Employer University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust Employer type NHS Site Royal Derby Hospital Town Derby Salary £24,937 - £26,598 pa pro rata Salary period Yearly Closing 13/01/2026 23:59 Interview date 27/01/2026
Medical Laboratory Assistant / Healthcare Science Assistant
Band 3
As a trusted organisation at the heart of our communities, we recognise the important role we can play in supporting the public, patients, our own people and local partners in achieving the best of health for the local population and the communities in which they live by providing Exceptional Care Together.
Our fundamental Values of Compassion, Openness and Excellence underpin how we intend to work as a Trust and the associated behaviours are becoming embedded in all aspects of how we work.
With over 14,000 members of staff you can expect huge variety and new opportunities every day! Our staff go above and beyond and take pride in caring for our patients.
University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust is fully committed to promoting inclusion, equality, diversity and human rights in employment and delivery of its services. The Trust is committed to providing an environment where all employees, patients, carers and visitors experience equality of opportunity by means of understanding and appreciating the value of diversity.
As a Trust we promote an inclusive environment and welcome applications from a diverse pool of talent and backgrounds. All individuals are valued and given every opportunity to succeed based on merit.
The Trust actively encourages applications from members of our Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities. These groups are under-represented in our organisation, and it’s important to us that our workforce reflects the diversity of our communities as much as possible.
Armed Forces and Disability Confident guaranteed interview scheme
To further support the pledges in the Armed Forces Covenant and to make a positive contribution to support ex-armed forces personnel (veterans) make the transition to civilian life, the Trust has introduced a Guaranteed Interview Scheme for veterans who meets the essential criteria set out in the person specification, to help them overcome barriers to find civilian employment. The scheme will operate for all external recruitment.
The Trust is a Disability Confident Employer and committed to both employing and retaining people with disabilities. This commitment is to guarantee an interview for any candidate that has disclosed a disability under the Equality Act 2010 and who meets the essential criteria set out in the person specification. Reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act 2010 will be considered upon request.
if you are blind or visually impaired and require application material in an alternative format- such as Braille, large print, audio or accessible electronic formats oryou require support/adjustments with your application please contact the recruitment team on 01332 788466
Join us and help make a real difference to our Trust.
Here’s more about the role and what we’re looking for;
Job overview
An exciting opportunity has arisen for a fixed term, full time position as a Medical Laboratory Assistant / Healthcare Science Assistant, as part of the ED Opt Out Project.
You will support the Biomedical Scientists and microbiology team in providing a clinical technical service to achieve efficient and effective patient care. Working as part of a team, to carry out the receipt, booking-in, processing and testing of specimens to provide a diagnostic microbiology service. Previous experience in laboratories is essential.
Main duties of the job
* To work in an effective and efficient way following the appropriate Trust and directorate policies, procedures and guidelines including the departmental Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).
* Prepares and processes patient specimens.
* Prepares blood samples for immunoassay testing.
* Prepares urine samples for microscopy.
* Inoculates patient specimen onto culture media for incubation.
* Selects single colonies and inoculates test cards for processing through the VITEK2 identification machine.
* Perform specimen reception tasks including entering accurately patient/specimen details onto the departmental computer system maintaining a valid database.
* Maintain and support the effective use of available resources (equipment and stock) in an efficient way
Closing date of applications: 13 January 2026
Interview date: 27 January 2026
If you are considering applying for an internal secondment, please ensure you have discussed this with your line manager and obtained their support prior to submitting your application.
Please be aware that there is no guarantee that you will be released from your substantive post, so you should seek approval before applying as you are applying or a Secondment.
Working for our organisation
As a trusted organisation at the heart of our communities, we recognise the important role we can play in supporting the public, patients, our own people and local partners in achieving the best of health for the local population and the communities in which they live by providing Exceptional Care Together.
Our fundamental Values of Compassion, Openness and Excellence underpin how we intend to work as a Trust and the associated behaviours are becoming embedded in all aspects of how we work.
In return we will offer:
* Development opportunities, both professional and leadership development
* On-going support from recruitment to when you join our team and beyond.
* Staff benefits including employee assistance programme, discounted gym membership, onsite fitness classes, car schemes
Key Facts:
* We see on average 4810 OP appointments a day.
* We are the 4th busiest Trauma & Orthopaedic outpatients department in England – an average of 2077 per week.
* An average of 1115 patients are seen in A&Es across our network every day – 3rd largest in the country.
* Our hospitals admit an average of 195 emergency patients daily.
* Last year we undertook almost 33,700 planned surgical operations in our 57 operating theatres.
* We are one of only 7 Trusts nationally with more than 50 operating theatres.
* We carry out more than 140 elective procedures each working day.
* UHDB is a research active University Hospital with a large and varied portfolio of clinical trials and research opportunities for all staff.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Please see attached Job description and Person Specification. To apply please click APPLY FOR THIS JOB – this link will take you to the TRAC Recruitment Site. You will need to register if you do not already have an account.
Your application (for shortlisting purposes) is assessed based on the Person Specification in the job advert (below).
Person specification
Qualifications
* NVQ Level 2 Clinical Lab Support
Experience
* Knowledge of Health and Safety policies
* Laboratory experience
Communication Skills
* Effective communication
* Involvement in training
Our Trust aims to provide the highest quality care to patients within Derbyshire and South East Staffordshire and we want the very best people to work with us.
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IMPORTANT INFORMATION
If we receive a high number of applications for this position we reserve the right to withdraw the post before the closing date, therefore it is advisable that you apply as early as possible to avoid disappointment.
At UHDB, we offer different ways to work flexibly to each and every one of our colleagues, many of whom already work flexibly at all sites of the Trust.
For our roles we are open to discussing the possibility of part-time/ reduced hours/ compressed hours/ flexible start and finish times/ fixed/flexible shifts/annualised hours/ term time hours/ hybrid working – working partly in the trust/partly at home.
Why don’t you talk to us at interview about the flexibility you would like to explore and what it means to you, and we will discuss what’s possible for the job and team, and the opportunities we might be able to create together.
We can’t promise to give you exactly what you want, but we do promise to work with you to look at all the available options.
Most of our posts are subject to a DBS check, however having a criminal record will not necessarily bar you from obtaining a position. Please be aware that all new employees starting work with us will be charged for the cost of their DBS check, if it is required for their role.
All correspondence relating to your application will be sent to you via our trac.system account. Please ensure that you regularly check your emails; this includes junk/spam, as your security settings may not recognise the sender.
Anyone from outside of the UK (excluding from the Republic of Ireland) will need permission from UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) to work in the UK and may also need entry clearance before travelling here.
UKVI is responsible for managing migration. To obtain a visa or entry clearance, you will need to meet certain requirements and demonstrate you have the right to work in the UK via:
* the points-based immigration system
* the EU settlement scheme
* eVisa
During the course of its employment activities, University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust collects, stores and processes personal information about prospective, current and former staff.
Our Privacy Notice includes applicants, employees (and former employees), workers (including agency, casual, honorary and contracted staff), volunteers, trainees and those carrying out work experience – please refer to our Privacy Notice available on our Trust website: https://www.uhdb.nhs.uk/information-governance
Employer certification / accreditation badges
Application numbers
Applicants should have read the Job Description and Person Spec and ensure they meet the criteria before applying.
Name Manjinder Khakh Job title Technical Specialist Manager - Virology/ Serology Email address Manjinder.khakh@nhs.net Telephone number 01332 788948
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