The role of Sterile Services Technician is a vital component in the day-to-day running of any surgery department. It requires focus and a microscopic attention to detail, ensuring the safety of all those involved in surgery, from staff to patient. If you think you are up to the challenge, we would love to hear from you! As a Technician your role will be one that requires a methodical and accurate approach to the production of theatre trays and procedure packs containing surgical instrumentation and reprocessing endoscopes. This is accomplished using dedicated washers and sterilizer's, that require the sets to be dismantled, decontaminated, reassembled and sterilized before being returned to the operating theatres. Adherence to departmental standards and procedures is essential., Some of your day-to-day duties will include ensuring compliance with ISO 13485:2016 standards and meeting the requirements of the Medical Devices Regulations. You will be responsible for the collection, inspection, cleaning, disinfection, maintenance, assembling, packing, sealing, labeling, and sterilization of surgical instruments, trays, and equipment. It is essential to operate all equipment safely, following the provided work instructions, including washer disinfectors and sterilizers. Working as part of a team, you will ensure that all tasks are completed efficiently and within the required timeframes. Additionally, you will be required to participate in weekend and Bank Holiday rotas to support continuous service delivery. You may be required to drive a Light Goods Vehicle (LGV) during periods of staff shortages or emergency requests.
Responsibilities
* To decontaminate re‑usable medical devices effectively and in line with departmental deadlines requiring each set to be dismantled prior to cleaning and reassembled and checked prior to sterilization.
* The department uses dedicated washers and sterilizers as part of the process. Upon completion of appropriate training you will be required to understand and operate these machines.
* The department has a dedicated training programme in addition to the trust’s mandatory programme which all technicians are required to complete. The process has been broken down into various modules which are to be completed before competency can be approved.
* Technicians must ensure that the instrumentation is accurate against the instrument checklists both at receipt and at dispatch and has been recorded on the tracking system.
* You will be required to work to strict adherence of an accredited Quality Management System (QMS) that the department is required to maintain in order to retain its accreditation with Medical Devices Directives.
* Effective communication with colleagues, supervisors and managers is crucial. Information about instrument sets may need to be conveyed back to theatres or to other colleagues during shift changes.
* As part of this role the department is required to collect dirty and distribute sterile instrumentation around numerous ward and clinic areas.
* The department is required to maintain a pre‑determined level of goods for use on wards and clinics. All technicians are required to participate in the department’s Top‑Up system to the wards and departments of the trust.
* Ensure that stock, sets, and instrumentation is correctly rotated upon return to wards and departments to restrict the amount of sets reaching expiry.
* Input data to produce checklists, labels and delivery notes using the department’s track & trace system. The track & trace system enables all items to be tracked at each stage of the process thus providing an assurance that all instrumentation has undergone the correct and complete process.
* You will be expected to maintain a good standard of housekeeping throughout the department and adhere to environmental control limitation such as limited amounts of products to be stored and removal of external packaging prior to submission to the clean room.
* The washers and sterilisers are required to undergo some basic daily housekeeping checks which are undertaken by the machine operator on a daily basis.
* Push/pull instrument transportation trolleys.
Desirable Criteria
* Full UK Manual Driving Licence
* Basic Hygiene qualification
* Decontamination qualification, awareness of Health & Safety at work policies, knowledge of work undertaken by Sterile services
* Knowledge of surgical instrumentation
* Knowledge / Experience of operating washers / Sterilizers
* Knowledge of COSHH
* Experience of working in a cleanroom environment
* Awareness of quality control systems
* Recent experience of manufacture in a sterile services department
One LSC Overview
One LSC is a new collaborative partnership shared service formed by the five NHS Trusts serving the Lancashire and South Cumbria population of 1.8 million people. We are a shared service run by the NHS, for the NHS and are hosted by East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust on behalf of the partner Trusts of the Lancashire and South Cumbria system.
Partners
* Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
* East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust
* Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust
* Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
* University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust
One LSC brings together the Digital, Data and Technology, Estates and Facilities, Finance, People Services and Procurement and Logistics services from each of the provider Trusts to create one central community of professionals. Under one leadership team, they will provide services for and on behalf of all Trusts. The aim is to bring services more closely together so that we can deliver the best service possible to each of our partner organisations. At the core of One LSC delivery is eliminating duplication, removing unwarranted variation, realisation of the benefits of sharing common systems and processes and ensuring we deliver value for money for our partners, our system and, ultimately, for the communities we serve.
Trust Information
Please note that this post is part of One LSC – a corporate collaboration hosted by East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust and providing Estates and Facilities Services to Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. The Trust is an equal‑opportunities employer, committed to improving the working lives of our staff and operates a ‘Zero Tolerance’ policy to aggression, violence, bullying and harassment. We aim to help protect children and vulnerable adults by providing a first‑class service to the recruitment of people into positions of trust. We welcome applications from everyone irrespective of ethnic origin, gender, age, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, marital status, disability or social background. We especially welcome applications from members of our black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) communities. Appointments will be made on merit.
Application Information
* Salary is advertised for full‑time hours. If this post is less than 37.5 hours per week, the salary will be pro‑rated. For posts on Agenda for Change pay curves, new entrants to the NHS will normally commence on the first pay point of the relevant band.
* This vacancy may close before the closing date if the recruiting manager deems sufficient applications have been received. If you receive an offer you will be required to pay the DBS check – most candidates choose to spread the cost over 1–3 months.
* Please ensure you check the email account from which you apply regularly as we will use this to contact you regarding your application.
* Shortlisting is completed anonymously with candidates being assessed against the essential criteria for the post. Only applicants who can clearly demonstrate how they meet our person specification criteria will be short‑listed.
Disclosure and Barring Scheme (DBS)
If the role you are applying for is identified as either controlled or regulated activity as defined in the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006, any offer of employment is provisional upon a satisfactory DBS check being obtained. The healthcare sector is exempted from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. In line with other NHS organisations in the North West Region, the Trust is now passing the charge for undertaking a DBS check on to candidates in the event they are successfully appointed into the post for which they have applied. Candidates can choose whether to pay this over 1–3 months as a deduction from the monthly salary. However, if you are applying for a post as a BANK worker, the payment must be made in full at the time of employment checks. By applying for this vacancy you are agreeing to this undertaking in the event you are successfully appointed.
* Enhanced Disclosure – £54.40 (or £55.38 for three months)
* Standard Disclosure – £26.40 (or £27.38 for three months)
Additional Notes
Disclosure checks will be recovered from your salary either as a one‑off payment or over 3 months. The level of check required depends on the role that you have been offered. Currently the charges are – Basic DBS check £26.40, Standard DBS check £26.40, Enhanced DBS check £54.40 and Enhanced DBS check with Barred List(s) £54.40. You should be aware that if you are successful in obtaining a position that requires a DBS check but later withdraw your application, you may be required to reimburse the cost of the DBS check. DBS checks remain free of charge for volunteer positions. The DBS Code of Practice can be accessed here. In line with guidance from the United Kingdom Health Security Agency, all staff and volunteers are required to comply with Trust Infection Prevention and Control processes in relation to safe working.
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