lab assistant Portsmouth, South East England, England
Job description
Scientific & Technical Maintain a safe and clean working environment., dispose of waste, monitor basic laboratory equipment and prepare reagents. Assist with pre-analytical preparation of clinical specimens according to departmental policies and procedures. Defined routine equipment maintenance procedures undertaken as scheduled. Undertake pre-analytical sample quality checks.
Undertake post-analytic storage of clinical specimens and appropriate filing or slides and paraffin wax tissue blocks to maintain well-ordered archives. To ensure adequate supplies of in-use materials/reagents. Undertake the retrieval and filing of stored specimens for additional work or for multidisciplinary team meetings. Prepare and load slides for digital scanning.
Perform routine maintenance on digital scanners and assist with troubleshooting. To perform data entry on patient samples, inputting accurate data into a departmental database. To assist with the discard of tissue that has been deemed appropriate for safe disposal. To adhere to departmental SOPs at all times.
Communication & Relationships To respond to incoming telephone and email enquiries in a helpful, polite and efficient manner. To contribute to sharing of good practice within the department and across Pathology. To participate fully as a team member, sharing knowledge and information, and supporting colleagues to promote a cohesive team and the achievement of team objectives. Administrative To ensure compliance with good work practices required for the standards of UKAS.
To assist in preparation and maintenance of Standard Operating Procedures. To train, develop and support the competence of other Medical Laboratory Assistants if required. To participate in monitoring supplies of reagents and consumables and assist in the ordering and receipting of stock, informing senior staff when stocks are low and need to be replenished. To take receipt of laboratory consumables and transfer to the appropriate storage conditions (ie room temperature, refrigeration or freezing).
General To perform all duties to the best of the post holders ability under conditions which are often stressful due to time constraints, staffing levels and environmental condition. Maintain, update and develop personal and professional knowledge and skills by participating in the Trust Annual Performance Review system. Be familiar with all Health and Safety policies of the Trust and Department to ensure a safe working environment is maintained for employees and visitors. To cooperate with other departmental and hospital staff to promote awareness of the professional image of Pathology throughout the Trust.
Education & Training Participate in a structured departmental training program to achieve required levels of competence in all assigned tasks.Information Resources Enter patient, test and clinical information onto the laboratory information management system (LIMS) in an accurate and timely manner (frequent periods of high concentration). Work under the principles of GDPR and NHS Information Governance to ensure patient confidentiality is maintained at all times. Research & Development Under direction, participate in the delivery or research, development and audit projects. Freedom to Act To work under indirect supervision with access to senior members of staff when required.
To be able to organise own day-to-day work tasks within parameters.
