Job Title: Associate Practitioner
Department: Point of Care Testing
Location: Barnet and Chase Farm Hospitals, EN5 3DJ
Contract /Hours: Permanent/37.5 per week
Salary range: Up to £36,621 per annum DOE inclusive of regional pay allowance
About us:
Sonic Healthcare is an internationally renowned healthcare provider with a demonstrable track record of medical services across the world. Headquartered in Sydney, Australia, Sonic is an ASX Top 50 company that has grown to become one of the world’s leading healthcare providers, specialising in pathology, radiology and primary care medical centres. We have operations in Australia, the USA, Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Ireland and New Zealand.
Sonic Healthcare UK encompasses the two main entities in the UK, The Doctors Laboratory (TDL) and Health Services Laboratories (HSL). HSL is a partnership between The Doctors Laboratory (TDL), Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust and University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (UCLH). HSL was formed to provide pathology services to the NHS Trusts and has expanded further to provide services to other NHS Trusts. Over 3,500 staff work at Sonic Healthcare UK, primarily under the TDL or HSL banner.
Our purpose is to deliver medically-led diagnostics, innovation, value and long-term investment to healthcare. With our core laboratory based at The Halo Building in London WC1H 9AX, we also have an expanding site in Manchester as well as smaller hospital-based laboratories across the country. We maintain rigorously high standards of quality, whilst also delivering efficiencies to healthcare through careful workforce planning, pioneering technology and significant investment in infrastructure and IT.
About the Role
An exciting opportunity has arisen for a motivated and enthusiastic Associate Practitioner to join the Point of Care Testing (POCT) Department. This permanent position offers the opportunity to play a key role in supporting high-quality diagnostic services across our hospitals and community sites.
We are seeking an individual with excellent communication and organizational skills who enjoys working independently and as part of a multidisciplinary team. You will support the delivery of POCT services to UKAS quality standards and contribute to the implementation of Trust-wide POCT policies and procedures.
The successful candidate will provide technical, administrative and operational support for a wide range of Point of Care Testing devices used across clinical wards, departments and community settings. Working closely with the POCT Manager and Senior Biomedical Scientists, you will help ensure the safe and effective use of POCT equipment throughout the Trust.
Key responsibilities include:
- Maintaining and troubleshooting POCT equipment across hospital and community sites.
- Supporting device validation, upgrades and implementation projects.
- Delivering training and competency assessments for clinical users.
- Supporting internal quality control (IQC) and external quality assessment (EQA) programmes.
- Assisting with audits, quality management activities and service improvement initiatives.
- Providing advice and support to clinical teams and responding to POCT-related enquiries.
- Managing stock, supplies and documentation associated with the POCT service.
About You
To be successful in this role, you will have:
Essential
- An Honours Degree in a science subject or equivalent relevant experience.
- Experience working as a Medical Laboratory Assistant (MLA) in a pathology laboratory or within a POCT team.
- Strong IT skills, including Microsoft Office applications.
- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
- A commitment to quality, patient safety and continuous improvement.
- The ability to work independently and manage competing priorities.
Desirable
- Experience with laboratory information systems.
- Knowledge of LEAN principles.
- Experience using POCT devices such as glucose meters and urine dipstick analysers.
Working Hours
The post is 37.5 hours per week, Monday to Friday, supporting the service between 9:00am and 5:30pm. Flexibility is required as there may be occasional weekend and Bank Holiday working to meet service needs.
Why Join Us?
This is an excellent opportunity to develop specialist expertise in Point of Care Testing within a supportive and dynamic team. You will work across a variety of clinical settings, contribute directly to patient care and gain valuable experience in quality management, training and diagnostic technologies.
If you are proactive, organised and passionate about delivering high-quality healthcare services, we would love to hear from you.
At HSL we offer a variety of excellent staff benefits including:
- Training and development opportunities – supporting professional development
- Annual salary review - salary and progression are aligned to our internal transparent pay structure (Progression Plus), supporting career development and structured annual salary reviews
- Discounted gym membership – we have a corporate gym membership scheme with Better Gyms
- Cash healthcare plan – cash back on a variety of healthcare costs including dentist and opticians
- Sick Pay Entitlement – one month’s full pay and one month’s half pay after probation
- Permanent Health Insurance and Death in Service Cover
- Life Assurance – providing salary continuation for long term illness (six months qualifying period)
- Employee Assistance Programme – supporting staff wellbeing
- Season Ticket Loan Scheme – interest free loan for the cost of annual travel ticket
- Perkbox – Access to additional staff perks and benefits such as high street discounts
- Company Pension Scheme – company and staff contributions which increase with service
- Competitive annual leave allowance – 29 days.
- Flexible working hours – we support and offer flexibility around shift patterns and working schedule
Please read the job description and person specification carefully and ensure that your application reflects the knowledge, skills and experience required.
We respect and value the diversity of our staff and welcome applications from diverse communities.
PLEASE NOTE: WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO CLOSE THIS VACANCY AT ANY TIME EVEN IF A CLOSING DATE IS SHOWN HERE OR IN ANY OTHER MEDIA
