Medical Laboratory Assistant - NHS - ref. k95333123
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
This position is to work as a Medical Laboratory Assistant in the Haematology & Blood Transfusion Department at Whiston Hospital.The post holder is required to follow standard operating procedures and follow health & safety guidelines to protect themselves and colleagues at all times. The role involves the handling of blood and body fluids from receipt in the laboratory to their safe storage following analysis.
Strict adherence to policy to maintain patient sample identity throughout sample handling is required, and all data must be accurately entered into the Laboratory information System. MLA’s will operate analysers and carry out non-complex tests.
They will assist Biomedical Scientists in the course of their duties assigned to Haematology and Transfusion and will rotate through all sections in that discipline and Specimen Reception. Strict patient confidentiality must also be maintained.
The role will involve working in a busy laboratory and working alongside Biomedical Scientists to ensure the timely turnaround of results. The department runs a continuous service providing 24-hour coverage to a busy Hospital Trust.
Main duties of the job- Checking patient identification details and numbering of samples for analysis.
- Making reference on request form to any missing samples.
- Returning pods to wards.
- Delivering samples to the appropriate department.
- Receiving visitors to pathology and informing relevant member of staff.
- Receiving deliveries, notifying the correct department at arrival of each delivery.
- Assist in the cleaning and disinfecting of work areas and equipment.
- Disposal of waste.
Working for our organisation
Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust serves a population of over 600,000 with a workforce of over 9000 dedicated and skilled staff across 21 sites.
We strongly believe that the communities we serve should all have access to Five Star Patient Care.
Our services:
Acute Care
Providing emergency and maternity services at Whiston, Southport and Ormskirk hospitals, and medical and surgical specialties across all our sites.
Primary Care
Providing primary care services at Marshalls Cross Medical Centre situated in St Helens Hospital.
Community Services
Providing adult community services for St Helens and a wheelchair service in Chorley, South Ribble, and West Lancashire. Our inpatient unit at Newton Community Hospital is where patients needing acute hospital beds can continue rehabilitation, freeing up space for more unwell patients.We also provide urgent care at our Urgent Treatment Centre located in St Helens town centre.
Specialist Regional Services
We provide the Mersey Regional Burns & Plastic Surgery Unit at Whiston Hospital and the Spinal Injuries Unit at Southport Hospital to more than 4 million people across the whole of Merseyside, West Lancashire, Cheshire, Isle of Man and North Wales.
Achievements:
- Rated Outstanding by CQC Inspection August 2018
- Top 100 places to work in the NHS (NHS Employers & Health Service Journal)
- National Preceptorship Accreditation (2023) for Nursing & AHP Preceptorship Programme
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
KEY DUTIES
SPECIMAN RECEPTION- Checking patient identification details and numbering of samples for analysis.
- Making reference on request form to any missing samples.
- Returning pods to wards.
- Delivering samples to the appropriate department.
- Receiving visitors to pathology and informing relevant member of staff.
- Receiving deliveries, notifying the correct department at arrival of each delivery.
- Assist in the cleaning and disinfecting of work areas and equipment.
- Disposal of waste.
- To follow the standard operating procedures (SOPs).
- To undertake routine operative maintenance on laboratory instruments, change reagents and log actions.
- To prepare reagents required for laboratory investigations.
- To report any instance or event to BMS staff which may cause a service delivery failure.
- Perform analysis of specified diagnostic tests under indirect qualified supervision.
- Filing of completed samples and request forms for storage.
- Monitor and record fridge temperatures daily at Whiston Hospital and weekly at St Helens and Fairfield Return unused blood to stock and replace emergency O Neg stock in satellite fridges on both sites as required.
- During sample preparation visual examination of samples such as underfilled, haemolysed, lipaemic, must be recorded as directed by departmental SOP’s.
- To load, sample and remove samples from main line analysers.
- To perform routine quality control on the analysers, reporting any out-of-range results to qualified staff.
- To assist in clinical audits, trials and research projects as directed by departmental management.
- Enter specimen and patient details into the pathology computer according to departmental SOP’s. Check and correct, if necessary, information input by other laboratory staff.
- To comply with the local and national policies for safe, secure and confidential processing and storage of patient and other laboratory information.
- To use the Pathology Computer Systems according to the SOP’s.
- To enter their own results and those obtained by others into Telepath.
- To maintain the integrity and accuracy of laboratory databases.
- To use Trust wide I.T. systems as appropriate following trust polices, guidelines and procedures.
- To participate in sample receipt and checking previous computer record.
- Preparation of outstanding lists from the Laboratory Information System and locating appropriate samples, ensuring correct labelling of samples.
- To ensure that records are kept up to date and stored safely to ensure compliance with good work practices required for the standards of UKAS ISO15189.
- To comply with good laboratory practices required for the standards of UKAS ISO15189 including Health and Safety.
- To undertake work file management to ensure that reporting of results are carried out in a timely fashion.
- To advise the Senior Biomedical Scientists when stocks of reagents and consumables are approaching minimum stock levels.
- To telephone patient results to clinical users following appropriate policies and procedures.
- To contact service users in case of any problems with received samples.
- To communicate any relevant information to laboratory colleagues within the section.
- To actively participate in team meetings and to inform effectively at hand over.
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria- Basic typing qualifications or NVQ 2 in Health Sciences and/or equivalent experience
- Educated to GCSE level or equivalent qualification and/or equivalent experience
Knowlledge & Experience
Essential criteria- Understanding of a working laboratory
- Laboratory/Pathology experience
Skills
Essential criteria- Basic computer skills
- Good interpersonal & communication skills
- Well organized
- Wiling to work flexibly
- Willing & able to learn new skills
- Team working skills
- Ability to use own initiative
- Good telephone manner
- Ability to work with minimum supervision
Other
Essential criteria- Personable, friendly demeanor
Thank you for considering an application to work for Mersey West Lancashire NHS Trust. MWL is 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 actively cultivate a professional environment of fairness, equality, dignity, and respect for all individuals. We welcome individuals from all backgrounds and value the unique skills, perspective and experience you bring. We are grounded in the belief that diversity enhances our collective strength, fostering innovation and excellence within our workforce.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).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years.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
Staff recognition is especially important to us; as well as performance reviews and appraisals, we recognise staff through Employee of the month. Along with supporting you to achieve your career goals we offer a generous pension scheme, unsocial hours payments (where applicable), 27 days annual leave on commencement (pro rata) and access to a range of NHS discounts.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.