Consultant Virologist or Consultant Clinical Scientist in Virology in City of Westminster

Responsibilities include provision with Consultant colleagues of a service to healthcare providers who contract with the UKHSA Cambridge Laboratory, with responsibility for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of illness, and the proper functioning of the Clinical Microbiology & Public Health Laboratory.

Out-of-hours responsibilities, including participation in the Consultant Virologists' on-call rota at a frequency of 1:5 including prospective cover.

Any responsibility which relates to a special interest.

Professional supervision and management of resident doctors.

Responsibilities for carrying out teaching, and accreditation duties as required and for contributing to undergraduate, postgraduate and continuing medical education activity, locally and nationally.

Participating in Medical Audit and Quality Improvement, the UKHSA and host Trust's Clinical Governance processes and in CPD (development).

Managerial responsibilities where appropriate.

A willingness to undertake additional professional responsibilities at local, regional or national levels.

Key Working Relationships

The post holder will develop working relationships and communicate regularly with a wide range of individuals, clinical and non-clinical, internal and external to UKHSA. This will include:

• Internal: The UKHSA Clinical Services Director, Head of Laboratory Operations, Network Business Managers, and other senior staff of the UKHSA Science Group.
• UKHSA Consultants in Public Health and Infection, Regional Epidemiologists, and other senior staff in Field Services.
• The local HPT Director, and Consultants and senior staff of HPTs within the Region.
• External: Consultant microbiologists and virologists, clinical scientists, BMS and other staff employed at the Cambridge laboratory.
• Consultant clinical staff and medical trainees at Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Royal Papworth NHS Foundation Trust and other service users contracting with the laboratory.
• General Practitioners and other Primary Care staff within the catchment areas of the above hospitals.
• Infection control nurses and other senior nursing, paramedical and administrative staff in the Trusts and other healthcare providers served by the laboratory.
• The Chief Executives, Medical Directors, Directors of Pathology and other senior staff of Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Royal Papworth NHS Trust and East & North Herts NHS Trust.
• Consultant microbiologists and other health care staff in the wider East of England.
• Senior NHS public health staff, including Directors of Public Health in the Region.
• EHOs and other Local Authority staff in the Region.
• Local Occupational Health Services.

Qualifications and Other Requirements

Applicants will be expected to have relevant qualifications and experience in providing specialist microbiology services in virology and the clinical management of communicable disease and its application to public health.

Medical applicants must have Full and Specialist registration with the General Medical Council (GMC) (with a license to practice) for Medical Microbiology & Virology/Medical Virology, or be eligible for registration within six months of interview.

Clinical Scientists should have a PhD, or equivalent, in a relevant subject and hold state registration with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC), or be within 6 months of exit from Virology HSST.

The successful candidate will be appointed to the point of the Consultant salary scale appropriate to their years of seniority or, if from a background other than medicine, to NHS Agenda for Change Band 8d.

Inclusion in the GMC Full and Specialist Register with a license to practice (or be eligible for registration within six months of interview).

Security Clearance: Enhanced disclosure and barring service check is required. Counter Terrorist Check (CTC) is required, with BPSS as a minimum, and willingness to work towards CTC where applicable.

You should normally have been resident in the United Kingdom for the last 3 years to obtain CTC; exceptions may apply as advised by the Vacancy Holder/Recruiting Manager.

Some pre-employment checks and salary/provisions may apply as part of Civil Service processes.

Other Information

The United Kingdom Health Security Agency (UKHSA) is a system leader for health security; taking action internationally to strengthen global health security, providing trusted advice to government and the public and reducing inequalities in the way different communities experience and are impacted by infectious disease, environmental hazards, and other threats to health.

UKHSA will:

• Prevent: anticipate threats to health and help build readiness.
• Detect: use surveillance to proactively detect and monitor infectious diseases.
• Analyse: use science and data analytics to assess and monitor threats.
• Respond: take rapid actions to mitigate threats.
• Lead: build partnerships to save lives and reduce inequalities.

The Cambridge laboratory is a directly managed public health laboratory based at Addenbrooke's Hospital. It processes approximately 850,000 specimens (1.4 million investigations) annually and forms part of the UKHSA regional laboratory network. This post is to cover an expected vacancy for 12 months. The appointee will have office space with a PC and departmental administration. Other standard civil service terms, conditions and policies apply, including information on pay, eligibility and security checks. Applicants should refer to the Civil Service Nationality Rules and related pre-employment guidance.