To carry out the receipt, disassembly, cleaning, reassembly, packing and sterilization of reusable medical devices. To undertake medical device decontamination duties (under supervision) and assist Supervisors in providing a specialised medical devices decontamination service contributing to the clinical care of the patient. Work in accordance with the Department's Standard Operating Procedures and Quality Management Systems at all times and throughout all production areas, ensuring safe systems are followed for patient safety.
Overview
Are you looking to start a rewarding career in healthcare science and make a real difference behind the scenes? We are seeking a motivated and detail-oriented individual to join our Sterile Services team as an Apprentice Decontamination Technician (Band 2) with a clear pathway to progress to Decontamination Technician (Band 3) through our structured internal training and competency programme. This is a banded role in which you begin at Band 2 and, upon successful completion of in-house training and full sign-off of your competency portfolio, you will be promoted to Band 3.
Responsibilities – Apprentice Decontamination Technician (Band 2)
* Support the safe and effective reprocessing of reusable medical devices.
* Work under supervision to clean, disinfect, inspect, assemble, and sterilise surgical instruments.
* Operate within a quality-controlled environment, adhering to Standard Operating Procedures and the Quality Management System.
* Be part of a team that plays a vital role in patient safety and infection prevention.
Responsibilities – Decontamination Technician (Band 3)
* Take on more complex tasks including robotic device processing.
* Provide guidance and training to new assistants.
* Work with greater autonomy and contribute to service development.
Additional responsibilities
* Accurately exchange information with colleagues and customers to enable prioritisation of work and prevention/resolution of problems.
* Deal courteously and professionally with colleagues to foster good team working relationships.
* Provide routine data as required by departmental supervisors.
* Understand a range of work procedures which require on‑the‑job training.
* Maintain and update knowledge of instruments across all specialties.
* Understand and maintain knowledge of decontamination procedures including safe operation of automated machinery.
* Maintain educational standards by attending departmental lectures and hospital courses regularly to meet the requirements of Health & safety.
* Organise own day-to-day work tasks or activities ensuring best practice is adhered to at all times.
* Make judgements involving straightforward job-related facts or situations and identify routine problems which may prevent adherence to decontamination/quality standards.
* Demonstrate hand/eye coordination to achieve speed and accuracy in checking, packing and assembling surgical equipment to required quality standards.
* Achieve department production targets carried out within recommended best practice and mandatory standards.
* Provide basic clinical technical services following strict decontamination guidelines for cleaning, sterilisation and packing of surgical equipment.
* Follow departmental documented policies and procedures at all times.
* Daily maintenance of theatre instruments, dismantling and re-assembling of surgical instruments and checking optics following the relevant work instructions and comprehensive instrument checklists, identifying any missing components and reporting them accordingly.
* Maintain stock within all production areas, re-order as required and control stock rotation.
* Demonstrate work activities to untrained staff when qualified.
* Responsible for data entry onto computer to maintain records of instrumentation within the department (tracking and tracing).
* Complete own time sheets and other work records as required.
* Undertakes surveys and audits (e.g. cleanliness and work required) where necessary within own work and written guidelines.
* Test decontamination equipment according to relevant HTMs on a daily basis.
* Work within well established procedures following guidelines for good practice with supervision available for reference.
* There is a requirement to stand while carrying out duties in all production areas, with a frequent requirement to exert moderate physical effort whilst unloading and loading trolleys into the washer disinfectors and sterilisers.
* Concentration is required at specific times during the decontamination process to produce correctly laid-up and packaged surgical instruments.
* Frequent exposure to body fluids and care is required when dealing with contaminated sets due to the presence of sharp instruments when working in the decontamination wash area.
* The duties and responsibilities of the post will be undertaken in accordance with the policies, procedures and practice of Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals NHS Trust and which the Trust may amend from time to time.
* The duties outlined above are not intended as a restrictive list and may be extended or altered to include other tasks commensurate with the grade.
Additional information
This is a hands-on, physically active role that requires attention to detail, teamwork, and a commitment to high standards of hygiene and safety.
Disability Confident
About Disability Confident: A Disability Confident employer will generally offer an interview to any applicant that declares they have a disability and meets the minimum criteria for the job as defined by the employer. It is important to note that in certain recruitment situations such as high-volume, seasonal and high-peak times, the employer may wish to limit the overall numbers of interviews offered to both disabled people and non-disabled people.
About Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is one of the largest NHS teaching trusts in the country. It provides a wide range of general and specialist clinical services and is a base for medical education, training and research. The Trust comprises four hospitals: John Radcliffe Hospital, Churchill Hospital, Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre in Headington and the Horton General Hospital in Banbury. The Trust’s values are Delivering Compassionate Excellence, focusing on compassion, respect, learning, delivery, improvement and excellence to guide clinical care, professional relationships and patient experience. Watch how we set out to deliver compassionate excellence via the OUH YouTube channel.
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