Job summary
Associate Practitioner, Blood Sciences, Band 4, West Cumberland Hospital, Whitehaven
Support biomedical scientists in the day to day activities of the laboratory, including performing laboratory tests according to protocol, interpreting routine results and acting accordingly within agreed protocols, supervising and training support staff.
Main duties of the job
Provision of a comprehensive Blood Sciences service to North Cumbria Hospitals and primary care. The departments offer core analyses on a frequent basis, processing urgent requests and a variety of specialised tests. The Blood Sciences service is provided on a 24/7 basis with out of hours cover delivered via shift patterns according to the urgency and volume of the work.
Receive samples into the laboratory, ensuring compliance with minimum acceptance criteria, and dealing with discrepancies where appropriate.
Prepare samples for analysis e.g. specimen handling, centrifugation
Perform daily analyser start-up procedures, including accurate pipetting.
Load and operate general laboratory equipment as required under supervision, following standard operating procedures.
About us
At NCIC, we have an ambition to deliver outstanding hospital and health services to half a million people. Established on 1st October 2019, the Trust is creating a centre of excellence in providing rural and remote healthcare and provides a wide range of community and acute services throughout north Cumbria and beyond. We're responsible for delivering over 70 services across 15 main locations and we employ more than 6,500 members of staff.
Our 5 key principles demonstrate our belief in the delivery of 'safe, high quality care every time'.
- Being a clinically led organisation
- Quality and safety at the heart
- A positive patient experience every time
- A great place to work
- Managing our money well
As an organisation we are serious about supporting a diverse workforce that reflects our local community and are very much focused on being an inclusive and compassionate place to work.
Across the North East and North Cumbria we are working together to deliver our ambition to be the greenest region in England by 2030. There is an expectation for all staff to support this by familiarising yourself with the Trust's sustainability initiatives such as waste and recycling, going paperless, videoconferencing, sustainable transport and others.
We encourage you to think about what you can do as an individual and within your team to contribute in to embedding carbon reduction into the everyday running of our organisation.
Job description
Job responsibilities
Please see attached Job description and person specification for further information regarding the role and the essential and desirable criteria required to be met by applicants.
Please note, due to changes implemented by the Government to the UK immigration policy, individuals who require a Health and Care Visa or a Skilled Worker Visa may no longer be eligible for sponsorship where the UKVI salary threshold is not met or if the occupation is not included in the updated Immigration Salary List (ISL). Applicants must check their eligibility to be employed in any role they are interested in applying for, prior to completing an application for employment.Any applicants who do not meet the eligibility criteria will not be progressed
If you are applying under the Disability Confident Scheme or Armed Forces Covenant and you meet all the essential criteria for a post, you will be guaranteed an interview.
Relocation assistance may be available for successful applicants moving to the region for certain posts. Please see our Policy for eligible vacancies.
- Please ensure that you document evidence of meeting all the essential criteria in the supporting information.
- If sufficient response is received this post could be closed earlier than the specified closing date, please apply as soon as possible to ensure that your application is considered.
Important Information
Candidates who have been successfully shortlisted for interview will be asked via an email notification to log on to their Trac account to select an interview time. This will usually be within 2 weeks of the closing date.
For candidates applying using a Hotmail account or have strict firewall settings please ensure the following:
- Junk Mail is checked regularly
Disclosure and Barring Service:
On 28 November 2020, the new Disclosure and Barring Service filtering rules will come into effect.
The changes mean that:
- youth cautions, reprimands and final warnings will no longer be subject to automatic disclosure
- the multiple conviction rule has been removed, meaning that if an individual has more than one conviction, regardless of offence type or time passed, each conviction will be considered against the remaining rules individually, rather than being automatically disclosed.
If you are unsure about whether you need to disclose certain criminal record information, free confidential advice may be sought from one of the charity bodies listed below. These bodies can advise you on what you are legally required to declare and may also be able to advise you on how you can disclose criminal record information to a prospective employer and your legal rights when doing so.
Nacro Tel: 0300 123 1999, or email: [email protected]
Unlock Tel: 01634 247350, email [email protected] or complete the online form on the Unlock website
The Trust is committed to safeguarding adults and children therefore if the post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (ROA) 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (as amended) the successful candidate(s) will be subject to a criminal records check with the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). The cost of the DBS must be met by the successful candidate(s) through salary deduction. DBS charges are as follows if applicable to the post:
Standard Check: £18 + Administration cost of £3.85 = £21.85. Deducted at £6.85 from 1st month salary and £5 deducted from salary over following 3 months.
Enhanced Check: £38 + administration cost of £3.90 = £41.90. Deducted at £11.90 from 1st month salary and £10 deducted from salary over following 3 months.
As part of the one of the largest employers in the UK NCIC future employees will have also access to the following benefits.
A lease car may be available for this position; further details will be provided upon appointment if applicable.
27-day holiday scheme rising to 33 after 10 years
Flexible working Scheme
Excellent opportunities for development
Competitive NHS Pension scheme
Access to NHS discounts with retailers and leisure companies
EAP (Employee Assistance Programme) a free, confidential counselling and information service to assist with personal or work-related problems
These schemes are subject to availability
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- NVQ 3 in laboratory practice or equivalent.
Desirable
- Foundation degree in laboratory practices, or equivalent.
Experience
Essential
- Pathology duties
- Supervision and training.
- Technical audit.
- Data entry.
Desirable
- Use of specialist laboratory instruments including microscopes, analysers, sample processors, centrifuges.
Skills and aptitudes
Essential
- Practical laboratory skills e.g. specimen handling and processing, analysis and interpretation.
- Able to use initiative appropriately within a team.
- Ability to analyse work to determine compliance with standards.
- Effective communication and interpersonal skills.
- Good organisational skills.
- Ability to plan work to meet deadlines.
- Good hand/eye coordination.
- Keyboard skills.
Desirable
- Ability to analyse and interpret laboratory results in accordance with protocol.
Personal circumstances
Essential
- Meticulous.
- Motivation
- Enthusiasm
Knowledge
Essential
- Underpinning theory of pathology techniques.
- Laboratory health and safety, COSHH, and risk assessment
- Equality issues.
Other requirements
Essential
- Flexibility in working hours.
- Able to work extended hours, weekends or 24 hour shift pattern
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.
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website .
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants .
Employer details
Employer name
North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust
Address
West Cumberland Hospital
Whitehaven
CA28 8JG