Rapid Covid Testing Associate Healthcare Scientist

Job summary

Point of Care Testing (PoCT) in East Kent is expanding to provide rapid testing for Covid-19. This is an exciting opportunity to join our dynamic Point of Care Testing team and contribute to safe and effective patient care.

PoCT testing is used by our clinical teams to make immediate treatment decisions for our patients. The post holders will contribute to the quality of these clinical decisions by supporting the existing PoCT team to deliver advice and training and perform quality tasks to ensure the quality of the results produced. Ultimately this service will operate at a level that will satisfy ISO accreditation.

Full training will be provided in the use and management of our PoCT device portfolio and the associated IT solutions.

The PoCT department is linked to our ISO accredited laboratories and is embedded within the Pathology quality management system.

Previous applicants need not apply

Main duties of the job

Point of care testing (POCT) can be defined as pathology testing performed close to the patient to enable immediate clinical decisions and patient management. The Pathology department manage the governance of PoCT activity across the organisation.

The purpose of the job is to support the PoCT Coordinator in the implementation of a rapid testing solution for Covid-19 within our emergency admission pathways.

This will include but is not limited to device maintenance and troubleshooting, performing molecular testing for Covid-19 within the emergency departments, managing consumable stocks, documentation and communication of patient results and adherence to appropriate infection control policies.

About us

We are one of the largest hospital trusts in England, with five hospitals and community clinics serving a local population of around 695,000 people.

Our vision is 'great healthcare from great people'. Everything we do is guided by our values: 'People feel cared for, safe, respected and confident that we are making a difference'.

We have a new way of working at East Kent Hospitals, called 'We care'. It's about empowering frontline staff to lead improvements day-to-day. We're looking for compassionate people to be part of our improvement journey for the patients, families and carers we care for every day.

NHSEI have always been clear that staff have a professional duty to get vaccinated and it remains our best line of defence against COVID-19. As such NHS organisation including Primary Care, are encouraged to continue engaging with and supporting their staff to inform their decisions in order to drive vaccine confidence, protect themselves, patients, and everyone else. NHSEI has produced COVID-19 vaccine communication materials.