Medical Laboratory Assistant

The NHS Mycology Reference Centre, Manchester offers a clinical diagnostic service primarily serving Manchester, the north of England and Scotland but also receives daily referrals from throughout the UK and beyond. We provide a wide range of highly specialised mycological tests, offering an integrated conventional and molecular diagnostic service.

We are continuing to expand and now have an opportunity for an enthusiastic and hard-working medical laboratory assistant to join our well-established and friendly team, working within a modern, well equipped, fully UKAS ISO15189 accredited laboratory.

The successful applicant will perform a range of laboratory duties and assist with the diagnosis of superficial and systemic fungal infections.

You will have obtained minimum Grade C GCSE (or equivalent) in English, Maths and at least one science or Literacy and Numeracy competency, and have good IT skills. The ability to pay close attention to detail is essential.

Previous experience of working in a laboratory is essential. In particular, microbiology laboratory experience is desirable. A flexible approach to work is required, as some out of hours work may be involved.

Professional development is actively encouraged.

• To assist with the receipt, booking-in, preparation and processing of clinical specimens received within the Mycology Reference Centre
• To assist with routine laboratory activities, including media preparation and waste disposal
• Deal with telephone and email enquiries related to our diagnostic service

MFT is England’s largest NHS Trust with a turnover of £2.5bn & is on a different scale than most other NHS Trusts. We’re creating an exceptional integrated health & social care system for the 1 million patients who rely on our services every year.

Bringing together 10 hospitals & community services from across Manchester, Trafford & beyond, we champion collaborative working & transformation, encouraging our 28,000 workforce to pursue their most ambitious goals. We set standards that other Trusts seek to emulate so you’ll benefit from a scale of opportunity that is nothing short of extraordinary.

We’ve also created a digitally enabled organisation to improve clinical quality, patient & staff experience, operational effectiveness & driving research and innovation through the introduction of Hive; our brand-new Electronic Patient Record system which we’ve launched in September 2022.

We’re proud to be a major academic Research Centre & Education provider, providing you with a robust infrastructure to encourage and facilitate high-quality research programmes. What’s more, we’re excited to be embarking on our new Green Plan which will set out how MFT continues to play its part in making healthcare more sustainable.

At MFT, we create and foster a culture of inclusion and belonging, provide equal opportunities for career development that are fair, open and transparent, protecting your health and wellbeing and shaping the future of our organisation together.

To find out more about the key responsibilities and the specific skills and experience you’ll need, take a look at the Job Description & Person Specification attachments under the ‘Supporting Documents’ heading. So that you’re even more equipped to make an informed decision to apply to us, you’ll need to take time to read the ‘Candidate Essentials Guide’that sits with the Job Description and Person Specification. This document provides you with details about the Trust, our benefits and outlines how ‘we care for you as you care for others’. Most importantly, it also contains critical information you’ll need to be aware of before you submit an application form.

COVID-19 vaccination remains the best way to protect yourself, your family, your colleagues and of course patients from the virus when working in our healthcare settings. Whilst COVID-19 vaccination is not currently a condition of employment, we do encourage our staff to get vaccinated. If you are unvaccinated, there is helpful advice and information available by searching on the ‘NHS England’ website where you can also find out more about how to access the vaccination.

Diversity Matters

MFT is committed to promoting equality of opportunity, celebrating and valuing diversity and eliminating any form of unlawful discrimination across our workforce, ensuring our people are truly representative of the communities we serve. All individuals regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation are encouraged to apply for this post. As an inclusive employer, we are here to support you. If you have any special requirements to help you with your application, email our team atresourcing@mft.nhs.uk.

We’re looking forward to hearing from you!