Job responsibilities
Although
based at St James University Hospital you may be required to rotate to other
sites and sections within LTHT, and once competent you will be required to
take part in the departmental on call rota.
PRINCIPAL
DUTIES & AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITY
Clinical/
Scientific /Technical
Perform a wide range of complex
technical procedures. These will include the safe and effective use of highly
complex laboratory equipment. Your level of knowledge and understanding of
these procedures will be consistent with that to allow you to recognise
system failures and errors. You will understand the need to report adverse
events in the event of such errors and failures using appropriate laboratory
and Trust policies.
Use of LIMS to enter, manage,
retrieve, interpret, validate and authorise complex patient information and
results.
To be an integral member of a team
providing a clinical technical service and a high quality laboratory service.
To work independently when and as
required by the service, for instance when working alone in the provision of
the emergency on-call service or providing urgent results. The postholder as
a specialist scientist within their field will be guided by principles and
broad occupational policies/SOPs within the confines of the Quality
Management System.
To work with precision and follow
accurately the documented laboratory standard operating procedures
Communication of complex, clinical
technical information to users of the service to users of the service in a
manner that is in accordance with departmental procedures. This may include
providing specialist clinical technical advice to clinical teams
Have knowledge and understanding of
current national legislation and guidelines relevant to the speciality
To undertake specialist clinical
technical investigations for the diagnosis, monitoring and treatment of
disease
Under direction of the team lead
co-ordinates effective workflow management with prioritisation of samples
received within specialist area
Development and validation of in
house quality control material and reagents in conjunction with section
leadership.
To participate in equipment
testing, validation and adaptation as a function of service development
To operate, maintain highly complex
laboratory equipment safely and efficiently. Use specialist expertise for
complex trouble shooting and resolution of technical equipment failure and
analytical processes.
This job requires a high degree of
dexterity and precision when manipulating small tools such as pipettes,
handling very small volumes of clinical material or when preparing microscope
slides for examination by others. In order to achieve the required turnaround
times the work must be performed with both speed and accuracy
Leadership
and Management
To provide leadership and
contribute to general departmental management, for instance, by producing
rotas, assisting in the ordering, receipt and control of consumables,
HR responsibilities including
actively participating in line management, attendance management, recruitment
and departmental appraisal scheme.
The postholder will be responsible
for the day to day management of a group of staff and the supervision of
qualified staff or students.
To plan and prioritise the
designated workload within a laboratory section and assist in the
organization of tasks undertaken by other scientists and support workers
To demonstrate relevant tasks to
others as appropriate and complete relevant training and competency paperwork
To take account of changes in
service delivery by demonstrating a flexible approach to work
Actively supports and encourages
individual and team development
To deputise for more senior staff
where appropriate
Leads waste reduction incentives
for designated area
Contributes to management reports
Supports collaborative team working
across all sections.
Quality
/ Training
To be involved in the production of
laboratory documentation such as SOPs, risk assessments and training records
Supports a robust programme of
training and competency assessment within the area of specialist
responsibility, ensuring that procedures are only undertaken by staff with
the requisite knowledge and skills at all times
To contribute actively towards the
improvement of service quality by participation in relevant discussions with
other team members including staff and departmental meetings
Participate actively in
departmental internal and external quality assurance schemes. Your level of
knowledge and understanding will allow you to recognise when expected levels
of quality have not been met.
Manages key performance indicators
in specialist area. This includes supporting section lead in the monitoring
and performance of IQC and EQA.
Support appropriate clinical trials
involving the laboratory
Contributes to audit completion in
specialist area
Contributes to H&S compliance
and audits in specialist area
Contributes to QMS
compliance/alignment in specialist area
Conducts incident investigations
and risk management including Datix
Monitoring of results to identify
any unexpected trends in assay performance
Supports with research, development
and evaluation of new methods/instruments/tests, including verification of
new technologies/tests in specialist area
Leads continuous service
improvement in specialist area
Leads service continuity plans for
specialist area
Leads implementation of corrective
actions from audits
Maintain patient confidentiality.
You will recognise the absolute requirement to protect sensitive information
that is related to patient care.
Observe the requirements of
departmental policies relating to service provision, for example sample
labelling and adverse event reporting.
To maintain registered status as a
biomedical scientist with the Health Care Professions Council
Participate in the maintenance of a
safe working environment. This will include an awareness of the hazards
associated with your work. In addition you will be made aware of any suitable
actions to take in the event of breaches in health and safety. Such hazards
include fire, manual handling, breaches of security, controlled and
uncontrolled exposure to chemical, biological and radioactive materials.
Other
To gain new knowledge through experience,
formal study and participation in relevant training schemes including CPD.
The post holder will be expected to
gain competence in techniques to enable participation in the delivery of 24
hour Pathology service. This entails contracted participation in a 24/7 rota
and / or the out of hour rota.
The post holder will be required to
work cross site locations (LGI & SJUH) if the service requires it.
Any other duties commensurate with
grade following discussion with line manager
This
is not an exhaustive list of roles and responsibilities, and these may be
subject to change with professional and service developments
SPECIAL
WORKING CONDITIONS
Physical
Effort:
Many
tasks involve the job holder standing at equipment or sitting at the
laboratory bench for extended periods.
This
job may include movement of goods of light and moderate loads up to
15kg. There is the occasional
requirement to move loads of 20kg with the aid of a trolley.
It
is anticipated there will be the occasional requirement to exert moderate
physical effort for several short periods in a shift.
Mental
Effort:
The
day to day repertoire of this job is diverse and the job holder can expect to
be asked by supervisory staff to change tasks at short notice. In order to
minimise errors concentration is required on a daily basis when processing
specimens. Occasionally this may require prolonged concentration and is
subject to workload.
The
job holder is expected to operate complex laboratory equipment. This task
requires concentration so that personal safety is maintained, and equipment
is not damaged.
There
is no requirement for the job holder to drive a vehicle
Emotional
Effort:
In
normal circumstances there is little patient contact by the job holder and
exposure to emotional circumstances is limited. However, subject to the requirements of the
speciality some patient contact may occur such as in the collection of
capillary blood samples from children.
Occasional
exposure to distressing or emotional circumstances when carrying out
appraisal/investigations/disciplinary/attendance management duties
Working
Conditions:
The
post holder will work generally in a laboratory environment and may be
required to sit or stand at the bench for prolonged periods. It is expected
that the role will involve light to moderate physical effort. The post holder
will be exposed to potentially infectious pathological samples on a daily
basis with occasional exposure to other risks e.g. chemical encountered in
the laboratory.
Exposure
to physical aggressive behaviour is rare. Occasional exposure to verbal
aggression occurs during telephone communication with service users
