Practitioner in Point of Care Testing

An excellent opportunity has arisen for a Point of Care Testing (POCT) Practitioner to join a friendly and busy Point of Care Testing (POCT) Department at Wirral University Teaching Hospital (WUTH).

The WUTH Laboratory Medicine/Blood Sciences Point of Care Testing services is currently under preparation for accreditation using a wide range of IT-connected POCT devices/assays inside the hospital and at the community level. The WUTH POCT services is expanding rapidly using different POCT middleware for monitoring services and direct transmission of patients’ results to hospital information service (Millennium) in real time.

The WUTH POCT Services is using a wide range of IT-connected devices including blood glucose, ketone, INR and creatinine/eGFR devices, Covid/Flu screening, blood gas/co-oximetry, coagulation, D Dimer, CRP and urine pregnancy.

**As a member of POCT Team you will be**:

- proficient in the use of IT-connected POCT devices, oversee their operation in the clinical area, ensuring that Standard Operating Procedures are followed.
- continuously monitoring the running POCT services to ensure POCT delivers high quality services based on recommended guidelines by the Government.
- involved in maintaining POCT devices according to the Trust policies, Providing technical support on a range of POCT equipment using own initiative/judgement in a number of different areas inside and outside the main hospital.
- reviewing/analysinge POCT devices calibration, Quality Control and Quality Assurance performance in a timely manner and deal with issues where applicable.
- contributing to training programme and monitoring users’ performance and compliance as appropriate.
- receive, record, prioritise and manage telephone and personal enquiries, complaints, messages and information from staff, clinicians and external organisations on behalf of the POCT Lead.

All new colleagues can expect to receive a warm and friendly Wirral welcome from the very first time they make contact with us. We are described as “competent and caring staff” by our patients.

Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is situated on The Wirral peninsula which has a stunning coastline and beautiful countryside surroundings, with great activities for its residents.

We are one of the largest and busiest acute Trusts in the North West of England, comprising of the Wirral’s only Emergency Department. We provide a high quality range of acute care services and employ over 6,000 staff, who serve a population of approximately 400,000 people across Wirral, Ellesmere Port, Neston, North Wales and the wider North West footprint.

We have approximately 855 beds trust-wide and our financial turnover is in excess of £337m.

The Wirral is easily accessible with excellent transport links including motorway, train, bus or ferry and within easy reach to the major cities of Liverpool, Chester and Manchester as well as neighbouring North Wales.

Applications are invited from suitably experienced, enthusiastic and self
- motivated individuals for this full-time position vacancy to join our friendly and dedicated Point of Care Testing team.

**The postholder role includes**:

- contributing to the provision of a continuous and comprehensive Point of Care Testing services on several sites at Primary and Secondary Care.
- monitor and maintain the smooth running POCT services, dealing with technical issues in all sites, performing stock checks and processing operators’ requests.
- receive, record, prioritise and manage telephone and personal enquiries, complaints, messages and information from Ward staff, Clinicians, Nurses, Midwives and external organisations on behalf of the POCT Lead and deal with enquiries in a sensitive and efficient manner.
- plan and organise the workloads which can be varied and complex. This involves completion of ongoing work, together with new work, which can be interspersed with urgent enquiries requiring immediate action.
- visiting different wards/sites for inspecting running POCT services and performing external quality assurance (EQA), all of which will help clinical staff to manage patients effectively.
- contributing to training programme and monitoring users’ performance and compliance.
- record and monitor data from non-analytical equipment e.g. decontamination records for POCT devices returned to manufactures for repair, temperature logs for fridges and freezers used for storage of consumables for Point of Care devices.

The WUTH POCT Services is currently using a wide range of IT-connected Point of Care Testing analysers including blood gas/coox analyses, blood glucose, ketone, creatinine/eGFR and PT-INR testing, POCT Covid-19/Flu/RSV screening, D-Dimer and CRP, blood coagulation analyses, POCT urine pregnancy and urine screening.

The IT connectivity of POCT devices enables transmission of POCT obtained results directly onto patients’ electronic records (EPR) in real-time. All operators usin