Consultant Clinical Scientist

East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust; St Leonards; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 70,000; Full time

Job summary

A regional healthcare provider is looking for an enthusiastic Consultant Clinical Scientist in the Clinical Biochemistry Department. This role, based mainly at Conquest Hospital Hastings, involves participating in the Duty Biochemist rota, leading service improvement projects, and ensuring quality management standards. Candidates must be HCPC registered and have fellowship from the Royal College of Pathologists, with a strong focus on teamwork and patient-centered service. Benefits include staff development opportunities and NHS pension enrollment.

Benefits

Staff development opportunities

NHS pension scheme

Access to onsite nurseries

Full access to psychological support

Onsite parking for £50 a year

Qualifications

• HCPC registered as a Clinical Scientist after successful completion of the STP in Clinical Biochemistry.
• Wide knowledge and experience in the field of Clinical Biochemistry.
• Ability to lead a patient-focused laboratory service.

Responsibilities

• Participate in the Duty Biochemist rota and protein electrophoresis reporting.
• Lead service improvement projects and protocol developments.
• Contribute to quality management and assurance standards.

Skills

Knowledge and experience in Clinical Biochemistry

Teamwork

Leadership

Education

Fellowship of the Royal College of Pathologists

Tools

Roche 6000 and 8000 lines

Sebia Capillarys equipment

Uvicon Spectrophotometer

Job description

Overview

We are looking to recruit an enthusiastic and dedicated Consultant Clinical Scientist (Agenda for change Band 8C) in the Clinical Biochemistry Department at East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust. The Biochemistry department is located on the two main hospital sites, Eastbourne District General Hospital (EDGH) and Conquest Hospital Hastings. You will be based mainly at Conquest but expected to work across both sites. East Sussex is a magnificent place to live surrounded by beautiful coastline and countryside. There is a frequent train service from Eastbourne/Hastings to Brighton and London.

Team and Work Volume

The successful candidate will join a friendly team dedicated to providing a first-class patient-centred service including the Department Clinical Director Consultant in Chemical Pathology/Metabolic Medicine, two part-time Consultant Chemical Pathologists, a Consultant Clinical Scientist and a Principal Clinical Scientist. The department offers all routine clinical biochemistry diagnostic tests including protein electrophoresis. We receive about 3,000 samples per across both sites. Approximately 48% of the work is generated from the Trust and 52% from primary care and community.

Responsibilities

• Participation in the Duty Biochemist rota and protein electrophoresis reporting rota.
• Active role in leading specific service improvement projects including new or existing assay evaluation and updating Clinical audit.
• New protocol development or updating existing protocols.
• Contribute to quality management and participate in assuring the quality of work of the department meets nationally accepted standards including UKAS ISO 15189 Accreditation.
• Undertake the requirements of the role to skilled performance with a high level of individual responsibility.

Qualifications

The Candidates must have Fellowship of the Royal College of Pathologists and HCPC registered as a Clinical Scientist after successfully completion of the Scientist Training Programme (STP) in Clinical Biochemistry. The most important characteristics are wide knowledge and experience in the field, teamwork, and ability to lead a progressive and highly patient-focused laboratory service for the service users. A special interest in a particular area of clinical biochemistry would be encouraged. There will be no requirement to participate in the out of hours clinical on call cover.

Benefits

• Staff development opportunities.
• Enrollment in the NHS pension scheme.
• Auto-enrolment to our Temporary Workforce Service.
• Access to onsite nurseries, staff restaurants and accommodation.
• Full access to free psychological support through our confidential Employee Assistance Programme.
• Onsite parking available from only £50 a year.

Statement on the Use of AI

We value the individuality that each candidate brings to the application process. While we understand that AI tools are widely available, we strongly discourage applicants from using AI-generated content when applying for jobs with us. We believe that your application should reflect your true skills, experiences, and motivations, which are best conveyed through your own words and unique perspective. Using AI for your application may not accurately represent your knowledge, skills, and experience and may result in a disconnect between your qualifications and our assessment of your application. We encourage applicants to take the time to thoughtfully complete their applications; by doing so, you allow us to better understand your true potential and ensure a fair and transparent evaluation of your application.

Equipment and Laboratory Setup

The department uses modern equipment including:
• Conquest Site: x2 Roche 6000 lines, Stand alone Roche p615 pre-analytics, Uvicon Spectrophotometer, Sebia Capillarys 2, Hydrasys phoresis, Phoresis Scanner, Uvicon Spectrophotometer, HM-Jacks analyser, Osmometer, Chloride analyser, iSOFT APEX computer (shared database across both sites).
• Eastbourne Site: x2 Roche 8000 lines, 2 x Sebia Capillarys 3 Tera running HbA1c, Uvicon Spectrophotometer, Osmometer, Chloride analyser, iSOFT APEX computer (shared database across both sites).
The Clinical Biochemistry departments at Conquest and EDGH are integrated and fully accredited to UKAS ISO15189 as of March 2025. We are proud to be an accredited IBMS Training Centre.

Location & Travel

The post holder will have a dedicated office on the Conquest site with a personal computer with access to the internet and email, and will share an office and computers in a joint office on the EDGH site. The role is based mainly at Conquest Hospital Hastings but the candidate will be expected to work across both hospital sites.