicrobial stewardship input. The department works with the teams in Infection Prevention and Control as well as Infectious Diseases and Virology to provide a comprehensive Infection Service.
The Clinical Microbiology department is the largest centre for specialty training in Medical Microbiology in the Bloomsbury Infection Training Hub, which is part of the London Deanery. The Bloomsbury hub infection rotation offers a wide range of experience to train Medical Microbiology/Virology/Infectious Diseases Specialist Registrars to the standards required Core and Higher Specialty Infection Training for the Part 1 and Part 2 FRCPath examinations. UCLH Clinical Microbiology is a training centre with 4-5 microbiology trainees at any one time and a comprehensive training programme.
The departmental leads for specialty training in Microbiology are Dr Sophia de Saram and Dr Ana Soares. Consultants are expected to undertake an educational and clinical supervisory role for the specialty trainees.
The department is also involved in teaching undergraduate medical students, biomedical scientists and nurse specialists.
The post holder will have a commitment to high quality patient care, clinical governance, innovation, delivery of performance targets and excellence in training.
This post would be ideal for someone who is completing specialist training and looking to gain experience at Consultant level in specialist Microbiology.
The laboratory service for UCLH is supplied by Heath Services Laboratories (HSL) and the post holder will, together with the team of consultant colleagues, provide oversight of the processing of specimens in the laboratory including participation in laboratory working groups, as well as provide high quality reporting and clinical advice.
HSL is a partnership between The Doctors Laboratory (TDL), Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust (the Royal Free London) and University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (UCLH). The laboratory staff are HSL personnel.
The Infection Sciences laboratory participates in all the appropriate national EQA schemes and has an ongoing quality management programme.
The Infection Sciences laboratory is UKAS accredited. The Head of the Infection Sciences Laboratory is Alan Spratt. The HSL Specialty Lead for Microbiology is Dr Robin Smith (Consultant Microbiologist, Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust). UCLH Microbiology consultant staff contribute to several meetings HSL: HSL Infection Sciences Clinical leads meeting, UCLH HSL Governance meeting and working groups, which cover each laboratory section.
We are committed to sustainability and have pledged to become a carbon net zero health service, embedding sustainable practice throughout UCLH. We have set an ambitious target of net zero for our direct emissions by 2031 and indirect emissions by 2040.
Person Specification
Knowledge and Qualifications
Essential
- Full and Specialist registration (and with a licence to practise) with the General Medical Council (GMC), or be eligible for registration within six months of interview.
- Applicants who are UK trained, must be a holder of a Certificate of Completion of Training (CCT) in Medical Microbiology or Infectious Diseases, or be within six months of award of CCT by date of interview
- Applicants who are non-UK trained will be required to show evidence of equivalence to the UK CCT.
- MRCP or equivalent.
- MBBS or equivalent.
Desirable
Experience
Essential
- Specialist experience in clinical microbiology.
- Routine laboratory-based diagnostic microbiological techniques including molecular assays.
- Reporting and interpreting microbiology results and advising clinicians.
- Experience of dealing with outbreaks, developing infection control policies and handling of day to day enquiries.
Desirable
- Experience in dealing with infections in Urology and cardiothoracic patients.
- Experience in dealing with infections in the ITU setting.
- Experience of delivering antimicrobial stewardship at a ward level.
- Training or experience in General Medicine or other related specialities, e.g. infectious diseases, haematology
- Knowledge of infection control aspects of design in the hospital setting.
Skills and Abilities
Essential
- Ability to offer an expert opinion in a specialist area commensurate with the needs of the service.
- Ability to perform clinical examination on patients, give advice on specimen collection
Leadership
Essential
- Able to show leadership, make decisions, take responsibility, exert authority
Personal and People Development
Essential
- Communication: Ability to communicate with clarity and intelligently in written and spoken English; ability to build rapport, listen, persuade/ negotiate.
- Accountability: Ability to work flexibly within specialist teams, to take responsibility, lead and make decisions where appropriate.
- Interpersonal Skills: Ability to see patients as people, ability to empathise and work co-operatively with others.
Desirable
- Able to be a dynamic team member within the department and to contribute broadly to the running of the department.
Clinical Governance
Essential
- Understands the principles of clinical governance, laboratory quality management / risk management.
- Evidence of participation in CME/CPD.
Desirable
- Evidence of involvement in clinical governance.
Audit
Essential
- Participation in clinical audit and attendance at appropriate courses.
- Evidence of clinical governance & high-quality audit
Research. Teaching skill & experience
Essential
- Understanding / knowledge of research ethics
- Evidence of research activity & publications
- Ability to critically assess published research and put it into practice.
- Experience of teaching medical students.
- Evidence of involvement in education of trainees.
- Experience of postgraduate teaching for medical staff and other health care workers.
Desirable
- Track record of research and publications
- Able to collaborate in an active research programme.
- Published peer-reviewed papers in sub-speciality areas
- Teaching on formal educational courses
Management & IT
Essential
- Evidence of having worked and being able to communicate within an Interdisciplinary / multispecialty service with appropriate levels of communication through direct discussions with team members, MDT meetings, and presentations to a team
- Basic IT skills (e.g. email, to support presentations)
Desirable
- Management course completed or evidence of knowledge of management structures & processes
- Experience of using an Electronic patient healthcare record system in clinical practice
Person Specification
Knowledge and Qualifications
Essential
- Full and Specialist registration (and with a licence to practise) with the General Medical Council (GMC), or be eligible for registration within six months of interview.
- Applicants who are UK trained, must be a holder of a Certificate of Completion of Training (CCT) in Medical Microbiology or Infectious Diseases, or be within six months of award of CCT by date of interview
- Applicants who are non-UK trained will be required to show evidence of equivalence to the UK CCT.
- MRCP or equivalent.
- MBBS or equivalent.
Desirable
Experience
Essential
- Specialist experience in clinical microbiology.
- Routine laboratory-based diagnostic microbiological techniques including molecular assays.
- Reporting and interpreting microbiology results and advising clinicians.
- Experience of dealing with outbreaks, developing infection control policies and handling of day to day enquiries.
Desirable
- Experience in dealing with infections in Urology and cardiothoracic patients.
- Experience in dealing with infections in the ITU setting.
- Experience of delivering antimicrobial stewardship at a ward level.
- Training or experience in General Medicine or other related specialities, e.g. infectious diseases, haematology
- Knowledge of infection control aspects of design in the hospital setting.
Skills and Abilities
Essential
- Ability to offer an expert opinion in a specialist area commensurate with the needs of the service.
- Ability to perform clinical examination on patients, give advice on specimen collection
Leadership
Essential
- Able to show leadership, make decisions, take responsibility, exert authority
Personal and People Development
Essential
- Communication: Ability to communicate with clarity and intelligently in written and spoken English; ability to build rapport, listen, persuade/ negotiate.
- Accountability: Ability to work flexibly within specialist teams, to take responsibility, lead and make decisions where appropriate.
- Interpersonal Skills: Ability to see patients as people, ability to empathise and work co-operatively with others.
Desirable
- Able to be a dynamic team member within the department and to contribute broadly to the running of the department.
Clinical Governance
Essential
- Understands the principles of clinical governance, laboratory quality management / risk management.
- Evidence of participation in CME/CPD.
Desirable
- Evidence of involvement in clinical governance.
Audit
Essential
- Participation in clinical audit and attendance at appropriate courses.
- Evidence of clinical governance & high-quality audit
Research. Teaching skill & experience
Essential
- Understanding / knowledge of research ethics
- Evidence of research activity & publications
- Ability to critically assess published research and put it into practice.
- Experience of teaching medical students.
- Evidence of involvement in education of trainees.
- Experience of postgraduate teaching for medical staff and other health care workers.
Desirable
- Track record of research and publications
- Able to collaborate in an active research programme.
- Published peer-reviewed papers in sub-speciality areas
- Teaching on formal educational courses
Management & IT
Essential
- Evidence of having worked and being able to communicate within an Interdisciplinary / multispecialty service with appropriate levels of communication through direct discussions with team members, MDT meetings, and presentations to a team
- Basic IT skills (e.g. email, to support presentations)
Desirable
- Management course completed or evidence of knowledge of management structures & processes
- Experience of using an Electronic patient healthcare record system in clinical practice
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 (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).
Additional information
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 (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).
