Health Protection Scotland

Consultant/Specialist in Health Protection

INFORMATION PACK REF: Version1.0

Date: 01/06/2016CLOSING DATE: 28TH OCTOBER 2011

SUMMARY INFORMATION

POST: CONSULTANT/SPECIALIST IN HEALTH PROTECTION

BASE: HEALTH PROTECTION SCOTLAND, MERIDIAN COURT, GLASGOW

Employing organisation: National Services Scotland (NSS)

National Services Scotland wishes to appoint a consultant/specialist in Health Protection. The post is available as a part-time position for up to seven sessions per week and is based at Health Protection Scotland, Meridian Court, Glasgow. Applicants from different scientific backgrounds, with appropriate specialist public health qualifications and registration are eligible to apply.

Health Protection Scotland (HPS) is part of the Public Health and Intelligence (PHI) Strategic Business Unit (SBU) of NHS National Services Scotland (NSS). The mission of HPS is:

‘To transform information into evidence for action to protect the people of Scotland from infectious and environmental hazards.’

Within the PHI SBU the distinctive purpose of HPS is to work, in partnership with others, to protect the Scottish public by carrying out the following functions:

Monitoring infectious and other environmental hazards and exposures affecting the people of Scotland and the impact they have on their health.

Co-ordinating national health protection activity.

Facilitating the effective response to outbreaks and incidents.

Supporting the development of good professional practice in health protection.

Monitoring the quality and effectiveness of health protection services.

Research and development into health protection priorities.

Providing expert impartial advice on health protection.

Promoting the development of a competent and confident workforce in health protection.

Commissioning national reference laboratories.

Title: Consultant/Specialist in Health Protection (Part Time)

Accountable to: The post-holder will be managerially and professionally accountable to the Clinical Director for health protection in the Public Health and Intelligence Strategic Business Unit. The post-holder’s work will be subject to annual appraisal by an appropriate qualified appraiser under the NHS consultant appraisal scheme. For non-medical candidates, this will then be aligned to KSF where necessary.

This is a senior role with a high degree of autonomy, working within the HPS strategic and operational framework. Working with the Clinical Director and those with line

Page 2 of 15

management responsibility for the relevant specialist services, the post-holder will develop an annual job plan. The post-holder will plan his/her objectives, which should be aligned to HPS’ business and strategic objectives in his/her area of responsibility and the Personal Development plan arising from his/her appraisal.

Grade: The successful candidate will be appointed to the point of the Consultant salary scale appropriate to their years of seniority or if from a background other than medicine to NHS Agenda for Change Band 8d.

Salary: £77,529 - £104,525 (Medical Consultant), pro rata£67,920 - £84,091 (Agenda for Change), pro rata

JOB SUMMARY

Health Protection Scotland makes a major contribution to protecting and promoting public health in Scotland. To continue to develop this role HPS is seeking to recruit a part time Consultant in Health Protection to join the senior professional team who provide specialist level leadership of the HPS Clinical Programmes.

Working with the Gastro-intestinal and Zoonoses (GIZ) and the Travel and International Health (TIH) teams, the post holder will contribute to the setting of national public health goals related to Emerging Infections and Zoonoses in Scotland, the development of actions to implement them and the assessment of their health impact.

The GIZ and TIH multidisciplinary teams include the consultant clinical leads for GI infections and travel, epidemiologists, a veterinary consultant, information and data management staff. The post-holder will not manage the teams directly but will provide strategic and clinical leadership in the key result areas. The teams are currently developing a joint business plan to ensure the delivery of three key work streams: Travel Health, Emerging Infections & Zoonoses, and Gastrointestinal Infections. The post holder will work closely with the lead scientists in each of the teams to ensure development and delivery of the Emerging Infections & Zoonoses work stream.

The GIZ and TIH teams are part of a wider clinical group within HPS along with the Environmental Public Health (EPH) team. Administrative resources and support are shared across the group and the teams work together to provide added capacity, resilience and mutual support for clinical tasks. The post-holder will also work with the lead for Environmental Public Health to maximise resilience and provide a degree of senior professional cross-cover. There will also be the opportunity for the post holder to work for up to two sessions in Environmental Public Health depending on the appointee’s experience and specialist interests.

The clinical teams are supported for other functions (communications, specialist statistics, software development, quality assurance, library, guideline and workforce development and emergency preparedness) at HPS corporate level or via Scottish Health Protection Network groups

The investigation and control of threats to health from emerging agents overlaps with other areas of HPS’s work including that of the EPH team, the Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) team and, depending on the agent involved, other infectious disease topic teams such as the Respiratory and Sexual Health & Bloodborne Viruses teams. The post-holder will therefore work closely with these clinical leads to ensure a coordinated approach to emerging infections in Scotland.

Within his/her area, the post-holder will have governance responsibilities for ensuring the quality and effectiveness: of epidemiological systems (including those employed during outbreak investigations); of public health advice and the management of any risks associated with this and of published

Page 3 of 15

national reports and public advice e.g. via the media. He/she will work with epidemiologists in the relevant topic areas to ensure that there is a suitable portfolio of national and international research projects (often with academic partners) and resultant published articles in relation to emerging infections and zoonoses.

The organisation is a recognised centre of epidemiological expertise and is responsible for ensuring that this is best applied to protect Scotland’s health. Based on a sound understanding of the epidemiology and related sciences in his/her topic area, the post-holder will monitor, assess and report on risks to health to a number of partner agencies including, Food Standards Scotland (FSS), Scottish Government, NHS boards, local authorities, Scottish Water, the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA), HSE, PHE, and ECDC. He/she will lead the GIZ / TIH teams in their support of these bodies taking the steps necessary to reduce the acute (e.g. in outbreaks) and chronic burden of disease associated with emerging and zoonotic infections. He/she will often act as a national spokesperson on public health issues related to his/her area of responsibility.

HPS has a role in co-ordinating health protection action involving if necessary leading a national project / task force, programme of activity or leading the investigation and management of a national level incident/outbreak. The post holder will contribute to and, where appropriate, lead the work of the national Gastrointestinal Infections and Zoonoses Group and its related subgroups. This is a multi-agency, multidisciplinary group which has been formed under the Scottish Health Protection Network to ensure the efficient and effective co-ordination of national programmes, developments and initiatives in relation to gastrointestinal and zoonotic disease threats in Scotland. The post holder will also sit on the SHPN Health Protection Coordinating Group and will advise this group on emerging threats and recommendations for action.

HPS operates a 24/7 service and the post-holder will be expected to be available for out of hours, on-call work. As well as covering health protection for infectious agents HPS covers non-communicable environmental hazards (except radiation, which is the remit of PHE). The post-holder should therefore have broad experience in all aspects of health protection work, especially in epidemiological investigation and outbreak management.

KEY RESULT AREAS

STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP Lead the HPS programme aimed at reducing the risks from Emerging Infections and

Zoonoses, including vector-borne disease, and maximizing the beneficial health impact by reducing morbidity and mortality.

Maintain an overview of the extent to which risk reduction and health impact are being realized.

Participate in multi-agency planning and preparedness and the development of protocols for responding to any emerging threats to the population of Scotland.

Recommend appropriate actions and interventions to improve risk reduction and positive health impacts.

When appropriate coordinate national health protection projects to achieve priority public health objectives identified by key stakeholders (e.g. Scottish Government, FSS).

Report on the programme to relevant HPS management, governance groups and other relevant bodies.

Page 4 of 15

Participate in performance management and staff development of the multidisciplinary team working under the post-holder’s leadership.

Participate in the strategic development, business planning and relevant corporate functions of HPS.

Liaise with HPS management in ensuring the effective discharge of the above.

CLINICAL / OPERATIONAL ACTIVITIES

The following is a description of the main clinical activities associated with the post.

Stakeholder Engagement and support

Develop and maintain close working links with key stakeholders e.g. Scottish Government, NHS boards, local authorities, FSS, academic bodies, etc.

Seek views from stakeholders on their own priorities and needs for HPS services and how these can be improved.

Provide input to the development and implementation of relevant Scottish and UK Government public health policy (e.g. through participating in expert scientific advisory groups).

Ensure an effective and timely response to enquiries from the media, NHS management, parliamentary questions and other interested parties.

Assure the processes and outputs relating to the above and report on them to stakeholders, HPS governance groups and other relevant bodies.

Epidemic Intelligence and epidemiology

In accordance with the HPS Epidemic Intelligence Strategy , lead the development and maintenance of epidemic intelligence systems designed to monitor levels of emerging infections and zoonoses and their consequences and the impact on these of health protection interventions.

Oversee the design, processing and uses of data so that findings of significance are identified, their relevance to risks to public health assessed and when necessary, alerts or other communications issued.

Ensure that the data processes involved in epidemic intelligence systems meet quality standards especially those related to confidentiality and statistics.

Participate in and when appropriate, lead the epidemiological investigation of priority health problems.

Lead the health protection investigation (epidemiological, microbiological and environmental) in incidents for which HPS has responsibility or when requested by boards.

Ensure effective liaison with partners especially microbiological reference laboratories, UK and ECDC counterparts and Scottish public health bodies.

Page 5 of 15

Assure and sign off HPS reports on public health issues related to the above especially those which enter the public domain.

Monitoring and Surveillance

Supervision of routine surveillance activities, including reporting e.g. weekly and ad-hoc reports; quality assurance, review and sign-off of surveillance outputs; interpretation of unusual case reports/clusters/potential outbreaks and incidents; dealing with data related enquiries in support of team members, including dealing with media/press enquiries and official requests (e.g. Scottish Government etc.).

Monitoring of UK and International Surveillance Systems alerts and liaison including Epidemic Intelligence Information System (EPIS); scanning for reports for relevancy for Scotland/UK and making reports on local issues as required to European and other International networks.

Applying specialised Consultant experience and expertise to the analysis of routine and other surveillance data and conducting risk assessments to determine the need for further action by HPS and potential intervention, working with relevant data providers (e.g. NHS board Health Protection Teams and laboratories).

Coordinating National Health Protection

Progressing specific Health Protection priorities associate with the clinical programme:

o developing enhanced capacity in relation to newly emerging and re-emerging disease surveillance;

o develop existing zoonotic infections surveillance, including vector borne diseases;o developing strategy on the surveillance, prevention and management of Lyme

Borreliosis and other tick borne diseases in Scotland;o developing capacity to assess the potential impacts of changing international patterns

of emerging disease, especially zoonoses and assessing the impacts of climate change on the epidemiology of such disease in Scotland;

o contribute to the work of the national Health Protection Preparedness Group which is currently being set up under the SHPN; particularly in relation to the development of appropriate plans and clinical and public health services to respond to high consequence infectious disease incidents.

Supervision of activities of the team in relation to national health protection role for such work at HPS, Scotland, UK and International level.

Expert Advice

Ensure the provision of expert advice on the epidemiology, prevention and control of relevant diseases including maintaining links with key local, UK and international experts and participating in HPS knowledge management systems.

Participate in and when appropriate, lead networks of professionals in the development of guidance on evidence based practice.

Supervise team work associated with updating health protection advice and guidance materials.

Page 6 of 15

Respond to enquiries by the provision of expert advice to the full range of stakeholders including Scottish Government, NHS boards, local authorities, FSS etc. on matters relating to relevant topics.

Ensure effective risk communication to the public and professionals e.g. via internet, social media, public materials etc.

Responding to Incidents

Provide input into the management and investigation of relevant incidents and outbreaks involving:

o support to NHS boards via problem assessment groups (PAG) and Incident Management Teams (IMT) associated with emerging or zoonotic disease outbreaks;

o lead a national incident management team when appropriate;

o provide resilience and cross cover for incident response in relation to any outbreaks and incidents when required.

Education and Training

Identify needs for education and training on the epidemiology and control of relevant diseases and support the HPS workforce development function in meeting them.

Respond to ad-hoc requests for input into education and training events specifically on relevant topics, including emerging infections, and zoonoses and outbreak training scenario development.

Contribute to the training of specialist registrars in Public Health Medicine and Public Health Specialist Trainees.

Research & Development

Lead the implementation and further development of the clinical programme and develop opportunities to implement the HPS R&D Strategy as it relates to the area of responsibility.

Ensure that there is an oversight of the current scientific literature related to the area of responsibility and that key findings, gaps in evidence and research needs are identified.

Liaise with stakeholders on the identification of research needs and the application of research findings to improving public understanding, policy, practice and service delivery.

Through collaboration with academic, private sector and NHS agencies, develop and where appropriate, lead a portfolio of research projects.

Related to the research projects and HPS work undertaken in the area of responsibility, optimise the number of publications of internet searchable specialist reports and peer-reviewed scientific articles.

GENERAL

Page 7 of 15

Participate in the HPS in and out of hours on-call systems; for this post the out of hours commitment will be a 1 in 9 with prospective cover.

Contribute to the organisation’s corporate work-streams as required e.g. Resilience, Clinical Governance, Clinical Effectiveness, Evidence Advice and Guidance, Epidemic Intelligence.

Ensure that work led by the post-holder follows NSS and HPS Clinical, Information and Research Governance guidelines.

Promote the work of HPS at conferences, seminars and workshops, both nationally and internationally, via presentations and lectures etc.

Contribute to the training of professionals attached to HPS for this purpose including training of Public Health specialist trainees.

Assist HPS in carrying out other appropriate duties as and when required.

Ensure adequate involvement in a programme of CPD in accordance with Faculty of Public Health requirements, and undertake revalidation or other measures required to remain on the GMC or UKPHR.

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

The applicant must be either a registered medical practitioner who is on the Specialist Register of the General Medical Council or a specialist from another discipline (e.g. nursing, epidemiology, etc.) who is on the UK Public Health Register.

GENERAL CONDITIONS

Terms and Conditions of Service

The post is subject to NHS Terms and Conditions.

The successful candidate will be appointed to the point of the Consultant salary scale appropriate to their years of seniority.

If the candidate is from a background other than medicine, he/she will be appointed on the NHS Agenda for Change Band 8d.

Base

The post is based at Meridian Court but will involve travel for which appropriate mileage rates will be paid. The office is open plan, an agile desk and all appropriate IT equipment will be provided. A mobile phone will normally be provided. The post holder will be expected to be available for on call for health protection and to participate in the communicable disease and environmental hazards control and emergency planning arrangements for Scotland. Suitable training will be provided for those who need it.

IndemnityAs the post holder will only be indemnified for duties undertaken on behalf of NSS the post-holder is strongly advised to ensure that he/she has appropriate professional defence organisation cover for duties outside the scope of the NSS and for any private activity. For on call duties provided to other

Page 8 of 15

organisations as part of cross cover out of hours arrangements the NHS Litigation Authority has confirmed that those organisations will provide indemnity for the post holder.

FlexibilityIt is expected that all staff will adopt flexible working practices to work across organisational boundaries and with relevant public health networks, to be able to meet the challenges and opportunities of working within the field of health protection.

MobilityThe post holder will be expected to work at any establishment at any time throughout the duration of his/her contract, normally within Meridian Court in Glasgow.

Aspects of ConfidentialityA consultant has an obligation not to disclose any information of a confidential nature concerning patients, employees, contractors or the confidential business of the organisation.

Public Interest DisclosureShould a consultant have cause for genuine concern about an issue (including one that would normally be subject to the above paragraph) and believes that disclosure would be in the public interest, he or she should have a right to speak out and be afforded statutory protection and should follow local procedures for disclosure of information in the public interest.

Data ProtectionIf required to do so, the post holder will obtain, process and/or use information held on a computer or word processor in a fair and lawful way. The post holder will hold data only for the specified registered purpose and use or disclose data only to authorised persons or organisations as instructed in accordance with the Data Protection Act.

Health & SafetyEmployees must be aware of the responsibilities placed on them by the Health & Safety at Work Act (1974) also Food Hygiene Legislation to ensure that the agreed safety procedures are carried out to maintain a safe condition for employees, patients and visitors.

Smoking policyThe employing organisation has a policy that smoking is not allowed in the work place.

Equal Opportunities PolicyIt is the aim of the employing organisation to ensure that no job applicant or employee receives less favourable treatment on grounds of gender, religion, race, colour, sexual orientation, nationality, ethnic or national origins, or is placed at a disadvantage by conditions or requirements which cannot be shown to be justifiable. To this end, there is an Equal Opportunities Policy and it is for each employee to contribute to its success.

Page 9 of 15

PERSON SPECIFICATIONEssential Desirable

Education/ Qualifications

The applicant must be either a registered medical practitioner who is on the Specialist Register of the General Medical Council or a specialist from another discipline (e.g. nursing or epidemiology) who is on the UK Public Health (Specialist) Register. Applications will be considered from Specialist Registrars with Part B MFPH if they can evidence expected CCT award within six months of the interview date. Applications will also be considered from specialists who can demonstrate that an application has been made to the UK Public Health Register and that acceptance is anticipated.

X

If included in the GMC Specialist Register in a specialty other than public health medicine, infectious diseases medicine or medical microbiology, candidates must have equivalent training and/or appropriate experience of public health medicine, infectious diseases medicine or medical microbiology practice.

X

Public health specialist registrar and specialist trainee applicants who are not yet on the GMC Register/UKPHR must provide verifiable signed documentary evidence that they are within 6 months of gaining entry at the date of interview; all other applicants must provide verifiable signed documentary evidence that they have applied for inclusion in the GMC/UKPHR.

X

Minimum 6 months training in health protection XPostgraduate qualification in Public Health. XMFPH, or MRCPath, or MRCP XCompetent in undertaking unsupervised on call duties in health protection

X

Documented evidence of current or past competence at the level required to be designated as a Competent Person under the 2008 Public Health (Scotland) Act. Where past evidence of competence is presented, this competence must be able to be refreshed and updated.

X

Applicants must meet minimum CPD requirements in accordance with the requirements of the Faculty of Public Health/Royal College of Pathologists/Royal College of Physicians or other recognised body

X

Page 10 of 15

Personal Qualities

Able to prioritise work and work well against a background of change and uncertainty.

X

Adaptable to situations, can handle people of all capabilities and attitudes.

X

Commitment to team working and respect and consideration for the skills of others.

X

Self-motivated, pro-active and innovative. XAbility to work as part of a multi-disciplinary team.

X

High standards of professional probity. XStrong commitment to public health principles

X

Experience Experience of and demonstrable competency in communicable disease control in a wide variety of settings including incident management and out of hours on call

X

Experience and demonstrable competency in dealing with environmental hazards/chemical incidents

X

Experience of working with other agencies XAbility to assess the need for prophylaxis of infectious diseases of public health importance

X

Networking with a range of colleagues from different disciplines engaged in Health Protection.

X

Leading and reporting on an epidemiological investigation.

X

Leading and reporting on a public health project or programme.

X

Chairing multi-agency meetings and leading multidisciplinary teams.

X

Communicating on risks to public health especially to NHS professionals and the media.

X

Strategic thinker with proven leadership skills.

X

Excellent oral and written communication skills (including dealing with the public and the media).

X

Leading an incident management team. XExperience of emergency planning XTraining and mentoring XScientific publications, presentation of papers at conferences, seminars, etc

X

Experience working in Health Protection at consultant level in an NHS board (or equivalent).

X

Page 11 of 15

Project management XStaff management and training XPractical experience in facilitating change XBudget management XParticipating in the development and implementation of public health policy related to one or more topics covered by the post.

X

Skills Effective interpersonal, motivational and influencing skills.

X

Able to respond appropriately in unplanned and unforeseen circumstances.

X

Sensible negotiator with practical expectation of what can be achieved.

X

Substantially numerate, with highly developed analytical skills using qualitative and quantative data

X

Computer literate. XAbility to design, develop, interpret and implement policies.

X

Ability to concentrate for long periods( eg analyses, media presentations)

X

Resource management skills XMethods of surveillance and epidemiological investigation, risk assessment, prevention and control of communicable diseases, risk communication and case, incident and programme management.

X

Broader public health practice (e.g. health improvement, health economics and health care design and evaluation) especially as it relates to one or more topics covered by one of the posts.

X

Knowledge and Understanding

The NHS in Scotland especially its public health services and those related to diseases caused by infectious agents and environmental hazards.

X

Methods of research, critical appraisal of evidence, guideline development and statistical predictive modelling.

X

Local authorities and national non-NHS public bodies especially those which relate to one or more topics covered by one of the posts.

X

Legal and regulatory issues especially those which relate to one or more topics covered by one of the posts.

X

The social and political environment XNHS and Governmental policy development especially as they relate to one or more topics covered by one of the posts

X

Page 12 of 15

JOB PLAN

This sample job plan is written for a 0.6 WTE post holder. The specific days worked are flexible but should align with requirement of the wider Gastro-intestinal and Zoonoses (GIZ) and the Travel and International Health (TIH) teams.

Post: Consultant/Specialist in Health Protection

Principal Place of Work: HPS Meridian Court, Glasgow

Contract: Part time

Programmed Activities: 6 or 22.5 hours per week if Agenda for Change

Extra Programmed Activities: 0

Availability Supplement: Level 1 (5%) or £18.36 Per Session (up to a maximum of 9 Sessions per week)

Premium Rate Payment: Nil (compensatory time per contract para 4.10.7)

Managerially Accountable to: Clinical Director

Professionally Accountable to: Clinical Director

Responsible for: 1) Emergency duties2) Lead for Emerging Infections and Zoonoses

Page 13 of 15

a) Timetable of activities which have a specific location and time.

DAY HOSPITAL / LOCATION

TYPE OF WORK

Tuesday, Thursday, FridayFrom 09h00 to 17h00

(Start and finish times flexible for travel to remote sites and for workload fluctuations.)

Based at Meridian Court , Glasgow

Work may be undertaken at other locations, as necessary for the achievement of the objectives of HPS.

Work may be done from home in accordance with the NSS working from home policy.

The following activities are undertaken:

Strategic/Programme Leadership

Surveillance, investigation and risk assessment

Control measures

Communication

Knowledge Management

Research and Development

Training and Education

Professional Development

Direct Clinical Care activities apply to 5 sessions. Supporting professional activities apply to 1 session.

Monday, Wednesday,

Saturday, Sunday

N/A No timetabled activities

b) Activities which are not undertaken at specific locations or times

Participation as first on-call in the HPS Out of Hours rota for Public Health/Health Protection Incidents and Emergencies. On-call duties include provision of support and guidance, apropos communicable disease and environmental health issues, in response to queries or incidents including chemical, biological and nuclear incidents that might affect the health of the population of Scotland, as described in c) below. This may involve provision of direct assistance or input to Scottish NHS Boards or the Scottish Government.

c) Activities during Premium Rate Hours of Work e.g. hours out with 8am-8pm Monday to Friday

Activities during premium rate hours. HPS on-call Public Health duties while on the HPS Out of Hours on-all Rota, noted above. In addition, there may be meetings which of necessity must be held out with normal hours. These may be with members of the public, partner agencies and with other professionals. There may also be occasions when, due to pressures of work, normal daytime activities extend into premium rate hours.

d) Extra programmed activities (see separate contract)None.

Page 14 of 15

FACILITIES AND RESOURCES

Staffing support Support provided through multidisciplinary TI&H and GIZ teams including admin, epidemiology information and data management support.

Accommodation Agile desk and readily available adjacent breakout rooms which allow multiple daily access for use by the consultant staff without recourse to pre-booking) with at least four chairs and a desk to facilitate team working. Work may be done from home in accordance with the NSS working from home policy.

Equipment Desk and storage of sufficient size to allow effective office working. Office chair to a recognised HSE standard. Office networked desktop PC, laptop and RSA token, Smartphone of acceptable standard, on-call equipment (specified elsewhere). Access to teleconferencing and videoconferencing facilities.

Pre-arranged personal teleconferencing account to facilitate rapidity of outbreak response.

Any other identified resources necessary

Access to an appropriately supported library resource with specialist scientific and technical resources required.

Visual aids, flip charts, white & SMART boards for relevant work

Page 15 of 15