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.

Main duties of the job

• 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.

About you

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.

About Us

It takes all types of people to deliver the kind of service that saves and improves lives. At NHSBT, you’ll join a team of more than 6,000 people who are making a genuine difference to communities, families, friends, relatives, and more across the UK. We play a unique and special role in the NHS by helping people do something extraordinary- donate blood, blood products, organs, tissues, or stem cells to save someone in need. Our three core values are what set us apart. They guide and inspire everything we do. By being caring, expertly meeting the needs of our patients and our people, and accepting nothing less than the best quality, we can do extraordinary work – and help our people to do something extraordinary in their career, too. Three small words, one big difference - Caring, Expert and Quality. Together we’ll save and improve more lives than ever.

You will join us on our journey to create an inclusive workplace and aim to reflect the diverse communities we work with, and we positively encourage applications from all sectors of the community.

What we offer you:

• 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.
• Our Thrive program embodies our commitment to learning and development, offering a wide range of activities to support your personal and professional growth.
• It’s open to everyone at NHSBT, ensuring you have the resources to succeed and shine in your role.
• NHS pension scheme. The NHS Pension Scheme is a defined benefit scheme (not dependent on investment returns).

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. We are unable to arrange virtual interviews or tours. Please also note that our travel policy does not allow for the payment of travel expenses. This vacancy is a 12 months fixed term/secondment. This vacancy will close at 23:59 on Sunday 29th December 2024. Interviews are anticipated to be held on Thursday 16th January 2025 – subject to confirmation.

For informal enquiries please contact Karen Ackerley, Senior Sister, via email at karen.ackerley@nhsbt.nhs.uk.