Medical Laboratory Assistant

Job overview

NUH Pathology is looking for an enthusiastic and motivated Medical Laboratory Assistant (Full time AFC Band 2) to join our highly motivated and friendly Cellular Pathology Team. We aspire to provide the best possible service to patients across the region.

The Cellular Pathology department, which is based on 2 campuses, currently receives and processes approximately 66,000 surgical histology requests and 4,000 diagnostic Cytology requests per year, resulting in the production of over 310,000 slides for microscopical examination.

The ideal candidate will have previous laboratory experience, keen attention to detail and good communication skills.

The role of a Medical Laboratory Assistant is varied and includes the loading and unloading of glass slides onto laboratory equipment and digital scanners, block and slide archive management, housekeeping, administration tasks and stock control.

Working hours are between 7.30 a.m. and 7.30 p.m. and some weekend working may be required. You will be required to work in the Histopathology laboratories on both QMC and City Hospital NUH campuses.

Informal visits are strongly encouraged. If you would like to talk to somebody about this vacancy then please contact: Dean Saggers (Deputy Service Manager) Cellular Pathology on 0115 9249924 Ext. 71560

Email: dean.saggers@nuh.nhs.uk

Main duties of the job

We expect you to be a passionate, self-motivated individual who has an organised approach to work with good attention to detail and who can remain calm when busy. You will possess well developed communication and observational skills and enjoy working as part of a team so together we can provide excellent care and quality in a challenging environment.

Previous experience in an NHS clinical laboratory or in analytical techniques would be an advantage but is not essential as full training will be provided. A good level of secondary education is required with English, Maths and Science to GCSE (Grade A-D) or equivalent.

Working for our organisation

The Cellular Pathology department is based across 2 campuses and receives approximately 66,000 Surgical Histology requests and 4,000 diagnostic Cytology requests per year, resulting in the production of over 310,000 slides for microscopical examination.

The department is approved for training by the IBMS/HCPC and is UKAS accredited.

Digital Pathology is new technology which will allow Pathologists to report using high definition images of scanned microscope slides instead of the traditional method of viewing glass slides using a microscope. This technology increases efficiency and allows greater collaboration. This role is to support the laboratory with the extra work required to use this technology, along with other support tasks including archive management and stock control.

The successful candidates will join a highly motivated team who aspire to provide the best possible service to patients across the region.

Working hours are currently being reviewed and may be between 7.30a.m and 7.30p.m on a rota basis, Monday to Friday and some weekend working may be required. You will be required to work in the Histopathology laboratories at the QMC campus.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Work includes:

Collection, cleaning, racking, loading and unloading unstained and stained glass microscope slides onto laboratory staining machines, digital scanning machines and other laboratory equipment.

Organisation of slides and associated paperwork ahead of, and ready for the quality control process.

Filing, archiving and retrieval of slides.

Assisting with the dispatch of slides to the City campus, as appropriate.

Performing simple clerical tasks such as logs and checklists as required.

Where applicable, accurately entering results or other information onto the Pathology IT system.

Performing general house-keeping duties including safe disposal of waste, general cleaning and tidying, as well as basic laboratory equipment cleaning and maintenance.

Maintaining stocks of laboratory supplies including ensuring adequate supplies of general laboratory items. Assisting with the receipt and storage of stock coming into the department.

Participation in, review and evaluation of personal learning and training activities via the Personal Development Review process

Compliance with Trust policies and national legislation regarding confidentiality of patient information, the Data Protection Act 1998 and Health and safety law.

Working flexibly to undertake any other duties commensurate with the grade as required.

Participating in Joint Annual Personal Development Review with line Managers.