Anatomical Pathology Technician

Job Summary
An opportunity has arisen at Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals for a qualified Anatomical Pathology Technologist (APT).A trainee APT would be considered for the right applicant (annex 21).

The Mortuary services managed by Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals spans 3 sites at Whiston, Southport and Ormskirk Hospitals and perform in excess of 750 post-mortem examinations per year at the instruction of HM Coroner. The department is fully HTA and UKAS accredited.

The successful candidate will ideally have a Level 3 Diploma in Anatomical Pathology Technology and demonstrable experience of working in a mortuary setting. They will be able to demonstrate good technical knowledge of mortuary policy, procedure, and human anatomy, as well as a good understanding of health and safety legislation and working in compliance with HTA guidelines.Continuous professional development is actively encouraged amongst all members of the team, and the department has a good track record of developing its staff to realise their full potential.

The role will involve performing a number of tasks including receipt and appropriate storage of the deceased, preparation for post-mortem examination and release of the deceased in line with departmental policy, best practice and the Human Tissue Act, and in support of the Coroner, Pathologists and Police.

Participation in an on-call rota is mandatory; overtime will be paid for this.

Main Duties of the Job
Anatomical Pathology Technicians work with the coroner's officer and the pathologist to ensure that the post-mortem workflow is maintained following the current policies and procedures. Assisting the pathologists by preparing the post-mortem room and the deceased for post-mortem. Supporting the bereavement service by preparing the deceased for viewing and maintaining good communication with bereaved families. Deceased are received from the Trust and from the community and thorough ID checks of all Patient identification data is essential during receipt and release procedures.

• The Mortuary services under the direction of MWL spans Whiston, Southport and Ormskirk mortuaries.
• Anatomical Pathology Technicians are able to practice within a mortuary environment upon completion of the Certificate in Anatomical Pathology and will have a minimum of 2 years' experience. They are engaged in Continuing Professional Development improving their knowledge, increasing the breadth of basic skills acquired for the Certificate and developing them into advanced skills for the Diploma.
• They are good problem solvers and as a member of a team are required to be good communicators with staff and outside agencies. They work without guidance and some medical supervision completing tasks in the delivery of a mortuary service.

About Us
Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust serves a population of over 600,000 with a workforce of over 10,500 dedicated and skilled staff across 21 sites.

Our services:

Acute Care
Providing emergency and maternity services at Whiston, Southport and Ormskirk hospitals, and medical and surgical specialties across all our sites.

Primary Care
Providing primary care services at Marshalls Cross Medical Centre situated in St Helens Hospital.

Community Services
Providing adult community services for St Helens and a wheelchair service in Chorley, South Ribble, and West Lancashire. Our inpatient unit at Newton Community Hospital is where patients needing acute hospital beds can continue rehabilitation. We also provide urgent care at our Urgent Treatment Centre located in St Helens town centre.

Specialist Regional Services
We provide the Mersey Regional Burns & Plastic Surgery Unit at Whiston Hospital and the Spinal Injuries Unit at Southport Hospital to more than 4 million people across the whole of Merseyside, West Lancashire, Cheshire, Isle of Man and North Wales.

Achievements:

• Rated Outstanding by CQC Inspection August 2018
• Top 100 places to work in the NHS (NHS Employers & Health Service Journal)
• National Preceptorship Accreditation (2023) for Nursing & AHP Preceptorship Programme.

Job Responsibilities

• Ensure all duties are carried out in compliance with the Human tissue authority (HTA) codes of practice.
• Carry out procedures with regards to receipt, storage and release of the deceased completing associated documentation in compliance with current policies.
• Ensure all unidentified deceased are appropriately identifiable once identity has been established.
• Liaise with the Trust Bereavement Officers, assisting them in the functions of the service dealing with bereaved families.
• Assist, the Coroners Officers and carry out their instructions with regards to all deceased bodies in their remit.
• To assist with hospital postmortems on the instruction of the Consultant Histopathologists or other medical staff.
• To assist with postmortems carried out at the instruction of H M Coroner under the arrangements made with Mersey & West Lancashire Teaching Hospital.
• To perform, under supervision of the Consultant Pathologist, relevant postmortem procedures on patients which are in an advanced state of mechanical disruption or decomposition/infestation.
• To prepare the deceased for viewing in a sensitive and respectful manner demonstrating awareness of religious requirements subject to individual risk assessment
• Carry out surgical evisceration, and patient reconstruction processes in the postmortem suite in accordance with mortuary policies to enable identification for Police, viewings for relatives and dignified collection from funeral directors.

Person Specification

Our Values
Essential

• We are Kind
• We are Open
• We are Inclusive

Qualifications
Essential

• Certificate in Anatomical Pathology (RIPHH) or equivalent

Desirable

• Trained to Diploma level in Anatomical Pathology (RIPHH)
• Completion of NHSBT Eye retrieval Training manual
• Bereavement training

Experience
Essential

• Experience in anatomical techniques
• Experience in Infection control/forensic procedures
• Experience of Autopsy reconstruction techniques
• Experience of Laboratory computer systems (LIMS)
• Knowledge of Health & safety requirements including COSHH regulations and assessment
• Evidence of Continuing Professional Development

Skills
Essential

• Demonstrates ability to work under pressure and prioritise their workload with a proven ability to multi task.
• Evidence of good interpersonal and communication skills
• Evidence of good time management skills

Other
Essential

• Evidence of ability to work as part of a team.

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.

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).