Medical Laboratory Assistant

County Durham & Darlington NHS Foundation Trust

This job is now closed

Job summary

We are seeking an individual with excellent literacy and numeracy skills to work as a Medical Laboratory Assistant in our very busy Department of Blood Sciences which processes 1500-2000 samples per site each day.

The Medical Laboratory Assistant role involves working as a member of staff providing support to Specimen Reception, Biochemistry, Immunology, Haematology and Blood Transfusion. You will be working alongside a team of Biomedical Scientists and Associate Practitioners.

Main duties of the job

Main tasks include:

Prioritising urgent and AE samples to avoid delays and ensure best patient care.

Receipt of samples from within the Hospital via a vacuum tube system or in person and from GP surgeries via courier services.

Booking a large volume of patient samples on to the Laboratory Computer System and ensuring the correct test requests are inputted. There are thousands of different test codes and you must have excellent attention to detail to select the correct codes.

Centrifuging samples and correctly loading the samples on to the relevant laboratory analysers.

Organising referral and packaging and sending of samples to other Trust sites and to other Trusts nationwide.

Answering reception and telephone queries and liaising with other Trust staff and the general public.

Receiving deliveries, ensuring they go to the correct department within Pathology and unpacking and organising the stock as requested.

Scanning request forms and ensuring printed reports are sent to the correct requesting departments, GPs or clinics in a timely manner.

Please refer to the Job Description and Personal Specification for full details.

About us

We are one of the largest integrated care providers in England. Over 7,000 Staff serve a population of around 650,000 people in the North East,

We provide hospital services from two acute sites - Darlington Memorial Hospital and University Hospital of North Durham. We have a centre for planned care in Bishop Auckland and provide care from community hospitals in Chester-le-Street, Shotley Bridge, Barnard Castle, Sedgefield and Weardale as well as over 80 other community based settings and providing care in patients' homes.

At County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust our aim is to always deliver excellent care with compassion to deliver the highest quality of care our patients deserve. We value the personal skills, experiences and qualities that individuals bring to the Trust; creating an inclusive working environment to attract talented people who feel motivated, involved and able to influence the future direction of our services. The wellbeing of staff is important to us; we have a dedicated Health and Wellbeing team who provide support on a range of topics.

We particularly welcome applications from disabled and Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) candidates as BAME and disabled people are currently under-represented

Full Job Descriptions can be found in the adverts supporting documents

Date posted

28 July 2022

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 2

Salary

£18,870 to £19,918 a year

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time

Reference number

C9439-22-5181

Job locations

Darlington Memorial Hospital NHS Trust

Hollyhurst Road

Darlington

County Durham

DL3 6HX

University Hospital Of North Durham

North Road

Durham

DH1 5TW

Job description

Job responsibilities

You should be able to demonstrate good keyboard skills and be computer literate and have experience of working in a reception or clerical environment. Previous Laboratory experience would be an advantage. If you are well organised, have excellent attention to detail, are a good communicator, team player, conscientious and flexible this job may suit you. You must be able to ask questions and take on board information given.

You must be able to work on a 24/7 shift rota which includes day shifts, late shifts, night shifts, weekend day shifts and night shifts, Bank Holiday day shifts and night shifts including Christmas Day. This is a requirement of the post. Day shifts and late shifts are 7.5 or 8 hours. Night shifts and some weekends and Bank Holidays are 12 hours. On weekends, bank holidays and night shifts you will often be the sole Pathology Reception worker on site (there will be Biomedical Scientists on site also).

Job description

Job responsibilities

Person Specification

Experience

Essential

Clerical work
Reception work

Desirable

Previous hospital laboratory experience
Employment with public Interaction

Qualifications

Essential

Basic numeracy and literacy

Desirable

NVQ 2 CLS or equivalent
Science and/or maths GCSE or above
IBMS Certificate of Achievement Part 1

Special Skills & Knowledge

Essential

Follow protocols and instructions accurately
High level of attention to detail
Ability to concentrate for long periods
Excellent communication skills, verbal and written
Computer literate

Desirable

Microsoft Office applications

Special Requirements

Essential

Able to handle blood and body samples
Able to lift and move multiple boxes/cartons of up to 20 kg
Able to work flexibly
Able to participate in shift working,
weekend working and bank holidays

Person Specification

Experience

Essential

Clerical work
Reception work

Desirable

Previous hospital laboratory experience
Employment with public Interaction

Qualifications

Essential

Basic numeracy and literacy

Desirable

NVQ 2 CLS or equivalent
Science and/or maths GCSE or above
IBMS Certificate of Achievement Part 1

Special Skills & Knowledge

Essential

Follow protocols and instructions accurately
High level of attention to detail
Ability to concentrate for long periods
Excellent communication skills, verbal and written
Computer literate

Desirable

Microsoft Office applications

Special Requirements

Essential

Able to handle blood and body samples
Able to lift and move multiple boxes/cartons of up to 20 kg
Able to work flexibly
Able to participate in shift working,
weekend working and bank holidays

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.