Job summary
An exciting opportunity has arisen for an enthusiastic individual to work within our Blood Sciences Department as a Healthcare Science Associate on a fixed term, eleven month, contract.
We are looking for highly motivated candidates who are ready to start or develop their career in the NHS in this exciting opportunity. You will need to be a good communicator, have excellent interpersonal skills and be able to multitask effectively. Prioritisation and time management skills will be essential to the role. You should hold a foundation degree, or higher, in Laboratory and Associated Technical Activities or equivalent.
- Interview Date Friday 17 July 2026
- 37 Hours 30 Minutes/WeekYou will be redirected to Trac to apply for the vacancy. Please expand the job details section and read all of the information before applying for the vacancy
NO AGENCIES PLEASE
Main duties of the job
- The post holder will work as part of a team and carry out varied tasks including specimen reception, labelling, registration, pre-analytical preparation and processing, analysing a limited range of tests and data manipulation using the department networked computer system.
- They will perform laboratory and POCT tests, operate equipment and analysers, and record some laboratory results and dispose of waste following departmental procedures. They will respond to telephone enquiries and give out test results as appropriate.
About us
As a flexible working friendly organisation, we want to be sure that you can work in a way that is best for us and for our patients, and for you. Speak to us about how we might be able to accommodate a flexible working arrangement. If it works for the service, we will do our best to make it work for you.
With around 2 million contacts with patients every year, we deliver care from:
- Royal Victoria Infirmary (RVI)
- Freeman Hospital
- Newcastle Dental Hospital
- Cramlington Manor Walks
- Urgent treatment centres
- Newcastle Fertility Centre
- Northern Centre for Cancer Care, North Cumbria
- Northern Genetics Service
These include a range of flagship services which deliver cutting-edge care (supported by state-of-the-art diagnostic services in both radiology and pathology) and are a catalyst for innovation to support pioneering clinical practice in the NHS.
We also have offices at Regent Point in Gosforth and community sites.
Please see attached information on what Staff Benefits we have to offer at our Trust under 'Documents to download' or 'Supporting documents'.
For further information on The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust please visit: Careers | Newcastle Hospitals | NHS | Newcastle Hospitals and Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Job description
Job responsibilities
- A Healthcare Science Associate is part of a clinical support team whose purpose is to provide timely and accurate high quality scientific information that will assist service users from the hospital and community, in the establishment of a clinical diagnosis and monitoring of patient treatment.
- The Healthcare Science Associate will use practical skills to carry out tasks associated with the pre-analytical preparation of specimens, analysis of a limited range of tests and post analytical duties. This includes day to day management of Quality Assurance Schemes within the Blood Sciences Department and managing Point of Care Testing analysers across the Trust.
- Specimen reception: To deal with the reception, sorting and labelling of patient specimens, identifying inadequate and mislabelled specimens and ensuring urgent samples are prioritised.
- Data entry, preparing specimens for analysis, including booking in-patient and specimen details, storing, retrieving and disposing of specimens.
- To analyse a limited range of tests, e.g. Urine Pregnancy Tests, Blood Gas Analysis, Ionised Calcium in line with departmental SOPs.
- Operate, maintain and basic trouble shoot departmental analysers, in line with departmental SOPs.
- To undertake simple analytical procedures under guidance and maintain and operate laboratory equipment in accordance with departmental SOPs.
- To manually transcribe and record laboratory data, input to and manipulation of the laboratory computer system and derivation of worksheets for qualified staff
- To receive requests for information by telephone and respond appropriately.
- To prepare and reconstitute reagents and control materials and other processes as required, recording stock levels, maintenance of instruments and equipment, and keeping appropriate records both manually and electronic.
- To manage the day to day departmental Quality Assurance by distributing, monitoring and resulting tests on all schemes.
- To co-ordinate distribution of Quality Assurance reports and assist Team Leaders in review.
- To manage Point of Care Testing (POCT) devices across the Trust, including training, audit and quality control.
- To work in compliance with local health and safety rules to ensure a safe working environment for yourself, colleagues and visitors. To adhere to department and Trust Health and Safety policies (including COSHH, Risk assessments and Standard Operating Procedures) and to report any non-compliances to a senior member of staff.
- Oversee Healthcare Science Assistants (HSAs) working in the section.
- Train new members of HSA staff.
- The post holder will be required to provide cover for Saturday, Sunday and Bank Holiday duties in the department.
Person Specification
Qualifications & Education
Essential
- oNVQ4, or Foundation Degree in Laboratory and Associated Technical Activities, or IBMS certificate of Achievement portfolio or equivalent level experience
Knowledge & Experience
Essential
- oExperience as a Healthcare Science Assistant (HCSA) in a Blood Sciences discipline
- oBasic computer and keyboard skills
- oUnderstanding a range of routine Blood Sciences laboratory procedures and competence in pipetting, weighing, dilution, reagent preparation and quality checks
Desirable
- oKnowledge / interest in Biomedical Sciences
Skills & Abilities
Essential
- oOrganised and methodical
- oAbility to work under pressure and prioritise work
- oGood communication skills
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Certificate of Sponsorship
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
Employer details
Employer name
The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Address
Royal Victoria Infirmary
317 02 Royal Victoria Infirmary
NE1 4LP
United Kingdom
Employer's website
This listing was aggregated from publicly-available sources. The employer holds an A-rated sponsor licence at the time of this listing, but sponsorship of this specific role is not guaranteed — the employer's offer and UK Visas and Immigration are the final authority. Details may have changed since our last update — verify with the employer via the Apply link.