Job summary
An exciting opportunity has arisen for a
Biomedical Support Worker (Higher Level) to join our professional and friendly
Point of Care Team (POCT). Blood Sciences is part of one of the largest
Pathology departments in the UK, and offers a comprehensive POCT service to
Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust and also in the community. The POCT service
provides support for analytical testing at or near the site of patient care.
Main duties of the job
The
successful candidate will report to the POCT Team Leaders and the POCT
Coordinator/Specialist Biomedical Scientist, participate in all aspects of the
POCT service. This includes providing training, quality assurance and
troubleshooting support to POCT users, ensuring the delivery of high quality
results in a POCT setting.
GCSE
qualifications or equivalent (including Maths & English) are a requirement
of this role. Prior experience of laboratory work, or of POCT services would be
desirable, but not essential as all required training will be provided. As a
minimum, all applicants should have a good knowledge of POCT and the role of
the POCT team, both within the hospital setting and in the community.
We
encourage all candidates to make contact with us to discuss the role(s) and we
can offer informal visits to our laboratories for interested candidates. Please
contact:
Emma
Baddams POCT Coordinator on 0113 2069414 or email emma.baddams@nhs.net
About us
The
Blood Sciences department at LTHT operates across two large university teaching
hospitals in the Leeds Metropolitan area, along with Satellite units at Chapel
Allerton, Seacroft and Wharfedale. POCT services are expanding all the time and
will continue to do so in line with wider NHS strategy. The POCT service
recently moved into our new £30m Centre for Laboratory Medicine building (on
the St. Jamess University Hospital site), which offers a fantastic new working
environment for our staff. The POCT service currently supports 40 blood gas
analysers, around 300 glucose meters, 70 urinalysis analysers, and much more
(including Flu and Covid analysers). The field of POCT is rapidly expanding,
and currently includes tests within the Biochemistry, Haematology, and
Microbiology specialisms, with exciting new projects currently underway.
Leeds Teaching Hospitals is committed to our process
of redeploying 'at risk' members of our existing workforce to new roles. As
such, all our job adverts are subject to this policy and we reserve the right
to close, delay or remove adverts while this process is completed. If you do
experience a delay in the shortlisting stage of the recruitment cycle, please
bear with us while this process is completed, and contact the named contact if
you have any questions.
Job description
Job responsibilities
The
Point-of-Care Testing (POCT) service covers medical testing at or near the site
of patient care by specially trained healthcare professionals. The goal of POCT
is to collect the specimen and obtain accurate results in a very short period
at or near the location of the patient.
POCT
can be carried out in a wide range of settings; in primary care, hospitals, the
community, and secondary care, supporting the delivery of the right care in the
right place at the right time.
The
POCT team is responsible for looking after point of care equipment across the
Trust, providing routine maintenance and External Quality Assurance (EQA) for
all POCT equipment within the hospital, as well as some community and satellite
units. The POCT team is responsible for coordinating Internal Quality Control
(IQC) for POCT equipment within the trust.
The
POCT Higher Level Biomedical Support Worker is required:
To perform a range of routine and
non-routine tasks within POCT for example carrying out routine diagnostic tests
or equipment support
activities
To follow set procedures for area of
work; advice generally available from POCT Team Leader/POCT Co-ordinator
May be required to update information
systems for example patient test requests, records
To work autonomously - the post
holder participates in the maintenance, staff training and documentation of
POCT equipment under the
guidance of the POCT Team
Leader/Co-ordinator
To work as directed with the clinical
end users to resolve errors and result discrepancies, and to provide feedback
both to the POCT
team and Trust Managers - this may
include remote sites e.g. Chapel Allerton or Wharfedale.
To be involved in routine maintenance
and able to assess whether equipment is fit for purpose based on SOPs and
personal findings
To achieve and maintain competency in
relevant technical and analytical aspects of service area.
For full details, please see the attached job
description.
Job description
Job responsibilities
The
Point-of-Care Testing (POCT) service covers medical testing at or near the site
of patient care by specially trained healthcare professionals. The goal of POCT
is to collect the specimen and obtain accurate results in a very short period
at or near the location of the patient.
POCT
can be carried out in a wide range of settings; in primary care, hospitals, the
community, and secondary care, supporting the delivery of the right care in the
right place at the right time.
The
POCT team is responsible for looking after point of care equipment across the
Trust, providing routine maintenance and External Quality Assurance (EQA) for
all POCT equipment within the hospital, as well as some community and satellite
units. The POCT team is responsible for coordinating Internal Quality Control
(IQC) for POCT equipment within the trust.
The
POCT Higher Level Biomedical Support Worker is required:
To perform a range of routine and
non-routine tasks within POCT for example carrying out routine diagnostic tests
or equipment support
activities
To follow set procedures for area of
work; advice generally available from POCT Team Leader/POCT Co-ordinator
May be required to update information
systems for example patient test requests, records
To work autonomously - the post
holder participates in the maintenance, staff training and documentation of
POCT equipment under the
guidance of the POCT Team
Leader/Co-ordinator
To work as directed with the clinical
end users to resolve errors and result discrepancies, and to provide feedback
both to the POCT
team and Trust Managers - this may
include remote sites e.g. Chapel Allerton or Wharfedale.
To be involved in routine maintenance
and able to assess whether equipment is fit for purpose based on SOPs and
personal findings
To achieve and maintain competency in
relevant technical and analytical aspects of service area.
For full details, please see the attached job
description.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- GCSE qualifications or equivalent (inc Maths & English)
- Good numeracy and communication skills
Desirable
- Educated to A level standard, or equivalent
Other Criteria
Essential
- Able to fulfil Occupational Health requirements for the post (with reasonable adjustments if necessary)
- Able to work independently in remote areas and unsupervised
- Able to travel between and off-sites (including community locations)
- Manual handling - able to lift and move weights of up to 30kg
Experience
Desirable
- Experience of working in a laboratory
- Experience of working in a POCT setting
- Experience in an administration/co-ordination role
- Experience of delivering training to groups/clinical staff
Skills and Behaviours
Essential
- Able to work autonomously and use own initiative
- Able to prioritise workload to meet set deadlines
- Committed to high quality patient service
- Supports learning and development of self and others
- An aptitude for using and testing technical equipment
- Ability to demonstrate equipment to others correctly for use
- Good organisational skills and communication skills
Desirable
- Advanced knowledge or experience using Microsoft Excel
- Full driving license
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- GCSE qualifications or equivalent (inc Maths & English)
- Good numeracy and communication skills
Desirable
- Educated to A level standard, or equivalent
Other Criteria
Essential
- Able to fulfil Occupational Health requirements for the post (with reasonable adjustments if necessary)
- Able to work independently in remote areas and unsupervised
- Able to travel between and off-sites (including community locations)
- Manual handling - able to lift and move weights of up to 30kg
Experience
Desirable
- Experience of working in a laboratory
- Experience of working in a POCT setting
- Experience in an administration/co-ordination role
- Experience of delivering training to groups/clinical staff
Skills and Behaviours
Essential
- Able to work autonomously and use own initiative
- Able to prioritise workload to meet set deadlines
- Committed to high quality patient service
- Supports learning and development of self and others
- An aptitude for using and testing technical equipment
- Ability to demonstrate equipment to others correctly for use
- Good organisational skills and communication skills
Desirable
- Advanced knowledge or experience using Microsoft Excel
- Full driving license
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.
