Advanced Biomedical Scientist- Blood Transfusion (NHS AfC: Band 7) - Haematology & Blood Transf[...]

Employer Alder Hey Children's NHS Foundation Trust

Employer type NHS

Site Alder Hey Children's Hospital

Town Liverpool

Salary £46,148 - £52,809 pa

Salary period Yearly

Closing 09/04/2025 23:59

Advanced Biomedical Scientist- Blood Transfusion

NHS AfC: Band 7

Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust is a provider of specialist health care and has a presence in community outreach sites. In collaboration with other providers, our clinicians help deliver care closer to patients’ homes by holding local clinics at locations from Cumbria to Shropshire, in Wales and the Isle of Man. The Trust also provides inpatient care for children with complex mental health needs at our Sunflower House building, newly relocated and opened on the hospital site.

We currently have more than 4,000 staff working across our community and hospital sites. We’re also a teaching and training hospital providing education and training to around 540 medical and over 500 nursing and allied health professional students each year.

As black and minority ethnic (BME) employees are currently under-represented in this area, we particularly welcome applications from members of our BME communities. All appointments will be made on merit.

You can expect a warm welcome at Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust; our staff are friendly and welcoming. We listen to each other and work together to embed our Trust's values and behaviours. At Alder Hey, we appreciate our staff and reward them with an outstanding benefits package including:

• Great flexible working opportunities
• Lease car scheme and Home Electronics Scheme
• Generous annual leave and pension scheme
• Extensive staff health and well-being programmes

Job overview

An opportunity has arisen for a suitably qualified and motivated HCPC registered Advanced Biomedical Scientist specialising in Blood Transfusion at Band 7 level to join our team.

The post holder will work closely with the Lead Biomedical Scientist and other Biomedical Scientists to provide a laboratory service to the Trust and its users. They will be jointly responsible for the day-to-day supervision of the technical work and staff of the Blood Transfusion section and ensure the timely delivery of a high-quality service at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital and the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Liverpool Women’s NHS Foundation Trust.

The department is well equipped with Grifols Erytra, Sysmex XN2000, Sysmex CN3000/ CS-2400, Beckman Coulter Navios, Tosoh G8 and Meditech computer system. The Haematology & Transfusion department is accredited for training with the IBMS.

We are looking for an individual who is enthusiastic to join a dedicated team providing a high-quality service.

For further information please contact Andrew Simpson, Lead Biomedical Scientist Haematology and Blood Transfusion on 0151 252 5229.

Main duties of the job

The post holder will have responsibility for providing the technical services of the Blood Transfusion section within the laboratory ensuring a continuous 24-hour service is provided.

The post holder, along with the Consultant Haematologist, Lead BMS Haematology & Blood Transfusion and Transfusion Practitioner, as part of the Hospital Transfusion Team, will be involved with setting policies and procedures surrounding this specialty. The post holder will also be an active member of the Hospital Transfusion Committee.

Working for our organisation

As one of Europe’s biggest and busiest children’s hospitals, at Alder Hey Children's NHS Foundation Trust, we treat everything from common illnesses to highly complex and specialist conditions. In addition to our main hospital site, we offer paediatric services at a number of community sites and hold local clinics across Merseyside, Cumbria, Shropshire, Wales and the Isle of Man. We also provide specialist inpatient care for children with complex mental health needs in our recently relocated and newly opened state-of-the-art facility.

Alder Hey has a thriving research portfolio and leads research into children’s medicines, infection, inflammation and oncology. We are becoming recognised as one of the world’s leaders in children’s healthcare and research. We contribute to public health, lead cutting-edge research and teach the next generation of children’s specialists. Alongside this is our Innovation Hub, a dedicated space where clinicians and industries can come together to create new products and technologies.

We know that a children’s hospital is different and that our job is more than just treating an illness. To us, every child is an individual. As well as giving them the very best care, we set out to make them feel happy, safe and confident as they play, learn and grow. At Alder Hey we are here to look after a child and their family and that includes mums, dads, brothers and sisters.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

To work unsupervised as an Advanced Biomedical Scientist, complying with BSQR and maintaining the quality of the Blood Transfusion laboratory.

To prioritise, plan and organise your own work and the work of BMS’s, trainee BMS’s, MLA’s and AP’s within the Blood Transfusion section on a daily basis ensuring results are produced in an accurate and timely manner.

To liaise with the National Blood Authority to enable the needs of the patients to be met.

To monitor and review internal quality control and external quality assurance systems and investigate and correct unexplained trends and results.

To supervise and participate in the operation and maintenance of laboratory equipment on a daily basis.

To undertake a wide variety of non-automated, complex operations requiring a high level of skill, knowledge and manual dexterity on a daily basis. These operations may be of a specialised nature due to the quality and size of paediatric specimens.

To contribute to departmental management decisions including participation in departmental meetings.

To produce and regularly review and update Standard Operating Procedures for all techniques and analysers used in a section of the department.

With support from the Lead Biomedical Scientist, train BMS staff to a level to enable them to work alone for long periods, to support the department's out-of-hours working arrangements.

To submit and deal with incidents recorded on the Trust’s reporting system, Quality Management System and MHRA SABRE and SHOT database, ensuring a comprehensive response and develop corrective and preventative action plans where required.

To monitor levels of reagents, blood, blood products and consumable items and place appropriate orders when stocks are running low.

To be involved in the recruitment of staff, participating in interviews and conducting annual performance reviews including the development of a Personal Development Plan (PDP).

To have IT skills to produce reports, spreadsheets and presentations and to understand the laboratory computer system (LIMS).

To carry out MHRA audits to meet the requirements of the Blood Safety and Quality Regulations 2005 (BSQR) and to carry out department audits to comply with ISO standards.

Please see Job Description and Person Specification for full details.

Person specification

PS

• Registered as a biomedical scientist with Health professions council (HCPC)
• IBMS specialist diploma in relevant subject.
• MSc or HSD in relevant subject
• Completed supervisory, management or leadership course.
• Significant post-registration experience in a hospital blood transfusion laboratory
• Able to demonstrate specialist knowledge in blood transfusion.
• Able to troubleshoot problems in blood transfusion.
• Experience and/or knowledge of paediatric haematology
• Have led a team that has achieved the requirements of BSQR in a hospital transfusion laboratory

We reserve the right to close vacancies without notice when we have received a sufficient number of applications from which to make a shortlist. Please ensure you apply without delay if you wish to be considered for this role.

Please ensure you check the email account from which you apply regularly as we will contact you using this regarding your application. All candidates will be notified via email whether or not they have been shortlisted.

Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. We are committed to creating a well-managed, flexible working environment that supports staff and promotes their welfare and development. We actively promote equality and diversity and operate a Zero Tolerance policy to aggression, violence, bullying and harassment.

Should you require any assistance during the application stages please contact the recruiting manager of the vacancy or the recruitment team at recruitment@alderhey.nhs.uk or call 0151 282 4599.

Please declare within the supporting information if artificial intelligence (AI) has been used in your application.

Please note, the selection processes at Alder Hey Children's Hospital NHS Foundation Trust are in place to ensure we recruit candidates with the right skills and values. Please be advised that the use of AI in applications is monitored. We remain vigilant against candidates who misuse these tools to generate an application that doesn’t accurately reflect their skills.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

The postholder will have access to vulnerable people in the course of their normal duties and as such this post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service to check for any previous criminal convictions.