Medical Scientist, Staff Grade

Cork University Hospital (CUH) is the largest university teaching hospital in Ireland and the only Level 1 Trauma Centre in the country due to the presence of over 40 different medical and surgical specialties on the campus.
CUH has 800 beds and currently employs approximately 3,600 (WTE) staff of multiple professions.
It is the primary teaching hospital for the Faculty of Health and Science in University College Cork.
University College Cork (UCC) is the Primary Academic partner of the South-South West Hospital Group.
Cork University Hospital has very strong relationships with each of the six schools within the Science Faculty of UCC and this is a key area for future development to maximise the opportunities for both the service and academia.

The Blood Sciences Department offers a regional laboratory service which caters for a catchment area of just over 450,000 for routine and non-routine testing.
The Laboratory provides urgent service provision to the Cork University Hospital and Cork University Maternity Hospital (CUH/CUMH) while also processing samples from other citywide hospitals which have no laboratory facility (e.g.
St. Finbarr's Hospital and the South Infirmary Victoria Hospital).
Greater than 50% of the Laboratory's sample test requests originate from General Practitioners.
The Laboratory is the referral laboratory for other HSE-South hospitals in which a full range of testing is not available such as Bantry General Hospital, Mallow General Hospital and University Hospital Kerry.

The diagnostic services provided by the Haematology Laboratory include but is not limited to:

· Routine Full Blood Counts, ESR and Blood films

· Coagulation Screening and Specialised Coag Testing

· Thrombophilia Testing and Von Willibrands Screening

· Bone marrow investigations

· Flow Cytometry

· Haemoglobinopathy Screening and Glycosylated Haemoglobin Assays

· Molecular Testing

The Biochemistry Laboratory offers a diagnostic, analytical and interpretative service for a large range of analytes in body fluids.
Services include

· General Chemistry

· Endocrinology

· Immunology

· Molecular Genetics

· Therapeutic Drug Monitoring

· Specialised testing.

Clinical Biochemistry deals with the Biochemical basis of disease and the use of Biochemical tests for its diagnosis, prognosis, screening and management.

A reduced service is available out of hours 24/7/365 in line with clinical need.

Education and training are an integral part of the daily routine within the Laboratory with established links to the Medical and Science faculties at University College Cork (UCC) and the Biological Sciences department of Munster Technological University (MTU).
Structured training programmes for trainee Medical Scientists, approved by the Academy of Clinical Science and Laboratory Medicine, and training programmes for Non-Consultant Hospital Doctors (NCHDs) are well established within the Laboratory.
The Laboratory is also involved in both intradepartmental and collaborative research.

Six Health Regions have been established within the HSE, on the basis of the geographical boundaries agreed by the Government in July 2019 and they will be operational from 2024.

Each Health Region will be tasked with population specific planning resourcing and delivery of health and social care services for the needs of its unique population.
This will result in improved accountability and governance in terms of finance and performance, while also bringing decision-making closer to the frontline.

Health Regions will enable and empower staff to provide services that are:

· Integrated, locally planned and delivered

· Easier to access and navigate

· Available closer to home

Health Regions are geographically based units with clearly defined populations.
They align community and hospital services within specific areas.
The HSE will retain a strong but leaner central organisation, with more service provision developed at a local level.

The HSE South West Health Region will manage and deliver all public health and social care services in Cork and Kerry.
HSE South West includes all hospital and community healthcare services in the region.

This includes:

· South / South West Hospital Group S/SWHG

· Cork Kerry Community Healthcare CKCH

The Department of Population and Public Health is also now aligned with this health region.

Services in the South West health region: HSE Services working within this region include:

· Acute Hospitals

· Primary care services

· Community services

· Social care services

· Health and social care professionals

· Voluntary sector services

South / South West Hospital Group and Cork Kerry Community Healthcare became part of HSE South West Health Region on the 3rd March 2025, and the transition to the new structures will continue throughout 2025.

Informal Enquiries:

Ms Denise Clarke, Chief Medical Scientist, Haematology Laboratory, Cork University Hospital

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