About this role
Job summary
An opportunity has arisen for the post of Associate Practitioner (Band 4) withinHistopathology at Liverpool Clinical Laboratories. This is a permanent role and is an opportunity for an existing member of staff in either LCL or LUHFT to obtain a set of highly technical laboratory skills, whilst contributing to cancer and other patient care.
This post is essential for the day to day running of the service and the successful candidate will receive the training necessary to work with other staff within the team to deliver the highest quality standard of patient care.
The directorate receives greater than 65,000 cases per year and is the largest provider of specialist Cellular Pathology services within Cheshire and Merseyside. The department consists of over 100 members of staff, including Medical Laboratory Assistants, Associate Practitioners, Biomedical Scientists, Consultant Pathologists, pathology trainees and administrative and managerial staff working together to deliver the specialist Cellular Pathology service at LCL for Cheshire and Merseyside
The department's operating hours are 07:00 to 19:00 Monday to Friday and 08:00 to 16:00 Weekends and Bank Holidays.
Main duties of the job
The successful candidate will undertake all routine tasks within the Histology laboratory according to departmental Standard Operating Procedures and policies. These tasks include:
Paraffin wax embedding Microtomy of all specimens Haematoxylin and Eosin, and special staining Freezing of human tissue for frozen sections, immunofluorescence and lipid stains Equipment maintenance Quality control procedures Preparation of staining solutions and reagents Safe disposal of a range of hazardous and non-hazardous laboratory waste Monitoring and receipt of consumables and reagents
About us
Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust comprises Aintree University Hospital, Broadgreen Hospital & Royal Liverpool University Hospital.
We are part of NHS University Hospitals of Liverpool Group, formed on 1 Nov 2024 from the coming together of LUHFT and Liverpool Women's NHS Foundation Trust. The Group was born from a shared aim to improve the care we provide our patients.
UHLG is one of the largest employers in the region, with over 16,800 colleagues dedicated to caring for our communities - from birth and beyond.
For the 630,000 people across Merseyside, we are their local NHS. We provide general and emergency hospital care, alongside highly specialised regional services for more than two million people in the North West.
Aintree University Hospitalis the single receiving site for adult major trauma patients in Cheshire and Merseyside and hosts a number of regional services including an award-winning stroke facility.Broadgreen Hospitalis home to elective surgical, diagnostic and treatment services, together with specialist patient rehabilitation.Liverpool Women's Hospitalspecialises in the health of women and babies, delivering over 7,200 babies in the UK's largest single site maternity hospital each year. TheRoyal Liverpool University Hospitalis the largest hospital in the country to provide inpatients with 100% single bedrooms and focuses on complex planned care and specialist services.
For roles at Liverpool Women's, visit theircareers page.
Job description Job responsibilities
See Job Description for further details:
To participate in the activities of the department. Primarily providing the technical support of the diagnostic service to the Trust and other users, in accordance with departmental protocols and under appropriate supervision.
To participate in the routine work of the main histology laboratory in accordance with departmental protocols. Receive specimens into the department ensuring correct patient identification and accessioning. Assist the pathologist and BMS staff during cut-up Store specimens safely and appropriately prior to and after processing. To embed processed surgical and postmortem material ensuring correct Microtomy - simple sectioning of large blocks, sectioning levels frombiopsy material, serial sectioning of material and macroscopic qualitycontrol of sections produced. Haematoxylin & Eosin (H&E) staining manual and automated methodologies. Initial quality control checks. Preparation of staining solutions and reagents. Safe disposal of a range of hazardous and non-hazardous laboratory waste i.e. paper, chemicals, glass, human tissues. To take delivery of consumables as required. To safely store and monitor levels of consumables reporting low stocks tosenior members of staff. To participate in some of the specialised areas of the department when required. Special staining techniques including primary quality control of stains. Freezing of material for frozen sections, immunofluorescence and lipid stains Immuofluorescent techniques. To participate in the departmental rota Undertake tasks required for UKAS accreditation e.g.: reviewing SOPs. All employees have a duty to take reasonable care to avoid injury to themselves or to others and to co-operate with the Trust in meeting its statutory requirements To handle chemicals and biological material in accordance with COSHHregulations and departmental protocols, including handling possible chemical and biological spillages. To participate in the departments appraisal scheme. To behave with courtesy and consideration to colleagues and service users, regardless of hierarchical or professional position within the organisation at all times. All staff are expected to have or to gain a minimum of basic level IT skills toenable them to use the Trust IT systems to support Trust services and needs. All staff should be familiar with relevant IT systems and security policies and procedures. All staff are personally responsible for record keeping. A record is anything that contains information in any medium e.g. paper, tapes, computer information, etc. which have been created or gathered as a result of any NHS activity.
Please ensure you check the email account (including junk/spam boxes) from which you apply regularly as we will use this to contact you regarding your application.
Only those applicants who demonstrate clearly how they meet our person specification will be shortlisted for interview.
Person Specification
Other Essential
Manual dexterity
Skills Essential
Ability to work as a member of a team Flexible and adaptable approach to work Good organisational skills Good verbal communication skills
Desirable
Computer literate
Knowledge Essential
Demonstrate an understanding of patient confidentiality
Desirable
Show an awareness of H&S requirements Should be able to demonstrate an understanding of the post applied for
Experience Essential
Demonstrable previous experience of working in a laboratory
Desirable
Previous experience of working in a clinical setting
Qualifications Essential
A levels/BTEC or equivalent
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).
Employer details Employer name Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Address Liverpool Clinical Laboratories
Liverpool
L7 8YE
United Kingdom
Employer's website https://www.liverpoolft.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)