What are the responsibilities and job description for the Healthcare Science Assistant position at Freeman Hospital?
Employer heading
Healthcare Science Assistant
Band 2
Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is one of the busiest and largest NHS foundation trusts in the country, with around 15,000 staff and an annual budget of £1.6 billion.
We have a long history of providing high quality care, clinical excellence, and innovation in medical research regionally, nationally and internationally.
We’re in the top five providers of specialised health services in the country, supporting people with a range of rare and complex medical, surgical and neurological conditions, cancers and genetic orders.
Our staff oversee around 6,500 patient contacts each day, delivering high standards of healthcare.
We are committed to promoting equality and diversity and recognise the benefit in providing an inclusive environment. We value and respect the diversity of our employees and aim to recruit a workforce which reflects the communities we serve, and is equipped to deliver the best service to our patients. We welcome all applications irrespective of people’s race, disability, sex, sexual orientation, religion or belief, age, gender identity, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity and in particular those from under- represented groups.
Newcastle Hospitals are proud to be one of the exemplar organisations across the NHS on sustainability, with a long history of delivering Sustainable Healthcare in Newcastle (Shine) and the first healthcare organisation in the world to declare a climate emergency. Our strategy includes commitments to being Net Zero by 2030, for our direct carbon footprint, and Net Zero by 2040 for our footprint plus. Delivering these ambitions will not be possible without the help, support and action of every single member of our team.
Job Overview
Applications are invited from enthusiastic individuals to join our team as a full time Healthcare Science Assistant in Cellular Pathology at the Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle upon Tyne. The Department provides Histology, Cytology and Mortuary services. It is purpose-built within a prime City-centre location, offering an attractive career opportunity.
A Healthcare Science Assistant (HCSA) is part of a clinical support team in a hospital laboratory whose purpose is to provide timely and accurate high quality scientific information that will assist service users from the hospital and community, in the establishment of a clinical diagnosis and monitoring of patient treatment.
The HCSA will use practical skills to carry out a variety of laboratory duties including reception and data entry of requests received, filing of slides/sample blocks and some basic pathological tests under the supervision and guidance of a Biomedical Scientist.
Applicants should meet the essential requirements with experience of working in a laboratory. The laboratory core working hours are from 7am and 6pm, some flexibility in shift patterns may be required to support service needs. Participation in a Saturday rota will also be required.
This post will provide a range of duties to support the cellular pathology team across the reception, dissection, slide production, archive, cytology, neuropathology and immunohistochemistry sections of the department.
Main duties of the job
Our staff oversee over 2 million patients ‘contacts’ each year, delivering high standards of healthcare from the following sites:
We also have offices at Regent Point in Gosforth and community sites.
Please see attached information on what Staff Benefits we have to offer at our Trust under ‘Documents to download’ or ‘Supporting documents’.
Detailed Job Description And Main Responsibilities
A Healthcare Science Assistant (HSA) is part of a clinical support team whose purpose is to provide timely and accurate high quality scientific information that will assist service users from the hospital and community, in the establishment of a clinical diagnosis and monitoring of patient treatment.
The HCSA will use practical skills to carry out a variety of laboratory duties including reception and data entry of requests received and some basic pathological tests under the supervision and guidance of a Biomedical Scientist.
To assist in the preparation of specimens for analysis, including booking in patient and specimen details, storing, retrieving and disposing of specimens.
To carry out, under supervision, some laboratory procedures (e.g. embedding, microtomy of simple cases,) and the operation of laboratory equipment e.g. microtome, Faxitron X ray machine, cassette labelling machine, slide staining machine.
Label stained microscope slides and match them to correct request form
Match labelled tissue cassettes with request form.
Filing and retrieval of slides and tissue blocks both in the laboratory and at the offsite archive.
Record on request form dictated specimen details during the dissection of tissue samples by medical and scientific staff.
To work in compliance with local health and safety rules to ensure a safe working environment for you, colleagues and visitors.
To adhere to department and Trust Health and Safety policies (including COSHH, Risk assessments and Standard Operating Procedures) and to report any noncompliances to a senior member of staff.
Ensure the risk of infection to yourself, colleagues, patients, relatives and visitors is minimised by:
As a flexible working friendly organisation, we want to be sure that you can work in a way that is best for us and for our patients, and for you. Speak to us about how we might be able to accommodate a flexible working arrangement. If it works for the service, we will do our best to make it work for you.
Person specification
Qualifications & Education
Essential criteria
Desirable criteria
Essential criteria
All references from current and previous employers will be sought and must cover a minimum of 3 years employment. Therefore, when completing the reference section of your application form, please give the address, telephone number and work email address of each of your current/previous line managers that cover 3 years employment. Failure to complete this section may result in your application not being processed.
Please note it is a requirement of The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust that all successful candidates who require a DBS for the post they have been offered pay for their DBS certificate. The method of payment is a salary deduction from your first month’s pay.
Candidates who are shortlisted for interview will be contacted by e-mail. You should check your SPAM folders as well as your inbox. If you have not been contacted within 4 weeks of the closing date you should assume your application has been unsuccessful.
Employer certification / accreditation badges
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
Name Joanne Cunningham Job title Histology Operations Manager Email address Joanne.cunningham2@nhs.net Telephone number 0191 2826917
Healthcare Science Assistant
Band 2
Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is one of the busiest and largest NHS foundation trusts in the country, with around 15,000 staff and an annual budget of £1.6 billion.
We have a long history of providing high quality care, clinical excellence, and innovation in medical research regionally, nationally and internationally.
We’re in the top five providers of specialised health services in the country, supporting people with a range of rare and complex medical, surgical and neurological conditions, cancers and genetic orders.
Our staff oversee around 6,500 patient contacts each day, delivering high standards of healthcare.
We are committed to promoting equality and diversity and recognise the benefit in providing an inclusive environment. We value and respect the diversity of our employees and aim to recruit a workforce which reflects the communities we serve, and is equipped to deliver the best service to our patients. We welcome all applications irrespective of people’s race, disability, sex, sexual orientation, religion or belief, age, gender identity, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity and in particular those from under- represented groups.
Newcastle Hospitals are proud to be one of the exemplar organisations across the NHS on sustainability, with a long history of delivering Sustainable Healthcare in Newcastle (Shine) and the first healthcare organisation in the world to declare a climate emergency. Our strategy includes commitments to being Net Zero by 2030, for our direct carbon footprint, and Net Zero by 2040 for our footprint plus. Delivering these ambitions will not be possible without the help, support and action of every single member of our team.
Job Overview
Applications are invited from enthusiastic individuals to join our team as a full time Healthcare Science Assistant in Cellular Pathology at the Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle upon Tyne. The Department provides Histology, Cytology and Mortuary services. It is purpose-built within a prime City-centre location, offering an attractive career opportunity.
A Healthcare Science Assistant (HCSA) is part of a clinical support team in a hospital laboratory whose purpose is to provide timely and accurate high quality scientific information that will assist service users from the hospital and community, in the establishment of a clinical diagnosis and monitoring of patient treatment.
The HCSA will use practical skills to carry out a variety of laboratory duties including reception and data entry of requests received, filing of slides/sample blocks and some basic pathological tests under the supervision and guidance of a Biomedical Scientist.
Applicants should meet the essential requirements with experience of working in a laboratory. The laboratory core working hours are from 7am and 6pm, some flexibility in shift patterns may be required to support service needs. Participation in a Saturday rota will also be required.
This post will provide a range of duties to support the cellular pathology team across the reception, dissection, slide production, archive, cytology, neuropathology and immunohistochemistry sections of the department.
Main duties of the job
- Interview Date: Friday 14th March
- 37 hours 30 minutes/week
- You will be redirected to Trac to apply for the vacancy. Please expand the job details section and read all of the information before applying for the vacancy.
- Receipt and processing of patient samples, which include anatomically identifiable body tissues and fluids
- Assisting Biomedical Scientists and Pathologist during specimen dissection
- Slides from patient samples for issue, Sorting, transport and filing of blocks and slides from patient sample
- Inputting data into Laboratory Information Systems (APEX), machine maintenance
- Restocking of laboratory consumables and reagents
- Discard of laboratory waste
- Other general laboratory duties supporting Biomedical Scientists and Medical Staff in preparing patient samples for diagnosis.
Our staff oversee over 2 million patients ‘contacts’ each year, delivering high standards of healthcare from the following sites:
- Freeman Hospital
- Royal Victoria Infirmary (RVI)
- Health Innovation Neighbourhood (on the former Newcastle General Hospital and Centre for Ageing and Vitality site)
- Newcastle Dental Hospital
- Newcastle Fertility Centre
- Northern Centre for Cancer Care, North Cumbria
- Northern Genetics Service
- Cramlington Manor Walks
We also have offices at Regent Point in Gosforth and community sites.
Please see attached information on what Staff Benefits we have to offer at our Trust under ‘Documents to download’ or ‘Supporting documents’.
Detailed Job Description And Main Responsibilities
A Healthcare Science Assistant (HSA) is part of a clinical support team whose purpose is to provide timely and accurate high quality scientific information that will assist service users from the hospital and community, in the establishment of a clinical diagnosis and monitoring of patient treatment.
The HCSA will use practical skills to carry out a variety of laboratory duties including reception and data entry of requests received and some basic pathological tests under the supervision and guidance of a Biomedical Scientist.
To assist in the preparation of specimens for analysis, including booking in patient and specimen details, storing, retrieving and disposing of specimens.
To carry out, under supervision, some laboratory procedures (e.g. embedding, microtomy of simple cases,) and the operation of laboratory equipment e.g. microtome, Faxitron X ray machine, cassette labelling machine, slide staining machine.
Label stained microscope slides and match them to correct request form
Match labelled tissue cassettes with request form.
Filing and retrieval of slides and tissue blocks both in the laboratory and at the offsite archive.
Record on request form dictated specimen details during the dissection of tissue samples by medical and scientific staff.
To work in compliance with local health and safety rules to ensure a safe working environment for you, colleagues and visitors.
To adhere to department and Trust Health and Safety policies (including COSHH, Risk assessments and Standard Operating Procedures) and to report any noncompliances to a senior member of staff.
Ensure the risk of infection to yourself, colleagues, patients, relatives and visitors is minimised by:
- being familiar with, and adhering to Trust policies and guidance on
- attending Trust Induction Programme(s) and statutory education
- including infection prevention and control as an integral part of your
- taking personal responsibility so far as is reasonably practicable, in helping ensure that effective prevention and control of health care acquired infections is embedded into everyday practice and applied consistently by you and your colleagues
As a flexible working friendly organisation, we want to be sure that you can work in a way that is best for us and for our patients, and for you. Speak to us about how we might be able to accommodate a flexible working arrangement. If it works for the service, we will do our best to make it work for you.
Person specification
Qualifications & Education
Essential criteria
- Educated to a minimum level of five GCSE at grade C to include English, Maths and Science or equivalent.
- Typing qualification
Desirable criteria
- Basic understanding of human biology
- Previous NHS Laboratory experience
Essential criteria
- Good communication skills
- Good keyboard skills
All references from current and previous employers will be sought and must cover a minimum of 3 years employment. Therefore, when completing the reference section of your application form, please give the address, telephone number and work email address of each of your current/previous line managers that cover 3 years employment. Failure to complete this section may result in your application not being processed.
Please note it is a requirement of The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust that all successful candidates who require a DBS for the post they have been offered pay for their DBS certificate. The method of payment is a salary deduction from your first month’s pay.
Candidates who are shortlisted for interview will be contacted by e-mail. You should check your SPAM folders as well as your inbox. If you have not been contacted within 4 weeks of the closing date you should assume your application has been unsuccessful.
Employer certification / accreditation badges
Documents to download
- Job Description & Person Specification (PDF, 143.1KB)
- Newcastle Staff Benefits (PDF, 274.4KB)
Further details / informal visits contact
Name Joanne Cunningham Job title Histology Operations Manager Email address Joanne.cunningham2@nhs.net Telephone number 0191 2826917
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