Job summary
- Main area
- Haematology
- Grade
- Band 6
- Contract
- Fixed term: 12 months (Maternity Leave Cover)
- Hours
- Full time - 37.5 hours per week (Maternity cover until 4 January 2027)
- Job ref
- 430-CC25-559A
- Employer
- Milton Keynes University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Haematology (Dept)
- Town
- Milton Keynes
- Salary
- £38,682 - £46,580 Per annum pro rata
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 23/12/2025 23:59
- Interview date
- 06/01/2026
Employer heading
Specialist Biomedical Scientist
Band 6
At Milton Keynes University Hospital, you will be welcomed into a friendly and supportive environment where teamwork and respect are at the heart of everything we do. We are proud to live our Trust values and behaviours every day, creating a culture where everyone feels heard and valued.
MKUH staff's Motivation and Involvement scores are among the highest in our peer group, showing that our people feel inspired and included in decision-making (Staff Survey, 2024).
Our benefits
We believe in recognising and rewarding the amazing contribution of our staff and that is why we offer a comprehensive benefits package designed to support your wellbeing, work-life balance, and professional growth, including:
- Free on-site parking including EV charging
- Complimentary refreshments
- Flexible working arrangements
- Discounted gym membership
- Salary sacrifice car scheme
- Generous annual leave, with the option to bank holiday entitlement
- Membership of the NHS Pension Scheme
- On-site nursery (charges apply)
- A wide-ranging staff health and wellbeing programme including EAP
- VIVUP products to support your mental, physical, and financial Wellbeing
Job overview
Specialist Biomedical Scientist
Department: Blood Sciences – Haematology/Blood Transfusion
Band 6 – Fixed-Term (Maternity cover)
Hours: 37.5 per week all MKUH roles will be considered for flexible working
An opportunity has arisen within this busy Pathology service to join the Blood Science (Haematology and Blood transfusion) team. You will be part of a dedicated team of healthcare professionals who deliver a high-quality service that is responsive to patient requirements. Awareness of the requirements for compliance with the ISO15189 standards is a key requirement for this role.
We look to continually improve our services for our patients and are therefore looking for staff with the right attitude who will work with us to achieve this. We are looking for a competent and versatile person with strong technical skills and an absolute attention to detail. The successful candidate must be HCPC registered as a Biomedical Scientist.
Pathology and Blood Sciences have a Sysmex XN9000 track, Bio-Rad Variant II for Haemoglobinopathy screening and two Ortho vision analysers. In 2021, Haematology introduced two ACL TOP 550 analysers for coagulation sample processing and two Cube 30 Touch analysers for ESR.
In 2023 the department implemented the blood film staining platform Sysmex SP50 and in 2024, the GeneXpert for FV Leiden/Prothrombin gene mutation detection was also implemented.
Interview date: 6 January 2025
Main duties of the job
We care We communicate We collaborate We contribute
''NHS Survey, 2024'' Healthcare Scientists feels their health safety and wellbeing is supported at work.
· To provide a high quality, responsive and comprehensive Haematology and Blood transfusion service for the trust and its users.
· To work as part of a team of Biomedical Scientists and support workers, using extensive specialist knowledge and expertise to assist in the provision of all aspects of a Haematology and Blood transfusion service.
We are committed to the quality of service we provide our patients and users and have been awarded ISO 15189.2022 accreditation for Haematology/Blood Transfusion (including screening requirements for haemoglobinopathies). The laboratory is also an IBMS training laboratory.
We have committed leadership who engage our staff, listen to innovative ideas, and involve our people in the challenges and improvements that our organisation faces. Continuing professional and personal development is encouraged and supported. We provide a comprehensive 24/7 service which the successful candidate will support through flexible rostering.
For further information contact Senturan Soundrasritharan ([email protected]), Haematology Operational Manager 01908 995780 or Sewa Joacquim-Hearne ([email protected]), Blood Transfusion Manager 01908 995832.
Working for our organisation
Milton Keynes University Hospital, in proud partnership with the University of Buckingham, is a University Teaching Hospital committed to advancing patient care through cutting-edge research and education. With a “Good” rating from the CQC and significant investment underway, this is an exciting time to join our team and grow your career.
As a medium sized general hospital, we provide a full range of general medical and surgical services, including a busy Emergency Department, Maternity, and Paediatrics. As the population of our city and surrounding areas continues to grow rapidly, we are expanding and enhancing our facilities to meet rising demand and improve access to care for all our communities.
We are also proud to offer a growing portfolio of specialist services. In January 2025 we opened our state-of-the-art Radiotherapy Centre, bringing advanced cancer treatment closer to home. Our services also include neonatology, specialist surgical care, and a wide range of diagnostics, supported by the new Community Diagnostic Centre at Whitehouse Health Centre.
Further investment is underway, including the construction of Oak Wards – a new ward block featuring two 24-bed wards – and the recently approved Women and Children’s Centre, set to open by 2030.
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Detailed job description and main responsibilities
• To establish effective and collaborative working relationships with key staff.
• Always maintain a professional approach to work behaving courteously and with professional maturity.
• To be accountable for your own professional actions and maintain high personal standards of work.
• To organise your daily duties in the provision of a quality service.
• Work in a safe manner in accordance with department and trust health and safety and risk management policies.
• To maintain a high standard of confidentiality and always comply with relevant Trust policies.
• Effective time management and prioritisation of your workload to take part in the daily routine and specialist work of the department. To include the use of Haematology and Blood transfusion main line analysers, automated coagulation analysers and high performance liquid chromatography. Also manual techniques such as microscopy.
• Prioritise clinically urgent cases and maintain the workflow of all cases through the lab to meet turnaround times in line with departmental KPIs.
• To undertake all activity appropriate to the role to support the Pathology Quality Management System, including the use of QPulse for the production, maintenance, and update of departmental Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) in accordance with the laboratory quality manual.
• With suitable training participate in quality audits as required and suggest and implement quality improvements as required.
• To use experience, knowledge, and judgement to make decisions on laboratory results. To interpret complex multifactorial results and take appropriate actions in line with laboratory procedures. E.g. Authorisation of results, ordering relevant follow up procedures, adding technical and approved clinically relevant comments, referring results for clinical interpretation or opinion, proactively informing a clinician of clinically significant results.
Please refer to the job description for further details.
Person specification
Qualifications and knowledge
Essential criteria
- HCPC registered Biomedical Scientist
- BSc Biomedical Science or equivalent qualification
- Specialist Portfolio or equivalent
- Specialist scientific knowledge in Haematology and Blood transfusion to underpin the technical aspects of service delivery.
- Understanding of ISO 15189 standards for medical laboratories
- Knowledge and understanding of quality assurance.
- Evidence of relevant continued professional development
- Knowledge of regulatory requirements (BSQR & GMP)
Desirable criteria
- Certificate of advanced training or competence e.g. parasitology, BBTS
- Knowledge of professional Health and safety regulations
- Awareness of wider NHS/Pathology initiatives
Experience
Essential criteria
- Experience as a HCPC registered BMS in Haematology and Blood transfusion
- Extensive experience of routine and specialist Haematology and Blood transfusion procedures.
- Equipment maintenance and troubleshooting.
- Participation in the evaluation of new analysers/ analyses.
- Staff training and competency assessment
- Experience of using a LIMS
- Experience of quality management
Desirable criteria
- Participation in out of hours service.
Skills
Essential criteria
- Ability to prioritise and manage conflicting priorities and complete tasks within given timeframes.
- Effective team worker
- Good communication and organizational skills
- Proficient IT skills including the use of MS Office software.
- Technical and scientific troubleshooting skills
Desirable criteria
- Teaching skills
- Use of QMS tools e.g., QPulse.
Personal and people development
Essential criteria
- Ability to work independently and as part of a team.
- Ability to work under pressure.
- Be confident, diplomatic and have personal & professional maturity.
- Self motivated and patient focused.
- Flexible approach
- Experience of planning and implementing training of other staff
- Demonstrate reliabilty and commitment
Desirable criteria
- Forward thinking
Communication
Essential criteria
- Good communication skills including a clear command of written and spoken English.
- Effective listening skills
- Good interpersonal skills.
Specific requirements
Essential criteria
- Able to perform the duties of the post with reasonable aids and adaptations
- Ability to work under pressure individually or as part of a team and to adhere to analytical turnaround times and manage conflicting demands.
- Ability to work unsocial hours as a lone worker as required.
Employer certification / accreditation badges
Applicant requirements
The postholder will have access to vulnerable people in the course of their normal duties and as such this post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Senturan Soundrasritharan
- Job title
- Haematology Operational Manager
- Email address
- [email protected]
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