Central Specimen Reception Supervisor
Barts Health is one of the largest NHS trusts in the country, and one of Britain’s leading healthcare providers.
The Barts Health group of NHS hospitals is entering an exciting new era on our improvement journey to becoming an outstanding organisation with a world-class clinical reputation. Having lifted ourselves out of special measures, we now have the impetus and breathing space to chart a fresh course in which we are continually striving to improve all our services for patients.
Our vision is to be a high-performing group of NHS hospitals, renowned for excellence and innovation, and providing safe and compassionate care to our patients in east London and beyond. That means being a provider of excellent patient safety, known for delivering consistently high standards of harm-free care and always caring for patients in the right place at the right time.It also means being an outstanding place to work, in which our WeCare values and behaviours are visible to all and guide us in how we work together.
Barts Health supports the Pregnancy Loss Pledge and commits to supporting their staff through the distress of miscarriage.
Job overview
We are looking for a Band 4 Supervisor for the Central Specimen Reception Department to organise, oversee and supervise the work of a team of Medical Laboratory Assistants.
The department provides a 24/7 service, and the successful candidate will be required to participate in the shift system to cover early, late, weekend and bank holiday rosters. Some night duties may also be required. This position will be based at Royal London Hospital, but cross site working will be required, and the successful applicant may be required to work at any of our NHS Pathology Partnership sites.
The laboratories are UKAS and HCPC accredited. Our commitment to supporting continuing professional development is evidenced by an excellent training record.
**We reserve the right to close this vacancy prior to the advertised closing date, once a sufficient number of applications has been received and we regret that we are unable to provide notification if your application is unsuccessful.
Main duties of the job
The duties will be varied, but we need a person who can work accurately when under pressure to meet deadlines. The successful candidate will have effective communication and customer care skills, excellent IT and keyboard skills.
The successful candidate will have proven experience of working in a busy and demanding environment with the ability to plan and organise the workload of a team to meet tight deadlines, ensuring the departmental rotas and staffing levels are reviewed regularly.
The successful candidate will be expected to deal with issues that occur in reception, to troubleshoot in the first instance and know how and when to escalate issues appropriately.
The successful candidate will play an active role in ensuring reception staff are compliant and up to date with their training, competencies and appraisals.
Working for our organisation
The NHS East and South East London Pathology Partnership is an arms-length organisation providing pathology services to Barts Health NHS Trust, Homerton University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust. The Pathology Partnership is hosted by Barts Health.
The Pathology Partnership is based on well-established models for pathology networks, with the Royal London Hospital becoming the main hub laboratory for the network and Essential Service Laboratories (ESL) as a minimum at all other Hospital sites.
Pathology is made up of the following services - Blood Sciences including Haematology, Blood Transfusion and Biochemistry; Infectious Diseases including Microbiology and Virology; Cellular Pathology including Histopathology, non-gynae Cytology and mortuary services; Immunology; Cytogenetics and Molecular Haematology; Immunophenotyping; Clinical Transplantation and Retinoblastoma.
The 2020/21 total operating costs across the Partnership were c. £126m per annum with a workforce establishment of circa. 822 WTE. We strive to live by our WeCare values and are committed to promoting inclusion, where every staff member has a sense of belonging.We value our differences and fully advocate, cultivate and support an inclusive working environment.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
The requirements for this position are English, Maths, IT and Science GCSE’s at A-C Level. Previous NHS experience is advantageous. The ability to work with minimal supervision, to be able to work under pressure and meet tight deadlines is essential.
The full job description provides an overview of the key tasks and responsibilities of the role, and the person specification outlines the qualifications, skills, experience, and knowledge required. For both documents, please view the attachment/s below.
We are dedicated to being an outstanding place to work and will work with you to get the best experience. We know flexible working is not a one size fits all and will mean something different to everyone. We are inclusive, so if you are interested in flexible working, please speak to the recruiting ma
Applications from job seekers who require sponsorship to work in the UK are advised that the minimum salary threshold must be met, therefore sponsorship cannot be guaranteed due to government guidelines. For further information visit https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/uk-visas-and-immigration
Person specification
Experience
Essential criteria- Experience with a computerised laboratory information system
- At least 1 year in a supervisory capacity, including staff training
- Experience of problem solving and implementing change
- Previous 1 year NHS experience
Knowledge
Essential criteria- Understanding of Health & Safety implications relevant to Pathology Reception areas and specimens.
- Awareness of Patient & staff confidentiality.
Qualifications
Essential criteria- GCSE A-C in English, Maths, IT and Science
- A level Qualifications
Skills
Essential criteria- Proficient in computer skills, including knowledge of Microsoft Word, Excel Proficient in using PAS, CRS, LIMS
- Able to communicate clearly, both verbally and in writing,
- Ability to oversee and supervise work of others.
- Ability to organise workload of self and department to respond to service needs.
- Able to work as part of a team.
Other
Essential criteria- Ability to work under pressure & remain calm in a busy environment.
- Ability to deal with patients in a sensitive manner.
- Pleasant & helpful approach to staff.
- Respects confidentiality
- Excellent interpersonal skills.
- Adaptable and flexible
- Reliable, responsible, organised person.
We aim to create an equitable working environment where every individual can fulfil their potential.
As an Equal Opportunities Employer we actively support applications from individuals’ who apply under the Guaranteed Interview Scheme and will process your application as appropriate.
We reserve the right to expire vacancies prior to the advertised closing date once a sufficient number of applications has been received and we regret that we are unable to provide notification if your application is unsuccessful.
After applying via NHS Jobs, your submitted application will be imported into our preferred Third party recruitment system. All subsequent information regarding your application will be generated from apps.trac.jobs.
By applying for this post you are agreeing to Barts Heath NHS Trust transferring the information contained in this application to its preferred applicant management system. If you are offered a job, information will also be transferred into the national NHS Electronic Staff Records system.
Barts Health is committed to safeguarding the welfare of children and to child protection. The Trust aims to ensure as far as is possible that anyone, paid or unpaid, who seeks to work in our organisation and who gains access to children, is safe to do so.As such, you may be required to undertake a Disclosure and Barring Check as part of the recruitment process if appointed to a post with direct access to children or vulnerable adults.