Instrument Co-Ordinator

Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

To provide day-to-day logistical management of all the surgical instruments used within the Trust, which directly contributes to the smooth and efficient running of the operating theatres and quality patient care by ensuring that all surgical instruments are made available for use in a timely manner.

In addition, the post holder will also order new instruments and oversee the repair and replacement of instruments, to ensure instruments are always available and in exceptional working order. High standards of quality and safety and excellent communication skills are vital to this role.

Main duties of the job

1. Daily communication with the Sterile Services Decontamination team to identify instruments needed as priority or for next day use.
2. Daily communication with other instrument coordinators within the other hospital theatre areas to arrange transport of instruments between the hospitals on an ad-hoc basis and return following use.
3. Oversee that any surgical instruments which are broken, blunt or defective are sent off to specialist repair companies and, following their return, are put back immediately into circulation without delay.
4. Receive 'loaned in' surgical instruments for specialist surgery and ensure these are sent to the Decontamination unit for cleaning, sterilisation, and returned ready for use.
5. Maintain records on instrument repairs and activity of both Trusts and loan instrument use.
6. Although based at Broadgreen, flexibility to work across all sites - RLH, Aintree, and Broadgreen covering for staff leave is required.
7. The post is a weekly alternating shift - one week working 07:00 - 17:00, the following week working 10:00 - 18:00.

About us

Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust comprises Aintree University Hospital, Broadgreen Hospital & Royal Liverpool University Hospital.

We are part of NHS University Hospitals of Liverpool Group, formed on 1 Nov 2024 from the coming together of LUHFT and Liverpool Women's NHS Foundation Trust. The Group was born from a shared aim to improve the care we provide our patients.

UHLG is one of the largest employers in the region, with over 16,800 colleagues dedicated to caring for our communities - from birth and beyond.

For the 630,000 people across Merseyside, we are their local NHS. We provide general and emergency hospital care, alongside highly specialised regional services for more than two million people in the North West.

Aintree University Hospital is the single receiving site for adult major trauma patients in Cheshire and Merseyside and hosts a number of regional services including an award-winning stroke facility. Broadgreen Hospital is home to elective surgical, diagnostic, and treatment services, together with specialist patient rehabilitation. Liverpool Women's Hospital specialises in the health of women and babies, delivering over 7,200 babies in the UK's largest single-site maternity hospital each year. The Royal Liverpool University Hospital is the largest hospital in the country to provide inpatients with 100% single bedrooms and focuses on complex planned care and specialist services.

Job responsibilities

1. Daily communication with theatre teams to ensure that instrument needs for surgery are available for use in a timely manner.
2. Arrange for instruments to be transferred as required between hospitals across University Liverpool Hospitals Group sites and returned following use.
3. Daily liaison with sterile services to identify and prioritise equipment for next day use known as Fast-tracking.
4. Receive, record, and manage loan instruments both into the trust in a timely manner and also arrange for these to be returned safely and in a timely manner back to the loan company following use whilst maintaining records of all loan instrument use for cost and quality analysis.
5. Manage all instrument repairs to ensure that instruments which are broken, require sharpening, or need replacing are done so swiftly so that these instruments are always available for use.
6. Carry out expiry date checks on all instruments and return out-of-date items when expired for reprocessing.
7. Maintain storage areas for sterile instruments as per trust requirements in line with regulatory and infection control requirements.

Person Specification

Qualifications

• Recognised qualification in a relevant healthcare science NVQ Level 2, pertaining to instrument or theatre support worker coordination, procurement or relevant experience in a similar role.
• Experience in the implementation of Manual Certificates Handling regulations, PPE, COSHH and completion of risk assessments.
• Understanding of regulatory requirements such as for medical devices, MDA/MHRA, and Department of Health CJD requirements.

Experience

• Demonstrable experience in a Theatre, Hospital Procurement or SSD environment in a recognised Band 2 or equivalent support role. Knowledge and understanding of instruments and clinical demands essential to role.
• Excellent technical and communication skills and the ability to inspire, motivate, and lead staff.
• Ability to provide clear and precise detailed explanations on the essential quality and safety requirements for the handling, storage, and ordering of surgical instruments from service providers and expertise in the use of instrument Tracking & Traceability systems.
• Experience in undertaking internal quality audits and authoring and presenting reports to management on effective solutions for the best management of instrument assets.

Knowledge

• Demonstrate a thorough understanding of the operation of 'Permit to Work' systems pertaining to device decontamination equipment.
• Provide detailed knowledge of the actions and limitations within SSD for the reprocessing of instruments and the complexities and timescales involved.
• Be fully conversant with the Department of Health requirements for the processes to minimise the spread of Prions such as CJD with regards to endoscope decontamination.
• Have a detailed understanding of Department of Health, Health Building Notes for the storage of sterile goods in the preoperative environment.
• Ability to review technical data from instrument manufacturers against specified and pre-agreed parameters set by the trust for reprocessing requirements.

Skills

• Ability to plan and set objectives to maximise instrument utilisation and efficiency delivered through exceptional communication with both theatre management and clinicians alike.
• Ability to come up with effective and innovative responses to clinical needs in line with current regulations.

Other

• Be flexible to meet the needs of the service and staff. Manage own time effectively as needed. Working on own initiative and drive. Self-motivated and has a positive can-do attitude. Creative thinker and inspirational role model as part of a Team.
• Have a driving licence or ability to access transport easily. Ability to work across different Trust sites as needed and when required to drive Trust transport.
• Lead by example at all times. Work in a manner which always demonstrates safety to self, other staff, visitors, and patients.
• Working within a strict quality-driven governance framework to national objectives and Department of Health requirements.
• Responsive to change and positively review and adapt to new technology or methods of working.

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.

Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust