Sterile Services Technical Assistant

NHS University Hospitals of Liverpool Group; Liverpool; On-site; GBP 20,000 - 25,000; Full time

Job summary

A prominent healthcare institution in Liverpool seeks a Sterile Services Technician to support the decontamination of reusable surgical instruments. Candidates must possess an NVQ 3 in Decontamination or be willing to complete it within two years. The ideal applicant will have experience working in a highly regulated environment and strong technical and communication skills. The role is full-time with a total of 37.5 hours per week and offers a supportive training environment.

Qualifications

• Ability to operate Instrument Washer Disinfectors and Sterilisers.
• Experience in a medical device decontamination environment.

Responsibilities

• Provide a critical decontamination service to the hospital trust.
• Ensure compliance with health and safety procedures.
• Assist in the manual handling of instruments.

Skills

Technical skills in decontamination

Communication skills

Ability to work in a regulated environment

Education

NVQ 3 in Decontamination or equivalent

Job description

Job Overview

If you are a person with a "Can do " attitude who wants to make a difference in their workplace then this is the role for you! This is an exciting and engaging opportunity for a candidate to grow on the job. We are looking for someone thoughtful who has enthusiasm working in a team and on own initiative, who is eager to learn, support their colleagues and pass on their knowledge.

This is a role within Sterile Services Department where training is provided on the reprocessing of reusable Surgical Instruments. IDSc Technical Certificate is required or successful candidate will be required to prepare to undertake & complete the IDSc Technical Certificate within 2 years of their start date of employment. Flexibility to drive Department Vehicles.

Main duties of the job

Working from the Broadgreen Hospital site, the role of a sterile services technician is to work as part of a dedicated team providing a critical decontamination service to Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. The hours for permanent 1 x weekly alternating shift are: 6am - 2pm / 2pm - 10pm Monday to Friday total of 37.5 hours per week with enhancements.

The job demands working to strict policies and procedures meeting the requirements of regulatory and international standards ISO13485. Previous experience in a highly regulated, quality controlled or military disciplined environment would be an advantage and working to strict procedures and deadlines essential at all times. Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust operates a strict no smoking policy which is rigorously enforced.

Good standard of English Literacy and Numeracy Grade C or above. Flexibility to drive Department Vehicles.

Working for our organisation

Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust comprises Aintree University Hospital, Broadgreen Hospital & Royal Liverpool University Hospital. We are part of NHS University Hospitals of Liverpool Group, formed on 1 Nov 2024 from the coming together of LUHFT and Liverpool Women's NHS Foundation Trust. The Group was born from a shared aim to improve the care we provide our patients. UHLG is one of the largest employers in the region, with over 16,800 colleagues dedicated to caring for our communities - from birth and beyond.

For the 630,000 people across Merseyside, we are their local NHS. We provide general and emergency hospital care, alongside highly specialised regional services for more than two million people in the North West. Aintree University Hospital is the single receiving site for adult major trauma patients in Cheshire and Merseyside and hosts a number of regional services including an award‑winning stroke facility. Broadgreen Hospital is home to elective surgical, diagnostic and treatment services, together with specialist patient rehabilitation. Liverpool Women's Hospital specialises in the health of women and babies, delivering over 7,200 babies in the UK's largest single site maternity hospital each year. The Royal Liverpool University Hospital is the largest hospital in the country to provide inpatients with 100% single bedrooms and focuses on complex planned care and specialist services.

Detailed Job Description and Main Responsibilities

The post holder will be required to operate Instrument Washer Disinfectors, Sterilisers and undertake manual handling duties and the use of IT bar code and scanning and labelling systems and scanning of medical instruments sets through all stages of production. All training provided. Safe efficient practices for Decontamination, Instrument assembly & Sterilisation of Instruments & equipment within predefined Quality Standards. Ensuring that operational activities fully comply with all Health & Safety procedures & guidelines. Utilise & share knowledge. Flexibility to drive Department Vehicles.

Person specification

Qualifications

• NVQ 3 (or equivalent) in Decontamination and or Sterile Services or equivalent, or Undertake and successfully pass the required qualification within 2 years of employment.

Experience

• Experience in a medical device's decontamination environment or GMP cleanroom such as (aseptic, medical device production, pharmacy or other quality driven production environment).
• Excellent technical and communications skills and the ability to inspire, motivate and lead staff.
• Experience in dealing with both undertaking internal quality audits.

Knowledge

• Ability to review and understand technical data from equipment against specified and pre agreed parameters.
• Possess an understanding of safety requirements and controls in this or similar environment and experience of following procedures and other work instructions.
• Be able to demonstrate an understanding of the requirements of working and maintaining an environmentally controlled cleanroom environment and the relative standards including monitoring and testing of these areas.

Desirable criteria

• Have an understanding of the Department of Health requirements for the processes to minimise the spread of Prions such as CJD and other infections cases with regards to instrument decontamination.

Other

• Be flexible to meet the needs of the service and staff. Manage own time effectively as needed. Directed by SOP's. Self‑motivating and has a positive can‑do attitude. Creative thinker and inspirational role model.
• Working within a strict quality driven governance framework to national objectives and department of Health requirements.

Desirable criteria

• To demonstrate examples in response to change and positively review and adapt to new technology or methods of working.

Please ensure you check the email account (including junk/spam boxes) from which you apply regularly as we will use this to contact you regarding your application.

Posts advertised to 'internal staff' are open to employees of hospitals within University Hospitals of Liverpool Group and you should confirm your employment within your application form.

Note: Under current Home Office Immigration Rules we are currently unable to offer right to work visa sponsorship for Band 2 and 3 roles with a salary of less than £25,000 pa as they do not meet the UK Visas & Immigration criteria.

Only those applicants who demonstrate clearly how they meet our person specification will be shortlisted for interview.

We reserve the right to close any vacancies from further applications when we have received a minimum number of applications from which to make a shortlist. Please ensure you apply without delay if you wish to be considered for this role.

The Trust is committed to promoting a healthy work‑life balance and achieve fair, equitable and consistent practice. We welcome flexible working requests and will consider a variety of flexible working arrangements from day one of your employment. Not all roles are suitable for every flexible working opportunity all of the time. Flexible working options may include reduced hours, compressed hours, fixed shifts, time back in lieu and home working.

The Trust is committed to promoting equality and diversity; we value the contribution of individual talent, skills, knowledge and experience and aim for a workforce demography representative of the local community. We encourage applicants from the following groups that are currently under‑represented in our workforce black, Asian and minority ethnic, lesbian, gay, bisexual and Transgender (LGBTQ+), disabled, male and age 16‑24.

Trust policy requires that the cost of submitting & processing the successful applicant/s DBS application be recovered via salary deduction following start in post. The amount of £23 (standard disclosure) or £43 (enhanced disclosure) will be deducted from salary, in manageable monthly instalments for up to 3 months following commencement of employment. Bank posts require upfront payment.

Applicants requiring sponsorship may wish to determine the likelihood of obtaining sponsorship for this position by assessing themselves against the criteria on the gov.uk website - https://www.gov.uk/check-uk-visa.

All employees (and volunteers) are expected maintain their safeguarding knowledge and skills by completing mandatory safeguarding training which includes understanding and recognising the signs of abuse and neglect and taking appropriate action.

If you have any personal requirements that will enable you to participate in our recruitment process please contact a member of the Recruitment Services by phone on 0151 706 4666 at the earliest opportunity to ensure that measures can be put in place to enable your application for this post.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

Application numbers

This vacancy may close early if it receives a high number of applications. Please complete and submit your application in good time to avoid disappointment.