Consultant/Clinical Scientist Med Microbiology +/- Infectious Diseases

NHS; Bury St Edmunds; On-site; GBP 109,000 - 146,000; Full time

Job summary

A regional NHS Trust in Bury St Edmunds is seeking a full-time Consultant in Medical Microbiology. The role involves providing comprehensive services, leading departmental activities, and participating in on-call duties. Candidates should have relevant qualifications and experience in microbiology and infection prevention. This position offers a competitive salary and a collaborative work environment.

Benefits

Trust laptop for remote access

Support for staff development

Qualifications

• Medically qualified candidates must have GMC registration.
• Clinical Scientist candidates must have HCPC registration.
• Experience in clinical governance and antimicrobial stewardship is required.

Responsibilities

• Provide a comprehensive clinical microbiology service to the Trust.
• Interpretation and authorisation of results.
• Contribute to departmental activities including teaching.

Skills

Effective communication

Teamwork

Technical skills with LIMS

Education

Registration and licensing requirements

Higher specialist training or equivalent

Tools

CliniSys WinPath Enterprise

Cerner Millenium

Job description

Overview

The successful applicant will join an established team of 6 consultants (4.0 WTE) and 2 registrars. The department seeks a full-time Consultant in Medical Microbiology or Medical Microbiology/ID or Consultant Clinical Scientist in Medical Microbiology. On-call duties are anticipated to be approximately 1:5–1:6 weekdays and weekends with prospective cover and category A availability supplement.

Bury St Edmunds is a historic market town in East Anglia with good transport links to Cambridge, Norwich, the coast, London, Stansted and Norwich airports, and Harwich port for international travel.

Interviews are scheduled for Friday 14th November 2025. Further information or a visit to the department can be arranged with Dr Philippa King, Consultant Microbiologist, at 01284 712635 or [e-mail]. See the full Job Description attached for details.

Main duties

The successful candidate will share responsibility for providing a comprehensive clinical microbiology service to the Trust, local GPs and other organisations with a contract to the Trust. All consultants are expected to contribute to departmental activities including, but not limited to:

• Interpretation and authorisation of results
• Ward rounds and MDT attendance
• Infection prevention and control advice
• Maintaining a quality laboratory and clinical microbiology service and contributing to UKAS accreditation activities
• Taking a lead role on a rotational basis (mutual agreement): Microbiology Clinical Lead/Laboratory Director, Infection Prevention Doctor, Antimicrobial Stewardship Lead, Outpatient Parenteral Antimicrobial Therapy Lead
• Teaching and leadership development of all staff grades and training as a Clinical/Educational Supervisor
• On-call commitment (approximately 1:5–1:6 weekdays and weekends); usually telephone cover, including weekends
• Trust laptop provided for remote access to IT systems
• On-call category A availability supplement (5%), with an additional 1 PA for medical colleagues and the equivalent for consultant clinical scientists; reviewed annually during job planning

Please See Full Job Description attached for details

About us

#BeKnown at West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust. By us. By our patients. By our community.

We are a busy, friendly, rural NHS Trust serving more than a quarter of a million people across west Suffolk. We provide care in hospital, at home and in community settings.

The West Suffolk Hospital in Bury St Edmunds provides acute and secondary care services and is a partner teaching hospital of the University of Cambridge. Adult and paediatric community services are provided in collaboration with West Suffolk Alliance partners.

We value fairness, inclusivity, respect, safety and teamwork. We support staff development and strive to create a diverse and inclusive workplace.

Join us to #BeKnown for who you are.

Details

Date posted: 24 September 2025

Pay scheme: Hospital medical and dental staff

Grade: Consultant

Salary: £109,725 to £145,478 per year (pro rata)

Contract: Permanent

Working pattern: Full-time, Part-time, Flexible working

Reference number: 179-7446081-MSC

Job locations: West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust, Hardwick Lane, Bury St. Edmunds, IP33 2QZ

Job responsibilities

Please see the Job Description and Person Specification attached for full details of the post.

The Microbiology Department

The Microbiology Laboratory provides a comprehensive service covering general microbiology for the West Suffolk Hospital NHS Foundation Trust (circa 500 beds plus Virtual Ward), Newmarket Community Hospital (33 beds) and GPs in Bury St Edmunds and surrounding catchment. The laboratory is located in the main West Suffolk Hospital building.

The department is accredited to ISO15189:2012 and was assessed against ISO15189:2022 standards in March 2025, with recommendation for accreditation to ISO 15189:2022 awaiting final outcome. The Microbiology Laboratory Manager is Mr Marcus Milner; four Band 7 Biomedical Scientists lead on Health & Safety, Quality and Training. Administrative support is provided by the Pathology Administrative & Clerical team. Pathology uses the CliniSys WinPath Enterprise LIMS and the Q-pulse quality management system. Office space with a PC and access to IT systems is provided, and a laptop is available for remote on-call work.

The Laboratory undertakes routine bacteriology, parasitology, serology and antibiotic susceptibility testing, participates in UK NEQAS schemes, and has an internal QA scheme. Equipment includes automated systems for blood culture, urinalysis, MALDI-TOF, serology platforms, BioFire FilmArray, CYP/GenXpert for C. difficile toxin gene testing, and rapid antigen testing for Norovirus. On-call testing and remote communication arrangements are described.

There is ongoing use of SAMBA IIs for SARS-CoV-2 and influenza testing in a designated area within Emergency, with pediatric testing using Roche LIAT and Lumira DX for point-of-care testing. Antimicrobial susceptibility uses Vitek 2 and EUCAST disc methods. Some tests are referred to external laboratories. The department has involvement with NHS strategies and infrastructure projects including a national hospital building program.

The post-holder will have a Trust laptop for remote access; out-of-hours infection prevention advice is provided by the on-call Consultant Microbiologist.

Qualifications and experience

Essential and desirable qualifications, experience, knowledge and skills are listed for Medically qualified candidates and for Consultant Clinical Scientist candidates, including:

• Registration and licensing requirements (GMC for medically qualified; HCPC for Clinical Scientists)
• Higher specialist training or equivalent
• Clinical governance, antimicrobial stewardship, teaching, and leadership expectations
• CPD participation and current knowledge in microbiology and infection prevention
• Effective communication, teamwork, and ability to work under pressure
• Technical skills with LIMS, WinPath Enterprise and Cerner Millenium or equivalent

Other essential information covers probationary, travel, probity, sponsorship, DBS check and UK registration requirements. See the attached job description for full details.

Additional information

Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check is required. Certificates of Sponsorship may be considered for skilled worker applicants. UK registration and guidance for overseas applicants are provided in the notes above. This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975.

Employer details

Employer: West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust

Address: Hardwick Lane, Bury St. Edmunds, IP33 2QZ

Website: West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust