Medical Laboratory Assistant (Warrington)

General laboratory surface cleaning of fittings and equipment

Dispatchof unprocessed (fixed) tissue to outside agencies.

Receipt, preparation and assisting dissection of histology specimens, according to departmental SOPs

Take responsibility for the digital photography of gross specimens at cut-up and downloading onto the Telepath system

Maintain and prepare solutions, reagents and stains according to departmental SOPs and COSHH data

To file microscope slides and wax blocks as part of general housekeeping for the department

To participate in routine embedding and section cutting

Receipt and disposal of surgical tissue not requiring histopathology from surgical theatres

Dispose of laboratory specimen waste, under senior biomedical scientist supervision, according to departmental policies

Ensure all re-usable specimen containers are cleaned in readiness for supply to theatres, clinics and GPs

Maintain the tissue processors, including the loading of them after specimen dissection and on a rotational cycle, change the reagents, recording it in reagent log, ensuring that protocols according to SOPs and COSHH are adhered to

Assist in the daily internal quality control by ensuring that all slides are stained and mounted and that the correct slide data is put onto the slides. Match up slides and patient's cards in readiness for the BMS staff to check

Comply at all times with the Trust Health and Safety Policy and the Laboratory Health and Safety Policy.

Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust serves a population of over 600,000 with a workforce of over 10,500 dedicated and skilled staff across 21 sites.

Acute Care

Providing emergency and maternity services at Whiston, Southport and Ormskirk hospitals, and medical and surgical specialties across all our sites.

Primary Care

Providing primary care services at Marshalls Cross Medical Centre situated in St Helens Hospital.

Providing adult community services for St Helens and a wheelchair service in Chorley, South Ribble, and West Lancashire. Our inpatient unit at Newton Community Hospital is where patients needing acute hospital beds can continue rehabilitation. We also provide urgent care at our Urgent Treatment Centre located in St Helens town centre.

We provide the Mersey Regional Burns & Plastic Surgery Unit at Whiston Hospital and the Spinal Injuries Unit at Southport Hospital to more than 4 million people across the whole of Merseyside, West Lancashire, Cheshire, Isle of Man and North Wales.

Our Values

Essential: - We are Kind; - We are Open; - We are Inclusive

Qualifications

Essential: - Basic numeracy and literacy; - NVQ Level 3 or equivalent

Desirable: - Basic typing; - Basic computing

Experience

Desirable: - Experience working in a similar role; - Previous laboratory experience; - Previous computing experience

Skills

Essential: - Strong prioritisation skills; - Ability to manage own workload; - Ability to work flexibly; - Team player; - Good communication skills

Other

Desirable: - Self motivated; - Prepared to learn new skills; - Creative, comes up with new ideas