Point of Care Testing Practitioner
- Employer
- Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
- Location
- Blackpool
- Salary
- £35,392 to £42,618 per annum
- Closing date
- 29 Nov 2023
View more categoriesView less categories
- Profession
- Other Health Profession
- Grade
- Band 6
- Contract Type
- Permanent
- Hours
- Full Time
You need to sign in or create an account to save a job.
The post holder will work as part of the Departmental and Multidisciplinary Teams maintaining good lines of communication and promoting a strong commitment to the department. The principal duty of the post holder will be to provide first line support to operators and departments that use point of care testing (POCT) equipment in order to facilitate safe POCT practice throughout the Trust whilst monitoring and facilitating the correct functioning of all POCT devices. The post holder will also oversee the activity of Associate Practitioners within the POCT Team. Additional duties will be undertaken as directed by the Point of Care Testing Lead in consultation with the post holder.
Please note that a large proportion of this role will use data management systems and Microsoft packages to review and participate in development of POCT systems throughout the Organisation.
Main duties of the job
To work closely with the POCT Lead, POCT Clinical Lead and members of the POCT Team. To monitor and plan own workload. To participate in meetings related to POCT e.g. POCT Team meetings, liaison with Ward Managers, POCT Management Group. To liaise and work with all members of the POCT team and support the services across the Trust sites. To provide training sessions to end-users within various departments Trust wide to promote safe and effective patient care in relation to POCT. To perform routine maintenance and troubleshooting on POCT devices as required. To implement new equipment via change control prior to routine use. To monitor POCT standards via audit and evidence-based practice and implement lessons learned. To monitor POCT analyser performance via Internal quality control (IQC) and External Quality Assurance (EQA) which may include manipulation of material and use of fine tools including pipettes. To participate in the validation of new POCT equipment or retrospective validation of POCT equipment already in use. To participate in the testing and evaluation of new POCT equipment.
About us
The Point of Care Testing Team oversees approximately 3000 operators and more than 300 devices across the Trust. It is a small team that works to the national guidance and standards relating to point of care in vitro diagnostic devices to help ensure the quality of patient results when pathological specimens are tested outside the laboratory.
We recommend that all individuals employed in patient facing roles, or those located on a ward or department where patients receive a service should be fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
Job description
Job responsibilities
General
To be a member of the Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust POCT Team working across all Trust sites. To facilitate safe POCT practice by educating and promoting end-user compliance with POCT Standard Operating Procedures. To monitor performance of POCT devices and facilitate correct functioning by undertaking minor maintenance and troubleshooting procedures. To support the implementation of the policies and procedures authorised and ratified by the Trust POCT Group and the Medical Devices Steering Committee. To promote POCT quality and safety regulations and directives enabling the Trust to meet the requirements of: MHRA guidelines, ISO22870 standards and relevant CQC and NHSLA standards.
Clinical Responsibilities
To develop knowledge of clinical conditions and patient pathways that may benefit from introducing POCT. To develop an awareness of where the routine running of clinical areas and demands on their staff may compromise POCT being performed to acceptable standards. To be familiar with all specialist POCT devices and equipment used throughout BTHFT. To act as a resource to medical/nursing/Allied Healthcare Professional (AHP) staff, supporting and giving advice/information on POCT to ensure safe use of equipment. To advise end-users and clinicians as to how best to proceed during times of technical failure and analyser downtime (i.e. maintenance shutdowns) whilst ensuring continuity of clinical services. To provide an effective link between the laboratories and medical/nursing/AHP staff so that problems and adverse incidents can be fully investigated. To advise end-users of clinical conditions and therapies in which a POCT device would be contraindicated. To advise clinicians and end-users in complex situations regarding appropriate use of tests and interpretation of results where applicable. To support the Research and Development Department in trials where POCT methods are utilised.
Clinical Governance
To perform quality audits. To work with the POCT Lead and POCT Team to improve the safety, quality and efficiency of the service provided. To support the POCT Lead and POCT Team with the validation, implementation and change control processes when required. To investigate report and document POCT adverse incidents/near misses, in line with divisional incident investigation processes and the Trusts Clinical Governance strategy. To ensure that learning from mistakes is fully communicated to all clinical teams and that action plans are implemented and fully complied with. To participate in clinical governance structures by ensuring any concerns are notified and communicated appropriately. To participate in POCT vendor and MHRA reporting of serious adverse incidents. Utilise current evidence and best practice in all areas of clinical work.
Policy
To contribute to and update Standard Operating Procedures for POCT. To work in line with Trust policy and Caldicott/Data Protection Act requirements, maintaining patient confidentiality.
Supervisory Duties
To supervise the work of Associate Practitioners, Support Workers and POCT end-users Trust wide as directed by the POCT Lead. To deputise for the POCT Advanced Practitioner and POCT Lead as required. To be responsible for the efficient and effective use of materials for all POCT methods within and outside of the laboratory. To liaise with other staff and departments as required.
Administrative Duties
To provide first-line support for telephone queries. To maintain databases of POCT operators (including training/competence status) and POCT devices. To review data management systems linked to POCT devices to monitor and audit the safe use of equipment. To review patient test results on data management systems with a view to identifying potentially erroneous results or non-conformance with standard operating procedures. To maintain records for External Quality Assurance and Proficiency Testing and submitting results to national scheme organisers. To produce POCT quality audit reports. To produce and update POCT information on SharePoint. To monitor and review stock levels of POCT consumables as appropriate. To order consumables as and when required. To support the administration needs of the POCT Group and take minutes as required.
Training / Development / Communication
To develop, organise and deliver training sessions on POCT devices, based on the POCT Standard Operating Procedures, for medical, nursing and AHP staff who use POCT devices/methods. To provide informal education and advice on best POCT practice when visiting clinical areas. To participate in staff induction days to introduce best practice for POCT. To work in collaboration with the Trust Training and Development Department in order to develop and implement appropriate educational training programmes. To contribute to educational/publicity material for Trust staff and external NHS organisations. To facilitate with training of POCT Team members. To ensure personal compliance with regards to mandatory, professional and personal development according to service needs. To ensure personal compliance with professional codes of conduct. To ensure personal compliance with Continuous Professional Development guidelines and laboratory schemes. To attend and contribute to department Service Review meetings. To maintain awareness of future needs and contribute towards service development To participate in annual appraisal.
Patient Liaison
To support end-users of POCT Trust wide, this may be in clinical areas leading to some patient contact. To provide basic maintenance and troubleshooting of POCT devices in clinical areas when required. To perform evaluation of POCT devices which may require extra patient samples for comparison studies Patient contact may be required to gain consent and/or samples from the patient.
Additional information
Physical Effort
Substantial periods of time using computers will frequently be required. Moderate exertion may be required if POCT devices / equipment need to be lifted or moved for troubleshooting, maintenance or implementation purposes.
Mental Effort
Prolonged concentration will be required to undergo tasks including but not restricted to development of procedural documents or participation in change control, investigative work in a current study / evaluation or when undergoing quality audits. On occasion where an urgent issue arises with a POCT device the post holder may be required to commence a new activity immediately.
Working Conditions
Frequent exposure to reagents/chemicals and bodily fluids.
Emotional Effort
On rare occasions the post holder may witness a distressing scene in clinical areas when working POCT devices. The post holder may be indirectly exposed to distressing or emotional circumstances via incident reports, audits and/or reporting of patient results.
Person Specification
EDUCATION AND QUALIFICATIONS
Essential
Desirable
EXPERIENCE AND KNOWLEDGE
Essential
Desirable
SKILLS AND ABILITY
Essential
Please note that a large proportion of this role will use data management systems and Microsoft packages to review and participate in development of POCT systems throughout the Organisation.
Main duties of the job
About us
The Point of Care Testing Team oversees approximately 3000 operators and more than 300 devices across the Trust. It is a small team that works to the national guidance and standards relating to point of care in vitro diagnostic devices to help ensure the quality of patient results when pathological specimens are tested outside the laboratory.
We recommend that all individuals employed in patient facing roles, or those located on a ward or department where patients receive a service should be fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
Job description
Job responsibilities
General
Clinical Responsibilities
Clinical Governance
Policy
Supervisory Duties
Administrative Duties
Training / Development / Communication
Patient Liaison
Additional information
Physical Effort
Mental Effort
Working Conditions
Emotional Effort
Person Specification
EDUCATION AND QUALIFICATIONS
Essential
- Relevant professional/scientific qualification to degree level or higher
- Current registration with HCPC or registration with NMC or equivalent
- Post graduate Diploma (IBMS Specialist portfolio or equivalent)
- Evidence of continuing professional development / professional portfolio
Desirable
- Working towards further professional / developmental qualification
EXPERIENCE AND KNOWLEDGE
Essential
- oSignificant demonstrable evidence of practice as a qualified biomedical scientist / equivalent healthcare professional
- oEvidence of good organisational and planning skills
- oExperience of manual and automated (POCT) techniques
- oSupervision of trainee staff and medical laboratory assistants or healthcare assistants
- oTeam working
- oAbility to work under pressure
- oAbility to work unsupervised
- oAptitude to change
- oAbility to prioritise
Desirable
- oKnowledge of local and national issues affecting POCT services
- oKnowledge of MHRA standards on POCT
- oUKAS standards on POCT (ISO 15189:2022)
- oExperience within improvement projects
- oTeaching or lecturing in both internal and external locations
- oIncident review
- oHandling complaints and queries
- oExperience of change management and/or action planning
- oExperience working within disciplines of pathology
- oExperience of client / customer liaison
SKILLS AND ABILITY
Essential
- oExcellent written communication skills
- oExcellent computer skills (proficient with Microsoft Word, Excel and Outlook)
- oCritical analysis skills
- oEvidence of skills in diplomacy and negotiation
- oSafe handling of hazardous materials, Health and Safety
- oGood laboratory practice and organisational skills
- oEncourages participation from all staff
- oFull UK driving
Any attachments will be accessible after you click to apply.
382-CS246-23
You need to sign in or create an account to save a job.
Get job alerts
Create a job alert and receive personalised job recommendations straight to your inbox.
Create alert