County Durham & Darlington NHS Foundation Trust
We are seeking an Associate Practitioner in our Department of Blood Sciences for 1x permanent and 2x fixed term contracts until the 31.03.2026. The AP role involves working alongside the Biomedical Scientists and closely with colleagues in Pathology Reception as part of the Blood Sciences team. Blood Sciences at UHND is a busy department receiving a large number of samples from AE, acute hospital wards, community hospitals, outpatient clinics, and GP surgeries.
The role involves technical and clerical tasks and training other staff. Please refer to the Job Description and Personal Specification for full details.
You should be able to demonstrate good keyboard skills, be computer literate, and have experience of working in an NHS pathology laboratory. Experience in a different laboratory environment will be considered alongside experience and skills. If you are a good communicator, team player, conscientious, and flexible, this job may suit you. Participation in the 24/7 shift rota will be required.
Main duties of the job
Main tasks include:
1. Maintaining and running automated analysers in accordance with laboratory protocols, loading QC material as required.
2. Performing some manual tests and recording the results.
3. Booking patient samples onto 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.
4. Centrifuging samples and correctly loading the samples onto the relevant laboratory analysers.
5. Assisting the BMS staff by managing pending test lists.
6. Organising referral, packaging, and sending of samples to other Trust sites and to other Trusts nationwide.
7. Answering reception and telephone queries and liaising with other Trust staff and the general public.
8. Stock control including ordering, receiving and receipting deliveries, documenting and organising batches of reagents, and performing verification tasks.
9. Deputising for the Pathology reception Team Leader.
Please refer to the Job Description and Personal Specification for full details.
About us
If you are being interviewed, you must accept an interview slot in the system to continue, even if you have arranged with the manager.
You must be able to produce ALL certificates stated essential in the person specification, or you will not be able to complete pre-employment checks.
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.
We particularly welcome applications from disabled and Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic (BAME) candidates as BAME and disabled people are currently under-represented.
From April 1, 2024, we are unable to offer sponsorship for healthcare roles that do not meet the minimum salary. If you are in the UK on a VISA, please ensure you have no restrictions that would prevent you from taking this post.
Full Job Descriptions can be found in the adverts supporting documents.
Job responsibilities
This Associate Practitioner role involves working closely alongside Biomedical Scientists and also the Pathology reception Team Leader and reception team. They follow the laboratory Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and complete the relevant quality documentation as required.
Samples are received into Pathology reception from wards and clinics within the hospital and from community hospitals and GP surgeries. They are registered in Pathology Reception and placed on analysers in the laboratories. The AP will monitor the analysers in the department, dealing with errors on samples, maintenance on the analysers, replenishing reagents and consumables, and basic troubleshooting/fault finding. The AP will complete all the required documentation for the maintenance and error logging.
Stock is managed by the AP and BMS staff, stock takes are performed, ordering of reagents and consumables via the Cardea ordering system, signing for deliveries, receipting goods delivered, unpacking, verifying if appropriate, and ensuring paperwork is complete before placing in the appropriate storage area in an orderly manner.
Temperature monitoring is a daily task, all grades Band 3 upwards may be involved, and the AP may be required to assist, troubleshoot, and train other staff in the process.
The AP will deal with reports from referral laboratories, entering results to the lab computer system, identifying overdue reports, and chasing up with other labs.
Generally, the AP staff assist the Biomedical Scientists with tasks in the laboratory in which they have been trained and are within their scope of practice. They may be asked to deputise for the Reception Team Leader as required, so some supervisory experience is beneficial.
This role requires someone who is conscientious, can work independently within their scope of practice, is an excellent confident communicator to liaise with staff from many wards, departments, and other laboratories, as well as Trust drivers, porters, Blood Bikers, and their own Blood Sciences Team. Attention to detail is a key skill required so that errors can be picked up and appropriately recorded, and so that patient samples can be accurately identified and tested and results recorded or transcribed. The AP may need to focus for long periods and also be flexible to organise tasks in priority order. Computer literacy is essential, and the AP will also be expected to write SOPs and perform audits as needed.
Person Specification
Qualifications
* NVQ 3 in Health (pathology stream) or equivalent.
* IBMS Certificate of Achievement Part 2 or demonstrate equivalent competency.
* Science and/or maths GCSE or above.
* CPD.
* Science A'Levels.
Experience
* Previous laboratory experience.
* Supervisory experience.
Special Skills & Knowledge
* Follow protocols and instructions accurately.
* Communication, verbal and written.
* Medical / Scientific terminology.
* Microsoft Office applications.
Statutory Registration
* Membership of any other professional body e.g. IBMS.
Special Requirements
* Able to handle blood and body samples.
* Able to lift and move multiple boxes/cartons of up to 20kg.
* Able to work flexibly.
* Able to participate in 24/7 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.
Employer name
County Durham & Darlington NHS Foundation Trust
£26,530 to £29,114 a year, per annum, pro rata.
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