Healthcare Assistant - Blood Donation

NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) collects over 7,000 blood donations every day, providing vital blood and blood products that help to save and improve the lives of thousands of people every year. Our team provides a welcoming and special environment for our volunteer donors, ensuring they receive exceptional, first-class care.

As a Healthcare Assistant – Blood Donation, you will have the opportunity to learn valuable skills and be an essential member of our team. You’ll play a vital role in saving and improving lives daily in an environment where every day is different; we don’t collect blood in hospitals, we work within our Donor Centres and out in the community.

You will learn hands-on skills in healthcare and take your first steps into a professional career within the NHS. You’ll be fully trained in how to set up for a session, how to take blood from our donors, and you’ll be their first point of care during their time with us. You’ll also make sure we keep accurate records of donor sessions, while managing the safe handling of blood and blood products, needles and other medical equipment. You will also ensure we offer a great service to our donors, so they want to come back time and time again!

As part of a true multi-disciplinary team, you’ll work variable hours and days including evenings, weekends and bank holidays – all without the night shifts. You’ll also be working alongside medical professionals, which means you’ll discover more autonomy and responsibility than equivalent roles elsewhere in the NHS.

Experience and Knowledge

• Have experience of dealing with the public.
• Have experience of delivering a quality customer service.
• Be willing to learn new technology skills and undergo digital training.

Qualifications and Training

• Have a good standard of numeracy and literacy.
• Be willing to undertake development and training to upskill yourself including completion of the Skills for Health Care Certificate.
• Hold a valid full UK Driving Licence with no more than 6 penalty points.

• 6-week training period to fully prepare you for your career with us.
• Rotas published 6 weeks ahead of time.
• No night shifts.
• Payments for unsociable hours, overtime, meal and driving allowances where applicable.
• NHSBT promotes flexible working opportunities where the role allows.
• 27 days per year plus 8 bank/public holiday. Pro rata if part-time. Leave increases to 29 days after 5 years’ service and 33 days after 10 years’ service.
• An NHS career pathway- we’ve fostered a culture of continuous learning where colleagues are well-led, engaged, and encouraged to grow. We support you in reaching your full potential, both in your current role and future career.
• NHS pension scheme.

Please view the attached recruitment profile which is a summary of the detailed Job Description and Person Specification for the full personal attributes we require for the role. You will need to demonstrate these throughout the recruitment process.

If you are shortlisted for this role, you will need to attend in person for a blood collection session tour so we can provide you with more in-depth understanding of this role. This will be followed by a face-to-face interview.

This vacancy will close at 23:59 on Wednesday 12th March 2025. Interviews are anticipated to be held w/c 07/04/2025 – subject to confirmation. This vacancy may close sooner than the advertised deadline if we receive a high volume of applications, so we recommend applying early.