Job vacancy: Specialist Biomedical Scientist, The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, 317 02 Royal Victoria Infirmary

Job summary

Main area: 317 Cell Path Non Medical Staff
Grade: Band 6
Contract: Permanent
Hours: Full time - 37.5 hours per week
Job ref: 317-2025-11-020

Employer: The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Employer type: NHS
Site: Royal Victoria Infirmary
Town: 317 02 Royal Victoria Infirmary
Salary: £37,338 - £44,962 per annum
Salary period: Yearly
Closing: 22/06/2025 23:59
Interview date: 02/07/2025

Specialist Biomedical Scientist

Band 6

Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is one of the busiest and largest NHS foundation trusts in the country, with around 15,000 staff and an annual budget of £1.6 billion.

We have a long history of providing high quality care, clinical excellence, and innovation in medical research regionally, nationally and internationally.

We’re in the top five providers of specialised health services in the country, supporting people with a range of rare and complex medical, surgical and neurological conditions, cancers and genetic orders.

Our staff oversee around 6,500 patient contacts each day, delivering high standards of healthcare.

We are committed to promoting equality and diversity and recognise the benefit in providing an inclusive environment. We value and respect the diversity of our employees and aim to recruit a workforce which reflects the communities we serve, and is equipped to deliver the best service to our patients. We welcome all applications irrespective of people’s race, disability, sex, sexual orientation, religion or belief, age, gender identity, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity and in particular those from under- represented groups.

Newcastle Hospitals are proud to be one of the exemplar organisations across the NHS on sustainability, with a long history of delivering Sustainable Healthcare in Newcastle (Shine) and the first healthcare organisation in the world to declare a climate emergency. Our strategy includes commitments to being Net Zero by 2030, for our direct carbon footprint, and Net Zero by 2040 for our footprint plus. Delivering these ambitions will not be possible without the help, support and action of every single member of our team.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

It is an essential requirement that all candidates are HCPC registered and have completed an IBMS Specialist Diploma in Cellular Pathology. Applications will be considered if they have submitted a portfolio pending verification. If successful, they would be appointed as Band 5 Registered Biomedical Scientist until Specialist Portfolio certificate is received.

The laboratory is open Monday – Friday, 7am – 6pm, flexibility is encouraged to support the staff and the service. As a major Transplant Centre, we also provide an out of hours on-call service that is voluntary to join.

The department of Cellular Pathology is made up of Histology, Cytology, Neuropathology, Research and Mortuary Services. The post holder will rotate between sections and participate as part of a team, in providing Cellular Pathology service to the Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, General Practitioners, other Trusts and other users of the service.
Procedures will be carried out without supervision under the guidance of a Senior Biomedical Scientist.
To work as part of a team in the receipt of Cellular Pathology specimens, assisting in specimen dissection and preparing samples for processing, recording details on the laboratory information system, storage and eventual disposal of residual tissue.
To undertake cryotomy on intraoperative tissue samples (frozen sections) and produce high quality sections in a timely and efficient manner.
To carry out a wide range of laboratory procedures, e.g. taking X-rays of breast and bone samples, programming tissue processors, orientating and embedding tissue samples, preparing and analysing non-gynaecological cytology preparations, microtomy, tissue staining, immunocytochemistry, electron microscopy, molecular
diagnostic procedures, validate results and use judgement in determining and initiating further procedures that may be required.
To actively participate in the maintenance and basic trouble shooting of laboratory equipment, report any faults and non-compliances to a senior member of staff and take prompt and appropriate action in response to unexpected situations.
To participate in Quality Control and correct any minor non-conformities and report any major non-compliant events to a senior member of staff.
To work in compliance with local health and safety rules to ensure a safe working environment for you, colleagues and visitors.
To adhere to department and Trust Health and Safety policies (including COSHH, Risk assessments and Standard Operating Procedures) and to report any noncompliances to a senior member of staff.

As a flexible working friendly organisation, we want to be sure that you can work in a way that is best for us and for our patients, and for you. Speak to us about how we might be able to accommodate a flexible working arrangement. If it works for the service, we will do our best to make it work for you.

You will be redirected to Trac to apply for the vacancy. Please expand the job details section and read all of the information before applying for the vacancy

Person specification

Qualifications & Education

Essential criteria

BSc in Biomedical Sciences or equivalent qualification
IBMS Specialist Diploma (postgraduate) in Cellular Pathology or equivalent level of knowledge
Current Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) registration

Knowledge & Experience

Essential criteria

Previous experience in a Cellular Pathology laboratory
Broad knowledge of Cellular Pathology and specialist knowledge of Cellular Pathology including Laboratory Techniques

Desirable criteria

Basic IT knowledge

Skills & Abilities

Essential criteria

Able to organise and prioritise own work activities
Communication skills
Analytical and judgemental skills
Planning and organisational skills

Desirable criteria

Keyboard skills

Important note on completion of reference section of Application Form

All references from current and previous employers will be sought and must cover a minimum of 3 years employment. Therefore, when completing the reference section of your application form, please give the address, telephone number and work email address of each of your current/previous line managers that cover 3 years employment. Failure to complete this section may result in your application not being processed.

Please note it is a requirement of The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust that all successful candidates who require a DBS for the post they have been offered pay for their DBS certificate. The method of payment is a salary deduction from your first month’s pay.

Candidates who are shortlisted for interview will be contacted by e-mail. You should check your SPAM folders as well as your inbox. If you have not been contacted within 4 weeks of the closing date you should assume your application has been unsuccessful.