Job summary
This is a 12 month fixed term Locum shift within the the Microbiology Department at The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust. The trust is committed to delivering high-quality, patient-centred care. Our multidisciplinary team includes consultants, specialty doctors, trainees, nurses, and allied health professionals who work collaboratively to provide comprehensive care across inpatient/outpatient and community settings.

Team structure: The department currently includes 1 consultant, 2 specialty doctors and is supported by a dedicated team.

The appointee will conduct report validation across all aspects of the microbiology service, ward and clinical liaison daily including critical care liaison and supporting the Speciality Doctor when required. Daily liaison with BMS staff, Infection Control staff, and other Consultant Microbiology staff is expected, and ICD cover when the usual ICD is on leave.

Main duties of the job
Clinical liaison

• Liaise in a timely manner with the Head of Department Microbiology/DIPC, clinicians, hospital staff, other medical microbiologists, general practitioners, BMS, ICN staff and UKHSA consultants concerning the diagnosis and management of patients, prevention and control of infections including the provision of telephone advice.
• Taking a proactive role within the Trust/hospital in matters relating to infection management including in outbreak and emergency situations.
• Providing Microbiology and antibiotic related information as a regular commitment to wards/departments/unit e.g., ward rounds, multi-disciplinary team (MDT) and other clinical or audit meetings (including commitments to for example, medicines management, and other non-infection control committees).
• Leading on antimicrobial stewardship initiatives across the Trust including attending the relevant committees, ward rounds and participating in regular audits.
• Taking part in Root cause analysis meetings for C difficile, MRSA bacteraemia and other alert organisms especially if the clinical lead is unable to attend.
• Participate in the services on-call rota

Laboratory
The consultant will be expected to contribute to the following:

• Day-to-day clinical oversight of diagnostic methods and examination of specimens
• Authorisation and interpretation of results on a daily basis, the new consultant will be expected to authorise the vast majority of the results
• Responsibility for quality assurance performance within the department, including taking part in all relevant national external quality assurance (NEQAS) programmes
• Responsibility for achieving and maintaining full Microbiology laboratory UKAS accreditation
• Compliance with health and safety and security requirements and with agreed SOPs and investigational algorithms is mandatory.
• Management arrangements are consistent with the recommendations of the Strategic Review of Pathology Services, notably paragraphs 4.22 – 4.26.

In addition to the above, the post includes:
Teaching and training

• Provide teaching and mentorship to medical students, resident doctors, nurses and allied health professionals.
• Participate in postgraduate education and training programmes.

Annual appraisal and revalidation
The successful applicant will be required to undertake annual review of their job plan, annual appraisal and revalidation every 5 years as per GMC requirements. The responsible officer is Dr Fiona Hikmet and the designated body is The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust.

Research and innovation

• Support or lead research within the department.
• Contribute to clinical audits, publications and presentations at professional conferences.

Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential

• GMC registration with a licence to practise.
• Full and Specialist registration (and with a licence to practise) with the General Medical Council (GMC)
• Applicants that are UK trained, must ALSO be a holder of a Certificate of Completion of Training (CCT), or be within six months of award of CCT by date of interview.
• Applicants that are non-UK trained; they will be required to show evidence of equivalence to the UK CCT.
• CCT (or equivalent) in relevant specialty or within 6 months of achieving
• FRCPath (or equivalent)

Desirable

• Subspecialty training aligned with service needs
• Higher degree (e.g., MD, PhD) or additional postgraduate qualifications
• Formal teaching qualification (e.g., PGCert in Medical Education)

Experience
Essential

• Broad and relevant clinical experience in the specialty
• Experience in teaching and supervising resident doctors and medical students
• Participation in clinical audit and quality improvement

Desirable

• Experience in service development or redesign
• Experience in curriculum development or educational leadership
• Publications in peer-reviewed journals; involvement in clinical research or trials
• Previous experience working in the NHS or similar healthcare system

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.

Employer details
Employer name: The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust
Address: The Princess Alexandra Hospital, Harlow, Essex, CM20 1QX, United Kingdom
Employer's website: https://www.pah.nhs.uk

Employer contact details
For questions about the job, contact:
Service Manager
Kelly French
kelly.french4@nhs.net

Details
Date posted: 24 August 2026
Pay scheme: Hospital medical and dental staff
Grade: Consultant
Salary: £113,565 to £150,569 a year
Contract: Fixed term
Duration: 12 months
Working pattern: Full-time
Reference number: 001007
Job locations: The Princess Alexandra Hospital, Harlow, Essex, CM20 1QX, United Kingdom

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