Senior Anatomical Pathology Technologist

Job summary
The successful candidate will join the mortuary team to provide and supervise an efficient and high quality mortuary and post mortem examination Service to the Local Authority, H.M. Coroner and the Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust at the WRH and the Alexandra Hospital. This is a part time role working 32.25 hours per week. We open to flexible working.

In addition to technical responsibility, the post holder will provide supervision, training and support to qualified and unqualified APTs, porters, security staff, nurse bleep holders/managers, and students. The role will assist to develop and maintain effective operating procedures, which comply with Health and Safety, legal, UKAS, HTA and Trust policies, guidelines and legislation.

This exciting opportunity requires working as part of the team, within which the post holder will assist to develop effective systems implemented to provide an efficient and safe mortuary service countywide. To perform and assist with mortuary audits monthly and quarterly for, and FOI requests.

Main duties of the job

• To participate in the provision of a reliable high quality service that meets nationally accepted standards (UKAS or HTA).
• To assist in the arrangement of autopsies through liaison with the Chief Anatomical Pathology Technician, Consultant Histopathologists, Medical Secretaries, Medical Staff, HM Coroner, Coroners Officer and Bereavement Services.
• To participate in the on-call rota providing an out of hours service (viewings including paediatric, Home Office post mortems, reception and release of bodies, formal identification of bodies, liaising with on site engineers in the event of equipment failure.
• To undertake specialist duties and supervise APTs in all duties associated with the preparation of the deceased prior to, during and subsequent to post mortem examinations.
• To participate in the viewing service (including foetuses, babies and children), involving interacting with the bereaved, giving professional advice following sudden death, etc.
• To assist with all tissue/organ retention issues for current autopsies.
• To monitor capacity across both sites and alert Mortuary Manager / Deputy Manager when trigger points are reached.
• To train internal staff using our facilities e.g. porters, security, nurse bleep holders/managers etc. Ensure compliance with departmental SOPs and HTA guidelines.
• To maintain a flexible approach in order to adjust to an extremely variable workload and work patterns. This can include travelling across county at short notice.

About us
Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust is a large acute and specialised hospital trust that provides a range of local acute services to the residents of Worcestershire and more specialised services to a larger population in Herefordshire and beyond.

The Trust operates hospital-based services from three sites in Kidderminster, Redditch and Worcester.

Our workforce is more than 7,000 strong, and our caring staff are recognised as providing good and outstanding patient-centred care. You could be one of them.

We are committed to recruiting the best people to work with us. Our values, which we ask all staff to demonstrate, underpin our everyday work and remain firmly at the heart of all we do.

• Being open and honest
• Ensuring people feel cared for
• Showing respect to everyone

We are committed to developing a culture of continuous improvement by embedding the principles of our Improvement System.

We are proud to have achieved Timewise accreditation - this means we are committed to embedding flexible working within our organisation as a flex positive employer.

DBS Checks and Costs
Any applicants who are offered posts requiring a DBS check as part of their employment check will have the cost of this check (at the current rate) deducted from their salary. Please see link in Supporting Information section for more details on DBS checks and costs.

Essential Experience

• At least two years post qualification of working in a mortuary OR Annex 21 until experience criteria met.
• Previous experience in working with the general public on a one to one basis.
• Experience in working under pressure.
• Experience of working with the bereaved in sometimes emotive/distressing situations.
• Previous experience in a profession allied to medicine.
• Ability to adopt a professional approach with exposure to unavoidable unpleasant working conditions for prolonged periods.

Desirable Experience

• Desirable previous supervisory experience.
• Experience in mentoring trainee APTs.
• Experience in risk assessments and quality audits.
• Experience in reviewing SOPs and propose changes to mortuary service.

Essential Qualifications

• Education equivalent to 4 GCSEs including mathematics, English and a science subject at Grade 5 or above.
• Level 3 Diploma in APT or equivalent or working towards.
• Previous experience of working in a mortuary or funeral directors in whatever capacity.

Desirable Qualifications

• Good spoken and written English.
• Registered with AAP.
• Aggression Training.
• Bereavement Training.
• Evidence of on-going CPD.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Contract: Fixed term, 12 months
Working pattern: Part-time
Band: Band 5 (Agenda for Change)

Apply through our website.