Pathology Service Desk Assistant in Gateshead

Overview

An exciting secondment opportunity has arisen for an IT technician role within the Pathology IT Team. We are seeking to appoint an enthusiastic individual to work within the Pathology IT team at Gateshead. The post holder will work as part of the Pathology IT Team on a day to day basis to provide end-user support for pathology systems. A flexible approach to working arrangements is essential to meet service needs, which may include working evenings, early mornings or weekends.

Based in the North East of England we provide a range of hospital and community health services from our leading facilities, including the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Blaydon urgent care centre and Bensham Hospital, all within Gateshead. Established in 2005, we were one of the first foundation trusts in the country and since then have consistently achieved the highest levels of care for patients. We now employ around 4,800 staff and currently provide 444 hospital beds across the Gateshead region.

Our values should be the golden thread which runs through everything we do they are the core of who we are. Our five values can easily be remembered by the simple acronym ICORE; Innovation, Care, Openness, Respect, Engagement. We have a number of staff networks including the BAME network, D-Ability network, LGBTQ+ Network and the Womens Network, to challenge us and help us to constantly improve. Our armed forces network is one of our emerging networks. The health and wellbeing of our staff is one of our highest priorities, and we offer a range of support and initiatives as part of our Balance programme to cater for our diverse workforce, so that your individual needs can be supported, allowing you a happy and healthy working experience with us.

Prime Responsibilities

• Manning of the Pathology IT Service Desk, acting as the first point of contact for all customers both within GHNT and supported third party organisations.
• Ensuring that all calls are answered within the Trust First Class Hospitals standard of under 18 seconds.
• Provide first level end user support to Trust and supported third party organisations where possible and appropriate, otherwise forwarding calls to the most appropriate person or organisation for second/third level support, including use of remote support tools as appropriate.
• Actively listen to users to determine requirements or root causes of issues and demonstrate empathy for service users experiencing issues.
• Communicate clearly and concisely with a wide range of end users and support staff from multiple backgrounds, including difficult users, on potentially complex or sensitive information.
• Provide a customer focused approach to deliver a responsive and effective service to users.
• Work with other support staff to implement Service Desk facilities to support healthcare delivery in the local Gateshead health community.
• Liaison with support representatives of other organisations to ensure problems are directed to the most appropriate staff for resolution.
• Work with local and national service providers to ensure service desk call forwarding (seamless ticketing) between Trust Service Desk software and provider helpdesk systems.
• Collaborate with all members of the digital teams to deliver a seamless, efficient and effective service.
• Provide support for the laboratory information system and all associated applications.
• Communicate through written, electronic and verbal media at a range of levels, presenting technical concepts in understandable language.
• Coordinate with the Trust IT department to ensure orders are processed appropriately and manage installation workloads.

Knowledge, Training & Experience

• Educated to NVQ Level III or equivalent experience, preferably educated to degree level or equivalent in IT-related subject, relevant technical certifications or qualifications.
• Substantial experience of end user first level support.
• Strong customer service skills across a broad range of users, not necessarily within IT.
• Knowledge of and experience in using Service Desk software, including call transfer to other organisation helpdesk systems.
• Technical knowledge of IT hardware, operating systems and end-user productivity tools.
• Maintain up to date knowledge of technical hardware and software used within Pathology and supported third party organisations (e.g., Meditech LIMS, ICE Desktop, analyser data managers).
• Familiarity with online technical and support resources.
• Experience in using and maintaining databases.
• Willingness to enhance own skill set in desktop technology and software environments; demonstrated recent development of knowledge and skills in support of the Service Desk role.
• Knowledge of national coding structures (including Read Codes, SNOMED, SNOMED-CT and the Universal Test Library (UTL)).
• Possess, or working towards ITIL Green Badge certification; possess, or working towards Service Desk Institute Service Desk Analyst qualifications.
• Commitment to personal and professional development to meet changing job demands; flexible and with a practical/theoretical approach.
• Knowledge of NHS digital projects and programmes; relevant NHS experience is desirable.

Planning & Organisational Skills

• Manage enrolment and maintenance of user accounts for ICE Desktop, Meditech and data managers, ensuring starters, leavers and movers are correctly processed.
• Manage Service Desk call logs with second level support teams and keep users informed of call status where appropriate.
• Manage hardware and software fault logs to track third party support calls.
• Track and manage quotes, requisitions and invoices for IT hardware and software, liaising with the Pathology IM&T Manager to enforce standards.

Policy & Service Development

• Follow and implement policies relating to working within the IT function.
• Manage documentation, procedures and policies related to pathology systems in collaboration with the Pathology IM&T Manager.
• Assist with development and assessment of new operational policies and guidelines within the IT function; propose changes or updates as needed.
• Work with the Pathology IM&T Manager on implementing pathology-related solutions for the Trust.

Financial & Physical Resources

• Responsible for the safe and secure receipt, handling and storage of expensive equipment; purchase of IT-related assets.
• Track and manage orders, requisitions and invoices for IT hardware and software, liaising with the Pathology IM&T Manager to enforce standards.

Human Resources

• Train Trust and other organisation staff in the use of the Service Desk system; supervise junior staff and train end users on ICE label printing devices.

Information Resources

• Manage and develop the Pathology IT hardware and software asset log on QPulse to ensure assets are accurately recorded and tracked.
• Use the Laboratory Information System according to authorised procedures; enter and retrieve patient data; comply with local and national policies for safe, secure and confidential processing and storage of patient and laboratory data.
• Daily management of electronic results messaging to ensure timely distribution to primary care requestors and address issues promptly; produce performance statistics and reports for management and third party SLAs.