Healthcare Scientist

Job summary

You will be working as part of a scientific and clinical team, including doctors, nurses and other health care professionals and the role you perform will directly contribute to saving and improving patients lives. There are many opportunities for career advancement within NHSBT. With experience and training you may progress to managing a section of the laboratory, right through to lead scientist with responsibility for the entire laboratory service. You may use your knowledge to specialise in an area vital to the operation of a modern reference service such as Quality Control, training and education, or research and development. We will provide you with an extensive induction and training programme and ongoing development to support you in your role and achieving your career ambitions.

Main duties of the job

The Microbiology Services Laboratory (MSL) is a specialist laboratory responsible for the confirmation of microbiological screen reactivity in samples from blood, tissue and stem cell donors. MSL also performs specialist non-blood donor screening (tissues, stem cells, serum eyedrops and organ donors) Additional activities include investigation of transfusion transmitted reactions and visual abnormalities, confirmatory testing of platelet screens, the lot release testing of microbiological assays and media, validation of new products, disinfectants and equipment, identification of organisms from environmental monitoring of our GMP areas and provides expert advice and guidance.

• You will be required to perform and interpret a wide range of specialist scientific and technical procedures and tests relating to the issue of results for blood, blood components, tissues, serum eye drops or stem cell products.
• You will be required to conduct automated and manual investigations in a microbiology reference laboratory, operating a range of complex and routine equipment, applying scientific, theoretical and practical knowledge expected of a Healthcare Scientist.
• You will be required to perform a range of validation activities in our R&D laboratory, to support national projects, disinfectant evaluations, screening of new products and evaluation of new equipment
• You will be required to provide cover in times of operational difficulty, with reasonable notice.

About us

It takes all types of people to deliver the kind of service that saves and improves lives. At NHS Blood and Transplant, youll join a team of more than 6,000 people who are making a genuine difference to communities, families, friends, relatives and more across the UK. We play a unique and special role in the NHS by helping people do something extraordinary- donate blood, blood products, organs, tissues, or stem cells to save someone in need. Our three core values are what set us apart. They guide and inspire everything we do. By being caring, expertly meeting the needs of our patients and our people, and accepting nothing less than the best quality, we can do extraordinary work and help our people to do something extraordinary in their career, too. Three small words, one big difference - Caring, Expert and Quality. Together we'll save and improve more lives than ever. You will join us on our journey to create an inclusive workplace and aim to reflect the diverse communities we work with, and we positively encourage applications from all sectors of the community.