Medical Laboratory Assistant

at  Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust

Are you looking for a permanent part-time Medical Laboratory Assistant (MLA) position with a desire to work as part of the largest NHS led Pathology Services in the UK? You will be based at Frimley Park Hospital – Microbiology Department.
We are looking for an energetic, enthusiastic and well-motivated individual with good scientific background to complement our late shift MLA team. (Late shift working hours 5pm – 10pm Mon to Friday).
Essential qualities expected are efficiency, being well organised, having good communication skills and attention to detail. Good keyboard skills are desirable. In addition, you should be a reliable individual who is able to demonstrate good practical skills and work as part of a team.
You must be keen to embrace new ways of working and develop your knowledge and skills and able to participate in the shift system. Support and encouragement will be given for career development.
You will be expected to work according to our working time compliant shift system as specified above and on rare occasions may be required to work at the Wexham Park Hospital site to maintain quality, training and service requirements.
The laboratory is UKAS accredited to ISO 15189. The lab is well equipped with a Kiestra TLA system, Faecal PCR testing and Mast UriSystem. MALDI-TOF and GenExpert complete the picture for an efficient and highly-automated Bacteriology department.
The postholder will assist in the preparation of analytical work for the Bacteriology Department across a range of department work areas under the supervision of a Registered Biomedical Scientist. The postholder is required to follow Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) at all times for any tasks carried out. There is a requirement to communicate with pathology staff, hospital staff, porters, drivers and couriers.
The postholder will provide support to the BMS staff through sorting, numbering and entering onto Laboratory Information Management System. The postholder will be required to operate the department waste disposal systems including use of autoclaves in a safe manner.
The diagnostic work of the department includes processing, for example, blood, cerebrospinal fluid, urine, faeces, sputum, tissues and diverse secretions. Processed samples are then interpreted for the presence of pathogens, these could be bacterial, fungal or parasitic.
There’s never been a more exciting time to build your career at Frimley Health, one of the country’s largest and most respected trusts
Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust (FHFT) has an outstanding reputation and a proud record of achievement. We have an ongoing commitment to improving the health and care services for the 900,000 people we serve across Berkshire, Hampshire, Surrey and south Buckinghamshire.
We continue to invest in our services and facilities, including a £10 million upgrade to the hospital maternity unit as well as £49m major new Emergency Assessment Centre on our Wexham Park site. The opening of a brand new £100m state of the art hospital which replaced the existing hospital facility at Heatherwood and are planning to invest further in diagnostics and inpatient capacity at Frimley Park.
We have also made significant investment in our quality improvement and digital programmes to support our vision and we will ensure that we achieve our aim of providing the highest quality healthcare to our patients. Our new EPR – Epic – went live in June and we are already beginning to reap the benefits of this ambitious investment .
Our three core values , and the behaviours that support them, guide everything we do and set out what we expect of our staff in the way they treat patients, visitors, service users and each other.
If you have a passion for clinical excellence, patient care and your own career development, you’ll feel at home at Frimley Health.
To assist in monitoring stock control of consumables held in storesTo ensure the cleaning and defrosting of equipment, such as fridges, freezers and incubators
Works in cooperation with BMS staff to ensure workload is processed in a timely and efficient manner
Displays and maintains an appropriate level of IT skills. Is able to input patient and request data, maintain and amend patient records, interrogate the laboratory and hospital databases and perform basic word processing and spreadsheet work
To comply with the requirement to practice within information governance, data protection and confidentiality guidelines
To works as part of a team to ensure that departmental performance targets are met by continually assessing priority of work
To receive a wide range of clinical samples into the department from hospital staff, clinic staff and transport services
To ensure the safety of staff, visitors and the department by checking that Risk Assessment, COSHH and Local Rules are followed and to inform the laboratory manager of any potential risks
Refer to JD & PS for further detail

Please refer the Job description for details