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Job Summary

NHS Blood and Transplant collects over 7,000 blood donations every day providing vital blood and blood products that help to save and improve the lives of thousands of people every year. Our team provides a welcoming and special environment for our donors, ensuring they receive exceptional, first-class care. We save lives but we don’t work in hospitals. We collect blood from donors in Donor Centres and in our community.

As a Healthcare Assistant – Blood Donation, you will have the opportunity to learn valuable skills and be an essential member of our team. You’ll play a vital role in saving and improving lives daily in an environment where every day is different.

We’ll provide an extensive induction and training programme, including the Skills for Health Care Certificate which is recognised as a foundation to healthcare support throughout the NHS.

Main duties of the job
Your responsibilities will include:

• Welcoming donors at the start of their donor journey to ensure a positive experience throughout their visit
• Collecting safe blood component donations to ensure we provide a high-quality product for patients
• Taking part in training to learn how to insert a needle into a donor’s arm
• Undertaking training to observe the donor’s well-being throughout the process, escalating any concerns and promoting donor retention
• Handling blood products, needles, and a range of equipment on a daily basis
• Being part of a team that strives to continuously improve our donor service
• Learning to prepare equipment for use to ensure it is safe and fit for purpose
• Driving a 7.5 tonne van and 15-seater minibus as and when required (training and assessment will be provided)

Your working hours will be:

• On a shift basis but, but we’ll let you know around 8 weeks in advance which days and hours you’ll be working.
• The Newcastle Mobile Collections team collects blood across 6 days per week, you will not work each day but could be rostered for any day except Saturday as we do not work this day.
• Shifts usually run from 12:00-21.00 hours although we also work some early shifts 8.30-18.00.
• The nominal working day is 8hrs 20minutes but due to variance in each individual shift time, this full-time role is likely to include a combination of 5 shifts and 4 shifts per fortnight roster.
• Part-time and fractions of 75hrs per fortnight working hours will be considered.

About You

Experience and Knowledge

• Have experience of dealing with the public
• Have experience of delivering a quality customer service
• Be willing to learn new technology skills and undergo digital training

Qualifications and Training

• Have a good standard of numeracy and literacy
• Be willing to undertake development and training to upskill yourself including completion of the Skills for Health Care Certificate
• Possess a valid driving licence allowing you to drive in the UK including category C1 & D1 on your driving licence. NOTE: If you don’t have category C1 & D1 on your driving licence, training will be provided to enable you to achieve this

Please view the attached recruitment profile which is a summary of the detailed Job Description and Person Specification for the full personal attributes we require for the role. You will need to demonstrate these throughout the recruitment process.

About Us

At NHS Blood and Transplant, we’re incredibly proud of the many talented people who come together every day to make our organisation the very best it can be. We have clearly defined values that are centred around offering exceptional care to our donors and their families. We take care of each other too and we focus on building our expertise so we can change lives, provide quality support and offer fulfilling careers.

It’s an opportunity to contribute to a unique team as part of a service that saves lives 365 days a year. We offer brilliant benefits including 27 days of holiday (plus bank holidays), a comprehensive induction and training programme, and competitive pension scheme.

We are passionate about creating an inclusive workplace and aim to reflect the diverse communities we work with and positively encourage applications from all sectors of the community.

Three small words, one big difference - Caring, Expert and Quality.

Together we'll save and improve more lives than ever

If you are shortlisted for this role, you will need to attend in person for a blood collection session tour so we can provide you with a more in-depth understanding of this role. This will be followed by a face-to-face interview. I regret that we are unable to arrange virtual interviews or tours. Please also note that our travel policy does not allow for the payment of travel expenses.

This vacancy will close at 23:59 on 30/04/2023.

Session Visits are anticipated to be held w/c 08/05/2023 - subject to confirmation

Interviews are anticipated to be held w/c 15/05/2023 – subject to confirmation

For informal enquiries please contact John Townsend, Senior Charge Nurse – [email protected]