Job summary
- Main area
- Blood Sciences
- Grade
- NHS AfC: Band 3
- Contract
- Fixed term: 12 months (Maternity Leave Cover)
- Hours
- Full time - 37.5 hours per week
- Job ref
- 249-7252607
- Employer
- Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Great Western Hospital
- Town
- Swindon
- Salary
- £24,071 - £25,674 Per Annum
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 17/07/2025 23:59
Employer heading
Biomedical Support Worker Higher level
NHS AfC: Band 3
Job overview
Biomedical Support Worker Band 3
37.5 hours per week
12-month fixed term contract
(Sponsorship is NOT available for this role)
This role is an opportunity to join the Great Western Hospitals Sendaway section within Blood Sciences department as a Support Worker. This post is fixed-term for 1 year to cover Maternity Leave.
The post holder will join a team of dedicated professionals working to deliver high quality test results and excellent care to patients across Swindon and the surrounding area. The Great Western Hospitals Blood Science department handles over 6 million test requests per year and offers a large repertoire of tests for our patients.
The post holder will ensure that clinical patient samples are handled, stored, packaged and sent to the appropriate referral laboratory for analysis. The Great Western Hospitals have recently upgraded our IT system to Clinisys Winpath Enterprise. The successful candidate will utilise this system daily to complete the required tasks.
The Sendaway section is managed by a Senior Biomedical Scientist who will ensure staff within this section are supported and have received all required training to enable them to be successful in their role. Excellent organization and communication skills are essential to be achieve success in this role.
There could be a requirement to cover occasional out of hours shifts to maintain the service during times of staffing shortages.
Main duties of the job
The main duties of this post are to handle potentially infectious biological samples in accordance with departmental health and safety policies to successfully book the samples into the laboratory IT system (LIMS), identify the appropriate storage conditions for each sample (e.g. refrigerated, frozen, room temperature), correctly label all primary and secondary tubes with patient details and laboratory ID numbers, package all samples which are required to be sent each day, label each package with the correct referral laboratory addresses, maintain an accurate record of samples sent, and chase referral laboratories for any outstanding results. There is also an element of manual data entry and good attention to detail and experience with data entry is an advantage.
The successful candidate should be able to successfully communicate with a wide range of staff groups, both internal and external, and successfully manage potential barriers to communication to achieve positive outcomes to discussions.
Working for our organisation
Our STAR values – Service, Teamwork, Ambition and Respect – are a golden thread running through everything we do. These values serve as a guiding principle, driving us towards our vision of delivering great joined up services to our local community. Whether at home, in the community, or within the hospital, our goal is to empower individuals to lead independent and healthier lives.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
1. To be able to make decisions regarding the quality of specimens, including mislabelled specimens
2. To be able to follow laboratory standard operating procedures (SOPs) and policies
3. To be able to plan and organise the allocated workload effectively within the specimen reception team
4. To carry out the pre analytical processing of samples received into the laboratories including data entry of test requests
5. To manage and maintain effective stock control within the sendaway section area
6. Once trained, to assist with staff training and competency assessments and ensure these records are complete and up to date
7. To participate in the updating of Standard Operational Procedures and be responsible for their implementation according to the departmental quality management system
8. To assist with investigations, root cause analysis and implementation of corrective action for quality incidents as part of departmental incident investigation process
9. To assist with audits as part of the departmental audit schedule, and investigate any quality incidents which arise from such audits
10. To work in accordance with UKAS ISO15189 accreditation standards at all times
11. To ensure any anomalies / errors are reported to senior staff as soon as possible and captured within the correct departmental quality process
12. To enter results on to the laboratory computer system.
13. To follow all health and safety policy and instructions provided in the laboratory
14. To communicate effectively with colleagues (laboratory and clinical) regarding test procedures or test data
15. To deal with external and internal telephone enquires
16. To be aware of and support the goal of providing a quality driven patient centered service.
17. To be courteous and professional when dealing with other health care professionals or patients
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
- Basic English & Maths (GCSE or equivalent)
- NVQ Level 3 or equivalent
Desirable criteria
- Degree in Biomedical Science
- Health and Safety training
- Quality management training
Knowledge
Essential criteria
- • A good standard of written and spoken English is required to be able to undertake the relevant duties • Good IT skills and knowledge of Microsoft Office software packages • A good telephone manner • Ability to work under pressure • Ability to work accurately to deadlines • Good organisation and prioritisation skills • Good time keeping skills • Awareness of the nature of working with biological material and the potential risks it brings • Flexible approach to work • Awareness of limits of practice and can seek help and advice when unsure • Excellent attention to detail • Excellent communication skills
Desirable criteria
- A high level of commitment and drive to improve
Experience
Essential criteria
- Experience working and communicating as part of a diverse team
- Experience working in a high throughput environment
Desirable criteria
- Broad knowledge of medical terminology
- Experience working within an NHS laboratory environment
Employer certification / accreditation badges
Applicant requirements
The postholder will have access to vulnerable people in the course of their normal duties and as such this post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Kirk Allott
- Job title
- Laboratory manager
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 01793 607242
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