Medical Laboratory Assistant

Virology is very much in the public eye now, and more than ever there will be focus to improve methodology, techniques and technology.

This is an opportunity to be a fundamental part of patient care and have an impact during the Coronavirus pandemic with the Virology Team at King’s Hospital as a band 3 Medical Laboratory Assistant.

Following appropriate training and orientation and in rotation with other MLA staff, you’ll work weekend, bank holidays and potentially extended day shifts. The participation in the weekend and other rotas are mandatory for this post.

King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is one of London’s largest and busiest teaching hospitals, with a unique profile of strong local services and a focused set of specialist services. King’s has a Foetal Medicine Unit, Liver Transplant Unit and a large Obstetric department, is South East England’s largest Bone Marrow Transplant Unit, and is one of four designated Major Trauma Centre’s in London. Over the last 170 years, King’s has delivered nothing but world class service to all its patients from deprived communities as well as some of the wealthiest in London.

**A little about the lab and us**:
**We run a full Virology service, including**:
Serology testing using a bespoke Tecan system, Abbott Architect, Biomerieux Vidas, and manual confirmatory assays.

Molecular testing using the Kingfisher Flex, Quantstudio 7, and various liquid handler instrumentation.

The team manages a workload of approximately 350,000 tests per annum.

We are a large team led by three Consultant Virologists, three clinical scientists, and a large team of Senior biomedical Scientists, Biomedical Scientists, and Scientific Assistant Technical Officers.

King’s College Hospital Foundation Trust is one of the UK’s leading NHS Foundation Trusts in specialist teaching. King’s has various divisions including Neurosciences, Haematology, Cancer and Cardiovascular sciences, where there are unlimited opportunities to develop and perfect your career.

The laboratory analyses blood, urine, faeces, respiratory, CSF and other fluid samples from hospital and GP patients. MLAs and APs support the process of pathology testing by performing duties related to receipt and pre-analytical processing of samples, as well as other duties that contribute to the delivery of a full quality pathology service. These duties are performed to support the technical services primarily in virology throughout a working day (08:00-17:30) though Virology is a 24/7 service and some tasks may need to be undertaken out of hours.

MLAs are responsible for carrying out all laboratory support tasks that do not require BMS HCPC Registration, including some technical tasks. Principally these tasks are associated with sample receipt and all pre
- and post-analytical preparation, basic supervised technical work and the organisation of supplies and consumables.

You will have a suite of learning opportunities available through The Synnovis Way Development programme, the Scientific Learning and Development Fund and the Synnovis Academy through which you can receive funding / support for advanced qualifications.

At Synnovis, we are currently shaping the future of pathology services by creating a world-leading Hub and Spoke pathology network with our NHS partners. A large part of this modernisation will involve moving 70% of our services to a purpose built, state of the art Hub laboratory in the heart of London.

**Responsibilities**:
Technical

Use laboratory information system according to protocols

Accurate data entry of sensitive patient information onto the laboratory computer system, requiring frequent, long periods of concentration

To receive and prepare specimens for testing using automated, semi-automated and manual methods. This requires a high level of accuracy and attention to detail

Prepare laboratory reagents including chemical solutions according to SOPs

Perform automated, semi-automated and manual processing of specimens within training parameters and where appropriate under the supervision of senior staff

Process samples under supervision for clinical trials, new test validation, and research and development projects as and when required

Ensure quality control measures are carried out to monitor analytical performance, take corrective action where applicable and report any failures to a senior member of staff

Use of various laboratory equipment for analysis

Set up equipment for use by other members of staff

Undertake preventative maintenance of automated analysers as and when required

Undertake basic troubleshooting of expensive analytical instruments and automated analysers under supervision of senior staff

Advise service users on sample preservation and transportation to laboratory, sample status and other queries

Prepare pack and dispatch samples for transfer to other sections or laboratories

To file samples following appropriate protocols and keep records as