Job summary
Exciting opportunities have arisen for Apprentice Healthcare Science Associates at Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust. The posts are available to anyone who is interested in working within an NHS Healthcare environment while completing a Level 4 Diploma in Healthcare Science (24 months).
Staff new to the Trust will be employed on an apprentice contract so that they have an opportunity to 'earn while they learn'.
Our apprenticeships offer:
- the chance to earn a salary while studying.
- training in job specific and transferable skills
- protected time to study towards a related qualification (including literacy and numeracy if required)
- regular pastoral support and personal development reviews
- employment on a 24-month training contract
- benefits such as paid annual leave, comprehensive mandatory training, protected time for your studies and NHS discounts
We are an equal opportunity employer and welcome applications from all backgrounds.
This post does not guarantee permanent employment on completion; however, the apprenticeship will provide you with valuable skills and experience to apply for other healthcare science supporting positions within the NHS.
Please be advised that this job advert may close before the closing date as soon as sufficient applications have been received. Please apply for this job as soon as you can, if interested.
Main duties of the job
You will be trained to perform a variety of Healthcare Associate roles within a busy department, which will involve meeting, communicating, and working with people from all backgrounds.
You will be working directly with other Pathology staff, preparing samples for diagnostic tests, undertaking basic diagnostic investigations, inputting data, following procedures, ordering stock and any other associated administrative duties.
There will be taught sessions (these may be online) and work-based assessment which contribute to the learning element of the programme. Apprentices will complete a portfolio of evidence to demonstrate their learning and skills in practice in accordance with the apprenticeship framework.
The Level 4 Healthcare Science apprenticeship is suited to those who are interested in the welfare of others and have a caring attitude to other people, with a keen interest in science. We are looking for an individual who can put the patient's needs before their own, be honest, friendly and have a professional attitude to work. The work will be based in busy departments; therefore, will suit individuals who like to deal with a variety of tasks. Through your working practices you will apply dignity, respect and maintain confidentiality, you will work well in a team, be courteous, sympathetic and professional. It is also important that you maintain a safe working environment and contribute to the safeguarding of patients.
About us
We manage three major locality hospitals at North Tyneside, Wansbeck and Hexham, plus a number of smaller community hospitals and clinics from Tynemouth to Berwick on Tweed, in addition to our state-of-the-art Northumbria Specialist Emergency Care Hospital, the first of its kind in England. We also care for people in their homes and provide services from facilities in local communities such as health centres. We give people greater choice and control over their care to help them to live independently at home and avoid hospital admission where appropriate. High quality patient care is at the heart of everything we do and we strive to ensure every single patient and service user has an exceptional experience with us. We have one of the most extensive patient experience programmes of any trust in England.
We'd be particularly keen to hear from you if:
- You live in a neighbourhood with a low rate of progression to higher education
- You have been looked after or in care
- You would be in the first generation of your family to progress onto a level 4 qualification
Job description
Job responsibilities
Apprentice Healthcare Science Associates will undertake an initial structured departmental induction and then follow a training programme throughout the apprenticeship to enable them to:
- work under the supervision of the Biomedical Scientist and other team members in the delivery of high-quality care.
- provide assistance and support to a broad spectrum of service users, and the multi-disciplinary team.
- take operational and administrative responsibilities for a specific area of the laboratory or provide operational and administrative support within a laboratory area. This may include the supervision of Medical Laboratory Assistants (MLA) and/or Level 2 Apprentices.
- assist with the daily workload within a department.
- be responsible for performing a range of scientific procedures on biological samples that contribute to the diagnosis, treatment and monitoring of diseases and the investigation of other pathological processes.
- gain relevant work-based learning within a Healthcare environment.
- become prepared and knowledgeable within the working environment and work towards gaining a Level 4 Diploma in Healthcare Science.
The work of the service brings staff into constant contact with human body fluids, tissues, and hazardous chemicals. This may be blood, urine, other body fluids and faeces.
It is expected that these posts will be based in the Point of Care Testing team which is part of the Clinical Chemistry department within Pathology.
Please read person specification for essential qualifications before applying.
*Biomedical Science graduates need not apply.*
Closing Date: Please be advised that this job advert will close prior to the closing date as soon as sufficient applications have been received. Please apply for this job as soon as you can, if interested.
Job description
Job responsibilities
Apprentice Healthcare Science Associates will undertake an initial structured departmental induction and then follow a training programme throughout the apprenticeship to enable them to:
- work under the supervision of the Biomedical Scientist and other team members in the delivery of high-quality care.
- provide assistance and support to a broad spectrum of service users, and the multi-disciplinary team.
- take operational and administrative responsibilities for a specific area of the laboratory or provide operational and administrative support within a laboratory area. This may include the supervision of Medical Laboratory Assistants (MLA) and/or Level 2 Apprentices.
- assist with the daily workload within a department.
- be responsible for performing a range of scientific procedures on biological samples that contribute to the diagnosis, treatment and monitoring of diseases and the investigation of other pathological processes.
- gain relevant work-based learning within a Healthcare environment.
- become prepared and knowledgeable within the working environment and work towards gaining a Level 4 Diploma in Healthcare Science.
The work of the service brings staff into constant contact with human body fluids, tissues, and hazardous chemicals. This may be blood, urine, other body fluids and faeces.
It is expected that these posts will be based in the Point of Care Testing team which is part of the Clinical Chemistry department within Pathology.
Please read person specification for essential qualifications before applying.
*Biomedical Science graduates need not apply.*
Closing Date: Please be advised that this job advert will close prior to the closing date as soon as sufficient applications have been received. Please apply for this job as soon as you can, if interested.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- 5 GCSE's level A - E or 9 - 3 if Maths and English are not at Grade 4 (C) then functional skills will need to be completed
Experience
Essential
- IT Skills including MS Office packages such as Word and Excel.
Desirable
- Previous experience of working in a health orientated environment.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- 5 GCSE's level A - E or 9 - 3 if Maths and English are not at Grade 4 (C) then functional skills will need to be completed
Experience
Essential
- IT Skills including MS Office packages such as Word and Excel.
Desirable
- Previous experience of working in a health orientated environment.
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
Additional information
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
