Job summary
- Main area
- Microbiology
- Grade
- NHS AfC: Band 3
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Full time - 37.5 hours per week (Monday to Sunday including Bank Holidays)
- Job ref
- 214-CSTO-7354551
- Employer
- Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- King's Mill Hospital
- Town
- Sutton-In-Ashfield
- Salary
- £24,937 - £26,598 per annum
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 18/08/2025 23:59
Employer heading

Medical Laboratory Assistant
NHS AfC: Band 3
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.
We would love you to join us.
Job overview
An opportunity has emerged within the Department of Clinical Microbiology for a Medical Laboratory Assistant to join the team. While experience in an NHS clinical laboratory is desirable and advantageous, previous experience in a laboratory setting is not mandatory, as comprehensive on-the-job training will be provided.
Your role will involve assisting Biomedical Scientists in delivering a diagnostic service to clinicians and other users, aiding in the diagnosis and treatment of infections. The role will involve working on different bench areas of the Microbiology Department to allow competency to be achieved.
Requirements:
- Hold a C grade or above in GCSE English and Maths (or equivalent)
- Possess a good understanding of Medical Terminology
- Be available to work within the 5-day week, with occasional out-of-hours service.
Main duties of the job
Your role will be to perform a range of supporting tasks, liaising with the Biomedical Scientists, to ensure diagnostic support and treatment for the patient.
The Department processes around 470,000 specimens a year and is based in a modern laboratory that opened in 2006.
The Department routinely works 9am until 9pm, utilising , core and late shifts. The successful applicant will be contracted to work 5 out of 7 and participate in the out of hours service at weekends and bank holidays on a rotational basis. The payment scheme is in line with Agenda for Change terms and conditions.
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
Please see attached job description and person specification attached to this advert for full details of roles and responsibilities of this position.
Not all of our roles are eligible for sponsorship to find out which roles are eligible for sponsorship please refer to the shortage occupation list found here:
Skilled Worker visa: eligible healthcare and education jobs - GOV.UK
Home Office guidance has changed as of the 9th April, anyone that requires switching visa type may not be eligible for sponsorship even if the role is on the shortage occupation list.
Person specification
Knowledge
Essential criteria
- Knowledge of quality assurance Good understanding of Health and Safety at work
Desirable criteria
- Knowledge of medical/scientific terminology.
- Knowledge of laboratory test codes.
Skills
Essential criteria
- Articulate with good communication skills (verbal and written)
- Good I.T. skills
- Able to produce accurate and timely work
- Able to work as part of a team
- Ability to work under pressure and prioritise work to meet deadlines
- Able to cope with frequent interruptions and changing priorities
Desirable criteria
- Ability to perform intricate procedures e.g. pipetting
Qualifications
Essential criteria
- GCSE English and Maths Grade C or above or equivalent
Desirable criteria
- Science based GCSE, NVQ level 2 or 3 in Clinical Laboratory Support or equivalent
Further Training
Essential criteria
- Laboratory based training
- Multi tasking.
Experience
Essential criteria
- Experience in a related field or work experience in a Biomedical Laboratory or similar.
Desirable criteria
- Experience of working in a Microbiology Laboratory
Contractual
Essential criteria
- 37.5 hours per week
- 5 days out of 7
- Flexibility to meet service requirements
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
- Simon Clipstone
- Job title
- Higher Specialist Biomedical Scientist
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 01623 622515
- Additional information
ext 3634
List jobs with Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in Health Science Services or all sectors