Job overview

Attractive recruitment and retention incentive (available for a three year period) and support with relocation expenses offered. Please enquire for further details.

Applications are invited from existing consultants or specialist registrars who are within 6 months of CCT for a full time 11 PA replacement Consultant in Infection/Medical Microbiology/Virology post.

This is a replacement post for a medically qualified appointee to consultant level to be part of a clinical infection team comprising 6 consultants (5 medical and 1 clinical scientist) and 2 clinical fellows. 

Dual accreditation in infectious diseases as well as microbiology or virology will be particularly helpful for the increasing clinical infection service needs of the Trust. This post provides good opportunities to set up various new services, for example infection outpatient clinics and OPAT and for strengthening inpatient services related to infection prevention & control and antimicrobial stewardship.

Main duties of the job

The successful candidate will become part of a cohesive consultant team who cover the entire gamut of infection diagnostics (microbiology, virology) and clinical infection services, providing a clinical, diagnostic and infection control service to community and secondary care facilities in east Kent in conjunction with infection control nurses, antimicrobial pharmacists and laboratory staff. The consultants rotate through the three main acute hospital sites providing clinical and diagnostic advice to a range of general and specialist services including intensive care, renal medicine, neurology, maxillofacial surgery, haemato-oncology, neonatology and orthopaedics.

You will have, or will be encouraged to develop, a special interest and areas of expertise to complement the skills of the rest of the team. The philosophy of the service is to work in a collegiate fashion to provide support to colleagues and enhance the quality of clinical care. 

Working for your organisation

East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust, with links to the University of Kent and Canterbury Christ Church University, was established on 1st April 1999 and manages three acute district general hospitals (at Ashford, Margate and Canterbury) with two supporting hospitals (at Dover and Folkestone). The Trust was awarded University status in August 2008 and Foundation status in April 2009. 

The microbiology laboratory, which is centralised on the William Harvey Hospital site in Ashford, is UKAS ISO15189 accredited and is both a specialist mycology and virology centre. Molecular diagnostics and translational research have been a major focus over recent years and the laboratory has expanded its molecular pathology range with further ambitious plans for the near and long term future. East Kent Hospital’s microbiology service has been critical in the regional diagnostics response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

As a teaching trust, the hospital plays a vital role in the education and training of doctors, nurses and other health professionals, working closely with local universities and King’s College, University of London. In 2020 the Kent and Medway Medical School (KMMS) received its first intake of students, providing clinical training across all hospitals in Kent, with a preclinical school being established on the university campuses in Canterbury. There will be opportunities to take part in delivering relevant microbiology/virology/infectious diseases teaching in the medical curriculum.

Participation in research is actively encouraged, including both NIHR portfolio studies and collaborative scientific research in conjunction with local academic institutions such as the University of Kent, Canterbury Christ Church and Medway School of Pharmacy. You will be supported in developing as a clinical leader and will have the opportunity to take on key leadership roles. There are strong research collaborations with the University of Kent and opportunities for honorary senior lectureship posts which some of the current incumbent microbiologists hold. The Trust will consider supporting sessions at the University of Kent/Kent and Medway Medical School for candidates with suitable academic credentials. There are also research collaboration opportunities with other London Universities such as University College London and Imperial College London.