Consultant Medical Microbiologist

Job details

• Branch: Belfast Area (SEHSCT)
• Location: Ulster Hospital
• Directorate: Hospital Services
• Functional Area: Microbiology
• Salary: (See job details)
• Contract Type: Permanent
• Opening Date: 27/05/26
• Closes: Fri, 26 June 2026 @ 4:00 PM

Notes

Supporting C.Vs can be emailed to: leigh.simmons@setrust.hscni.net

JOB DESCRIPTION

POST

Consultant Medical Microbiologist

DIRECTORATE

Surgery, Elective, Maternity & Paediatrics

LOCATION

South Eastern Health and Care Trust

Initially the Ulster Hospital

REPORTS TO

Laboratory Clinical Director

RESPONSIBLE TO

Medical Director

JOB SUMMARY

This replacement post is for a full-time (10 programmed activities per week)

Consultant Medical Microbiologist to the South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust (SEHSCT). This is an exciting opportunity to join an established Microbiology team that has a high clinical profile in SEHSCT.

The successful candidate will join three Consultant Medical Microbiologists and one Microbiology Speciality Doctor. The successful candidate will support clinical and laboratory microbiology, infection control, antimicrobial stewardship, OPAT, and surveillance.

This is a full-time post, however applications from practitioners who wish to contract for a reduced number of planned activities, or on a job share basis are welcome.

PROFILE OF THE SOUTH EASTERN HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE TRUST

The South Eastern Health & Social Care Trust (SET) is an Investors in People (IIP) accredited organisation, employing approximately 12,500 Staff.

It is an integrated Trust, incorporating acute hospital services, community health and social services. The Trust serves a population of 440,000 people and covers a wide geographical area from Bangor in the north, Portaferry in the East, to Newcastle in the South and Moira in the West. The 5 main hospital bases are the Ulster, Lagan Valley, Ards, Downe and Bangor Community Hospitals.

Location and Surrounding Amenities

The Ulster Hospital is situated within Ards and North Down Borough Council, with the stunning backdrop of the North Down coast and the Ards peninsula. It is ideally located for urban, rural or semi-rural commuting. Belfast City centre is approximately 20 minutes away by public transport. George Best airport is 15 minutes away. The area has a large number of highly rated schools, attractive property buying opportunities and the area boasts many excellent sporting venues, such as Royal Belfast Golf Club, Ulster Rugby stadium and Royal North of Ireland Yacht Club.

Leisure opportunities are extensive with many excellent restaurants and other amenities available in close proximity to the hospital.

The Ulster Hospital

The Ulster Hospital is the major acute hospital for the Trust and delivers the full range of acute services for the population. This includes a type 1 Emergency Department which is open 24/7 (23/24 ~135k new & unplanned attendances), a comprehensive range of diagnostic services, the full range of outpatient, inpatient and daycase medical and surgical services, cancer care, coronary care, obstetrics, paediatric services and a psychiatric inpatient unit. The regional Plastic and Maxillo-Facial services are mainly delivered from the Ulster site.

The Ulster Hospital has undergone significant redevelopment with the building of a permanent Renal Unit, new Maternity Hospital, a new Inpatient Ward Block and most recently an Acute Services Ward Block recently opened to add to, a new Theatre Block and Critical Care Complex that opened in November 2010.

The new Inpatient Ward Block (IWB) was opened in February 2017 with 288 single en-suite rooms, 4 day surgery theatres and 3 endoscopy rooms.

The Acute Services Ward Block (ASB) is now operational. It includes 213 single en-suite rooms, a new x-ray department including CT, MRI, Nuclear medicine. The Emergency Department, which completes the final stage of the £280m Phase B redevelopment project, opened on the 6 September 2023.

The Ulster Hospital is a major teaching hospital associated with Queens University of Belfast and with the University of Ulster. The library is linked to Queens University Medical Library and comprehensive on-line search facilities and other resources are provided through library connections. Facilities for Med-line and Cochrane Database are also available. Research opportunities are also being developed, particularly in the field of bronchiectasis, lung cancer and health related technology.

Lagan Valley Hospital

Lagan Valley Hospital is located in the city of Lisburn, a 30-minute commute from the Ulster Hospital. It is situated close the M1 motorway, with easy access from Belfast. The Emergency Department team operate an Urgent Care Centre, which is a phone first system (appointment only), which is open 8am-6pm Monday-Friday (closed at weekends).

The hospital has 84 inpatient medical beds, a psychiatric inpatient unit and a Dementia Assessment and Treatment Unit, as well as outpatient, diagnostic, day-case services for the local population. It also provides maternity services, including Consultant lead antenatal clinics and a range of outpatient gynaecology services including general gynaecology clinics, a recurrent pregnancy loss clinic, colposcopy clinics and outpatient hysteroscopy clinics. The Midwifery led birthing Centres are currently suspended and under review at Lagan Valley Hospital and Downe Hospital.

Downe Hospital

The Downe Hospital is located in the culturally historic town of Downpatrick, a 40-minute commute from the Ulster Hospital. The Emergency Department team operate an Urgent Care Centre, which is a phone first system (appointment only), which is open 8am-6pm Monday-Friday. There is also a Minor Injury Service on Saturday and Sunday 9am-5pm.

The hospital has 40 inpatient medical beds, a psychiatric inpatient unit and a Dementia Assessment and Treatment Unit. A Frail Elderly Rapid Assessment Clinic is staffed 9am to 6pm Monday to Friday. The Downe provides the Trust wide Bowel Screening Service and Sexual Health Service, as well as a range of outpatient, diagnostics and day-case services, such as cataract surgery. Two Primary Care practices are located on the first floor, along with community and dental services

Ards Hospital

Ards Community Hospital provides a comprehensive range of health, primary and social care services, including an X-Ray Department, GP Ward, Medical, Surgical, Gynaecology and Psychiatry Outpatients Department and GP Out of Hours services. The Trust’s breast screening service is delivered from a new building on the site.

Bangor Community Hospital

Bangor Community Hospital provides a range of health, social and primary care services, including an Outpatients Department, a Therapy & Rehabilitation Centre, and an X-Ray Department. Gynaecology outpatients and urogynaecology clinics are held on this site. The continence service for the area is based in Bangor Hospital and urodynamic studies are performed on an outpatients basis.

Maternity and Paediatrics Sub Directorate

The Microbiology Service is managed within the sub Directorate with Obstetrics, Gynaecology, ENT, Children’s Services, hospital, and community midwifery.

The Senior Management Team for the Directorate comprises

Ms M Parks - Director of Surgery, Elective, Maternity & Paediatrics

Mr K Quinn - Assistant Director, Acute Paediatrics & Clinical Support Services, incorporating Laboratories

Dr K Ryan - Laboratory Clinical Director (Interim)

Ms S Carty - Laboratory Services Manager

Miss Tracey Erskine, Operational Manager

The appointee will be expected to work with professional colleagues and local managers in the efficient running of clinical services, and will share with their consultant colleagues in the medical contribution to management.

SEHSCT Microbiology Service

The SEHSCT microbiology service is based at the laboratories in the Ulster Hospital, Dundonald.

Diagnostic Microbiology Service

The SEHSCT Microbiology laboratory is located at the Ulster Hospital and provides a comprehensive diagnostic general microbiology service including mycology and parasitology to the Ulster, Bangor and Ards hospitals and the associated community. The diagnostic microbiology service to Lagan Valley and Downe hospitals and their associated communities is currently provided by the Belfast HSC Trust microbiology department. This arrangement is under review.

The microbiology laboratory is currently equipped with Biomerieux Virtuo Blood Culture analysers, VITEK-2 and VITEK-MS systems as well as GeneXpert and EntericBio. It has a Category 3 containment facility.

Arrangements are in place for the referral to Regional and Supra-Regional laboratories for specialised tests in virology, food microbiology, mycology, ribotyping and phage tying etc.

The Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) is WinPath Enterprise. This system is managed by the Business Services Organisation (BSO) Information Technology Shared Services (ITS) in partnership with CliniSys Group.

Requests are received via ward order communications from hospital facilities and by manual requests from the community. Reports are returned electronically to both General Practitioners and those requestors who use ward order communications. The microbiology system also communicates with the Northern Ireland Electronic Care Record and with the regional epidemiology system Co-Surv.

The Centre for Disease Control is notified of all isolates of “Alert organisms”. The Department works closely with the Public Health Agency (PHA) in the collection of epidemiological data. There are regular meetings with the PHA and with microbiologists from other HSC Trusts in Northern Ireland, in the interests of improving health protection across the province.

Workload

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

2024

Blood Cultures

10687

11238

11723

12600

9550

9692

9794

12059

14123

CSF

440

448

386

367

346

458

477

443

381

Enterics & Serology

12849

12040

13712

24141

24461

31454

32249

48181

43194

Miscellaneous Swabs

39520

41689

43718

43936

16909

35158

35319

39067

33268

Respiratory

8566

9062

9391

10442

33698*

90699*

99572*

10580*

12387*

Urine

65532

67975

69142

72084

64058

70832

72412

76823

69230

Total

137594

142452

148072

163570

167826

238293

249823

187153

172583

Source: BSO ITS LIMS via Business Objects / PathManager *Includes Sars-CoV-2/FLU/RSV molecular testing

The percentage of workload from primary care is approximately 50% of the laboratory workload.

Clinical Microbiology Services

This service is based at the Ulster Hospital site. The present consultants and microbiology speciality doctor staff provide a regular ward-round service to critical care areas, haematology, neonatology and medical admission units along with an accessible and responsive bedside, telephone and online consultation service to all service users in the Ulster, Bangor and Ards Hospitals and the associated community. This service extends to the Lagan Valley and Downe Hospitals on an outreach basis. A telephone advice service is provided to the South Eastern Trust community.

Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) team

The SEHSCT IPC service is based at the Ulster Hospital and is under the Trust Safe and Effective Care managerial direction.

The IPC team comprises of one manager IPCT(1WTE) and three infection prevention and control nurse leads(2.43 WTE) and infection prevention and control nurses (5.28 WTE), two surveillance audit assistant (2 WTE) and dedicated administrative and clerical staff.

The post-holder will, with consultant colleagues, provide medical support to the IPC service. The service covers both acute hospitals and the associated community. The IPC service includes a link nurse programme and a healthcare associated infection surveillance programme which meets the requirements of the regional Department of Health, Social Services, and Public Safety (DHSSPSNI). The IPC service works closely with the Health Protection branch of the Public Health Agency.

Antimicrobial Stewardship

The SEHSCT has a multidisciplinary antimicrobial stewardship programme, led by an Antimicrobial Management Team, a sub-committee of the South Eastern Trust Medicines Management Committee. The Trust has two antibiotic specialist clinical pharmacists, and it plays a full part in DHSSPSNI regional programmes to promote antimicrobial stewardship. All consultant Microbiologists play an active role in this programme.

Microbiology Service Staffing

Consultant in Infection, Head of Department

Dr Will Beynon

Consultant Medical Microbiologist and

Infection Control Doctor

Dr Yuri Protaschik

Consultant Medical Microbiologist

Dr Aaron Nagar

Consultant Medical Microbiologist

This post

Speciality Doctor, Microbiology

Dr Hannah Stevens

BMS staff: 1 Head BMS (Band 8a) Ryan Graydon

6.4 Senior BMS (Band 7)

4.6 BMS (Band 6)

12 BMS (Band 5)

Support staff

6.5 Health Care Scientist Associate Practitioners (Band 4)

Quality Assurance

The Microbiology Department participates in EQA through UK NEQAS and LabQuality and is recognised by the HCPC for registration training. The department is currently accredited through UKAS to ISO 15189:2012.

Duties of the post

The appointee, together with consultant and specialty doctor colleagues, will provide a diagnostic and medical microbiology service to the SEHSCT and provide support to the infection control, antimicrobial stewardship, OPAT, and surveillance teams.

Clinical practice and liaison

The appointee will maintain and develop the current provision of advisory service and direct input into individual patient care. (e.g., with the haematology, orthopaedics, renal, surgical HDU and ICU departments).

Liaison will be undertaken in a timely manner with clinicians, hospital staff, departmental colleagues, Infection Prevention and Control team, General Practitioners and Public Health Agency concerning the diagnosis and management of patients and in control and prevention of infections, including the provision of telephone advice and commitment to ward rounds, multidisciplinary team meetings and other clinical or audit meetings as necessary.

Be a member of and support antimicrobial stewardship team including clinical antimicrobial stewardship rounds in the Ulster, Downe and Lagan Valley Hospital sites.

Support the OPAT team

Will participate in out of hours on-call service with consultant colleagues

Laboratory

The post-holder, with consultant colleagues will be expected to contribute to the following:

Day-to-day running of the Medical Microbiology diagnostic laboratory service at a consultant level, for consolidation and maintenance of existing services and for future development of the service.

Involved in routine supervision of diagnostic methods and will supervise and provide an integrated and adequately quality assured specimen examination, test selection, report authorisation and interpretative service for hospital and general practitioners.

Support Biomedical Scientist (BMS) staff in their routine laboratory work and the performance of the laboratory in external and internal quality control procedures.

Support and promulgate, safe working practices at all, times.

Participate in audit in conjunction with other hospital departments and General

Practitioners

vi) As with other consultants, the post-holder will be encouraged to have or develop a specialist interest and expertise in a particular field of Microbiology if so desired, and to provide a repository of knowledge and advice in relation to diagnosis of difficult or unusual cases or introduction of clinical and laboratory protocols within that particular area.

The post-holder will also be expected to develop close and rewarding working relationships within the Microbiology Department and with other relevant clinical services and management structures.

The post-holder will undertake necessary administrative duties associated with the post and take an appropriate share in the running of the service, its management and development and of the Department as a whole.

Involvement in policy and Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) preparation.

Responsibility for quality assurance performance within the department, including taking part in all relevant national external quality assurance (NEQAS) programmes.

Assist in the maintenance of accreditation with UKAS (United Kingdom Assessment Service).

xii) Business and strategic planning for the service including assessment and introduction of new methods and technologies, staff development and succession arrangements and equipment replacement requirements.

Infection Prevention and Control

The post-holder, together with consultant colleagues, will be expected to.

Promote the Trust policies on Infection Prevention and Control, antimicrobial stewardship, and empirical antibiotic therapy.

Provide advice on infection prevention and control matters to all Trust facilities where the Infection Control Lead is not available (e.g., covering leave). IPC in the community is provided by Public Health Agency.

Provide advice on hospital policies for infection prevention and control, risk assessment and management of accidental exposures to infection or outbreak management.

Co-operation with Infection Control Lead, Infection Control team and DIPC on a local or regional basis (as required), including liaison with the Public Health Agency in the investigation and prevention of communicable diseases in the community.

Health Protection

The microbiology department works closely with the Public Health Agency (PHA). Provision of surveillance data to the PHA at local, regional, and national levels and participation in sentinel or enhanced surveillance activities is expected.

Out of hours

The consultants provide a 24-hour, 365 days on call service in clinical microbiology on a weekly rota basis. The successful candidate will join the consultants on the oncall rota; the frequency of on-call will be 1:6

Clinical governance and audit

Consultants are expected to participate in multidisciplinary clinical audit. Consultants are also expected to provide advice in development of guidelines, investigation protocols, and use of antimicrobials, appropriate to the clinical units served.

Teaching and Training

Be expected to contribute to both undergraduate and postgraduate training programmes and support education and training in microbiology for laboratory staff and Allied Health Professionals as appropriate.

Research and development

Research and development relevant to the Microbiology service, Directorate and SEHSCT priorities is expected, as is collaboration with clinical colleagues in approved research projects.

Conform to the Trusts research governance framework

Administrative duties

The Appointee will support the Clinical Director and Microbiology Head of Department in the medical and professional management of the service.

Consultants will contribute to management within the SEHSCT, via the Directorate structure and will act as custodian of data under the Data Protection Act and custodian of stored samples. Service and administrative duties on various committees may include the following:

Microbiology Senior BMS – consultant meetings (monthly)

Laboratory Management Committee meetings (monthly)

Trust Healthcare-associated Infection Steering Group

Trust Infection Prevention and Control Committee

Trust Water Safety Group

Trust Drug Therapeutics and Guidelines Committee

Sub committees of the above including the Antimicrobial Management Team.

Microbiology Virology Speciality Forum of the Northern Ireland Pathology Network

Continuing professional development (CPD)

The appointee will be expected to participate in clinical audit and to be registered for continuing professional development (CPD) with the Royal College of Pathologists and to fulfil requirements for General Medical Council (GMC) licensing and revalidation. The Trust is committed to providing time and financial support for these activities. Appraisal is undertaken annually, and a personal development plan is agreed.

Arrangements for Annual, Professional and Study leave

The appointee, along with the other consultant microbiologists, will be expected to provide cover during other consultant’s annual and study leave. Study/professional leave allocation is 30 study days over a three-year period. Annual leave allocation is in accordance with the consultant contract.

Office Accommodation

The appointee will have a designated office in the laboratory floor of the Critical Care Complex in the Ulster hospital, with a personal computer or laptop linked to the laboratory and Trust networks. There will be internet and DoH intranet access. Secretarial support is available.

Library and Postgraduate Education Facilities

Medical Education Centre is located on the Ulster Hospital Dundonald site. This provides education facilities and video-conferencing facilities.

The holder of the post will be expected to work within the Woman and Acute Child Directorate structure which is led by a Clinical Director. This will mean attendance at Directorate Meetings and willingness to progress developments or quality initiatives agreed by the Directorate.

Teaching, Audit, Research and Quality improvement

The Ulster Hospital is a major teaching hospital that receives a large number of medical students. It is affiliated with the Queen's University Belfast and the Ulster University. The successful candidate will be expected to take an active interest in the teaching of undergraduates and Doctors in Training. If formal roles incorporating teaching are agreed with the post holder, the job plan will be reviewed and adjusted accordingly.

Participation in clinical audit together with quality improvement activities, contributes to medical appraisal and revalidation. The post holder will contribute to this programme and undertake their own audit projects. The Trust’s audit department can provide expertise on audit design, give practical support with data collection and advice on presentation of findings.

The Innovation, Research and Development (IRD) department offers a comprehensive service designed to support research activity within the Trust. The IRD office can assist with new research proposals by helping to secure approvals from regulatory authorities and providing support during the course of the project.

The Trust has established a Quality Improvement Academy to support staff with quality improvement and innovation work

Proposed Job Plan – Consultant Medical Microbiologist

The job plan below is indicative and subject to change. Travel time has been factored into the PA allocation and job plan below. It will also be subject to regular review (within 3 months in the first instance and no less than annually thereafter) to ensure that the allocation of PA’s, and in particular the split between DCC and SPA’s remains appropriate. Any changes will be made with agreement between the post holder and clinical management.

This Job Plan is based on 10 Programmed Activities (PAs) On call is allocated 1.0 of a PA and is felt to be enough based on current levels of consultant on call activity; this can be negotiated if activity levels change.

Time

Location

Activity

Hours

DCC

SPA

Monday

AM

PM

Ulster Hospital

Clinical Hanover / Infection

Control / Laboratory Support /

Clinical Liaison

1.50

0.25

Tuesday

AM

PM

Ulster Hospital

Ulster / Downe /

Lagan Valley Hospitals

as required

Clinical Liaison / Laboratory duties / Infection Control

Laboratory duties / Clinical

Liaison