Are you looking for a role where your work has a direct impact on patient care?
Join the Flow Cytometry (Immunophenotyping) Laboratory at Synnovis, Guy's Hospital, and become part of a specialist team delivering essential diagnostic services for patients with blood cancers and immunological disorders. As a Medical Laboratory Assistant, you will play a key role in supporting the laboratory's day-to-day operations, helping to ensure patients receive accurate and timely diagnoses. This is a fantastic opportunity to develop your skills in a specialist laboratory environment, with full training provided and clear opportunities to build a career in pathology and healthcare science.
The Flow Cytometry (Immunophenotyping) Laboratory at Guy's Hospital provides a specialist diagnostic service supporting the diagnosis, classification and monitoring of haematological malignancies and immunological disorders for patients across London and the South East. Working as part of a highly skilled and supportive team, you will contribute directly to a service that helps clinicians make critical decisions about patient care.
As a Medical Laboratory Assistant, you will support the day-to-day operation of the laboratory through the receipt, processing and preparation of patient samples, including peripheral blood, bone marrow aspirates and body fluids. A key aspect of the role will involve the set-up of complex flow cytometry assays, ensuring specimens are prepared accurately and efficiently for diagnostic analysis.
Additional duties include booking samples onto the laboratory information system, reagent preparation, stock management, equipment maintenance, data entry and record keeping. You will work closely with Biomedical Scientists and other laboratory colleagues to ensure the timely delivery of a high-quality service.
The laboratory is accredited to UKAS ISO 15189:2022 standards and uses advanced flow cytometry techniques to support a broad diagnostic repertoire. This role offers a unique opportunity to gain hands-on experience within a specialist discipline and develop valuable skills in a busy, accredited diagnostic laboratory. We are looking for an organised, motivated, and detail-oriented individual who takes pride in delivering high standards and enjoys working as part of a team committed to excellent patient care.
Working for Synnovis means being part of an organisation committed to delivering exceptional pathology services. Based at Guy's Hospital, you will join a friendly and experienced Flow Cytometry team providing a specialist diagnostic service that directly supports patient care. We are committed to fostering a supportive working environment and encouraging the development of our staff through training and continuous learning opportunities.
You will have a suite of learning opportunities available through The ACCE competencies programme, the Scientific Learning and Development Fund and the Synnovis Academy through which you can receive funding / support for advanced qualifications.
Through our Innovation Accelerator Fund, you can apply for finance to get that new innovative scientific project off the ground, and participate with the wider scientific community through symposiums, conferences and other peer group meetings.
This role supports the delivery of biomedical investigations as part of the Special Haematology Laboratory (Immunophenotyping) laboratory at Guy’s Hospital. Reporting to the Senior Specialist BMS, you will hold a variety of responsibilities to ensure the successful delivery of pathology services, in line with our corporate objectives.
What you will do
You will hold a variety of accountabilities in the laboratory environment. These may include,
but are not limited to:
- Handle and manage samples, in line with standard operating procedures (SOPs) and assessed competencies.
- Perform tasks and operate laboratory equipment within all safety standards and according to local SOPs relevant to your area.
- Prepare solutions, reagents etc, utilising a variety of laboratory equipment to carry out investigations.
- Ensure all laboratory consumables and equipment are maintained in line with SOPs and health and safety guidelines.
- Complete data entry that is accurate, reliable, delivered on time and in accordance with
- Information Governance (IG) procedures.
- Provide administrative support to all areas of the laboratory, as appropriate and dependent on experience and training.
Key Responsibilities
- Perform cleaning activities in the laboratory and prepare laboratory equipment for use.
- Perform daily checks on laboratory areas as directed and complete all required paperwork.
- Perform environmental monitoring and waste management activities in a safe way, as required.
- Support and train colleagues in your area as required.
- Support with specimen reception and referrals processing, as required.
- Use departmental resources efficiently and apply good stock management of reagents, consumables and stationery. Receipt and unpack new deliveries and advise/order when approaching minimum stock levels.
- Report and record all incidents and adverse events under the direction of the senior members of staff.
- Participate in quality management activities including inspections and audits, as required.
- Use Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS) to accurately record sensitive patient information, requiring frequent, long periods of concentration, whilst maintaining patient confidentiality and following IG guidelines.
- Organise day-to-day tasks, identifying and prioritising urgent work to ensure that deadlines are met, and that work is delivered to the highest standards possible.
- Escalate to senior member of staff, as necessary.
- Safely handle, use and dispose of biological specimens including infectious material or hazardous chemicals according to laboratory and health and safety protocols.
- Understand hazards and risks of working in a laboratory and use adequate precautions and personal protective equipment at all times.
- Answer the telephone, deal with calls politely and professionally, escalating requests when necessary to appropriate senior staff or other departments.
- Adhere to the laboratory SOPs and work with the team to review working practice to maintain a high quality and safe service.
- Perform specimen reception duties including checking details, receiving and logging patient requests on to the LIMS.
- Process referral specimens, receive samples dispatched from other laboratories and prepare samples for despatch to other laboratories or hospitals.
- Prepare specimens and perform manual, semi-automated and fully-automated laboratory
- investigations within training parameters and where appropriate under supervision.
- Undertake preventative maintenance and basic troubleshooting on laboratory instruments
- and equipment prior to them being used for patient investigations.
- Process samples under supervision for clinical trials and research and development projects as and when required.
- File samples following appropriate protocols and keep records as required.
- Prepare, store and use reagents required for laboratory investigations.
- Maintain knowledge and skills as identified by line manager. Undertake periodic laboratory training and competence assessment.
Synnovis is a pathology partnership between SYNLAB UK and Ireland, and the NHS, including sites, Guy’s & St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust and King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, to deliver and transform pathology services across South East London.
The partnership provides services to 1.7 million people living in South East London, as well as to hundreds of thousands of patients from outside the region who use local healthcare services.
The partnership provides diagnostics, testing and digital pathology for hospital trusts, GP services and other healthcare providers.
Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital Foundation Trust is a major emergency and specialist teaching Trust which has all the specialties associated with a fascinating and career defining case load including: Women’s Services, Fetal Medicine, Haematology, Oncology, Transplantation, and is also home to the Evelina Children’s Hospital and the Cancer Centre on the Guy’s site.
You will be close to the vibrant Borough Market and the South Bank, which are exceptional London locations; perfect places to work and relax next to such iconic venues as Big Ben, The London Eye and The Shard!
