Associate Practitioner - Band 4

Ashford & St. Peter's Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

This job is now closed

Job summary

BSPS is a successful, progressive pathology network formed as a contractual joint venture between 5 trusts providing services to acute Trusts, primary and community care and private healthcare. The laboratory is also currently implementing a new state of the art automation tender which will be replacing some of this equipment. The laboratory opening hours are 7am-7pm Monday Friday, 9am 1pm on Saturdays.

You will, with the Senior BMS, be responsible for the participating in the organisation and performance of all aspects of the Virology Laboratory provided by the Virology Department for BSPS recently established within BSPS.

The successful candidate will act as supervisor for support grade staff members as agreed with the laboratory management team, and will be expected to train, support and advise less experienced staff, such as trainees, students and MLAs. Key responsibilities include:

receipt of samples from specimen reception and tracking, disposal of samples/reagents

responsibility for the referral of samples to other laboratories and entry of results. Answering telephone/email queries. Perform maintenance of equipment.

We are looking for an energetic, enthusiastic and well-motivated candidate with appropriate qualifications and/or relevant experience to join the team of the Virology department for BSPS. We are looking for a candidate who has experience in specimen reception and laboratory skills for the accurate and safe use of laboratory equipment and reagents.

Main duties of the job

To manage receipt of samples from specimen reception and tracking, disposal of samples/reagents

To be responsible for the referral of samples to other laboratories and entry of results

To answer telephone/email queries

To perform maintenance of equipment and loading of analysers under the supervision of a Biomedical Scientist

To act as a supervisor for support grade staff members as agreed with the laboratory management team and will be expected to train, support and advise less experienced staff, such as trainees, students and MLAs.

To assist with the management of stock of consumables and supplies within the department and provide details of stock management to the Lead BMS or General Manager as required.

About us

Ashford and St. Peters Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust serves a population of more than 410,000 people living in the boroughs of Runnymede, Spelthorne, Woking and parts of Elmbridge, Hounslow, Surrey Heath and beyond. The Trust employs around 4,400 individual members of staff. Our turnover was £387.3 million in 2020/21.The Trust provides a whole range of services across its hospital sites. The majority of planned care, like day case and orthopaedic surgery and rehabilitation services, is provided at Ashford Hospital, with more complex medical and surgical care and emergency services at St. Peters Hospital. Our vision at Ashford & St Peters is to provide an outstanding experience and outcomes for patients and staff. There has never been a better time to join us in the NHS at Ashford & St Peters Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust with our strong commitment to staff health and wellbeing. We are committed to providing continuous professional development, staff benefits and flexibility to shape our workforce around our patient care.

PLEASE BE AWARE THAT ADVERTS MAY CLOSE BEFORE THEIR PUBLISHED CLOSING DATE, THEREFORE PLEASE SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.

For support with making your application, you may want to follow this link supplied by NHS Jobs :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Snr886EetV8

Find out more about the Trust by visiting Join the Team - https://www.ashfordstpeters.nhs.uk/your-job-application

Date posted

22 September 2022

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 4

Salary

£25,147 to £27,597 a year include HCAS

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time, Flexible working

Reference number

C9323-KPH667

Job locations

Guildford Road

Chertsey

Surrey

KT16 0PZ

Job description

Job responsibilities

The main duties of the role are listed below. For other duties please refer to the job description

1.Financial & Management

Be able to effectively deal with simple day to day situations and problems, referring to Senior Biomedical Scientist staff when appropriate

Effectively maintain stock control, place orders and take appropriate action as required

Ensures sample is appropriate type for all tests and assesses samples for urgency, informing Biomedical Scientist staff of such samples

Works in cooperation with BMS staff to ensure workload is processed in a timely and efficient manner

Performs telephone duties that include making and receiving calls from and to the laboratory, verbally transmitting confidential results and conveying sensitive information and advice to healthcare professionals

To be responsible for own work which will include all aspects of the technical work, equipment and quality system

To ensure the timely and efficient provision of diagnostics services

To take day to day responsibility for the quality of technical work produced

To ensure that clinical requests are met according to agreed policies on availability of tests and priorities in accordance with user guide

Maintain reagent records, both paper and electronic, as part of section stock control system

To ensure that statutory and Trust requirements for record keeping of results are met

To monitor and produce reports as required to laboratory manager in relation to workload and staff within section

To maintain adequate stock of all reagents and consumables, through timely ordering of supplies

To undertake regular stock check and audit as required

To be able to work within department with the minimum of supervision as directed by Senior Biomedical Scientist staff

Ensures efficient use of resources and is aware of stock levels and rotation, storage conditions, batch numbers and expiry dates, thus ensuring the viability of reagents and/or blood products used

Ensures appropriate stock levels are maintained in own area of operation, this may include issuing stock to external departments and GP surgeries, and ordering stock from external suppliers under supervision

Ensures accurate stock records are maintained

To provide information on orders placed and attributed spend with suppliers

To implement cost improvement programmes as directed by senior biomedical scientist staff

Ensure service operates within available financial resources. Inform laboratory management of any potential financial pressures

2.Personnel & Training

Works to achieve competencies across the repertoire of the department as appropriate to grade

Communicates effectively with other staff groups both internal and external, including healthcare professionals, transport and courier staff, patients and their representatives and commercial suppliers

Provides and receives sensitive information from patients and their representatives where empathic skills are required

Works as part of a team to ensure that departmental performance targets are met by continually assessing priority of work

Participates in the Trust Personal Development Programme and works towards identified development needs

Attend all mandatory training courses

Attends and participates in departmental and Trust-wide staff meetings as appropriate and demonstrates a positive attitude to these

Provides supervision, training support and assistance to newly staff as appropriate (including the demonstration of procedures to less experienced staff)

To carry out appraisal of MLA staff as directed by laboratory management

Demonstrates excellent personal communication and team working skills

3.Service Delivery and Quality

Participate in a range of duties within the department, under supervision or without supervision following successful competency assessment

Analyses potentially infectious samples using sophisticated automated equipment to produce results of a quality consistent with excellent patient care

Carry out biomedical procedures including maintenance, monitoring of sophisticated equipment and audit in accordance with departmental SOPs

Effectively contribute to the continual improvement of service and identify risks to Biomedical Scientist staff

Participate in the review of departmental SOPs

Ensure the safe disposal of specimens and waste and to ensure cleaning and maintenance of work areas and equipment is carried out in accordance with SOPs

Ensures that samples meet acceptance criteria, dealing with any non-compliance in accordance with departmental protocols

Is fully conversant with relevant departmental policies and Standard Operating Procedures, ensuring that personal performance complies with Accreditation standards

In conjunction with Biomedical Scientist (BMS) staff, ensures the validity of automated results by the use of appropriate control materials

To ensure that work is carried out in line with Standing Operational Procedures and/or Departmental policy

To monitor quality control of all the tests performed

To assist in the preparation of SOPs and other documentation

To participate in audits as required

Complies with the requirement to practice within information governance, data protection and confidentiality guidelines

To organise and maintain equipment logs, decontamination logs and ensuring their completion

To carry out troubleshooting and maintenance on all equipment

To assist biomedical scientist staff in the validation of new equipment prior to service introduction, ensuring that it meets current requirements and ensure validation records are completed

4.Health &Safety and Risk

Demonstrate a robust knowledge of national and local health and safety standards

Decontamination of laboratory working areas and equipment according to SOPs. Maintain a tidy and clean workplace, according to H&S regulations and good laboratory practice

Perform Risk Assessments for procedures and equipment prior to introduction into the laboratory

Aware of Clinical Governance, Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) and local Health and Safety policies, reporting problems, errors or breaches to the Senior BMS staff

Despatches biological samples to referral and ensures that sample despatch complies with current guidelines

5.General

Work with and process a wide range of clinical samples in the department

To answer telephone calls and deal with messages and enquiries

To undertake any other duties which may be required, which are consistent with the nature and grade of the post

Displays and maintains an appropriate level of IT skills. Is able to input patient and request data, maintain and amend patient records, interrogate the laboratory and hospital databases and perform basic word processing and spreadsheet work

Performs a range of administrative tasks in all sections of the laboratory as required. This includes archiving and retrieval of specimens and data, maintenance of archived material and audit trails