Job title: Specialist Biomedical Scientist Band: Band 6 (candidate working towards specialist diploma or equivalent qualification would be paid at band 5 pending completion) Hours of work: 37.5hrs Location: Pathology To whom responsible: Cambridge Hospital Job summary: Work as a HCPC registered Specialist Biomedical Scientist as part of a diverse team of healthcare science professionals within a busy Hospital Blood Sciences Laboratory. Process high volumes of patient samples, prioritising urgent work to deliver timely results to clinicians within agreed turnaround times. Safely operate a range of automated, semi-automated and manual laboratory equipment following SOPs. Use specialist skills and experience to perform troubleshooting or problem-solving actions. Interpret, validate, and authorise test results to produce specialist reports. Liaise with service users and provide specialist advice to clinicians as to appropriateness of tests and timescales. Provide supervision, training, and support to less experienced team members. Act as a role model and mentor for junior scientific and support staff. Work flexibly to participate in delivery of 24 hour, 7 days per week service e.g. out of hours rota, weekends, extended working day. The work of the service brings staff into constant contact with human body fluids, tissues, and hazardous chemicals. This may include blood, pus, urine, faeces, and respiratory secretions. NB: Post holder must not work outside their defined field of competence Key duties and responsibilities: Technical and scientific: Perform manual, semi-automated and fully automated laboratory investigations, including specialist investigations, within defined service area accurately and efficiently. Rotate through the separate sections of the laboratory, supervising each in turn, requiring specialist knowledge of Blood Sciences discipline(s). Draws upon specialist biomedical scientific knowledge and experience to resolve complex equipment, assay, or procedural issues. Participate in the day-to-day management of stock control and usage to ensure service continuity. Undertake quality control procedures and the processing of quality control material as per established protocols. Perform IQC/Daily median analysis to assess assay performance Be aware of current advances and appraise new techniques. Uses specialist knowledge and experience to interpret and assess validity of biomedical test results and escalate where appropriate in line with established protocols. Produces and authorises reports of specialist laboratory investigations including the addition of interpretive comments and making the appropriate referrals for follow-up testing or medical review in line with established protocols. 10. Clean and maintain equipment, including specialist equipment, to achieve the optimum instrument performance and maintain a clean and safe working environment. 11. Perform troubleshooting in line with established protocols and report any faults to a senior member of staff. 12. Participate in Research and Development, clinical trials and equipment testing. Communication Communicates with colleagues, clinicians about investigations required, explains complex technical and information and results, provides instruction to groups of health service staff. Influence clinicians regarding appropriate test usage and result interpretation. Liaises with other departments, agencies, suppliers in relation to tests and services required. Communicates with service users, including patients as appropriate. Information resources Records and interprets test results/ maintains integrity, accuracy of laboratory data, including data entered by others Responsible for laboratory data and creation of specialist reports Be able to record and collate test results on the computer and manual systems in accordance with agreed standard operating procedures. To ensure patient confidentiality adhering to GDPR, Data Protection Act and Caldicott Principles. Be able to use Laboratory Information system, email, internet and automated operating systems, and other software packages as required to create specialist reports Quality, Governance and Risk Management Follow policies and procedures ensuring that the quality management system of Pathology is complied with in line with ISO 15189 standards. Propose and implement changes to policies and Standard Operating Procedures within own area. Participate in audits and where appropriate, propose service improvements for own area. Report and investigate incidents and non-conformances When incidents occur, take immediate appropriate action and ensure incident forms and risk assessments are completed. Contribute to investigations and implement recommendations as directed. Where appropriate, complies with statutory requirements, eg. NHS Screening Programmes Health and Safety Responsible for personal health and safety as well as the health and safety of visitors or staff under supervision. Aware of risks and hazards in own area and follows the appropriate risk assessment to mitigate risk. Responsible for reporting and escalating any newly identified risks or hazards. Refers to COSHH assessments when dealing with hazardous materials such as patient specimens, chemicals, or reagents. Education, Training and Development Supervise and mentor staff as appropriate, including trainees, support workers, students, provides practical and theoretical training to groups. Train and competency assess new and junior staff working in own specialist area. Participates in appraisal process in line with current policies. Responsible for maintaining personal training and competency documentation. Responsible for keeping an up-to-date personal record of Continual Professional Development (CPD) activities Maintain registration with Health and Care Professions Council. Leadership and line management responsibilities: Role model personal and departmental professional standards as required by the Trust, by the HCPC, Institute of Biomedical Science (IBMS) and the Royal Colleges. Acts as section shift lead, deputising for senior BMSs when required. Plans and prioritises own workload and co-ordinates the work of junior staff. Adheres to pre-defined departmental Key Performance Indicators e.g. Turnaround times Escalates downtime to senior staff, follows business continuity procedures (BCP) and supervises activities of junior and support staff during BCP. Be involved in the induction of new staff. Undertake appraisals in line with current policies. Other responsibilities: The post-holder will be expected to participate in the delivery of specific duties and/or specialised responsibilities in line with the banding of the post. Additional responsibilities will be assigned to the post holder depending on the needs of the Board. These responsibilities will be agreed with the post holder, will be subject to regular review and may be amended at any time with the post holder’s agreement. These responsibilities may be associated with specialised roles.