Associate Practitioner Clinical Biochemistry

Barts Health Nhs Trust; Royal Borough of Greenwich; On-site; GBP 33,000 - 36,000; Full time

Job summary

Barts Health NHS Trust in London is recruiting for a Band 4 Assistant Practitioner to join the Biochemistry Department. The role involves general lab support, routine pathology tasks and supervision of staff within a dynamic team, with mandatory IBMS training and adherence to SOPs.

The post is primarily based at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, with potential cross-site coverage as required. Applicants should have GCSEs in English and Maths and science, strong communication, and the ability to manage

Qualifications

• GCSE English and Maths, and science GCSEs or equivalent.
• Experience in a busy medical laboratory is preferred.
• Ability to handle infected materials per H&S policies.

Responsibilities

• Work as part of a busy pathology team performing routine tasks.
• Provide general laboratory assistance and follow SOPs.
• Supervise and support junior staff; maintain records accurately.
• Assist in pre-analytical and analytical activities to ensure service quality.

Skills

Literate and numerate

Good communication skills

Follow instructions

Plan and prioritise workload

Manual dexterity

Education

GCSE English and Maths

GCSE science subjects

IBMS accredited BSc (Desirable)

BSc in Scientific subject (Desirable)

Tools

WinPath Enterprise

Cobas IT Middleware

Job description

Job summary

An exciting opportunity has arisen within the NHS East and South East London Pathology Partnership (ESEL) Biochemistry Department.

We are looking for a strong team player with a positive attitude to working in a flexible manner, committed to supporting the clinical services of the Trust and meeting the needs of our patients by participating in an Agenda for Change shift system.

The successful candidate will be primarily based at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital site but may be expected to cover and support other ESEL sites depending on service demand. The ESEL partnership consists of the following hub and spoke sites: Royal London Hospital (hub site), St Bartholomew's Hospital, Whipps Cross University Hospital, Newham University Hospital, Homerton Hospital, Queen Elizabeth Hospital (Woolwich) and University Hospital Lewisham.

Main duties of the job

The post holder is expected to work as part of a busy team in Pathology to undertake routine pathology work and provide general laboratory assistance. The post holder undertakes roles and duties delegated by the Senior BMS to assist in the service delivery of the section in the laboratory. Working within the professional boundaries set out by the Department Leads the role enables the post holder to undertake both pre-analytical and analytical work to enhance the operation of the laboratory. The post holder will follow department policy and standard operating procedures to ensure good laboratory practice and will provide supervision to a team of medical laboratory assistants/support workers. In-house training is provided and the post holder will be expected to show satisfactory performance in the training scheme for all staff. The post holder will offer a helpful and professional service to all visitors and telephone callers and will assist the Department in the provision of a high quality service.

If the post holders recruitment process requires the mandatory completion of the IBMS Registration Portfolio and application for the IBMS Certificate of Competence (an IBMS accredited BSc degree is a pre-requisite for this), this must be attained within 24 months.

About us

Barts Health is one of the largest NHS trusts in the country, and one of Britain's leading healthcare providers.

Our vision is to be a high-performing group of NHS hospitals, renowned for excellence and innovation, and providing safe and compassionate care to our patients in east London and beyond. That means being a provider of excellent patient safety, known for delivering consistently high standards of harm-free care and always caring for patients in the right place at the right time. It also means being an outstanding place to work, in which our WeCare values and behaviours are visible to all and guide us in how we work together.

We strive to live by our WeCare values and are committed to promoting inclusion, where every staff member has a sense of belonging. We value our differences and fully advocate, cultivate and support an inclusive working environment.

Details

Date posted: 23 October 2026

Pay scheme: Agenda for change

Band: Band 4

Salary: £33,262 to £36,027 a year per annum inc

Contract: Permanent

Working pattern: Full-time

Reference number: 259-8382110ESEL

Person Specification

Experience

• Essential: Minimum One year experience of working in a busy, acute medical blood sciences laboratory environment.
• Has experience at preparing laboratory reagents for general use.
• Has experienced monitoring laboratory apparatus and temperature controlled storage units.
• Demonstrate an ability to cope with competing priorities.
• Demonstrates an ability to respond to change.

Desirable experience

• Experience interacting with and able to perform basic operator maintenance on the named equipment: c8000 (Roche Diagnostics), c8100 (Roche Diagnostics), p701 (Roche Diagnostics), Osmometer 3320 (Advance Instruments Inc.), D-100 (BioRad Laboratories), AQT90 (Radiometer), ABL90 Flex (Radiometer), ABL800 series (Radiometer), Clinitek Status (Siemens), i-Stat1 (Abbott), i-Stat Alinity (Abbott), Freestyle Precision Pro (Abbott), Accuchek Informa II (Roche diagnostics), DCA Vantage (Siemens).
• Experienced using the following named IT systems: WinPath Enterprise (Clinisys), Cobas IT Middleware (Roche Diagnostics), Cobas Inventory Management System (Roche Diagnostics), Q-Pulse (Ideagen), AQURE (Radiometer).

Skills

• Literate and numerate
• Good communication skills and ability to comprehend and give clear statements that are understood by patients/staff
• Able to follow instructions and learn standard techniques
• Methodical and organized
• Manual dexterity
• Demonstrate accuracy and attention to detail, even under pressure
• Ability to meet deadlines in a busy environment
• Good keyboard/VDU skills
• Physical skills: including hand-eye coordination, dexterity and manipulation
• Able to plan, manage and prioritise own workload ensuring completion in a timely and accurate manner

Knowledge

• Demonstrates an understanding of the role of the assistant practitioner
• Knowledge of patient confidentiality requirements
• Awareness of Equal Opportunity and diversity issues
• Desirable: Knowledge of the requirements to safely package and dispatch biologically hazardous samples.
• Desirable: Knowledge of quality assurance checks performed on samples and laboratory equipment.
• Desirable: Aware of safety requirements in a laboratory.
• Desirable: Aware of the quality management system.

Qualifications

• Essential: GCSE passes in English and Maths or equivalent.
• Essential: GCSE standard attained in other science subjects or equivalent.
• Desirable: BSc in a Scientific related subject.
• Desirable: IBMS accredited BSc in Biomedical Science

Other

• Willing to accept instructions and direction from others
• Good interpersonal skills. Commitment to team working and the development of others
• Hold no reservations about handling infected material in accordance with H&S policies
• Pleasant, helpful and confident mannerEven tempered, polite and tolerant
• Reliable, conscientious, demonstrates motivation
• Flexible working as required and good attendance

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 details

Employer name: Barts Health NHS Trust

Address: Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Pathology Department, West Entrance, Stadium Road, Woolwich, London, SE18 4QH, United Kingdom

Employer's website: https://www.bartshealth.nhs.uk

For questions about the job, contact

ESL Blood Sciences Operational, Tosin Kelani, [e-mail]

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