Skip to main content

This site is independent of the NHS and the Department of Health.

Please wait, loading

Job summary

Main area
Histopathology
Grade
NHS AfC: Band 2
Contract
Permanent
Hours
Full time - 37.5 hours per week (Working 5 out of 7 days)
Job ref
214-CSTO-7656797
Employer
Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Employer type
NHS
Site
King's Mill Hospital
Town
Sutton-In-Ashfield
Salary
£24,465 per annum
Salary period
Yearly
Closing
01/02/2026 23:59

Employer heading

Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust logo

Medical Laboratory Assistant - Histopathology

NHS AfC: Band 2

Thank you for your interest in this role, we would be delighted to welcome you to Sherwood Forest Hospitals.

Sherwood is nationally recognised as being an excellent place to work and deliver care. We are rightly proud of the 5,500 colleagues who work here and know that happy colleagues deliver better care.

Our teams work in a supportive, inclusive environment, which nurtures wellbeing and has opportunities for development and progression. We do not just care for our patients, we also care for you.

At Sherwood Forest Hospitals, we are committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace. As such, we particularly welcome applications from people who identify as Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic, or Disabled. We believe that a diverse team better represents the communities we serve and brings a wealth of perspectives and experiences to our work.

Job overview

Join a team where your work directly contributes to high‑quality patient care. We’re looking for an enthusiastic, highly motivated Medical Laboratory Assistant to become part of our Histopathology team within the Pathology Department at King’s Mill Hospital.

The Histopathology service delivers a wide range of tissue analyses that support accurate diagnosis and guide clinical decision‑making for patients across the Trust, General Practice and private clinics. This includes essential work within national cancer screening programmes, making the role both meaningful and impactful.

While the main focus of the post is within the laboratory, an element of the role will involve supporting the mortuary with admission and release tasks. Your contribution will help ensure smooth, safe and efficient processes across the service.

If you’re ready to take on a role where your work truly matters and want to be part of a supportive, dedicated team, we’d be delighted to hear from you.

Please note, the start date for the post will align with the opening of the new Community Diagnostic Centre in April 2026.

Main duties of the job

To understand the role in more detail, please refer to the attached job description and person specification.

Working for our organisation

We are an award-winning NHS Foundation Trust working alongside health and social care colleagues across the county to provide acute and community healthcare services to more than 420,000 people across Mansfield, Ashfield, Newark and Sherwood, and parts of Derbyshire and Lincolnshire.

We put the patient at the heart of everything that we do and it is our aim to make sure that every patient is treated as we would want a member of our own family to be treated. At the same time, we expect our staff to be caring, kind and courteous to each other and to look out for each other. We believe that we are truly a clinically-led organisation.

We are proud that our Trust colleagues have voted us the best acute Trust to work for in the East Midlands for seven years running in the National NHS Staff Survey, while the Care Quality Commission has rated our Trust as ‘outstanding’ for care and our King’s Mill Hospital as the only ‘outstanding’ NHS-run hospital in the East Midlands. 

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

To understand the role in more detail, please refer to the attached job description and person specification.

Person specification

Knowledge requirements

Essential criteria
  • Understands Basic laboratory Practice
Desirable criteria
  • Histology Terminology
  • Scientific Terminology
  • Understands the functions/environment of a mortuary

Qualifications

Essential criteria
  • Minimum of 4 GCSE at Grade C or above

Skills/Attributes

Essential criteria
  • Data input skills
  • High levels of accuracy
  • Ability to organise own work to meet required deadlines
  • Good communication skills (written and verbal)
  • Ability to contribute to effective team working
  • Manual Handling

Experience

Essential criteria
  • Work experience within the NHS or a similar work environment

Further Training

Desirable criteria
  • NVQ 2 (Clinical Laboratory Support) or equivalent work-based portfolio

Contractual Requirements

Essential criteria
  • Full time working 37.5 hours per week to work 5 out of 7 days (equivalent if working part time hours)
  • Work in a flexible manner
Desirable criteria
  • Participate in the mortuary out-of-hours rota (if required)

Employer certification / accreditation badges

Apprenticeships logoNo smoking policyPathway to excellenceCare quality commission - GoodCarer Friendly Employer 2021Mindful employer.  Being positive about mental health.Disability confident employerCare4NottsTime to changeFair Train Silver StandardStep into healthNational Preceptorship for Nursing Quality MarkArmed Forces Covenant

Documents to download

Apply online now

Further details / informal visits contact

Name
Leanne Ward
Job title
Cellular Pathology Training Officer
Email address
[email protected]
Telephone number
01623 622515
Additional information

ext 6221

Apply online nowAlert me to similar vacancies