Paediatric Infectious Diseases
Royal Manchester Children's Hospital
Paediatric Infectious Disease at Royal Manchester Children's Hospital
The Paediatric Regional Infectious Diseases Unit at Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust provides specialist care across Greater Manchester, Lancashire, South Cumbria and surrounding regions, serving a paediatric population of around one million children. It is one of the largest and busiest services in the UK, supporting a diverse population with a high burden of complex and imported infections.
A key strength of the service is the close integration of adult and paediatric infectious diseases teams, enabling family-centred care, shared expertise, and coordinated management across the life course. This includes joint clinics and multidisciplinary care in areas such as HIV, tuberculosis, viral hepatitis, congenital infections, alongside specialised pathways for high-consequence infectious diseases.
The service works closely with Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital (RMCH), which provides tertiary paediatric infectious diseases input including for paediatric intensive care and high dependency support, and St Mary’s Hospital for tertiary neonatal services, our regional bone marrow transplant unit, regional surgical and neurosurgery units and tertiary Burns unit. A daily paediatric infectious diseases MDT supports complex cases and referrals across all specialties, with strong links to microbiology, pharmacy, immunology and community teams.
In addition to tertiary clinical care, the service provides regional advice to district hospitals and primary care across the region.
Fellowships and observerships at Manchester Specialist Health Academy provide international clinicians with structured opportunities to experience high quality healthcare training within a leading NHS environment. Both pathways offer consultant oversight, a clear induction, and access to modern clinical settings that support a strong understanding of advanced patient care. Participants are welcomed into a professional community that encourages learning, collaboration, and engagement with the culture of Manchester.
While fellows take part in more in depth clinical development, gaining exposure to subspecialties, procedures and research, observers focus on shadowing and understanding multidisciplinary practice within NHS services. Both groups benefit from involvement in clinics, team discussions, and wider learning activities such as simulation sessions, CPD opportunities, and quality improvement insight.
Rare and complex cases
- Paediatric HIV, TB and viral hepatitis.
- Congenital and neonatal infections.
- Imported, travel-related and high-consequence infections.
- Severe sepsis, meningitis, encephalitis and bloodstream infections.
- Complex infections in PICU, oncology, transplant, burns, surgical and neonatal patients.
- Cases requiring regional MDT advice and tertiary specialist input
Why Manchester?
Manchester is a city of innovation and progress, renowned as the world’s first industrial city and still leading in science, healthcare, and technology. With excellent transport links and a vibrant, multicultural atmosphere, it offers an inclusive environment for learning and professional growth.
Beyond your placement, Manchester offers something for everyone - from watching the iconic Manchester derby to exploring world-class museums and galleries. With vibrant music, sport, and culture, the city truly has it all. Combining heritage and modernity, it creates a unique setting for personal enrichment and memorable experiences whilst you develop professionally.
Our signature programmes
Observership
Paediatric Infectious Disease
Objectives
By the end of the placement, the visiting professional should be able to:
- Observe assessment and management of complex paediatric infections.
- Understand MDT working across ID, microbiology, pharmacy, immunology and specialist teams.
- Gain insight into infection control and escalation pathways.
- Observe family-centred care across paediatric and adult ID services.
- Understand tertiary and regional referral pathways.
- Develop awareness of safe NHS practice in a supervised observership setting.
Eligibility
- The visiting professional must have sufficient English language skills to engage meaningfully in the observership.
Fellowship
Paediatric Infectious Disease
Overview
This 12-24 month Clinical Fellowship in Paediatric Infectious Diseases is designed for doctors working at MT04 (ST3-5) or MT05 (ST6-8) equivalent level, depending on experience. Based at Royal Manchester Children's Hospital, the fellowship provides comprehensive exposure to tertiary and regional paediatric infectious diseases services across RMCH, St Mary's Neonatal Unit and North Manchester General Hospital.
Fellows will gain experience managing complex infectious diseases in inpatient, outpatient, critical care, oncology and neonatal settings, working closely with multidisciplinary teams including microbiology, virology, respiratory, neonatal and intensive care services. The role also includes opportunities in antimicrobial stewardship, paediatric OPAT, teaching, research, quality improvement and service development.
Learning objectives
By the end of the fellowship, the visiting professional will be able to:
- Develop expertise in the assessment and management of complex paediatric infectious diseases across a range of clinical settings.
- Gain specialist experience in HIV, viral hepatitis, tuberculosis, congenital infections, imported infections and infections affecting immunocompromised children.
- Build advanced multidisciplinary working skills through collaboration with regional and tertiary specialist teams.
- Develop confidence in providing specialist advice and contributing to referral pathways, virtual MDTs and innovative care models, including paediatric OPAT and Virtual Wards.
- Enhance knowledge of antimicrobial stewardship and evidence-based antimicrobial prescribing.
- Strengthen teaching and educational skills through undergraduate and postgraduate training activities.
- Participate in research, clinical governance, audit and quality improvement projects.
- Gain exposure to specialist microbiology, virology and immunology laboratory services.
- Achieve competencies aligned with the Paediatric Infectious Diseases curriculum and GMC Good Medical Practice, while developing the leadership and professional skills required for a future consultant role.
Eligibility
- Postgraduate Qualification: Applicants must hold an overseas-recognised postgraduate medical qualification (MD, MS, Masters) in Paediatric Infectious Disease or a relevant speciality.
- Experience: Minimum of 3 years’ recent experience in Paediatric Infectious Disease or a related specialty within the last 5 years, including at least 12 months of continuous practice before applying.
- Training Level: Equivalent to ST5 or above, or post-CCT clinicians seeking subspecialty exposure.
- Language Proficiency: IELTS Academic with 7.0 in each band and overall 7.5, or OET Medicine with Grade B in all domains, with certificate validity within 24 months.
- Registration: GMC registration is required for fellowship activity. Sponsorship support may be available through approved routes where appropriate.
- Applicants must not have failed PLAB exams previously.
- Visa sponsorship is only available through approved routes; self-funded visas outside agreed schemes are excluded.