Senior Biomedical Scientist-Microbiology NHS AfC: Band 7

Job overview

Applications are invited from state registered Biomedical Scientists who hold FIBMS or equivalent MSc or working towards this and have or are prepared to work towards an appropriate management qualification.

Working closely with the Operational Lead and the Microbiology team you must have the ability to organise and motivate staff and possess excellent communication and interpersonal skills as well as proven technical and operational experience.

The successful candidate will be responsible for the day to day running of a section of the department and will have experience of managing quality systems including UKAS as well as deputising for the operational lead in their absence.

Microbiology processes approximately 550,000 requests each year 24/7 rota in operation since Oct 2014.

Main duties of the job

The Microbiology Section lead will provide leadership professionally, technically and managerially to ensure completion of the day to day work of the department. The Microbiology department operates a full 24/7 shift and the Senior BMS (Section Lead) will be expected to participate in this as required.

The role fits into the Pathology team as shown below:

• Pathology Services Manage
• Microbiology Service Lead
• Microbiology Operational Lead
• Microbiology Section Lead
• Specialist BMS, BMS
• Trainee BMS, Associate Practitioners, MLA, Support Workers

Working for our organisation

St Helens and Knowsley Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust is the only acute Trust in Cheshire and Merseyside, and one of the few in the entire country, to achieve the title of OUTSTANDING, rated by the Care Quality Commission.

We provide a full range of acute adult services to our local population of circa 360,000 and provide tertiary services across a much wider area in the North West, North Wales and Isle of Man. We are a Major Trauma Unit and the Mersey Regional Burns Unit.

Our ’5 Star Patient Care’ strategy is at the heart of all that we do; supporting our vision to provide world class services for all our patients by getting it right for every patient, every time.

Our latest achievements include:

• Acute Trust of the Year – HSJ Awards November 2019
• Trust rates Outstanding by the CQC – Inspection August 2018
• Top 100 places to work in the NHS (NHS Employers and Health Service Journal)
• Best acute Trust in the North West for quality of care (NHS Staff Survey 2021)
• Best place to work in the North West (NHS Staff Survey 2021)

In the NHS Staff Survey 2021 the Trust scored the highest marks in the North West for the following areas;

• Standard of care
• Best place to work
• Care of patients being the Trust’s priority
• Staff engagement
• Staff morale
• Compassionate and inclusive
• Providing a safe environment for staff

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

KEY DUTIES

Service Delivery

• Ensure any failures in: service delivery, equipment and diagnostic procedures are dealt with appropriately, implementing any immediate corrective actions that are required to maintain the service of the section/department. Allowing timely corrective actions to be taken and documented in incident/equipment log and to notify appropriate departmental medical and technical staff.
• Inform the Microbiology Operational Lead of any event which may cause a service delivery failure.
• Responsible for the quality of work and results, effective operation and general tidiness of the Microbiology Laboratory.
• Ensure stocks of reagents and consumables are maintained at satisfactory levels, ordering consumables as required, checking delivery and acting on any anomalies.
• Manage and provide an Andrology Service that meets the requirements of the service users under the direction of Clinical Lead of Microbiology Services.
• Assess the suitability and appropriateness of samples submitted to the laboratory, according to laboratory protocols, and take remedial action when required.
• Ensure urgent samples are identified and processed in a timely manner and results reported to clinicians and referred to Microbiology Medical staff, according to laboratory protocols.
• Undertake manual, semi-automated and fully automated laboratory investigations on a rotational basis as a team leader in all sections within the department as required.
• Ensure that equipment is used in accordance with departmental SOPs and supplier’s instructions.
• Undertake routine and more complex maintenance procedures on instruments within the department and ensure maintenance records are completed.
• Record instrumentation errors and discrepancies and take corrective action notifying the Microbiology Operational Lead, if required.
• Undertake technical validation of the complex results from laboratory investigations ensuring accuracy and precision as specified by laboratory protocols.
• Carry out corrective action when the quality control procedures indicate loss of performance and inform the Microbiology Operational Lead, if required.
• Ensure that data from non-analytical equipment e.g. incubator temperatures, fridge and freezer temperatures etc. are being monitored and recorded so that any errors can be dealt with appropriately.
• Actively involved in the development, evaluation and assessment of new technologies, procedures and equipment reporting your findings to Microbiology Lead as appropriate.
• Actively involved with any procurement of equipment to ensure that the service continues to develop and improve.
• Introduction and setting up of new equipment for others to use, arranging regular training programmes in cooperation with the Microbiology Operational Lead.
• Attend departmental senior staff meetings in order to keep abreast of operational changes designed to optimise service delivery.
• Attend departmental senior staff meetings in order to bring own knowledge and experience to bear in informing and formulating service improvements and/or possible solutions.
• Participate in the routine work of any section of the department as required

Diagnostics

• High degree of manual dexterity and hand-eye co-ordination where accuracy is important is required for:
• Processing microbiological specimens and cultures.
• Examining bacterial cultures and performing antibiotic susceptibility tests.
• Performing and reading diagnostic tests including biochemical, serological and molecular testing to aid in identification of pathogenic organisms.
• Microscopy: reporting Gram films, Cerebral Spinal Fluid and Urines (presence of infection indicators, bacteria and cells), Faeces (presence of parasites), and Andrology specimens (presence and grading of spermatozoa according to World Health Organisation guidelines).
• Operation of semi-automated and fully automated equipment and the Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS).
• Highly developed interpretative skills are required to evaluate diagnostic laboratory tests and to determine accurately the clinical significance of laboratory results and take appropriate actions:
• Interpret and report microbiological culture and test results.
• Validation and authorisation of results from Medics authorisation que
• Phoning positive blood cultures etc.
• Adding technical comments.
• Making decisions for further testing.
• Answering incoming calls to the medic’s lines.
• Informing the requestor/medical staff of clinically significant results so appropriate action may be taken, according to laboratory protocols.
• Communicate patient results by telephone, according to laboratory protocols.
• Ensure that the given details on request forms and specimens match, and that they conform to the laboratory minimum data set requirements.
• Determine that the specimen submitted is appropriate for the analysis requested; that it has been stored and transported correctly and that it has been received within an acceptable time frame.
• Code requests to facilitate the booking of the investigation onto the laboratory computer system and to determine the correct processing pathway for each request.
• Prepare bacterial and fungal cultures onto appropriate culture media and in appropriate incubation conditions to isolate likely pathogens from clinical specimens. These options are informed by the specimen type and clinical details supplied by the service user. They are usually determined by SOP, but are sometimes partially determined by the knowledge and experience of the BMS.
• Perform microscopical analysis of specimen preparations in order to gain evidence of disease processes present. To prepare and stain films by appropriate means and to examine the preparation using a microscope.
• Interpret the growth on bacterial culture plates, using knowledge and experience, in order to differentiate and isolate likely pathogenic species from likely commensal organisms within a particular patient context.
• Identify bacteria to an appropriate level, using skills borne of experience and methods chosen as a result of operator knowledge and experience.
• Perform appropriate antimicrobial sensitivity tests on pathogenic bacteria.
• Perform antibiotic assays on patient blood samples in circumstances where adequate dosage must be confirmed or where the patient could possibly suffer toxic side effects.
• Perform serological analysis of patient samples for evidence of infectious disease.
• Provide advice and guidance for BMS staff regarding appropriate procedures for dealing with more complex or rarely encountered requests, findings or isolates

Out of hours working 24/7

• Demonstrate competencies in all areas associated with providing a service out of hours, working as an autonomous practitioner, also dealing with queries from medical and other staff.
• Calibrate and ensure valid quality control of all analysers employed out of hours.
• Initiate re-analysis, dilution, reflex tests and validation of abnormal results.
• Report all appropriate results to clinical staff on the
• Act as the first point of contact for service users out of hours. To advise service users about appropriate use of the laboratory service. To act as a liaison between service users, pathology consultants and other laboratory personnel as appropriate

Policies and Procedures

• Write, implement and manage Microbiology Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), updating them annually and ensuring that SOPs are adhered to at all times.
• Assist in the formulation and documentation of departmental policies and procedures.
• Implement and comply with, all established Trust and Departmental policies and to ensure compliance with all current legislation and DoH guidelines.
• Ensure compliance with all Trust and Departmental policies and procedure