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Job summary

Main area
Histology
Grade
NHS AfC: Band 3
Contract
Permanent
Hours
Full time - 37.5 hours per week
Job ref
193-7584939NCG
Employer
Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust
Employer type
NHS
Site
Harborne House, Car Park 13
Town
Reading
Salary
£24,937 - £26,598 (plus 5% Fringe) per annum
Salary period
Yearly
Closing
23/11/2025 23:59

Employer heading

Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust logo

Senior Medical Laboratory Assistant

NHS AfC: Band 3

At the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust we put our patients at the heart of every element of health and care that we provide. The Trust works together as a community to deliver its vision which is “Working together to provide outstanding care for our community.”

Royal Berkshire Hospital are pleased to announce that following our CQC inspection we have been rated ‘Good’ with inspectors reporting that we have made significant improvements.  The Trust’s overall rating has also improved to ‘good’.  

We are Compassionate in our thoughts, words and actions

We are Aspirational and have a true desire to be dynamic and to innovate

We are Resourceful and responsible in the way we work and live

We are Excellent in our development, fairness and sharing best practice

At the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust, we value candidates who bring their unique personalities, skills, and experiences to the Trust. When completing your application, we encourage you to highlight your individual achievements and strengths, showing us how they align with the requirements outlined in the job description and person specification. While we recognise that some applicants may use AI tools during the process, please be mindful that AI-generated responses can often lack the personal detail and relevance needed to demonstrate your suitability for the role. AI generated content is discouraged by the Trust and may diminish the candidates chances of success.

Amazing things happen at the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust; delivered by amazing people so why don’t you come and join us.  We offer a range of learning and development for all employees may you be clinical or non-clinical.  

Job overview

Associate Practitioner

The Cellular Pathology department has a vacancy for an Advanced Practioner within the Histology department at Band 3.

This is a busy department, with a workload of 55,000 Histology specimens per annum, and 3,000 non-Gynae specimens, performing a wide range of Immunohistochemistry techniques. We have full UKAS accreditation.

We cover the workload for RBH and Wexham Park Hospital in a new  facility located at the University of Reading on the White Knights Campus.

We are looking for a candidate who is a competent and versatile individual with excellent team working and communication skills and must be able to work with accuracy at all times.

We very much encourage personal development and so if you’re looking for a challenge, are versatile and can adapt to rapidly changing scenarios, then this could be the job for you. 

The post is full time 8.30am – 5pm five days a week Monday to Friday.

There would be an expectation to cover at the satellite site Wexham Park Hospital lab during periods of annual and sick leave on a rotational basis. 

Please note that extended working shift pattern is due for consultation and will cover weekends.

Main duties of the job

  • Participates in the provision of a comprehensive range of scientific and diagnostic services across a range of scientific disciplines.
  • Liaise with line manager as part of a team delivering high quality protocol based technical service under the supervision of Registered Biomedical Scientist staff.
  • Required to communicate with hospital clinicians, general practitioners, other healthcare professionals, patients and their representatives and commercial suppliers.
  • Required to operate sophisticated, automated laboratory equipment and perform scientific techniques under supervision.
  • Appropriately handle body fluids and tissue, including high risk specimens.
  • The post holder will be expected to train, support and advise less experienced staff, such as trainees, students and MLA’s.

Working for our organisation

This is a busy department, which is merged with Wexham Park Hospital histology department into a state of the art facility located at Harborne House, White knights campus, University of Reading. Workload combined is around 55,000 for histology and 6,000 NG. Performing a wide range of Immunohistochemistry techniques. We have full UKAS accreditation.

Reading is a lively town with excellent shopping and leisure facilities. The countryside around Reading is lovely, stroll along the Thames, explore Windsor Great Park or walk in the hills and valleys around Henley. Reading is only half an hour from London Paddington by train giving easy access to all the attractions of London, and has excellent road and rail links across the UK.

 

Reading sits on the river Thames and is served by great road and rail links to London, Oxford and Southampton. With excellent leisure and shopping facilities, and a thriving cultural scene, Reading is a wonderful place to live, work and provides excellent facilities for families, including some of the best state and private schools in the UK.

The CQC rated the care provided by the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust as Good.

Our "CARE" values: Compassionate, Aspirational, Resourceful, Excellent, reflect the type of Trust we aspire to be and you can join our dedicated and talented staff to make this happen.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Please refer to the attached Job Description and Person Specification for further details of the role.

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential criteria
  • Good education to A Levels, including science subject or NVQ 4 or IBMS Certificate of Achievement (Part 2) or Foundation degree.
Desirable criteria
  • ECDL

Experience and Skills

Essential criteria
  • Experience working in the NHS
Desirable criteria
  • Experience in Hospital Laboratory

Employer certification / accreditation badges

NHS Pastoral Care Quality AwardApprenticeships logoNo smoking policyCare quality commission - GoodArmed Forces Covenant Gold AwardMindful employer.  Being positive about mental health.Disability confident employerStonewall equality policy. Equality and justice for lesbians, gay men, bisexual and trans people.Florence Nightingale FoundationNational Preceptorship for Nursing Quality Mark 2024

Application numbers

Candidates to be capped at 25 applications per 1WTE position to be recruited

Documents to download

Apply online now

Further details / informal visits contact

Name
Amanda Babington
Job title
HBMS Lead
Email address
[email protected]
Telephone number
0118 322 8201
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