Anatomical Pathology Technician

Ashford & St. Peter's Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust; Chertsey; On-site; GBP 25,000 - 35,000; Full time

Job description

Job summary

Exciting opportunity to join the mortuary team at St Peters Hospital. To assist the team in all aspects of mortuary tasks such as: performing post mortems, the team perform approx. 500 per annum including forensic post mortems. The care of the deceased approx. 2400 admission per annum. The successful candidate will have relevant mortuary experience and be qualified to NVQ level 4 or diploma. Although consideration will be given to candidates with NVQ level 3 who will pursue NVQ level 4 as part of their role (and will be paid Band 4 until NVQ level 4 / band 5 is achieved).

Main duties of the job

The main duties of the role will be to provide a full mortuary service for the Trust. Perform post mortems, labelling samples, liaise with the coroner office, bereavement and Medical Examiners office. Ensure stock levels are maintained, conduct regular audits and participate in the reviewing and writing of Standard Operating Procedures as necessary. To participate in the on call rota, currently 1:3. Have a working knowledge of the Human Tissue Authority and participate in cross site cover as required.

About us

Ashford and St. Peters Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust serves a population of more than 410,000 people living in North-West Surrey, parts of Hounslow and beyond.

Over 3,700 highly trained doctors, nurses, midwives, therapists, healthcare scientists and other support staff make up our workforce, providing a wide range of services across our two hospital sites, Ashford, Surrey and St Peter's, Chertsey, Surrey.

We also run many specialist clinics in the community and local community hospitals and other healthcare facilities.

Our vision is to be one of the best healthcare Trusts in the country. There has never been a better time to join us in the NHS at ASPH. We are committed to providing continuous professional development and flexibility to shape our workforce around our patient care.

We are expanding our theatres at Ashford Hospital and moving towards this becoming our dedicated elective centre. We want to create a state-of-the-art centre for excellence for planned surgical procedures.

We can offer you the full range of NHS benefits/discounts and in addition:

• Excellent pension scheme and annual leave entitlement
• On-site Nurseries
• On-site staff cafes
• On-site parking
• Support in career development
• Salary Sacrifice schemes including wage stream, lease cars, Cycle to Work schemes and home electronics

Adverts may close early, so applicants are encouraged to submit an application as soon as possible.

For more information about a career at ASPH please visit: www.asph-careers.org

Job description

Job responsibilities

Assist and support the Site Leads and other staff with all mortuary activities using local SOPs and trust policies. Assist and maintain clear communication with Consultant Pathologist(s) within the postmortem room. To engage in continued growth of the department across site through the quality management systems, HTA, and previous mortuary experience(s). Admit and release of deceased patients and understanding the legal documentation in accordance with HTA and trust policies. To maintain accurate records of all property that may accompany deceased. Understanding of documentation required for the admission, post-mortem, release and disposal of bodies, personal effects, and tissue retention for a scheduled purpose. To liaise with the bereavement officer(s), funeral directors and coroners officer in the documentation and release of deceased patients from the mortuary. To liaise with other partners and stakeholders both internal and external to the trust. Ensure specimens are labelled and handled in accordance with local pathology policies and HTA requirements. To prepare viewings and when necessary, accompanying the relatives into the viewing room. Sympathetic engagement of persons viewing the deceased, to ensure relatives are supported and treated with courtesy, respect, and consideration always. Assist the bereavement officer when required for viewings, collection of forms. To assist in the identification of a deceased patient on behalf of HM Coroner and the Police. Participate and work with colleagues to provide 24-hour service, working flexibly in accordance with needs of the department. The standard on-call for this post is 1 in 3 and may rarely require additional support to the service. Encouraged to seek further learning opportunities both internal and external to the trust. Must ensure mandatory training is completed in a timely manner. Actively participate in team meetings and continued development of the service. Ensure you can keep to and maintain deadlines. Undertake cross-site working at the direction of the mortuary operations manager, or via the site leads in the absence of to support the effective running of the service.

Person Specification

Education

Essential

• Level 4 diploma

Desirable

• Level 3 diploma

Experience

Essential

• 2 years post level 3 diploma working experience

Desirable

• Less than 2 years post level 3 diploma

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Employer details

Employer name

Ashford & St. Peter's Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Address

St Peters Mortuary

Guildford Road

Chertsey

KT16 0PZ

Employer's website