HSDU Sterile Services Technician

East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust; Chorley; On-site; GBP 25,000 - 27,000; Full time

Job summary

East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust is recruiting a Sterile Services Technician in Chorley. The role mainly involves decontaminating reusable medical devices, dismantling and reassembling instrument sets, and ensuring accurate recording against checklists and tracking systems.

Occasionally the technician may be required to drive a Light Goods Vehicle (LGV) during shortages or emergencies. The position is part of One LSC, hosted by the Trust for Lancashire and South Cumbria.

Qualifications

• Educated to GCSE standard or equivalent.
• Full UK Manual Driving License.
• Knowledge of work undertaken by Sterile services.

Responsibilities

• Decontaminate reusable medical devices effectively and within deadlines, dismantling, cleaning, reassembling and sterilizing sets.
• Ensure instrument sets match instrument checklists at receipt and dispatch and are tracked in the system.

Skills

GCSE standard

Full UK driving license

Sterile services knowledge

Job description

Information about work experience and work shadowing can be found by clicking here.

Site Chorley and Lancashire Teaching Hospital Town Chorley Salary £25,272 Per Annum, Pro Rata Salary period Yearly Closing 16/09/2026 23:59

One LSC is a new collaborative partnership shared service formed by the five NHS Trusts serving the Lancashire and South Cumbria population of 1.8 million people. We are a shared service run by the NHS, for the NHS and are hosted by East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust on behalf of the partner Trusts of the Lancashire and South Cumbria system.

One LSC stands for ‘One Lancashire and South Cumbria’ and reflects the Lancashire and South Cumbria System ambition to have one team serving Lancashire and South Cumbria in a joined-up way. It is jointly run by the five Trusts as a collaborative partnership.

The Trusts that make up One LSC are:

Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust

Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust

Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust

One LSC brings together the Digital, Data and Technology, Estates and Facilities, Finance, People Services and Procurement and Logistics services from each of the provider Trusts to create one central community of professionals. Under one leadership team, they will provide services for and on behalf of all Trusts.

The aim is to bring services more closely together so that we can deliver the best service possible to each of our partner organisations. At the core of One LSC delivery is eliminating duplication, removing unwarranted variation, realisation of the benefits of sharing common systems and processes and ensuring we deliver value for money for our partners, our system and, ultimately, for the communities we serve.

Job overview

Please note that this post is Part of One LSC – a corporate collaboration hosted by East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust and providing Estates and Facilities Services to Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

The Sterile Services Department is responsible for the decontamination and reprocessing of re-usable medical devices. These are instrument sets used for surgical operations. This is accomplished using dedicated washers and sterilizers, that require the sets to be dismantled, decontaminated, reassembled and sterilized before being returned to the operating theatres. The advertised role is for a technician to primarily undertake the above role as part of a larger team. On occasions the technician may be required to drive a Light Goods Vehicle (LGV) during periods of staff shortages or emergency requests.

Main duties of the job

To decontaminate re-usable medical devices effectively and in line with departmental deadlines requiring each set to be dismantled prior to cleaning and reassembled and checked prior to sterilization. Technicians must ensure that the instrumentation is accurate against the instrument checklists both at receipt and at dispatch and has been recorded on the tracking system.

Working for our organisation

All new colleagues can expect to receive a warm and friendly welcome from the very first time they make contact with us. We are described as competent and caring staff by our patients

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

You will be required to work to strict adherence of an accredited Quality Management System (QMS) that the department is required to maintain in order to retain its accreditation with Medical Devices Directives Effective communication with colleagues, supervisors and Managers is crucial. Information about instrument sets may need to convey back to theatres or to other colleagues during shift changes.

As part of this role the department is required to collect dirty and distribute sterile instrumentation around numerous ward and clinic areas. Ensure that stock, sets, and instrumentation is correctly rotated upon return to wards and departments to restrict the amount of sets reaching expiry. Input data to produce checklists, labels and delivery notes using the departments track & trace system. The track & trace system enables all items to be tracked at each stage of the process thus providing an assurance that all instrumentation had undergone the correct and complete process

Person specification

Knowledge

• Educated to GCSE Standard or equivalent
• Full UK Manual Driving License
• Knowledge of work undertaken by Sterile services

Dear Potential Applicant,

It is important you are made aware of the following as regards your application to East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust

• Please note that the salary advertised is for full time hours. If this post is less than 37.5 hours per week, the salary will be pro-rata. For posts on Agenda for Change pay-scales, new entrants to the NHS will normally commence on the first pay point of the relevant band.
• This vacancy may close before the closing date if the recruiting manager deems sufficient applications have been received. Therefore it is advised to complete your application as early as possible to avoid disappointment.
• Please ensure you check the email account from which you apply regularly as we will use this to contact you regarding your application.
• Please note that shortlisting is completed anonymously with candidates being assessed against the essential criteria for the post. Therefore only applicants, who can clearly demonstrate how they meet our person specification criteria in their application, will be short-listed.

Disclosure and Barring Scheme (DBS)

If the role you are applying for is identified as either controlled or regulated activity as defined in in the Safeguarding vulnerable Groups Act (2006) any offer of employment is provisional upon a satisfactory DBS check being obtained.

The healthcare sector is exempted from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.

In line with other NHS organisations in the North West Region, the Trust is now passing the charge for undertaking a DBS check on to candidates in the event they are successfully appointed into the post for which they have applied. Candidates can choose whether to pay this over 1-3 months as a deduction from the monthly salary. However, if you are applying for a post as a BANK worker, the payment must be made in full at the time of employment checks. By applying for this vacancy you are agreeing to this undertaking in the event you are successfully appointed.

The cost of an Enhanced Disclosure will £55.38 and for a Standard Disclosure will £27.38.

This cost is not applicable for a Volunteer post

The Trust is an equal opportunities employer, committed to improving the working lives of our staff and operates a 'Zero Tolerance' policy to aggression, violence, bullying and harassment. In addition, our aim is to help protect children and vulnerable adults by providing a first-class service to the recruitment of people into positions of trust.

We aim to employ a workforce that reflects the diverse communities we serve.

We welcome applications from everyone irrespective of ethnic origin, gender, age, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, marital status, disability or social background.

We especially welcome applications from members of our black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) communities, as we have identified that ELHT has an under-representation of BAME employees. Appointments will be made on merit.

Applicants who have a disability and meet the essential criteria for the job will be interviewed if you indicate you wish to be considered under the Guaranteed Interview Scheme.

If you require a reasonable adjustment at any stage of the recruitment process please make the recruitment services team aware as soon as possible. By telephone [phone] or email [e-mail] write to Employment Services, Parkview Offices, Haslingden Road, Blackburn, BB2 3HH

Thanks for taking the time to view this advert; we look forward to receiving your application.

We will contact you by e-mail to update you on the progress of your application, so please check the e‑mail account that you applied from regularly (including spam/junk).

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) when writing job applications

If you choose to use AI or other tools to assist in writing your application, it's essential to personalise this information, particularly your supporting information section. While AI can help streamline the writing process, these tools cannot fully grasp the context or requirements of the job you’re applying for. There is also a risk that it can generate false or misleading information.

We have added a disclaimer to our application process advising that the use of AI is monitored and if applicants have used it then they are required to declare this.

Supporting Information

The supporting information section is an opportunity for you to showcase how your qualifications, knowledge, skills and experience align with the requirements and criteria outlined in the job description and person specification. Recruiting managers score applications based on the criteria listed in the person specification. They will be looking for evidence of how you meet these criteria. To increase your chances of securing an interview, please provide examples of how you have applied your skills and knowledge in real life situations. Share work‑related successes and challenges you have navigated that align with the criteria. These could be from various aspects of your life, including work, education, and personal experiences.

Please note: a young person must be in part‑time education or training until they’re 18. If you are under 18 we are unable to employ you on a full time basis, unless it is in an apprenticeship role.

Disclosure and Barring Service checks

If the role you’ve applied for requires a Disclosure and Barring Services (DBS) check we will administer this on your behalf and the cost will be recovered from your salary, either as a one‑off payment, or over 3 months. The level of check required depends on the role that you have been offered. Currently the charges are - Basic DBS check £26.40, Standard DBS check £26.40, Enhanced DBS check £54.40 and Enhanced DBS check with Barred List(s) £54.40. You should be aware that if you are successful in obtaining a position that requires a DBS check but later withdraw your application, you may be required to reimburse the cost of the DBS check. DBS checks remain free of charge for volunteer positions. The DBS Code of Practice can be accessed here.

In line with guidance from United Kingdom Health Security Agency, all staff and volunteers are required to comply with Trust Infection Prevention and Control processes in relation to safe working.

NO UNSOLICITED ADVERTISING COMPANY APPROACHES

We look forward to hearing from you soon!

Employer certification / accreditation badges

Click on the headings below to see which roles you'll find in eachcategory: