Job Summary
Employer: Torbay and South Devon Healthcare
Department: Central Pathology Reception (General Pathology)
Location: Laboratory Medicine, Level 3, Torbay Hospital
18.75 hours per week (Core hours are 13:30 – 17:30 Monday – Friday, with expectation to work on some days until 18:00 on a rotational basis)
Some Saturday and Bank Holiday work will be required
Torbay and South Devon Healthcare is a Foundation Trust which provides healthcare services for a population of over 300,000. The Laboratory Medicine Directorate provides a comprehensive Pathology service for the Acute Trust, associated NHS organisations and GPs.
The Central Pathology Reception provides a vital role for the Laboratory Medicine directorate in the pre‑analytical processing and data entry of over 3 000 blood samples a day for the Biochemistry and Haematology Laboratories and approximately 600 samples for Microbiology. The laboratory uses the Laboratory Information System Epic Beaker. Electronic requesting is carried out via Clinisys ICE but some manual data entry is still carried out.
A position is now available in this busy Department.
You will need to work well as part of a team and have excellent communication skills and telephone manner.
Main duties of the job
* To be responsible for the receipt, initial preparation of pathology samples and data processing of test request forms and Order‑Comms samples.
* Prepare blood, urine, faeces and fluid samples for analysis.
* Make and receive routine telephone calls to/from GP's, Medical, Nursing and other Healthcare Professional Staff.
* Deal with visitors to the Reception hatch.
* Provide routine discipline‑specific assistance to laboratory staff.
About Us
Challenging and varied role, with an opportunity to support Laboratory Medicine in making a positive difference to patient outcomes. Individuals in this role have gone onto other careers within Clinical Biochemistry/Laboratory medicine/Biomedical Science.
Why work with us
Torbay Hospital provides acute care for the local community and has several community hospitals, and is a hot‑spot for those who are considering living by the sea or within half an hour of Dartmoor National Park and an hour to Exmoor National Park. Meanwhile, Plymouth and Exeter are also both within a short drive to enjoy the culture, maritime history and shopping experiences.
Details
Date posted 04 December 2025
Pay scheme Agenda for change
Band Band 2
Salary £24,465 a year per annum pro rata
Contract Permanent
Working pattern Part‑time
Reference number 388‑7563084‑PC&S
Job locations Clinical Biochemistry, Level 3, Torbay Hospital, Torquay, TQ27AA
Job responsibilities
* Deal with telephone enquiries from medical, nursing, and other healthcare professionals. Calls include requests for test results, queries regarding blood sample tube type for a large number of different tests, and requests for emergency tests. Any more complex queries are referred to senior members of staff.
* Contribute to a team of medical laboratory assistants and biomedical scientists in provision of an analytical service to Primary and Secondary Care.
* Assist with face‑to‑face queries from medical, nursing, other healthcare personnel and the public. Removal of blood, urine and faeces samples and request forms from their plastic bags and checking the corresponding data. The samples and request forms are then bar‑coded prior to data entry. These samples come from the District General Hospital, General Practice, Community Hospitals and Clinics served by the Trust.
* Perform data entry via Electronic Order‑Comms and typed data entry from request forms.
Person Specification
Essential – Knowledge and experience
* Excellent communication skills.
* Accurate and methodical.
* Data inputting skills.
Desirable
* Knowledge of pathology/specific terminology.
Essential – Qualifications and training
* Proficient keyboard skills.
* Good level of general education.
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Employer details
Employer name Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust
Address Clinical Biochemistry, Level 3, Torbay Hospital, Torquay, TQ27AA
Employer's website https://www.torbayandsouthdevon.nhs.uk
#J-18808-Ljbffr