Job description
Applications are invited from enthusiastic individuals to join our team as a full time Healthcare Science Assistant in Cellular Pathology at the Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle upon Tyne. The Department provides Histology, Cytology and Mortuary services. It is purpose-built within a prime City-centre location, offering an attractive career opportunity.
A Healthcare Science Assistant (HSA) is part of a clinical support team in a hospital laboratory whose purpose is to provide timely and accurate high quality scientific information that will assist service users from the hospital and community, in the establishment of a clinical diagnosis and monitoring of patient treatment.
- Interview Date: 13th April 2023
- 37 Hours 30 Minutes per a week
- You will be redirected to Trac to apply for the vacancy. Please expand the job details section and read all of the information before applying for the vacancy.
Newcastle Hospitals encourages all staff and volunteers who are appointed to join the Trust to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
Applicants should meet the essential requirements. The laboratory core working hours are from 7am and 6pm, some flexibility in shift patterns may be required to support service needs.
This post will provide a range of duties to support the cellular pathology team across the reception, dissection, slide production, archive, cytology, neuropathology and immunohistochemistry sections of the department.
The post offers excellent, progressive opportunities for both skills development and career enhancement, particularly for those wishing to gain some experience of laboratory work within a busy NHS environment.
We pride ourselves in meeting service needs effectively, with quality and service innovation central to our delivery.
- Receipt and processing of patient samples, which include anatomically identifiable body tissues and fluids
- Assisting Biomedical Scientists and Pathologist during specimen dissection
- Slides from patient samples for issue, Sorting, transport and filing of blocks and slides from patient sample
- Inputting data into Laboratory Information Systems (APEX), machine maintenance
- Restocking of laboratory consumables and reagents
- Discard of laboratory waste
- Other general laboratory duties supporting Biomedical Scientists and Medical Staff in preparing patient samples for diagnosis.
Rated ‘Outstanding’ by the CQC for the second consecutive time in 2019, we have a long history of providing high quality care, clinical excellence, and innovation in medical research regionally, nationally and internationally.
We’re also proud to be the second largest provider of specialised services in the country. This means we support people with a range of rare and complex medical, surgical and neurological conditions, cancers and genetic orders.
Our staff oversee around 1.84 million patients ‘contacts’ each year, delivering high standards of healthcare.
We are committed to promoting equality and diversity and recognise the benefit in providing an inclusive environment. We value and respect the diversity of our employees and aim to recruit a workforce which reflects the communities we serve, and is equipped to deliver the best service to our patients. We welcome all applications irrespective of people’s race, disability, gender, sexual orientation, religion or belief, age, gender identity, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity and in particular those from under- represented groups.
The HSA will use practical skills to carry out a variety of laboratory duties
including reception and data entry of requests received, filing of slides/sample blocks and some basic
pathological tests under the supervision and guidance of a Biomedical Scientist.
- A Healthcare Science Assistant (HSA) is part of a clinical support team whose purpose is to provide timely and accurate high quality scientific information that will assist service users from the hospital and community, in the establishment of a clinical diagnosis and monitoring of patient treatment.
- The HSA will use practical skills to carry out a variety of laboratory duties including reception and data entry of requests received and some basic pathological tests under the supervision and guidance of a Biomedical Scientist.
- To assist in the preparation of specimens for analysis, including booking in patient and specimen details, storing, retrieving and disposing of specimens.
- To carry out, under supervision, some laboratory procedures (e.g. embedding, microtomy of simple cases,) and the operation of laboratory equipment e.g.microtome, Faxitron X ray machine, cassette labelling machine, slide staining machine.
- Label stained microscope slides and match them to correct request form
- Match labelled tissue cassettes with request form.
- Filing and retrieval of slides and tissue blocks both in the laboratory and at the off site archive.
- Record on request form dictated specimen details during the dissection of tissue samples by medical and scientific staff.
- To work in compliance with local health and safety rules to ensure a safe working environment for you, colleagues and visitors.