Job overview

Are you looking for an exciting new challenge in a place to take your career to the next level? Would you like to join a friendly, progressive, innovative team and play a part in the transformation of pathology services across South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw? Do you want to work in a fully UKAS-accredited, modern laboratory environment where you can make a difference?

A vacancy has arisen in the Clinical Chemistry department for a Clinical Liaison Nurse to join our Newborn Screening team based at the Sheffield Children's site, within South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw Pathology. The screening laboratory is one of the busiest newborn screening laboratories in England.  The region covered is from South Yorkshire to Northamptonshire. Newborn Bloodspot Screening is performed on around 70,000 babies each year. 

This is an essential role that links the work of the laboratory to the management and care of patients. The successful postholder will act as the primary point of contact for patients and their families with the laboratory, both for newly referred families, and those with PKU who are followed up for life. There is also a significant element of community working within this role, and attendance at clinics at other trusts within the region which may take the postholder away from base for a large proportion of their working time. 

Main duties of the job

• Maintaining the efficiency of sample collection and transmission throughout the Region (Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire, Rutland, South Humberside and South Yorkshire). Population 5 million.
• Ensuring timely transmission of positive results from all the screening tests to the relevant health professionals.
• Particular responsibility in the transmission of positive screening results for phenylketonuria (PKU), in conjunction with the relevant health professionals, to parents and monitoring the subsequent progress by home visits and clinic attendance.
• To participate in aspects of cystic fibrosis (CF) screening, in particular, the timely transmission of results for suspected carriers of CF to parents by a home visit.
• To actively participate in the long-term management of patients with PKU in the Region.

Duties will also include the communication of screening results and the provision of specialist education, training, advice and information to patients, families and other members of a multi-disciplinary team.

The postholder will be based in the department but must have the flexibility to travel throughout the region, sometimes at short notice. It is essential that the successful applicant holds a full UK driving licence, and has access to a car.  Mileage costs can be reclaimed in full in line with Trust policies.

Working for our organisation

You will be working for an organisation which values and respects all its staff and the community it serves. The Trust is a leader in the NHS and research sectors and provides excellent benefits for its staff. This includes commitments to professional development but also many policies to support employees in balancing their personal and professional lives. 

STHFT operates with a budget of £1.2 bn, has a workforce of over 18,500 employees, covers five hospital sites, provides care from over forty community settings, and has an excellent reputation for research. 

As an organisation we value and respect our staff and the community we serve. We provide excellent staff benefits; this includes commitment to professional development but also many initiatives to support employees in balancing their personal and professional lives.

The SYB Pathology network includes:

• Sheffield Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust (STHFT)
• Barnsley Hospital NHS Foundation Trust (BHFT)
• Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (DBTHFT)
• The Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust (TRFT)
• Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust (SCFT)