Senior Aseptic Assistant

Royal Marsden; Sutton; Hybrid; GBP 23,000 - 28,000; Full time

Job summary

Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust in Sutton seeks a Senior Aseptic Assistant to support the day-to-day running of the aseptic suite, including assembly and compounding of aseptic products for clinical trials.

Full training is provided; 37.5 hours per week, Monday to Friday. You will work with pharmacists, technicians and assistants in a GMP-compliant environment and interact with the EPIC system.

Qualifications

• GCSE English and Maths or equivalent.
• NVQ Level 2/SMPO Qualification in Pharmacy Practice or equivalent experience

Responsibilities

• Assist in the maintenance of Technical Services facilities per GMP rules and NHS guidance.
• Become familiar with SOPs and COSHH forms for Technical Services.
• Complete in-house training and accreditation program.
• Gain knowledge in handling cytotoxic and biological medicines.
• Assemble, powder and compound products using aseptic technique in a grade A environment.
• Dispense and assist in distribution of compounded products to patients.
• Support management in training new operatives; dispose of waste per SOP.

Skills

Clear English

Teamwork

Time management

Problem solving

MS Office (Word, Excel, Outlook)

Education

GCSE English & Maths or equivalent

NVQ Level 2/SMPO Pharmacy Practice

Tools

EPIC system

Job description

An exciting and unique opportunity has arisen for an enthusiastic, dynamic and self-motivated professional to join our aseptic team at the Sutton site of the Royal Marsden.
You will be part of a team consisting of Pharmacists, Technicians and Assistants, who are always striving for excellence in all aspects of our work. We are working collaboratively as part of a Multi-Disciplinary Team to ensure we always deliver outstanding care to our patients.

It is an exciting time to join the Royal Marsden Hospital Aseptic Department. Our service is built around providing a high-quality service to our patients and staff of the Trust. The department works closely with the Institute of Cancer Research and the post-holder will be supporting the development of innovative new cancer medicines as these drugs enter early phase clinical trials. The Oak Cancer Centre (a new, state-of-the-art treatment and research facility) opened in June 2023 in Sutton which will speed up the translation of world-leading research into breakthroughs in treatment and care, transforming the lives of cancer patients at The Royal Marsden and beyond.
The hospital introduced the EPIC digital health record system in March 2023 and are looking to become a truly paperless department in 2026.
Over the next year a brand-new state of the art aseptic suite will be opening at the Sutton site to facilitate the growth of the aseptic service.

Main duties of the job

The Job Description outlines the roles of the Senior Aseptic Assistant, Aseptic Services. You will work closely with and support the Chief Technician and Deputy Chief Technician in the day to day running of the Technical Services aseptic suite, providing a quality, GMP compliant service, supplying aseptically prepared medicines including clinical trials, in a timely manner to all service users. You will also work in the support areas of the aseptic suite setting up product trays for products to be made and carrying out the compounding of aseptic products including gene therapy. All our staff work closely with our 3rd party providers to order, process, and distribute bought-in pre-ordered IV products. You will become fully trained and accredited in all processes appropriate to the Band 3 role including assembly, 1st dispense check process and compounding.

Full training will be given in all aspects of the role. This role is for 37.5 hours per week Monday to Friday. Working hours to be discussed at Interview stage.

Working for our organisation

The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust is a world-leading cancer centre. Our role is to offer our patients the best cancer care available anywhere in the world, and to continue to make a global contribution to finding better ways of diagnosing and treating cancer. We employ over 4,500 staff in a diverse range of careers including nursing, medical, science, radiography, pharmacy, occupational therapy, finance and administrative services. We have two hospitals – one in Chelsea, London, and one in Sutton, Surrey – as well as a Medical Daycare Unit in Kingston Hospital.

At The Royal Marsden, we deal with cancer every day, so we understand how valuable life is. When people entrust their lives to us, they have the right to demand the very best. That's why the pursuit of excellence lies at the heart of everything we do.

At the heart of the hospital is our dedicated team. We offer a stimulating and dynamic working environment, a wide range of staff benefits, learning and development opportunities and clear career pathways. There are opportunities to work flexibly across a range of areas and specialities and we welcome flexible working requests from point of hire to support employees work life balance. We are looking for employees who aspire to excellence, share our values and can play a crucial role in our on-going achievements.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

For further information on this role, please see the attached detailed Job Description and Person Specification:

• Assist in the maintenance of Technical Services facilities as defined in Good Manufacturing Practice (Rules and Guidance for Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Distributors 2017 – ‘The Orange Guide’) and to comply with current NHS guidance on Aseptic Processing (Quality Assurance of Aseptic Processing. 5th ed. Ed Alison Beaney, Pharmaceutical Press).
• Become familiar with Standard Operating Procedures and COSHH forms for Technical Services.
• Complete the in-house training programme and the in-house accreditation programme according to grade and responsibility.
• Gain an in-depth knowledge and skill in the handling and compounding of cytotoxic medicines, biological medicines and other medicines.
• Assemble, spray and wipe, prepare/compound products, using aseptic technique in a grade A environment.
• Dispense, label and assist in the distribution of compounded products to patients.
• Support the Technical Services management team in the training of new operatives
• Dispose of Technical Services waste appropriately according to SOP.

Education/Qualifications

• GCSE level (Grade A-C in English and Maths) or Numeracy and Literacy functional skills level 2 (or equivalent).
• NVQ level 2/SMPO Qualification in Pharmacy Practice or equivalent experience

Experience

• Experience of working in a hospital compounding unit or pharmaceutical industry (preferably in a clean room environment) or equivalent experience
• Knowledge of the Principles of Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP).
• Awareness of handling anti-cancer products
• Experience in a Quality Assurance environment including monitoring and validation
• Previous satisfactory performance in a busy team‑orientated environment

Skills Abilities/knowledge

• Ability to communicate effectively in clear English with members of the public and with other health care professionals.
• Ability to work effectively as part of a team and with staff at all levels
• Time management / Organisational / Problem solving Skills; ability to priorities own workload and that of others and to manage own time effectively.
• Computer skills: ability to use Microsoft Office applications eg Word, Excel, Outlook
• Training Skills: ability to train/coach/teach tasks to other assistants
• Experience with EPIC -computer system

Other Requirements

• Ability to work under pressure whilst maintaining accuracy and attention to detail
• Adaptable and flexible, to be able to adapt to changes for example in procedures and practices
• Patient Care; must be committed to safe and effective patient care
• Reliable with a good attendance record
• Demonstrate initiative: proactive and self‑motivated
• Well presented
• Ability to successfully pass validations and accreditations as per unit SOPs: hand wash, gowning, transfer, Isolator/room clean, operator broth, ordering of batch/PS, assembly, compounding and 1st Dispense Check
• Satisfactory standard DBS check

The Royal Marsden values diversity and is committed to the recruitment and retention of underrepresented minority groups. We particularly welcome applications from Black, Asian and minority ethnic candidates, LGBTQ+ candidates and candidates with disabilities.

As a Disability Confident Employer, we are working to create a workplace that enables all staff to reach their full potential. We are committed to this because we know that greater diversity and inclusion will lead to an even greater positive impact for the people we serve.

Due to the high volumes of applications we receive, we reserve the right to close any adverts before the published closing date once we have received a sufficient number of applications. We advise you to submit your application as early as possible to prevent disappointment. Please ensure your information is accurate to avoid errors with processing your application

All applicants will be contacted by email to the address supplied on your application. Applicants are advised to check their email accounts regularly and to ensure that email filters are set to allow our emails.

Flu Vaccination – What We Expect of our Staff

At The Royal Marsden we have an immune compromised patient population who we must protect as much as we can against the flu virus. Each year, seasonal flu affects thousands of people in the UK. Occurring mainly in winter, it is an infectious respiratory disease capable of producing symptoms ranging from those similar to a common cold, through to very severe or even fatal disease.

The wellbeing of our staff and patients is of the upmost importance to us, and it is the expectation of The Royal Marsden that all patient-facing staff have an annual flu vaccination, provided free of charge by the Trust.