Medical Laboratory Assistant - Blood Sciences

Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust; Slough; On-site; GBP 20,000 - 30,000; Full time

Job summary

A prominent healthcare provider in Slough is seeking a Medical Laboratory Assistant (MLA) to support the Blood Sciences department. This role involves essential duties such as sample handling, analyser maintenance, and general lab tasks. Candidates should possess basic IT skills and a foundational knowledge of biology and chemistry. Full training is provided, and the organization is committed to a healthy work-life balance.

Benefits

First class development opportunities

Flexible working hours

Qualifications

• Good communication skills with healthcare staff.
• Awareness of patient confidentiality and data protection responsibilities.

Responsibilities

• Load and unload patient samples onto laboratory analysers.
• Perform routine analyser maintenance tasks.
• Assist with manual assay analysis under supervision.

Skills

Basic IT skills

Ability to work effectively under pressure

Team collaboration

Education

Basic knowledge of Biology, Chemistry and Mathematics

Job description

Job Overview

Berkshire & Surrey Pathology Services - (A joint venture with Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust , Royal Surrey County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Ashford & St Peters Hospitals NHS Trust, Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust and Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust).

Are you looking for a MLA position with a desire to work as part of the largest NHS led Pathology Services in the UK? We have a vacancy at Wexham Park Hospital.

The MLA role is essential in supporting the Blood Sciences department, which includes Biochemistry, Haematology, and Blood Transfusion. You will work as part of a collaborative and inclusive team, contributing to the delivery of a high-quality diagnostic service. Full training will be provided.

Main duties of the job

The main duties of the Medical Laboratory Assistants (MLAs) include, but are not limited to:

• Loading and unloading patient samples onto laboratory analysers, ensuring correct sample handling and identification procedures are followed.
• Performing routine analyser maintenance tasks, including cleaning and quality checks, to support efficient and uninterrupted workflow.
• Assisting with manual assay analysis under the supervision of Biomedical Scientists, following standard operating procedures.
• Monitoring and maintaining stock levels of laboratory consumables, ensuring that supplies are ordered and restocked in a timely manner to support continuous operations.
• Carrying out general laboratory duties such as preparing samples, disposing of waste correctly, maintaining cleanliness of work areas, and ensuring compliance with health and safety guidelines.
• Supporting the team with administrative tasks such as data entry, filing, and handling basic telephone queries.
  
  

Working for our organisation

Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust is committed to being an inclusive and disability confident employer and has been awarded the Gold for the Armed Forces Employment Recognition Scheme. We provide first class development opportunities for all staff and have a wide range of professional, management and leadership, and clinical skills training available.

Here at Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust, we know how important it is to have a healthy work life balance; this benefits not only individuals but the patients we care for too.

We encourage applications from people who wish to work on a flexible basis, recognising that flexibility may mean a range of different working patterns and hours, we do our utmost to work with our staff to meet their needs and the needs of our service and its users.

Frimley Health Trust benefits on Vimeo

Detailed Job Description And Main Responsibilities

• The post holder will liaise closely with the team leader and BMS staff in providing a high-quality technical service that builds on the standards defined by the UKAS and ISO 15189:2022.
• They will be expected to develop and maintain close working relationships with all grades of staff both technical and medical to ensure the effective delivery of the technical service.
  
  

Refer to attached JD and Person Specification for main responsibilities

Person specification

Experience/Knowledge

Essential criteria

• Possess basic IT skills
• Ability to communicate effectively with colleagues and other healthcare staff
  
  

Desirable criteria

• Experience of a diagnostic laboratory
• Experience of working in a relevant routine HUB laboratory
  
  

Qualifications

Essential criteria

• Basic knowledge of Biology, Chemistry and Mathematics
  
  

Desirable criteria

• Basic knowledge of common tests performed in Blood Sciences
  
  

Skills

Essential criteria

• Ability to work effectively under pressure
• Committed to working in healthcare environment
• Able to contribute to shift patterns
• Works well in a team environment and supports colleagues when needed
  
  

Desirable criteria

• Awareness of patient confidentiality and data protection responsibilities
  
  

Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust (FHFT) has an outstanding reputation and a proud record of achievement. As a well performing, well led and ambitious Foundation Trust, we have exciting times ahead of us. 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 are proud of the ambitions laid out in our strategy, Our Future FHFT, including our vision to be a leader in health & wellbeing, delivering excellence for our communities.

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, Committed to Excellence, Working Together and Facing the Future.

Apply online now