Locum Consultant Obstetrics & Gynaecology

King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust; London; On-site; GBP 25,000 - 40,000; Full time

Job summary

Join a leading teaching hospital in London as a member of the King’s Cell Isolation Unit. This role requires expertise in tissue culture and the ability to work flexible hours due to the nature of organ donations. You will ensure excellence in laboratory standards while contributing to clinical transplantation efforts.

Qualifications

• Experience in tissue culture techniques.
• Knowledge of the UK Human Tissue Act.
• Good communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Maintaining the laboratory to exact standards and conducting tissue isolation.
• Operating on-call for donor organ processing every two weeks.
• Adhering to compliance with GMP conditions and record keeping.

Skills

Tissue culture techniques

Good communication skills

Flexibility to work unsocial hours

Job description

Job overview

The King’s Cell Isolation Unit was established in 2001 to prepare human cells from donor organs under Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) conditions for clinical use. It is one of only 3 such laboratories in the UK approved by the Human Tissue Authority to provide islets for clinical use. Islets of Langerhans are clusters of cells in the pancreas that regulate blood glucose levels. Patients with type 1 diabetes have lost these cells and require insulin injections.

Our lab operates on a weekly on-call basis to process donor pancreases for clinical transplantation. If the cells are unsuitable for transplantation but have research ethics approval, they can be used for research purposes.

The isolation process is complex, taking 5–8 hours in a highly regulated environment following detailed standard operating procedures. Maintaining the laboratory to exact standards, including record keeping, sterility, and environmental monitoring, is essential.

Main duties of the job

The successful candidate should have experience in tissue culture techniques, knowledge of the UK Human Tissue Act, and good communication skills. Flexibility to work unsocial hours (day, night, or weekend) is essential due to the unpredictable availability of donor organs. The role involves a one-week on-call duty every two weeks, with overtime compensated as time-in-lieu during non-on-call weeks.

Working for our organisation

King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is a leading teaching hospital in the UK, with a turnover of approximately £1 billion, serving over a million patients annually with more than 15,000 staff across South East London. Our strategy, 'Strong Roots, Global Reach,' aims for excellence in care, research, and education, emphasizing diversity, equality, and inclusion. We are committed to sustainable healthcare, with net zero carbon targets set for 2040 and 2045, respectively, as part of our Green Plan.