Associate Practitioner - Blood Transfusion

East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust; Ipswich; On-site; GBP 30,000 - 40,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading NHS healthcare provider is seeking an enthusiastic Associate Practitioner to join their Blood Transfusion Laboratory at Ipswich Hospital. This role involves supporting Biomedical Scientists in daily operations, showcasing flexibility and effective prioritization. Candidates will engage in routine testing and maintain professional standards in a busy laboratory that emphasizes training and development. The role includes supervision of junior staff and requires an NVQ level 3 diploma or equivalent. This opportunity offers a dynamic work environment with ample growth potential.

Benefits

Generous pension scheme

27 days annual leave on commencement

Access to NHS discounts

Health and wellbeing programme

Qualifications

• Knowledge of routine and non-routine healthcare science duties.
• Experience in a Biomedical Science laboratory.
• Familiarity with Pathology IT systems and Quality Management.

Responsibilities

• Perform standard blood transfusion tests under supervision.
• Maintain clinical records and monitor stock control.
• Supervise and train less experienced staff as needed.

Skills

Demonstrable knowledge of routine and non-routine healthcare science duties

Practical experience of working in a Biomedical Science laboratory

Knowledge of Pathology IT systems

Knowledge of Quality Management Systems

European Computer Driving Licence or equivalent

Education

NVQ level 3 diploma or equivalent

Additional training to diploma equivalent level

Working towards foundation degree

Job description

Go back East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust

Associate Practitioner - Blood Transfusion

The closing date is 27 January 2026

We are seeking an enthusiastic and motivated Associate Practitioner to join our Blood Transfusion Laboratory based at Ipswich Hospital.

As an Associate Practitioner, you will support Biomedical Scientists in the day-to-day delivery of the Blood Transfusion service. The role is varied and dynamic, requiring flexibility, the ability to re-prioritise workloads, and a proactive approach to maintaining efficient service delivery in a fast-paced hospital environment.

You will be required to work between the hours of Monday - Friday 09:00 - 17:00, with 1 in 3 or 1 in 4 weekends dependant on service need (weekend hours are 08:00 - 12:00).

You will be joining a friendly, busy, MHRA- and UKAS compliant laboratory that places strong emphasis on staff training and development. We support internal and external courses to help staff progress, and as an IBMS-accredited training laboratory for registration and specialist portfolios, you will also play a key role in supporting and developing junior colleagues.

Our laboratory is equipped with Grifols Erytra analysers, and operates on the LIMS SafeTrace with use of EPIC.

Our vision is to deliver innovative, high-performing pathology services that are customer-focused, high quality, and fully compliant. We are a clinically led service, structured to achieve the benefits of scale by working collaboratively to meet the needs of our service users and support the excellent clinical care provided by our hospitals.

Main duties of the job

Performs a number of healthcare science clinical/technical/scientific activities under supervision, e.g. performs standard blood transfusion tests.

Maintains clinical records in relation to activities carried out; may input/interrogate test results of others.

Participate in the day to day management of stock control and usage. This may include maintaining cold chain and blood stock levels and records and monitor usage to ensure efficient use where appropriate

May be required to supervise, organise and allocate work and/or train less experienced staff in own area.

The work of the service brings staff into constant contact with human body fluids, tissues and hazardous chemicals. This may include blood, pus, urine, faeces, and respiratory secretions.

Maintain and promote professional image of the pathology department

About us

We are ESNEFT and we provide hospital and community health services to almost one million people across east Suffolk and north Essex. Our dedicated staff deliver care from acute hospitals in Colchester and Ipswich, community hospitals, surgeries, community clinics and in patients' own homes.

We are one of the largest NHS organisations in England, employing more than 12,000 staff.

We pride ourselves on supporting our staff. We offer a wide range of training and development opportunities, as well as flexible working options.

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.

Our philosophy is that Time Matters to everyone. Across the Trust, we concentrate on improving the things we do and removing those which cause time delays for our staff and patients.

We are investing in our commitment to Time Matters with a partnership with leading electronic patient record (EPR) supplier Epic. This digital transformation will bring what's widely regarded as the world's best EPR system to ESNEFT, transforming life in hospital for staff and patients.

If you are passionate about patient care and want to develop your skills and knowledge, then we want to hear from you.

Find out about living and working here - www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkPu7HphU8A

Job responsibilities

For full details of the responsibilities and duties of this role please see the attached job description.

Person Specification

Education

• NVQ level 3 diploma or equivalent
• Additional training to diploma equivalent level
• Working towards foundation degree

Knowledge and experience

• Demonstrable knowledge of routine and non routine healthcare science duties
• Practical experience of working in a Biomedical Science laboratory
• Knowledge of Pathology IT systems
• Knowledge of Quality Management Systems
• Previous relevant experience of working in the NHS
• European Computer Driving Licence or equivalent

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such 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.

Employer name

East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust