Microbiology Specialist Biomedical Scientist

By applying for this post you are agreeing to "name of trust" transferring the information contained in this application to its preferred applicant management system. If you are appointed to a post information will also be transferred into the national NHS Electronic Staff Records system.

Job overview

Applications are invited from HPC Registered Biomedical Scientists with significant post registration experience in Microbiology for the above post.

For this post we require an enthusiastic and motivated individual to work in our busy, well-equipped, UKAS accredited laboratory.

The post is based at Whiston Hospital and there is a requirement for full participation in the out of hours system.

The Department processes over 700,000 requests each year in a modern well equipped department.

Whiston Hospital is well situated close to the M62 and M57 motorways with good access to both Liverpool and Manchester.

Interview Date - Week commencing 24th February 2025

Main duties of the job

Those who satisfy competency assessments may work as an autonomous practitioner to provide a 24-hour pathology service for the Trust. The successful applicant will be expected to take a full part in any out of hours service agreed by the Trust.

Specialist BMSs carry out analyses on blood, body fluids, tissues and cells to determine the presence or absence of disease; this enables diagnosis, prognosis and monitoring of the effectiveness of treatment. Biomedical Scientists also carry out population screening for inherited or malignant disorders.

Working for our organisation

Mersey and West Lancashire 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 and children 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 England for quality of care for the 3^rd year running (NHS Staff Survey)

• Quality of care
• Staff engagement
• Support from managers

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

KEY DUTIES

The following duties will be performed after supervised training with a registered Biomedical Scientist. All duties must be performed and comply with agreed departmental policies and procedures.

• Undertake manual, semi-automated and fully automated laboratory investigations on a rotational basis through all sections within the department as required.
• Follow the standard operating procedures (SOPs) and participate in the regular review and update of SOPs.
• Ensure that equipment is used in accordance with Departmental policies and suppliers instructions.
• Undertake routine and more complex maintenance on laboratory instruments, carry out appropriate internal maintenance procedures and maintain maintenance records.
• Plan and organise a workload which can be varied and complex. This involves completion of on-going work, together with new work, which can be interspersed with urgent specimens. These activities are required to meet the demands of the department
• Undertake technical validation of the complex results from laboratory investigations ensuring accuracy and precision as specified by laboratory protocols.
• Measure and monitor the accuracy and precision of laboratory investigations using appropriate quality control procedures.
• Carry out corrective action or inform senior staff when the quality control procedures indicate loss of performance.
• Prepare reagents required for analysers and manual laboratory investigations and to record reagent batch numbers and maintain a reagent audit trail.
• Report any instance or event which may cause a service delivery failure to the Senior Biomedical Scientists.
• Record and monitor data from non-analytical equipment e.g. water purity from water systems, decontamination records for centrifuges, fridge and freezer temperatures etc.

• Undertake method and laboratory instrument evaluation as directed by senior laboratory staff.
• Take appropriate action should the quality assurance systems be outside acceptable limits.
• Perform External Quality Control and be aware of the external QC performance for the section.
• Carry out the agreed internal quality control procedures associated with any specific procedure.
• Perform internal quality control checks, as directed by a senior member of staff, on work performed elsewhere within the laboratory.

Diagnostic

Use interpretative skills to determine accurately the clinical significance of results of laboratory tests, for example, by:

• Preparing, examining and reporting of specimens which require highly developed physical skills requiring a high degree of hand/eye co-ordination.
• Performing molecular diagnostic tests
• Microscopy: reporting Gram films (presence of bacteria and cells), Cerebro Spinal Fluid and Urines (presence of infection indicators), Faeces (presence of parasites)

• Authorisation of results
• Adding technical comments
• Making decisions for further testing
• Referring results for a second opinion
• Informing the requestor/medical staff of clinically significant results so appropriate action may be taken.

• Communicate results verbally to persons authorised to receive them in a clear and concise manner following appropriate policies and procedures.
• Provide advice and information to laboratory, ward, GP staff and patients regarding samples and sample handling including information on appropriate tests and collection conditions for in-house, referred and infrequently requested tests.
• Deal with result queries where information may be conflicting and difficult to understand.
• Book patients for Infertility investigations, requiring tact and sensitivity.
• Communicate any relevant information to laboratory colleagues within the section and inform effectively at hand over.
• Actively participate in departmental meetings, team briefings, educational and audit meetings as appropriate.
• Bring to the attention of Microbiology Consultant staff any result or finding that, either according to relevant SOPs or according to the experience and judgment of the BMS, may require urgent clinical intervention.
• Bring to the attention of Infection Control staff any results or findings that may require their specialist input, according to relevant SOPs or according to the experience and judgment of the BMS.

• Maintain appropriate stock levels within the section following appropriate policies and procedures under the direction of the section leader.
• Ensure that equipment is used in accordance with departmental policies and supplier’s instructions and is maintained correctly. Notify equipment/general building fitting failures to the appropriate senior member of staff.
• Take appropriate action if there is a spillage of body fluids or hazardous chemicals in order to minimise the risk to staff and public.
• All staff have a responsibility to report any risks, clinical and non-clinical accidents and incidents/potential incidents promptly and to co-operate with any investigations undertaken.
• Understand and be aware of and act in accordance with all appropriate National and Trust Health & Safety policies, COSHH regulations and should be aware of the trained first aiders within the department.
• Observe the immunisation policy of the Laboratory/Trust.

• Maintain Registration with Health Care Professions Council. (HCPC).
• Adhere to the codes of conduct expected by the HCPC and the Institute of Biomedical Sciences.
• Demonstrate competency in order to work autonomously on a 24/7 pattern and maintain expertise necessary to carry out specialised procedures during rotation through the laboratory.
• Keep the workplace and work benches clean and tidy.
• Maintain good working relations with all members or staff and to promote effective teamwork.
• Maintain and promote the professional image of the Pathology, STHK and SOHT.
• Maintain an up to date and current continuing professional development (CPD) portfolio and to maintain knowledge of professional and scientific advances and developments providing suggestions for implementation as appropriate.
• Attend educational and training courses either for personal development or as required by the department.

• Comply with the local and national policies for safe, secure and confidential processing and storage of patient and other laboratory information.
• Use the Pathology Computer Systems according to the authorised protocols.
• Enter own results and those obtained by others into the Pathology Computer System.
• Check and correct if necessary, information input by other laboratory staff.
• Maintain the integrity and accuracy of laboratory databases.
• Use Trust wide IT systems as appropriate following trust policies, guidelines and procedures.
• Assist in the audit of data held on the pathology laboratory information system.
• Ensure that records are kept up to date and stored safely to ensure compliance with good work practices required for the standards of UKAS ISO:15189
• Comply with good laboratory practices required for the standards of UKAS ISO:15189 including Health and Safety.
• Undertake work file management to ensure that reporting of results are carried out in a timely fashion.

• Assist the Senior Biomedical Scientists with training, development and competence assessment of trainee Biomedical Scientists, Medical Laboratory Assistants and locum staff.
• Assist the Senior Biomedical Scientists with the training of Junior Microbiology Medical staff in Microbiological techniques.
• Assist the Senior Biomedical Scientists with the supervision of Medical Laboratory Assistants and Trainee Biomedical Scientists.
• Act as mentors for Trainee Biomedical Scientists.
• Occasionally, act as a delegate to external educational events and then to present at a Microbiology Educational Meeting.

• Participate in clinical and non-clinical audit, trials, research and development as directed by departmental management.
• Participate in internal and external safety audits as appropriate.

Please see the attached job description and person specification for further details.

Person specification

Qualifications

• Registration with Health Care Professions Council (HCPC)
• A recognised Biomedical Science degree or equivalent with honours which is acceptable to the HCPC
• PgD Biomedical Sciences or equivalent experience

• Membership of the Institute of Biomedical Science
• Completed IBMS Specialist Portfolio

Knowledge & Experience

• Detailed working knowledge of laboratory information and management computer systems and standard IT packages eg word processing and spreadsheets
• Sufficient number of years post qualification experience
• Understands theoretical and practical laboratory procedures
• Ability to organise own workload and that of junior staff
• Evidence of CPD
• Ability to work within all areas of the department
• Exhibit competency to work alone out of core hours

Skills

• Problem solving skills
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills
• Good organisational skills
• Ability to work flexibly
• Ability to work with minimal supervision
• Willing and able to learn new skills
• Ability to use initiative
• Highly developed technical skills
• Understands quality control procedures
• Ability to work alone to provide 24/7 cover

• Presentation skills

Thank you for considering an application to work for Mersey West Lancashire NHS Trust. You are part of an exciting and forward-thinking NHS Trust who are one of the best places to work for in England.

Given sometimes we receive a high volume of applications to work for us, please be aware, that we may close a vacancy earlier than stated should a sufficient number of applications be received from which a shortlist can be confirmed. Therefore, you are advised to apply at your earliest convenience.

The Trust may contact you during the recruitment process for your feedback on your experience. We always aim for continuous improvement in our practice.

Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion

We welcome all applications irrespective of people’s race, disability, gender, sexual orientation, religion/belief, age, gender identity, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy/maternity and in particular those from under- represented groups.

As a Disability Confident Leader, we commit to offering an interview to all disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for the job (the essential criteria) listed in the personal specification. If you wish to apply under this Guaranteed Interview Scheme, please indicate this on the online application form.

If you are having difficulty completing an online application, or require any disability reasonable adjustments, to the application process, please contact [email protected]

We also commit to offering an interview to all armed forces veterans who meet the minimum criteria for the job (the essential criteria) listed in the personal specification. If you wish to apply under this Guaranteed Interview Scheme, please indicate this on the online application form.

The Trust operates anonymous shortlisting where no personal information about you, including your name or personal details are shared with the recruiting manager. No equality information is shared at any time during the recruitment process with the recruiting manager or other people involved in the decision-making process.

The equality monitoring information you provide is used in the following situations: to review our recruitment practices; where a job is limited to a specific person to verify their eligibility to apply; and to offer disability reasonable adjustments to the recruitment process.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

Following the recent update on UK immigration policy for those on a Health and Care Visa or Skilled Worker Visa, please click here to check your eligibility before applying for this post as we may be unable to provide sponsorship.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

If this post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 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.

Please note if applicable, applicants will be required to pay for their DBS check. Costs are deducted from salary following appointment.

If you have not already done so, you are therefore encouraged to enrol for the DBS Update Service to which a small annual fee of £13 per year applies.

Flexible Working

We actively support flexible working patterns throughout MWL. Changes made to the NHS Terms and Conditions of Service Handbook mean that:

• All employees have the right to request flexible working from day one of employment.
• There is no limit on the number of requests they can make.
• Employees have the right to make requests, have them considered, regardless of the reason.

At Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, we will consider requests for flexible working. We would also encourage you to also discuss flexible working options at interview stage.

Working for Team MWL

Our Staff Health and Wellbeing programme offer a variety of services.

The Trust is a non-smoking across all our sites. Failure to follow this rule could lead to disciplinary action. For more information, see the Smoke Free NHS website

You must ensure that your application, including personal statements and behaviour examples, are truthful and factually accurate. Please note plagiarism can include presenting the ideas and experience of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own.

The Trust will not accept applications which are found to be AI generated.

Additional Information

Before applying, we encourage you to review the Trusts Values and Behaviours which are We are KIND, We are OPEN, We are INCLUSIVE, which can be found here.

An applicant guide to help and support you with your application and what to expect during your recruitment journey can be accessed in the supporting documents.

Good luck with your application. We hope to welcome you to Team MWL very soon.