The place to work in pathology We are looking for top talent to join the UK’s leading and fastest growing pathology company – a scientific organisation with a clinical purpose. Working in partnership with our service partners, Guy’s and St. Thomas’ Hospitals, King’s College Hospital and Princess Royal University Hospital we aim to set the standard for the future of pathology. Job overview Synnovis is a partnership between SYNLAB UK & Ireland, Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, and King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. Our organisation brings together the very best in clinical, scientific and operational expertise, and displays in action the core values at the heart of our brand: science for life, collaboration for the benefit of everyone, and innovation and quality. This role is within Synnovis Analytics, which is responsible for the provision of pathology testing services to Synnovis’ patients and customers. This vacancy is within the infection services department based in the recently opened centralised laboratory in Blackfriars, London. It provides a wide range of specialist and routine tests to both primary and secondary care. You will have the opportunity to work in the modern, newly designed and state of the art department. It has automated testing systems including two Keistra lines, Bruker Maldi-Tofs and Pheonix analysers, as well as molecular testing platforms for the diagnosis of enteric and fungal infections. It has large CL3 laboratory suites for TB and respiratory sample testing, and automated BD blood culture and TB systems. The successful candidate will join a large team of Biomedical Scientists, Medical laboratory Assistants, Associate Practitioners and Clinical Scientists, producing, in excess of, one million test results per year. The department operates a 24/7 service, therefore the successful applicant will be required to work the early, core, late and overnight shifts as required. Advert This role supports the delivery of biomedical investigations and supervises MLAs as part of the Laboratory teams in Synnovis. Reporting to the Senior Specialist BMS, you will hold a variety of responsibilities to ensure the successful delivery of infection services, in line with our corporate objectives. What you will do You will hold a variety of accountabilities in the laboratory environment. These will include, but are not limited to: • Deliver work autonomously, within all regulations and legislative requirements. • Handle and manage samples, in line with standard operating procedures (SOPs) and assessed competencies. • Perform tasks, operate and troubleshoot laboratory equipment within all safety standards and according to local SOPs relevant to your area. • Prepare solutions, reagents etc, and utilise a variety of laboratory equipment to carry out investigations. • Rotate around the laboratory to ensure a broad range of understanding and knowledge is cultivated. • Day-to-day supervision of MLAs and new members of the laboratory where necessary. • Use cost effective methods in your practice and maintain levels of consumable goods and supplies in your area, and report shortages accordingly. • Provide administrative support to all areas of the laboratory, as appropriate and dependent on experience and training. Working for our organisation Your development and learning You will have a suite of learning opportunities available through The ACCE competencies programme, the Scientific Learning and Development Fund and the Synnovis Academy through which you can receive funding / support for advanced qualifications. Through our Innovation Accelerator Fund, you can apply for finance to get that new innovative scientific project off the ground, and participate with the wider scientific community through symposiums, conferences and other peer group meetings. Detailed job description and main responsibilities Purpose of the Job This role supports the delivery of biomedical investigations and supervises MLAs as part of the Laboratory teams in Synnovis. Reporting to the Senior Specialist BMS, you will hold a variety of responsibilities to ensure the successful delivery of pathology services, in line with our corporate objectives. What you will do You will hold a variety of accountabilities in the laboratory environment. These will include, but are not limited to: • Deliver work autonomously, within all regulations and legislative requirements. • Handle and manage samples, in line with standard operating procedures (SOPs) and assessed competencies. • Perform tasks, operate and troubleshoot laboratory equipment within all safety standards and according to local SOPs relevant to your area. • Prepare solutions, reagents etc, and utilise a variety of laboratory equipment to carry out investigations. • Rotate around the laboratory to ensure a broad range of understanding and knowledge is cultivated. • Day-to-day supervision of MLAs and new members of the laboratory where necessary. • Use cost effective methods in your practice and maintain levels of consumable goods and supplies in your area, and report shortages accordingly. • Provide administrative support to all areas of the laboratory, as appropriate and dependent on experience and training. Key Responsibilities • Prepare specimens and perform manual, semi-automated and fully-automated laboratory investigations within training parameters and where appropriate under supervision. • Perform cleaning activities, prepare laboratory equipment, perform daily checks, environmental monitoring and waste management activities, and complete all required paperwork. • Perform and interpret routine biomedical investigations by participating in regular daily workloads, under the supervision of an appropriate Biomedical Scientist in your area. • Undertake preventative maintenance and troubleshooting on laboratory instruments and equipment prior to them being used for patient investigations. • Safely handle, use and dispose of biological specimens including infectious material or hazardous chemicals according to laboratory and health and safety protocols. • Understand hazards and risks of working in a laboratory and use adequate precautions and personal protective equipment at all times. • Ensure all laboratory samples, consumables and equipment are appropriately stored and maintained in line with SOPs, health and safety guidelines and recording protocols. • Use departmental resources efficiently and apply good stock management of reagents, consumables and stationery. Receipt and unpack new deliveries and advise/order when approaching minimum stock levels. • Process samples under supervision for clinical trials and research and development projects as and when required. • Supervise MLAs by mentoring and ensuring performance is in line with laboratory standards. • Report and record all incidents and adverse events under the direction of the senior members of staff. • Participate in quality management activities including inspections and audits, as required. • Organise day-to-day tasks, identifying and prioritising urgent work to ensure that deadlines are met, and to the highest standards possible. Escalate to senior member of staff, as necessary. • Answer the telephone, deal with calls politely and professionally, escalating requests when necessary to appropriate senior staff or departments. • Adhere to the laboratory SOPs and work with the team to review working practice to maintain a high quality and safe service. • Perform specimen reception duties including checking details, receiving and logging patient requests on to the LIMS. • Process referral specimens, receive samples dispatched from other laboratories and prepare samples for despatch to other laboratories or hospitals. • Complete data entry accurately, on time and in accordance with Information Governance (IG) procedures. • Seek practical advice from more experienced colleagues, including alignment with requirements of accreditation bodies and local management processes. • Use LIMS to accurately record sensitive patient information, requiring frequent, long periods of concentration, whilst maintaining patient confidentiality and following IG guidelines. • Take part in educational activities to ensure that your practices and knowledge are relevant and current to your specific area. • Complete any assigned laboratory administrative tasks including but not limited to: stock monitoring and ordering, logging of operational performance data, taking operational meeting minutes, recording team annual leave and updating training plans. • Undertake periodic laboratory training and competence assessment. Maintain knowledge and skills as identified by line manager At Synnovis, we are currently shaping the future of pathology services by creating a world-leading Hub and Spoke pathology network with our NHS partners. A large part of this modernisation has involved moving 70% of our services to a purpose built, state of the art Hub laboratory in the heart of London. Synnovis is a pathology partnership between SYNLAB UK and Ireland, and the NHS, including sites, Guy’s & St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust and King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, to deliver and transform pathology services across South East London. The partnership provides services to 1.7 million people living in South East London, as well as to hundreds of thousands of patients from outside the region who use local healthcare services. The partnership provides diagnostics, testing and digital pathology for hospital trusts, GP services and other healthcare providers. The Hub The hub is an eight-storey building, and we are working across 10 floors including the ground and lower ground floors. Synnovis’ corporate function operates from the hub on the 8th floor. The laboratories underneath. The Microbiology department occupies the third floor.This is a total net internal area of almost 10,000m squared across the 10 floors. Based in Blackfriars, it’s less than a 5 minute walk from Southwark Tube or Blackfriars station and nestled closely to a vast array of entertainment and fabulous places to dine, relax and meet people. Applications are welcomed from applicants with a disability. We can make reasonable adjustments and offer support and advice in a variety of ways throughout the application process. All applicants are welcome to apply regardless of age, disability, gender, marital status, race, nationality or ethnic origin, religion, or sexual orientation. Equality of opportunity is our policy. Our Bank workers enjoy competitive market rates and flexible contract assignments across all of our sites, dependent on your availability and location. For our Permanent workforce w e offer a competitive benefits package. All employees are entitled to: Contributory pension scheme Generous annual leave entitlement Ground breaking development opportunities Safeguarding children and vulnerable adults. All employees have a responsibility for safeguarding children and vulnerable adults in the course of their daily duties and for ensuring that they are aware of the specific duties relating to their role. Please apply for this post on-line. If you have problems with using the online process, or need any assistance, please email [email protected] Your e-mail address is important to us. We communicate to all job applicants via the e-mail address which has been provided on the application form. Please ensure that you check your e-mail on a regular basis. Due to the high volumes of applications we receive, we reserve the right to close any adverts before the published closing date once we have received a sufficient number of applications. If you decide to apply for this post but do not hear back from us within three weeks of the closing date, please assume that you have not been short-listed on this occasion. Thank you for your interest in Synnovis.