Employer Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
Employer type: NHS
Site: Whiston Hospital
Town: Prescot
Salary: £24,071 - £25,674 per annum
Salary period: Yearly
Closing: 17/01/2025 23:59
NHS AfC: Band 3
12 month fixed term/ secondment
The Endoscope Decontamination Units are responsible for the decontamination of all flexible endoscopes used within the Trust. There are Decontamination Units on both St Helens and Whiston sites and the successful candidate may be expected to work at either site.
A good working knowledge of standards, regulations, and legislation relevant to endoscope decontamination is required.
The successful candidate will be responsible for providing senior support gained through their previous experience to the decontamination technicians and the delivery of a quality service on a day-to-day operational basis.
Previous Endoscope Decontamination experience is essential.
Main duties of the job
* To undertake the complete cycle of endoscope decontamination.
* This includes the visual inspection, manual cleaning, processing in an Endoscope Washer Disinfector (EWD), storing, tracking and tracing and collection and delivery of all flexible scopes used in the Trust.
* To work within the designated area, ensuring that agreed standards are achieved.
* To implement the correct method of decontamination of the endoscopes in accordance with the manufacturers instructions and protocols as issued by the department.
* To safely and correctly use EWD, Drying Cabinets and all other associated equipment as per manufacturers’ instructions.
Working for our organisation
Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust serves a population of over 600,000 with a workforce of over 9000 dedicated and skilled staff across 21 sites.
We strongly believe that the communities we serve should all have access to Five Star Patient Care.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
KEY DUTIES
* To undertake the complete cycle of endoscope decontamination.
* This includes the visual inspection, manual cleaning, processing in an Endoscope Washer Disinfector (EWD), storing, tracking and tracing and collection and delivery of all flexible scopes used in the Trust.
* To work within the designated area, ensuring that agreed standards are achieved.
* To implement the correct method of decontamination of the endoscopes in accordance with the manufacturers instructions and protocols as issued by the department.
* To safely and correctly use EWD, Drying Cabinets and all other associated equipment as per manufacturers’ instructions.
* To work within COSHH Regulations in respect of substances used, to ensure that the decontamination technicians comply with departmental procedures for use of PPE and be competent in dealing with spillages of chemicals.
* To carry out all relevant daily tests required on endoscopes, washer disinfectors and associated equipment as per departmental protocol and or supervise endoscope technicians undertaking the test where appropriate.
* To have a good understanding of how to deal with any emergency relating to machinery that may occur in the decontamination rooms and to request a repair engineer when necessary.
* To ensure all necessary documentation concerning the decontamination of each endoscope (tracking and tracing) is completed effectively and efficiently and in accordance with the departmental procedure (electronic and paper systems).
* Responsible for informing the Line Manager of any non-conformities or deficiencies that may occur in the decontamination.
* Maintain department stock to agreed levels by stock checking, rotation of stock and ordering using the Trust electronic system SBS.
* To provide information, training and advice gained through experience to the decontamination technicians.
* Assess the competency of the decontamination technicians against documented standard operational procedures and maintain records of the competency.
* Participate in the effective implementation of service developments relating to decontamination under the direction of the Decontamination Manager.
* Establish and maintain effective communication links within the Multi-disciplinary Team and decontamination equipment manufacturer personnel (e.g., Service engineers).
* Participate in and undertake Department and Trust wide audits when requested by the Decontamination Manager/ Supervisors and support the introduction of any changes in practice shown to improve standards.
* Support the education and training of all staff within Decontamination and support user department staff on the use and operation of the storage cabinets and the electronic tracking system.
* Ensure all equipment used within the department is in safe condition, ready for use when required. Check equipment test results and advise supervisor or manager of any non-conformances (e.g., final rinse water test results).
* To keep, where necessary, reliable and accurate records relating to decontamination.
* To understand service requirements and support departmental workloads.
* Report any faults discovered on individual endoscope operation (failures) to owner departments as appropriate ensuring a record of scopes away for repair is maintained.
* Conduct auto-apprenticeship of all new endoscopes (and repaired endoscopes) as required, in line with EWD manufacturer’s instructions and departmental procedures.
* Participate and support weekend/bank holiday rota to ensure a quality service is maintained.
* Participate in the on-call rota for out of hours endoscope decontamination.
* Undertake training and education as required to keep up to date with best practice.
* Act as role model for quality and standards.
Person specification
Qualifications
* Educated to GCSE Level or equivalent experience.
Knowledge & Experience
Skills
* Ability to provide information, training, and advice to decontamination technicians.
* Ability to develop new skills.
* Knowledge of duties and responsibilities of the post of decontamination technician.
* Basic knowledge of legislation and regulations relating to endoscope decontamination.
* Team worker with ability to motivate others.
* Infection control procedures in relation to endoscope decontamination.
* Computer literacy skills including SBS, Endoscope tracking system, basic email, and word documents.
Thank you for considering an application to work for Mersey West Lancashire NHS Trust. You are part of an exciting and forward-thinking NHS Trust who are one of the best places to work for in England.
Given sometimes we receive a high volume of applications to work for us, please be aware, that we may close a vacancy earlier than stated should a sufficient number of applications be received from which a shortlist can be confirmed. Therefore, you are advised to apply at your earliest convenience.
The Trust may contact you during the recruitment process for your feedback on your experience. We always aim for continuous improvement in our practice.
Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion
We actively cultivate a professional environment of fairness, equality, dignity, and respect for all individuals. We welcome individuals from all backgrounds and value the unique skills, perspective and experience you bring. We are grounded in the belief that diversity enhances our collective strength, fostering innovation and excellence within our workforce. We welcome all applications irrespective of people’s race, disability, gender, sexual orientation, religion/belief, age, gender identity, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy/maternity and in particular those from under-represented groups.
As a Disability Confident Leader, we commit to offering an interview to all disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for the job (the essential criteria) listed in the personal specification. If you wish to apply under this Guaranteed Interview Scheme, please indicate this on the online application form.
If you are having difficulty completing an online application, or require any disability reasonable adjustments, to the application process, please contact Recruitment@merseywestlancs.nhs.uk.
We also commit to offering an interview to all armed forces veterans who meet the minimum criteria for the job (the essential criteria) listed in the personal specification. If you wish to apply under this Guaranteed Interview Scheme, please indicate this on the online application form.
The Trust operates anonymous shortlisting where no personal information about you, including your name or personal details are shared with the recruiting manager. No equality information is shared at any time during the recruitment process with the recruiting manager or other people involved in the decision-making process.
The equality monitoring information you provide is used in the following situations: to review our recruitment practices; where a job is limited to a specific person to verify their eligibility to apply; and to offer disability reasonable adjustments to the recruitment process.
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
If this post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 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.
Please note if applicable, applicants will be required to pay for their DBS check. Costs are deducted from salary following appointment.
If you have not already done so, you are therefore encouraged to enrol for the DBS Update Service to which a small annual fee of £13 per year applies.
Flexible Working
We actively support flexible working patterns throughout MWL. Changes made to the NHS Terms and Conditions of Service Handbook mean that:
· All employees have the right to request flexible working from day one of employment.
· There is no limit on the number of requests they can make.
· Employees have the right to make requests, have them considered, regardless of the reason.
At Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, we will consider requests for flexible working. We would also encourage you to also discuss flexible working options at interview stage.
Working for Team MWL
Staff recognition is especially important to us; as well as performance reviews and appraisals, we recognise staff through Employee of the month. Along with supporting you to achieve your career goals we offer a generous pension scheme, unsocial hours payments (where applicable), 27 days annual leave on commencement (pro rata) and access to a range of NHS discounts. Our Staff Health and Wellbeing programme offer a variety of services.
The Trust is a non-smoking across all our sites. Failure to follow this rule could lead to disciplinary action.
Additional Information
Before applying, we encourage you to review the Trust's Values and Behaviours which are We are KIND, We are OPEN, We are INCLUSIVE. An applicant guide to help and support you with your application and what to expect during your recruitment journey can be accessed in the supporting documents.
Good luck with your application. We hope to welcome you to Team MWL very soon.
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