Consultant Virologist

The Consultant Virologist post provides critical virology services across the EPA network, including specialist clinical advice, interpretation of complex laboratory results, and participation in clinical ward rounds at NNUHFT. The role underpins safe clinical decision-making and contributes to clinical governance, audit, service development, education, and research collaboration.

The Consultant Virologist post provides critical virology services across the EPA network, including specialist clinical advice, interpretation of complex laboratory results, and participation in clinical ward rounds at NNUHFT. The role underpins safe clinical decision-making and contributes to clinical governance, audit, service development, education, and research collaboration.

In 2025, NNUH implemented opt-out bloodborne virus testing in the Emergency Department, generating an additional ~200 blood samples per day across three pathogen targets. This has resulted in a sustained increase in diagnostic activity and demand for timely specialist interpretation. Without sufficient consultant capacity, there is a risk of delayed result validation, slower clinical advice, and downstream impacts on patient management, particularly in acute and emergency care settings.

In parallel, the antenatal screening programme requires rapid turnaround of samples and consistent consultant-level clinical input across all three acute hospitals in Norfolk. Delays or capacity constraints in this pathway carry direct patient safety risks, including delayed identification and management of maternal infection and increased risk of vertical transmission.

Additional consultant capacity is therefore essential to maintain agreed turnaround times, ensure timely clinical advice, and mitigate clinical risk arising from increased service demand. The post also strengthens service resilience, supports safe delivery of a 1 in 4 on-call rota for out-of-hours clinical advice and infection prevention and control emergencies, and reduces the risk of burnout and single-point-of-failure within the virology consultant workforce.

Interview date - 2nd December 2026.

Join us at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital and be part of a workforce of over 10,000 staff!

The NNUH is one of the largest NHS trusts in the UK, providing first-class acute care for around one million people, living in Norfolk and surrounding areas. We are a teaching and research hospital, at the forefront of innovation, home to state-of-the-art facilities, such as the Quadram Institute. We are pleased to work closely with the University of East Anglia, providing teaching opportunities for our staff and placement opportunities for their students. We attract some of the best and leading professionals from across the country and are proud that our workforce represents 94 countries from across the world.

We are a friendly, collaborative hospital, working with local services and home to N&N Hospitals Charity.

We can offer you the full range of NHS benefits/discounts and in addition:

Qualifications

Aptitudes

Desirable: - Previous responsibility for service improvement; - Management skills

Experience

Desirable: - Experience in research or published papers in area of special interest

Interests

Essential: - Commitment to develop an appropriate special interest

Circumstances

Communications

Desirable: - Good presentation skills