Medical Laboratory Assistant- Clinical Trials, Band 2

at  Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

The position available is a 12 month fixed term, part time 30 hours a week role.
Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust’s Pathology department are excited to be recruiting a new Medical Laboratory Assistant to Chemical Pathology with the primary role of supporting our Clinical Trials process which supports the Research and Innovation team.
This opportunities is a pivotal role within the Pathology department and the successful Medical laboratory Assistant’s play an active role in the support of the Clinical Biochemistry Department to support Clinical Trials specimen workloads received from the Research and Innovation team. Our laboratories provide analytical and clinical interpretive services to the health community in Gloucestershire, including all inpatients/outpatients in the Acute and community hospitals and all GP surgeries
As the Medical Laboratory Assistant, you will be supporting our team in partnership with the Research and Innovation Team to help with the evolving programme of national and global clinical trails programmes which we are involved with.
We are look for someone with a good level of basic education who is enthusiastic to work in an NHS laboratory. Whether it is a career change, or a desire to work in healthcare, we are interested in having you aboard.
If you’re looking to start your journey in Healthcare apply today for immediate consideration.
The proposed interview date for this vacancy is 12th September
You will help receipt a range of blood and other biological clinical trials samples which require preparation for either dispatch or short and long term storage.
The main focus of the role is to process receipted clinical trials specimens, recording both electronically and manually within paper logs the details with a high degree of accuracy. Ensuring barcoded labelling and sample transfer is achieved in a timely fashion as they arrive into the department.
There will be additional requirements to work on the urgent bench, where you will help support all routine and non-routine tasks required prior to sample analysis, including the setup and routine operation of complex pre and post analytical equipment.
Input request details accurately into the laboratory computer system.
To check sample type and volume to ensure all samples are suitable for the tests requested. Undertake routine maintenance and disinfection procedures.
Handle telephone enquiries.
Assist the Referral Test Manager & PA to Senior Scientific Staff with the daily specimen referral service.
The personal qualities we are looking for include;
Excellent communication skills.
Organised with attention to detail.
Able to follow procedure and instruction
Understands own limitations and is not afraid to ask for help when needed.
Flexible and able to demonstrate initiative.
Ability to work under pressure and meet deadlines.
Friendly and enthusiastic team player with good demonstrable interpersonal skills.
Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is the largest employer in the county and with over 8,000 staff, we are one of the largest NHS trusts in the UK. We offer a generous annual leave allowance, excellent bank rates, access to the excellent NHS Pension Scheme, discounts for local shops, restaurants and services, access to our health and well-being hub, access to our two on-site nurseries, flexible working options, discounted public transport, reward and recognition schemes, exercise and activity classes and membership to our popular hospital choir.
The Chemical Pathology Department provides a UKAS accredited analytical and clinical interpretive service to support over 600,000 individuals within the health community in Gloucestershire, including all inpatients/outpatients (in the acute and community hospitals) and all GP practices. We process over 900,000 patient requests (7 million tests) per annum and provide a 24 hrs per day 365 days per year service.
We are a hard working team focused on improving patient outcomes and delivering high quality and fast turnaround times for all patient test requests.

1) Technical Role

• To work within the Chemical Pathology laboratory to support scientific and clinical colleagues associated with the Research and Innovation team.
• Performing all routine and non-routine tasks required prior to sample analysis (to include; set up and routine operation of Roche 8100 and SRM, bar code labelling, centrifugation, aliquot preparation, measurement of timed urines etc) to ensure an efficient and accurate response to requests from service users.
• Undertake laboratory-based work such as the pre-analytical processing of clinical trial samples using various technologies.
• Undertake routine maintenance and disinfection procedures (e.g. centrifuges) to ensure the section operates safely and according to departmental protocols.
• Identify, file, archive and retrieve samples that require packing for transport to other sites as well as short- and long-term storage to ensure sample analysis can proceed within agreed time frames.
• To liaise directly with all service users to ensure there are no unnecessary delays within the results process and to provide information as requested.
• Help to maintain appropriate stocks of consumables and reagents within the department. Checking and ensuring correct storage of deliveries.
• Perform a limited range of analyses in the laboratory, ensuring qualified staff authorise the work.
• Perform clerical tasks including, monitoring and querying sample processing requests made by the clinical team, completing sample tracking logs, equipment maintenance logs, and other documentations appropriate for the role.
• To prepare reagents as required on a daily basis.
• Perform daily temperature checks on fridges & freezers
• To assist in the management of waste within the department.
• Ensure the quality of the analytical service is maintained to UKAS ISO 15189:2022 standards.

2) Clerical Role

• Input request details accurately into the laboratory computer system to ensure sample analysis can proceed within appropriate time frames.
• Handle telephone enquiries, passing on enquiries to senior staff as appropriate and giving out fully authorised results to medical/qualified nursing staff.
• Packing and posting specimens, reports and containers as required.

3) Miscellaneous Role

• To assist in the training and monitoring of new or less experienced Medical Laboratory Assistants and to act as a mentor when required.
• To be responsible for maintaining own personal portfolio ensuring appropriate competencies are maintained and are kept up to date.
• Participation in the duty rota to cover weekends and Bank Holidays will be required.
• Ensure Health and Safety (including Clinical Governance and Management of Risk) standards are maintained in order to create a safe environment for staff to work in.
• To comply with the Trust no smoking policy.
• To comply with all Trust policies including kindness and respect.
• To assist with the induction of new staff.
• To act as mentor for new Medical Laboratory Assistants.
• Perform general house-keeping duties including safe disposal of waste, general cleaning and tidying and laundry management
• Distribute request forms, sample bottles and other consumables to users.

4) IT Role
Information Governance
All staff have an individual responsibility for creating accurate records of their work and for making entries into and managing all NHS records effectively in line with the Health Record Keeping Policy and other Health Records and Corporate Records Management policies and procedures in order to meet the Trust’s legal, regulatory and accountability requirements.
All employees are subject to the requirements of the Data Protection Act and must maintain strict confidentiality in respect of patient’s and staff’s records.
Communications & Working Relationships

The post holder will be required to communicate face-to-face and by telephone, e-mail and in writing to a wide range of health professionals and non-health professionals, including but not exclusively;

• All members of the Chemical Pathology staff across both sites
• Members of other pathology departments
• Clinicians, GPs, Nurses and other hospital and primary care staff
• Patients
• Supplier representatives and engineers
• Participate in Annual Personal Development Review with line manager.
• All employees must comply with the Trust’s equality and diversity policies and must not discriminate, against individuals or groups on the basis of their age, disability, gender, marital status, membership or non-membership of a trade union, race, religion, domestic circumstances, sexual orientation, ethnic or national origin, social and employment status, HIV status, or people who are undergoing or have undergone gender re-assignment, marriage and civil partnership, Pregnancy and Maternity or any other grounds which cannot be shown to be justifiable.

Physical, Mental & Emotional Effort & Working Conditions

• Daily pressures and stresses of processing a high workload with frequent interruptions using sophisticated equipment to obtain accurate timely results.
• Requirement to work with absolute accuracy and speed during periods of prolonged concentration.
• Handle potentially infectious blood and body fluids, faeces etc with unpleasant smells/odours together with the risk associated in handling hazardous chemicals.
• Working on contaminated equipment or work areas.
• Potential of sharps injury.
• Working in hot conditions with protective clothing, coats, gloves and goggles.
• Constant background noise from equipment.
• Make frequent repetitive movements.
• Requirement for a considerable amount of manual dexterity in processing paediatric samples and maintaining equipment. Maintenance often involves use of delicate instruments whilst working on highly sensitive and complex analytical equipment where accuracy of setup is crucial to the delivery of correct results.
• Limited amount of lifting, bending but a considerable amount of standing.
• Frequent long periods of use of a VDU

1) Technical Role

• To work within the Chemical Pathology laboratory to support scientific and clinical colleagues associated with the Research and Innovation team.
• Performing all routine and non-routine tasks required prior to sample analysis (to include; set up and routine operation of Roche 8100 and SRM, bar code labelling, centrifugation, aliquot preparation, measurement of timed urines etc) to ensure an efficient and accurate response to requests from service users.
• Undertake laboratory-based work such as the pre-analytical processing of clinical trial samples using various technologies.
• Undertake routine maintenance and disinfection procedures (e.g. centrifuges) to ensure the section operates safely and according to departmental protocols.
• Identify, file, archive and retrieve samples that require packing for transport to other sites as well as short- and long-term storage to ensure sample analysis can proceed within agreed time frames.
• To liaise directly with all service users to ensure there are no unnecessary delays within the results process and to provide information as requested.
• Help to maintain appropriate stocks of consumables and reagents within the department. Checking and ensuring correct storage of deliveries.
• Perform a limited range of analyses in the laboratory, ensuring qualified staff authorise the work.
• Perform clerical tasks including, monitoring and querying sample processing requests made by the clinical team, completing sample tracking logs, equipment maintenance logs, and other documentations appropriate for the role.
• To prepare reagents as required on a daily basis.
• Perform daily temperature checks on fridges & freezers
• To assist in the management of waste within the department.
• Ensure the quality of the analytical service is maintained to UKAS ISO 15189:2022 standards

2) Clerical Role

• Input request details accurately into the laboratory computer system to ensure sample analysis can proceed within appropriate time frames.
• Handle telephone enquiries, passing on enquiries to senior staff as appropriate and giving out fully authorised results to medical/qualified nursing staff.
• Packing and posting specimens, reports and containers as required

3) Miscellaneous Role

• To assist in the training and monitoring of new or less experienced Medical Laboratory Assistants and to act as a mentor when required.
• To be responsible for maintaining own personal portfolio ensuring appropriate competencies are maintained and are kept up to date.
• Participation in the duty rota to cover weekends and Bank Holidays will be required.
• Ensure Health and Safety (including Clinical Governance and Management of Risk) standards are maintained in order to create a safe environment for staff to work in.
• To comply with the Trust no smoking policy.
• To comply with all Trust policies including kindness and respect.
• To assist with the induction of new staff.
• To act as mentor for new Medical Laboratory Assistants.
• Perform general house-keeping duties including safe disposal of waste, general cleaning and tidying and laundry management
• Distribute request forms, sample bottles and other consumables to users