Senior Specialist Biomedical Scientist - Quality Officer

Job summary

This is an great opportunity for a suitably qualified and experienced Biomedical Scientist to join our Haematology team as a Quality officer.

The UHS east Haematology laboratory operatesat the Royal Sussex County Hospital, Brighton and the Princess Royal Hospital, Haywards Heath.

The department provides a specialist Haematology and Blood Transfusion service to both acute and primary care, and to other trusts within the Sussex area. It holds accreditation with UKAS, and is approved by the Institute of Biomedical Sciences as a training laboratory.

The successful candidate will be reliable, enthusiastic, motivated and forward thinking.

They will be responsible in helping maintain the quality of the service within Haematology by ensuring the laboratory adheres to Pathology and department procedures to maintain compliance with ISO, regulatory and national requirements. They will assist coordinate and support the department with quality tasks such as audits, preparing monthly quality reports, assisting in investigating and resolving incidents, complaints etc. The post holder will work closely with other section quality officers across different disciplines/ sites and reports to the Head of Service and Head of Quality & Compliance.

Main duties of the job

First point of contact within Haematology at UHS east for issues relating to the Quality within the department

Responsible for ensuring all documentation within the department meets the Pathology management procedures as per ISO 15189 & MRHA requirements

Will liaise with other staff managing External Quality Assurance programmes to keep abreast of any issues relating to EQA and make sure all such issues are reviewed at the annual Quality System Management Review meeting for the discipline.

Will be responsible for setting a schedule for quality audits in Q-Pulse after consultation/ discussion with the Pathology Quality Manager.

Will, because of internal audits, record any non-conformance or preventative actions resulting from departmental audits and agree the actions and timelines to fulfil improvement opportunities.

Will also try to ensure that all non-conformances/preventative actions are carried out as agreed and in timely fashion.

Will provide all necessary quality performance information from the department to the PQM to support the annual Quality System Management Review for Pathology

Will sit on the Senior Staff meetings and input on all issues relating to quality

Should be competent as a quality auditor

Please read the attached job description and person specification for further details.

About us

At UHSussex, diversity is our strength, and we want you to feel included to help us always put the Patient First. Your uniqueness and experiences will be part of our creative and innovative community where everyone is encouraged to succeed. We have a range of Staff Networks to help break down barriers, and can offer a buddy to help new members settle in. We're proud to be a Disability Confident Employer (Level 2) and a Veteran Aware Trust.

We treat our patients and staff with the same compassion and empathy we expect for ourselves. We're here for them when they need us, and we go above and beyond to meet their needs. This can be seen in ourWellbeing Programme for staff which is extensive and designed to support you when you need it, including where possible, flexible working to support work life balance - because we know that to look after others we must first look after ourselves.

As a university trust and a leader in healthcare research, we value learning, teaching and training so that we can be the best that we can be. From the moment you start with us and throughout your career we will help you to grow and develop. We hope that in choosing UHSussex you are choosing a long and happy career where you will be able to see the difference you make and feel valued for all that you do.

We look forward to receiving your application and the start of your journey with UHSussex.

Candidate Information Pack: https://www.uhsussex.nhs.uk/resources/candidate-information-pack/

Job description

Job responsibilities

The Quality officer will be responsible in helping maintain the quality of the service within Haematology by ensuring the laboratory adheres to Pathology and department procedures to maintain compliance with ISO, regulatory and national requirements. They will assist coordinate and support the department with quality tasks such as audits, preparing monthly quality reports, assisting in investigating and resolving incidents, complaints etc. They will work closely with other section quality officers across different disciplines/ sites and reports to the Head of Service and Head of Quality & Compliance, Pathology.

Please read the attached job description and person specification for further details.

Candidate Information Pack:https://www.uhsussex.nhs.uk/resources/candidate-information-pack/

Person Specification

Experience

Essential

• A minimum of 4 years post Specialist IBMS portfolio or HPC/CPSM logbook and Haematology laboratory experience in an NHS hospital laboratory at Band 6 level or above
• Up to date & in-depth knowledge of quality and sub-specialist area within primary discipline.

Desirable

• Evidence of understanding quality and the QMS within Pathology and being able to analyse and interpret quality data.
• Evidence of being able to perform audits.

Equality, Diversity & Inclusion

Essential

• Evidence of having undertaken own development to improve understanding of equalities issues
• Evidence of having championed diversity in previous roles (as appropriate to role).

Additional information

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.

Certificate of Sponsorship

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 (Opens in a new tab).

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 (Opens in a new tab).

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).