[ref. g37668004] Trainee Renal Technologist
Guy’s and St Thomas’ is among the UK’s busiest and most successful NHS foundation trusts. We provide a full range of hospital and community services for people in south London and as well as specialist care for patients from further afield including cancer, renal, orthopaedic, respiratory and cardiovascular services.
Guy’s is home to the largest dental school in Europe and a £160 million Cancer Centre opened in 2016. As part of our commitment to provide care closer to home, in 2017 we also opened a cancer centre and a kidney treatment centre at Queen Mary’s Hospital in Sidcup.St Thomas’ has one of the largest critical care units in the UK and one of the busiest emergency departments in London. It is also home to Evelina London Children’s Hospital.
Evelina London cares for local children in Lambeth and Southwark and provides specialist services across south east England including cardiac, renal and critical care services. We lead a number of specialist service networks aiming to ensure children are treated locally where possible, but have access to specialist expertise when they need it.Our community services include health visiting, school nursing and support for families of children with long-term conditions.
Our adult community services teams deliver care at the heart of the local communities we serve, working in partnership with GPs, local authorities and other healthcare and voluntary sector organisations. Working with our partners in Lambeth and Southwark, we are focusing on new ways of working to improve care for local patients.
In February 2021 the Royal Brompton and Harefield joined Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, bringing together world-leading expertise in the care and research of heart and lung disease. Our merger provides a once in a generation opportunity to build a lasting, world-renowned heart and lung centre, providing the highest quality care for patients and conducting world-leading research.
We have a reputation for clinical excellence and high quality teaching and research. We are part of King’s Health Partners, one of eight accredited UK academic health sciences centres. In partnership with King’s College London we have dedicated clinical research facilities including an MHRA accredited Phase I clinical trials unit.
Patients are at the heart of everything we do and we pride ourselves on ensuring the best possible patient experience as well as safe, high quality care. We are proud to have one of the lowest mortality rates in the NHS. Following a comprehensive Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspection in 2019 we maintained our overall rating of ‘good’.Our adult community services achieved a rating of ‘outstanding’.
The commitment of our 23,500 staff is key to our success. We are one of the largest local employers and we aim to develop and support all our staff so they are able to deliver high quality, safe and efficient care. The 2019 NHS staff survey results show that we have one of the most engaged and motivated workforces in the NHS.We know this has a positive impact on the care provided to our patients.
We have one of the most ambitious capital investment programmes anywhere in the NHS.
Job overview
We are Guys and St Thomas's renal technology department. We are seeking an enthusiastic person to join our team of qualified renal technicians. Our department is responsible for maintaining dialysis machines and water purification plants which together form an essential life sustaining therapy for our dialysis patients.We provide a high-quality support service which is appreciated by our end users. This role offers a wide range of challenges as well as varied locations.
You will need to be self-motivated with practical skills and be an inquisitive problem solver. We have sites across London and the South East of England. Overtime will occasionally be available at weekends and you will be enrolled in the highly regarded NHS pension scheme.
The work is varied in nature and when qualified in return can therefore offer a flexible working arrangement to the successful applicant. Our work is carried out over a wide geographical area and therefore you will need to have a full clean UK drivers licence.
For this position, as a trainee technician under NHS annex 21 scheme will allow you to be fully trained over time until you qualify as a renal technologist. At this time, you will be eligible to join the Register of Clinical Technologists. Ongoing support will always be available from our experienced team and our managers to ensure you are a successful technician working to the highest standards and you will be encouraged to follow our policy of continuous professional development.
Main duties of the job
Applicants will have a degree or equivalent qualifications in electronic engineering , working as part of the technical team the main duties of the role would be to repair and service dialysis machines, water plant and associated equipment, Due to the nature and size of the service you will require a full driving licence.
Working for our organisation
We are a small team supporting a busy renal department working for a leading London NHS Hospital Trust. The department currently supports 7 renal satellite units, including a unit on Guernsey, we have an active and expanding home haemodialysis patient population across the South East.We currently look after 200+ haemodialysis machines which support over 800 patients receiving haemodialysis treatment.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
General Technical Duties and Responsibilities of the Trainee
To develop the skills, knowledge and understanding under the supervision of the renal technician role.
Actively pursue the Association of Renal Technologists training scheme, sitting the exam and obtaining the certificate in Renal Technology within a reasonable timescale.
Completing the Bradford university short course in Renal Technology, within a reasonable timescale
To participate in equipment training offered by manufacturers of our equipment as part of the on-going training programme.
To participate in staff, patient, technician training, and development courses, as part of the on-going training programme
To complete any workshop competencies and have them signed off by the Technical Manager or Deputy Technical Manager.
To gain the skills and knowledge of the role in order to carry out repair and planned preventative maintenance on all dialysis equipment, including dialysis machines, chairs, home pre-treatment equipment and clinic water plant.
To gain the knowledge to keep reporting system up to date.
To gain the knowledge and skills to participate in water sampling and water filter changing across the trust dialysis units for quality control purposes.
Under the supervision of the Deputy Technical Manager or other suitably qualified staff, to assist with the installation and removal of Dialysis equipment into specific areas such as the Satellite Units and the homes of Renal Patients.
To assist with storage, ordering and maintenance of stock levels for spare parts.
To comply with and implement all policies and procedures currently in use within the Renal Unit.
To communicate and liaise effectively with patients and the multidisciplinary team.
To carryout, any duties that may be considered appropriate to the running of the department.
To gain the expertise of fault diagnosis over the telephone to a standard where the post holder can carry out on- call duties.
Person specification
knowledge/Qualification
Essential criteria- degree or equivalent qualifications in electronic engineering
Previous experience
Essential criteria- Experience of servicing and repair of equipment to manufacturer’s standards
- Be able to use computers to aid machine servicing and to record technical data.
- Have a knowledge of fault finding and be able to diagnose problems to component level, interpreting fluid flow circuit diagrams on a wide range of equipment.
- Experience of working in a hospital environment
- Must be able to understand the needs of a busy working environment and be able to prioritise workload. Familiarity with one or more equipment/service databases
- Knowledge of NHS procurement systems, Microsoft Outlook, XL worksheets and Power Point
- experience of working in a renal dialysis department
Skills/Abilities
Essential criteria- Have good oral and written communication skills.
- Able to work effectively as part of a multi-disciplinary team.
- Understand and respect patient confidentiality.
- Full clean UK drivers licence
- Able to work effectively as part of a multi-disciplinary team.
- Use of own car for work
Guy’s and St Thomas’ celebrates, respects and values the diversity of its staff and patients. We review our policies, procedures and practices to ensure that all employees, patients and carers are treated equitable according to their needs. We are actively committed to ensuring that no one who applies for a job, works or study’s at the Trust, or accesses our services is discriminated against on the grounds of race, ethnicity, nationality, disability, religion or belief, age, gender identity , gender reassignment, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity/paternity, or marital/civil partnership.
Applications are welcomed from applicants with a disability. We can make reasonable adjustments and offer support and advice in a variety of ways throughout the application process. Equality of opportunity is our policy.
As an organisation we are committed to developing our services in ways that best suit the needs of our patients. This means that some staff groups will increasingly be asked to work a more flexible shift pattern so that we can offer services in the evenings or at weekends.
Flexible working
We are committed to supporting all employees to achieve a healthy work life balance and to work in a way that is best for them and our patients. We will consider all requests to work flexibly, taking in to account the individual’s personal circumstances as well the needs of the service.We encourage all prospective applicants to discuss their individual circumstances with the recruiting manager as part of the on-boarding process.
Your e-mail address is important to us - We communicate to all job applicants via the e-mail address which has been provided on the application form. Please ensure that you check your e-mail on a regular basis.
Please apply for this post by clicking "Apply Online Now."