Infectious Diseases, HIV and Medical Microbiology

We specialise in the diagnosis and management of infections We aim to give holistic care, and unlike many branches of medicine we are not limited to one organ system or type of illness.

In addition to managing our own patients, we offer a daily infection advice service for patients who are under the care of other specialties.

During the working day we also communicate significant microbiology results to clinical teams and providing antibiotic advice. We provide an on-call microbiology infection advice service in partnership with Airedale Hospital.

We work alongside the Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) team to provide input into infection guidance that is distributed across the Trust, support for sepsis initiatives, and preparedness for clinical care for influenza, serious incidents (bioterrorism) and other highly transmissible infections. Other work includes writing hospital antimicrobial guidelines and investigating infection incidents within the Trust.

We have a weekly multi-disciplinary team meeting (Wednesday lunchtime) where we discuss complex problems.

We work closely with genito-urinary medicine specialists, Dr Sophie Brady, Dr Nicola Fearnley and Dr Joanna Glascodine to provide an integrated outpatient HIV service, held at Trinity @St Luke’s. Our team includes HIV nurse specialists, a pharmacist, and a clinical psychologist.

HIV clinics are held every day at St Luke’s Hospital. We hold HIV multi-disciplinary team (MDT) meetings every Thursday at which complex cases are discussed. Our MDT extends to other disciplines including Obstetrics, Midwifery and Paediatrics to discuss pregnant patients, and Hepatology to review cases of HIV and hepatitis co-infection.

Referrals and clinical enquires can be made direct to the clinic by telephone on 01274 365088 or by secure email at bth.hivclinic@nhs.net.

Patients with a range of conditions are seen in general clinics on Friday morning by our Consultant Dr Alina Negut. They may have been referred by their GP, by other specialists or be people who have recently been discharged from hospital and require infection specialist follow-up.

If you are given an appointment at our clinic, do not worry about catching an infectious disease. We are very careful to ensure that there is no infection risk in our waiting rooms.

The Outpatient Parenteral Antimicrobial Therapy (OPAT) team provides a service to allow early discharge of medically stable patients who remain in hospital only because of the need for continued intravenous antibiotics. The OPAT Service enables patients to receive intravenous antibiotics as an outpatient if they meet the criteria, either at home or on the Medical Day Case Unit. We accept referrals from other hospitals if the patient’s home address falls within our catchment area.

We can offer bloods monitoring for patients who are receiving a long-term course of certain antibiotics via the COpAT (Complex Outpatient Antimicrobial Therapy).

We have several national and international research studies up and running. Our aim is to ensure that high quality research can be offered to all who wish to be involved and delivered by compassionate and knowledgeable staff, providing patients with a high quality, professional and ethical research experience.

If you are a patient, you may be approached by our research team and asked to participate in a study.

More information about health research can be found via the Bradford Institute for Health Research.

Our nurses and consultants are dedicated to training other healthcare professionals. We regularly have student nurses and trainees shadowing our team.

The Bradford Infection team pioneered the role of a GP Innovative Training Post in Infectious Diseases which will allow future GPs to enhance their infection management skills and facilitate antimicrobial stewardship in Primary care.

Every Thursday we deliver a seminar for final-year medical students covering a range of core infection topics. We have always been pleased to receive positive feedback from our students. Dr Alina Negut and Dr Sulman Hasnie are both involved in supporting medical education activities in the hospital. Trainees from all specialties are encouraged and supported to produce abstracts for National and International Infection Conferences.

Waiting times for out-patients vary according to clinical need but we hope to see outpatient referrals within four to six weeks.

Please visit our Patient Information Leaflets page.

Our talented and compassionate staff help care for a diverse population, making Bradford a special place to work. Choosing the right people is key to our success.

If you’re interested in joining our team, you can find current vacancies on the Bradford Teaching Hospitals website.

Infectious Diseases Department
Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
West Yorkshire

Patient enquiries
Patient enquiries are handled by our Senior Medical Secretary, Tracey McLoughlin, on:
Telephone: 01274 382248

Clinical enquiries
Infection advice for clinicians is provided by the duty microbiology consultant via switchboard or from the Intranet On-call Consultants List. We offer a 24-hour microbiology on-call service.

HIV Service
Trinity@St Luke’s
St Luke’s Hospital
Little Horton Lane
Bradford
BD5 0NA
Telephone: 01274 365088

OPAT enquiries
Telephone: 01274 382248
Email: OPAT.Service@bthft.nhs.uk

• Locala: Information on sexual health and contraception services in Bradford.
• Yorkshire MESMAC: Website for Bradford-based HIV charity the OUR Project. Provides information, support and advocacy for people living with HIV in Bradford and their friends and families.
• It Starts With Me: Information about how to obtain a HIV test, including how to order a home postal test.
• Aidsmap: Up-to-date information about HIV research.
• Antibiotic Guardian: Public Health England website with information for healthcare workers and the public about antibiotics, in particular how we can act now to prevent resistance to antibiotics developing in the future.
• Travel Health Pro: Travel health guidance for healthcare professionals and the public.
• Travel Vaccinations: NHS Choices site providing information about travel vaccines.
• Foreign travel advice: Home Office advice on foreign travel and safety.
• ProMED-mail: Outbreak surveillance site.
• Meningitis Research Foundation: National charity which provides high quality information about the recognition of acute bacterial meningitis.
• National Institute for Health Research: Information about clinical research and what it means to participate in a trial.