Principal Clinical Scientist Manchester, England
Job description
Applications are invited for two Principal Clinical Scientist (8A) posts within the busy Clinical Biochemistry team at Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (MFT). The posts are both full time (1.0 WTE) permanent appointments, one primarily based on our Oxford Road Campus, the other primarily based at Wythenshawe Hospital, with cross-site working across all MFT sites as required.
The model of service is a Managed Clinical Service providing distributed Clinical Biochemistry services across the entire MFT group of hospitals. The group consists of Altrincham Community Hospital, Oxford Road Campus (comprising Manchester Royal Eye Hospital, Manchester Royal Infirmary, Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital and Saint Mary’s Hospital for Women and Children), Trafford General Hospital, Withington Community Hospital, Wythenshawe Hospital and North Manchester General Hospital.
The successful candidates will be based primarily in the specialist biochemistry section of their respective laboratories, but will also be required to work some sessions on other sites within the Trust. The purpose of the post is to support and develop specialist services with a focus on the on-going development and harmonisation of mass spectrometry analyses. You will also have a clinical role, participating in the Duty Biochemist and specialist reporting rotas, providing a clinical advisory and interpretative service to clinicians for core and specialist biochemistry investigations, as well as attending MDTs as required. You will have access to state-of-the-art equipment and techniques, and innovation is encouraged and supported. There are excellent links with hospital-based clinical teams and with colleagues in Manchester University. Opportunities will be available to lead and participate in departmental audits and collaborative research projects.
MFT is England’s largest NHS Trust with a turnover of £2.5bn & is on a different scale than most other NHS Trusts. We’re creating an exceptional integrated health & social care system for the 1 million patients who rely on our services every year.
Bringing together 10 hospitals & community services from across Manchester, Trafford & beyond, we champion collaborative working & transformation, encouraging our 28,000 workforce to pursue their most ambitious goals. We set standards that other Trusts seek to emulate so you’ll benefit from a scale of opportunity that is nothing short of extraordinary.
We’ve also created a digitally enabled organisation to improve clinical quality, patient & staff experience, operational effectiveness & driving research and innovation through the introduction of Hive; our brand-new Electronic Patient Record system which we’ve launched in September 2022.
We’re proud to be a major academic Research Centre & Education provider, providing you with a robust infrastructure to encourage and facilitate high-quality research programmes. What’s more, we’re excited to be embarking on our new Green Plan which will set out how MFT continues to play its part in making healthcare more sustainable.
At MFT, we create and foster a culture of inclusion and belonging, provide equal opportunities for career development that are fair, open and transparent, protecting your health and wellbeing and shaping the future of our organisation together.
The Clinical Biochemistry department is made up of a number of subsections encompassing Core Automated Chemistry; Specialist Biochemistry including significant mass spectrometry and manual testing modalities; Point-of-Care-Testing; and Newborn Screening / Specialist Endocrine Biochemistry.
1. To assist other Principal Clinical Scientists and Chief/Senior Biomedical Scientists with the operation and management of Specialist Biochemistry.
2. To provide clinical and scientific leadership and training of staff in the area of mass spectrometry. To participate in the supervision of trainee Clinical Scientists, Biomedical Scientists and other healthcare professionals.
3. To provide advice to service users, as required, on aspects of provision of biochemistry services.
4. To advise senior laboratory staff on the costings of new developments within the specialist biochemistry laboratory, to ensure cost effective development of the service.
5. To develop and maintain specialist expertise and knowledge in mass spectrometry techniques, endocrinology and TDM.
6. To assist Consultant and Principal Clinical Scientists in the selection and development of analytical methods and to maintain full awareness of their performance, limitations and potential causes of interference of error.
7. To critically evaluate analytical methods and equipment prior to introduction and maintain at the highest possible standards within the resources available.
8. To perform complex manual, semi-automated and fully automated laboratory investigations but particularly the more specialised tests of the laboratory. Some of these techniques also involve the use of hazardous chemicals.
9. To ensure that QC and EQA performance of the section is monitored and that appropriate action is taken where required.
10. To offer clinical guidance and scientific advice and assistance to clinicians on the selection, performance and interpretation of clinically relevant tests in order to facilitate the diagnosis, treatment, monitoring and understanding of disease
11. To clinically authorise reports generated by the laboratories with addition of interpretative comments and prompt communication of urgent results as appropriate.
12. To participate in the development, evaluation and implementation of specialist clinical services as required, including mass spectrometry.
To find out more about the key responsibilities and the specific skills and experience you’ll need, take a look at the Job Description & Person Specification attachments under the ‘Supporting Documents’ heading. So that you’re even more equipped to make an informed decision to apply to us, you’ll need to take time to read the ‘Candidate Essentials Guide’that sits with the Job Description and Person Specification. This document provides you with details about the Trust, our benefits and outlines how ‘we care for you as you care for others’. Most importantly, it also contains critical information you’ll need to be aware of before you submit an application form.
COVID-19 vaccination remains the best way to protect yourself, your family, your colleagues and of course patients from the virus when working in our healthcare settings. Whilst COVID-19 vaccination is not currently a condition of employment, we do encourage our staff to get vaccinated. If you are unvaccinated, there is helpful advice and information available by searching on the ‘NHS England’ website where you can also find out more about how to access the vaccination.
Diversity Matters
MFT is committed to promoting equality of opportunity, celebrating and valuing diversity and eliminating any form of unlawful discrimination across our workforce, ensuring our people are truly representative of the communities we serve. All individuals regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation are encouraged to apply for this post. As an inclusive employer, we are here to support you. If you have any special requirements to help you with your application, email our team [email protected].
We’re looking forward to hearing from you!
