Senior Medical Laboratory Assistant

Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust

Do you have an eye for detail? Can you work to deadlines? Do you enjoy following instructions and patterns? Do you want to help patients get the right treatment as quickly as possible?

We are looking for a motivated and enthusiastic Senior Medical Laboratory Assistant (MLA) to join our team in Blood Sciences.

Quick and accurate test results from the laboratory play a vital role in the diagnosis and treatment of patients. Not just here at the RUH but also for medical centres and GP surgeries in the local area. The MLA plays an important practical role in this service.

Main duties of the job

• All pre-analytical sample preparation (including unpacking, sorting, booking-in, preparation of aliquots, storage of samples and making decisions on sample quality and labelling).
• Decision making on ambiguous requests, as defined by standard operating procedures.
• Entry of Patient Identification Data (PID) and test details into the laboratory computer system, requiring a high degree of concentration and attention to detail.
• Resolving PID problems e.g. mislabelling, mislaid specimens and incorrectly requested specimens.
• Participation in distribution and receipt of stores goods and stock control.
• Sending of samples via the post, following the Postal regulation policy.
• Filing of Samples, blocks and Request forms using either manual or electronic systems.
• Cleaning & disinfecting of work area including associated equipment.
• Dealing with telephone enquiries in a polite, sensitive and professional manner.
• Telephoning results to GP surgeries.

About us

At the RUH we're proud to put people at the heart of what we do, working together as one team to make a difference for our patients, each other, and our community. No matter what your role is, we value everyone's contribution in supporting the exceptional, person-centred care we pride ourselves on.

We are committed to creating a compassionate and inclusive environment. This can be seen in our growing community of staff networks - celebrating successes and creating opportunities to listen and learn. We value our differences, champion kindness and civility, and truly believe that diversity makes us stronger.

A culture of learning, developing and innovating is the thread that runs throughout our whole organisation. We want to support you to thrive, taking your career to its full potential.

We value staff wellbeing, with a well-established programme of support. We believe in a holistic approach spanning all aspects of living a healthy life, including physical, emotional, spiritual and financial wellbeing.

We are committed to supporting you and hope you want to join our team. In the meantime, find out more about living and working in the beautiful historic city of Bath, learn about our extensive package of staff benefits, and read about how we're providing healthcare fit for the future with the landmark Dyson Cancer Centre and our passion for research.

Job responsibilities

Please see the Job Description and Person Specification attached for further information on the role.

Person Specification

Qualifications

• Grade C/4 GCSE Maths and English or equivalent A Level/NVQ level 3/ IBMS Support staff Certificate of achievement part 1 or equivalent level in Science subject.
• 5 GCSE grade C/5, 2 A levels/NVQ level 3 or equivalent, one in human biology or related to the medical laboratory field.
• 12 months non-NHS laboratory experience.

Experience

• Previous NHS laboratory experience of at least 6 months full-time or equivalent with a broad knowledge of sample requirements and pre-analytical processes.
• 12 months non-NHS laboratory experience. Experience of working with scientific instruments and analysers, both manual and automated.

Supervision

• Experience of supervising other staff.

Specific Skills

• Able to work quickly and accurately under pressure.

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.