Healthcare Science Associate

Transformation Unit; Newcastle upon Tyne; On-site; GBP 28,000 - 31,000; Full time

Job summary

Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is advertising for a Healthcare Science Associate (Band 4) in the Microbiology and Virology department. The role involves performing analyses on patient samples, rotating through sections, and training in culture reading and analyser operation.

The post requires a foundation degree in health care science or equivalent and prior HSA experience in microbiology or virology.

Qualifications

• Foundation Degree in Health Care Science or equivalent.
• Experience as an HSA in Microbiology or Virology Laboratory.
• Knowledge of microbiology in diagnosis and treatment of disease.
• Understanding routine microbiology/virology procedures.
• Ability to follow basic scientific techniques.
• Interest in Biomedical Sciences, Microbiology or Virology.

Responsibilities

• Support Registered Biomedical Scientists in microbiological analysis of patient samples.
• Rotate through Microbiology and Virology sections.
• Read basic culture plates and operate analysers under supervision.
• Assist in departmental quality assurance programmes.

Skills

Self-organisation

Communication skills

Leadership

Blood samples

IT skills

Work under pressure

Follow protocols

Education

Foundation Degree in Health Care Science or equivalent

Job description

Employer The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust Employer type NHS Site Freeman Hospital Town 317 01 Freeman Hospital Salary £28,392 - £31,157 per annum Salary period Yearly Closing 16/11/2026 23:59 Interview date 14/12/2026

Healthcare Science Associate

Band 4

Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is one of the busiest and largest NHS hospital trusts in the country. We have around 16,000 staff and an annual budget of £1.7 billion.

With strong history of providing high quality care, clinical excellence, research and innovation regionally, nationally and internationally, w e’re in the top five providers of specialised health services in the country.

As well as providing a wide range of hospital and community services, we support people with a range of rare and complex medical, surgical and neurological conditions, cancers and genetic orders.

We are committed to promoting equality and diversity and recognise the benefit in providing an inclusive environment. We value and respect the diversity of our employees and aim to recruit a workforce which reflects the communities we serve, and is equipped to deliver the best service to our patients. We welcome all applications irrespective of people’s race, disability, sex, sexual orientation, religion or belief, age, gender identity, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity and in particular those from under- represented groups.

Newcastle Hospitals are proud to be one of the exemplar organisations across the NHS on sustainability, with a long history of delivering Sustainable Healthcare in Newcastle and the first healthcare organisation in the world to declare a climate emergency. Our strategy includes commitments to being Net Zero by 2030, for our direct carbon footprint, and Net Zero by 2040 for our footprint plus. Delivering these ambitions will not be possible without the help, support and action of every single member of our team.

Job overview

The department of Microbiology and Virology is looking for motivated and enthusiastic individuals to join our department.

The successful applicants will work as part of a team carrying out a range of analytical procedures using both automated and manual techniques.

Comprehensive training will be provided and future personal development is actively encouraged.

NO AGENCIES PLEASE

Main duties of the job

The post holders will support Registered Biomedical Scientists in performing microbiological analysis on a range of patient samples including urine, faeces, MRSA and gynaecological swabs. They will be given the opportunity to rotate through all sections of the department including TB and Virology. Successful applicants will be trained to read basic culture plates and operate laboratory analysers under the direct supervision of the scientific team. They will also be required to assist in departmental quality assurance programmes.

Applicants must have experience working in microbiology and/or virology. They must have effective communication skills and demonstrable leadership qualities. They must align to Trust Values and be flexible and reactive to service needs.

The post holders will be required to work rotational late shifts and weekends following competency assessment. From an academic perspective the post holder must have attained a foundation degree or equivalent in a health care sciences subject. It is important that applicants have the ability to effectively use common IT packages such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Access.

Working for our organisation

As a flexible working friendly organisation, we want to be sure that you can work in a way that is best for us and for our patients, and for you. Speak to us about how we might be able to accommodate a flexible working arrangement. If it works for the service, we will do our best to make it work for you.

With around 2 million contacts with patients every year, we deliver care from:

• Northern Centre for Cancer Care, North Cumbria

These include a range of flagship services which deliver cutting-edge care (supported by state-of-the-art diagnostic services in both radiology and pathology) and are a catalyst for innovation to support pioneering clinical practice in the NHS.

We also have offices at Regent Point in Gosforth and community sites.

Please see attached information on what Staff Benefits we have to offer at our Trust under ‘Documents to download’ or ‘Supporting documents’.

For further information on The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust please visit: Careers | Newcastle Hospitals | NHS | Newcastle Hospitals and Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• A Healthcare Science Associate is part of a clinical support team whose purpose is to provide timely and accurate high quality scientific information that will assist service users from the hospital and community, in the establishment of a clinical diagnosis and monitoring of patient treatment.
• The Healthcare Science Associate will use practical skills to carry out tasks associated with the pre-analytical preparation of specimens, analysis of cultures on a limited range of culture plates, performing appropriate antibiotic susceptibility tests, within the Microbiology and Virology Department. The tasks undertaken are more advanced than those of a Healthcare Science Assistant (HSA).

Person specification

Qualifications & Education

• Foundation Degree in Health Care Science or equivalent

Knowledge & Experience

• Experience as an HSA in a Microbiology or Virology Laboratory
• Knowledge and understanding of the role of Microbiology in the diagnosis and treatment of disease
• Understanding a range of routine microbiology and/or Virology laboratory procedures.
• Understand basic scientific techniques
• Knowledge / interest in Biomedical Sciences specifically Microbiology or Virology

Skills & Abilities

• Self-organisation and the ability to prioritise
• Proven communication and leadership skills
• Able to handle Blood and Body samples
• Basic computer and keyboard skills
• Ability to work under pressure and prioritise work
• Follow protocols and instructions accurately

Whilst Newcastle Hospitals are a forward thinking and highly innovative organisation, the use of Third-Party Artificial Intelligence (AI) presents a risk to the integrity of our Recruitment & Selection processes. If you use AI, and it poses a risk to the integrity of your individual application or to the recruitment process, we may withdraw your application at any stage of the process.

Important note on completion of reference section of Application Form

All references from current and previous employers will be sought and must cover a minimum of 3 years employment. Therefore, when completing the reference section of your application form, please give the address, telephone number and work email address of each of your current/previous line managers that cover 3 years employment. Failure to complete this section may result in your application not being processed.

Please note it is a requirement of The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust that all successful candidates who require a DBS for the post they have been offered pay for their DBS certificate. The method of payment is a salary deduction from your first month’s pay.

Candidates who are shortlisted for interview will be contacted by e-mail. You should check your SPAM folders as well as your inbox. If you have not been contacted within 4 weeks of the closing date you should assume your application has been unsuccessful.

Employer certification / accreditation badges