Do you want to work in one of the best performing NHS organisations in England? Work for an organisation that was voted the best acute and combined acute and community trust in the country, based on the experience of its staff (NHS Staff Survey 2022). Work in an organisation that supports its staff and focuses on staff experience as much as it does the experience of its patients? You can live and breathe in an area that has the cleanest air, cost effective living, great nightlife, some of the best schools with a wealth of history available on your doorstep. Sound too good to be true? Well it isn’t, this is what you get when you work for Northumbria Healthcare and, this is…the Northumbria Way!
What the Northumbria Way means for you:
- Extensive staff health and well-being programme including access to our specialist Wellbeing Hub
- Support and connection through a variety of Staff Network groups
- A range of flexible working opportunities
- Generous annual leave and pension scheme
- Access to lease car and home electronics scheme (qualifying criteria applies)
- Opportunities to improve your professional development through our vast training programmes
- Access to savings scheme via salary sacrifice with Northumberland Community Bank
We work closely with Kids First Nurseries that are based within our trust grounds at Wansbeck, North Tyneside and Hexham hospitals to care for our Trust family's children, they offer care for children from 6 weeks old up to 4 years. There are a number of funding options run by the government to help working parents, including Early Years Funding and Tax Free Childcare.
Flexible working offers choice in where, when, and how we work, ensuring patients remain at the heart of all we do. It’s open to everyone, and we aim to find solutions that work for both you and the organisation. All arrangements must be reasonable and balanced to maintain safe and effective patient care.
We are proud to be one of the country’s top performing NHS trusts – rated ‘outstanding’ overall by the Care Quality Commission (CQC). We provide a range of health and care services to support more than 500,000 people living in Northumberland and North Tyneside across the largest geographical area of any NHS Trust in England. Our teams deliver care from hospitals, a range of community venues and people’s homes. Our hospitals include a specialist emergency care hospital (the first of its kind in England), three general hospitals and community hospitals. In the community we deliver a wide range of community and public health services.
We lead in innovation and quality, having opened the Northumbria Healthcare Manufacturing and Innovation Hub during the Covid-19 pandemic and have recently launched our Community Promise – a pledge to make a real impact not just in healthcare but on the wider factors that affect people’s lives, such as education, employment and the economy.
If Northumbria Healthcare sounds like somewhere you could belong we would love to hear from you. Visit our website to catch up on our latest news.
Whilst Northumbria Healthcare are a highly innovative organisation, the use of Third Party Artificial Intelligence (AI) presents a risk to the integrity of our Recruitment & Selection processes. If you use AI, and it poses a risk to the integrity your individual recruitment process, we may withdraw your application at any stage of the process.
Job overview
Exciting opportunities have arisen for Apprentice Healthcare Science Assistants at Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust; the posts are available to anyone who is interested in working within an NHS Healthcare environment while completing a Level 2 qualification in Healthcare Science.
Staff new to the Trust will be employed on an apprentice contract so that they have an opportunity to 'earn while they learn'.
Our apprenticeships offer:
- The chance to earn a salary while studying.
training in job specific and transferable skills - Protected time to study towards a related qualification (including literacy and numeracy if required)
- Regular pastoral support and personal development reviews
employment on a 16-month training contract - Benefits such as paid annual leave, comprehensive mandatory training, protected time for your studies and NHS discounts
We are an equal opportunity employer and welcome applications from all backgrounds.
This post does not guarantee permanent employment on completion; however, the apprenticeship will provide you with valuable skills and experience to apply for other healthcare science supporting positions within the NHS.
This is an apprenticeship. To be eligible to apply you must meet the right to work and residency criteria outlined in the attached “Apprenticeship Guidance for applicants” document
Please note we reserve the right to close this vacancy prior to the closing date once the required number of suitable applications have been received.
Advert
You will be trained to perform a variety of Healthcare Assistant roles within a busy department, which will involve meeting, communicating and working with people from all backgrounds.
You will be working directly with other Pathology staff, preparing samples for diagnostic tests, undertaking basic diagnostic investigations, inputting data, following procedures, ordering stock and any other associated administrative duties.
There will be taught sessions (some of these may be online) and work-based assessment which contribute to the learning element of the programme. Apprentices will complete a portfolio of evidence to demonstrate their learning and skills in practice in accordance with the apprenticeship framework.
The Level 2 Healthcare Science apprenticeship is suited to those who are interested in the welfare of others and have a caring attitude to other people, with a keen interest in science. We are looking for an individual who can put the patient's needs before their own, be honest, friendly and have a professional attitude to work. The work will be based in busy departments; therefore, will suit individuals who like to deal with a variety of tasks. Through your working practices you will apply dignity, respect and maintain confidentiality, you will work well in a team, be courteous, sympathetic and professional. It is also important that you maintain a safe working environment and contribute to the safeguarding of patients.
Working for our organisation
We manage three major locality hospitals at North Tyneside, Wansbeck and Hexham, plus a number of smaller community hospitals and clinics from Tynemouth to Berwick on Tweed, in addition to our state-of-the-art Northumbria Specialist Emergency Care Hospital, the first of its kind in England. We also care for people in their homes and provide services from facilities in local communities such as health centres. We give people greater choice and control over their care to help them to live independently at home and avoid hospital admission where appropriate. High quality patient care is at the heart of everything we do and we strive to ensure every single patient and service user has an exceptional experience with us. We have one of the most extensive patient experience programmes of any trust in England.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Apprentice Healthcare Science Assistants will undertake an initial structured departmental induction and then follow a training programme throughout the apprenticeship to enable them to:
- Work under the supervision of the Biomedical Scientist and other team members in the delivery of high-quality care.
- Provide assistance and support to a broad spectrum of service users, and the multi-disciplinary team.
- Perform a range of routine healthcare science activities under supervision.
- Perform basic sample reception and process duties including the receipt, labelling and preparation of samples for analysis, loading of samples onto analysers or other laboratory equipment and sample archiving.
- Perform clerical tasks including data input of patient demographics and test request information.
- Perform general housekeeping duties including maintaining stock levels, general cleaning, media preparation and waste disposal.
- Gain relevant work-based learning within a Healthcare environment.
- Become prepared and knowledgeable within the working environment and work towards gaining a Level 2 qualification in Healthcare Science.
The work of the service brings staff into constant contact with human body fluids, tissues, and hazardous chemicals. This may be blood, urine, other body fluids and faeces.
Please read person specification for essential qualifications before applying.
Applicants who are members of the Armed Forces, those who have a disability that requires support in the work place (two ticks pledge) and those who have been looked after by the care system as a child or young person (for example, in foster care, children's homes, kinship or local authority care) who meet the essential criteria will be interviewed under the Trust's interview guarantee scheme.
We recognise the positive value of diversity and inclusion and are committed to a workforce that is diverse, equal and inclusive. We welcome and encourage job applications from people of all backgrounds. We particularly welcome applications from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) candidates as BAME people are currently under-represented in our workforce as well as other under-represented groups such as LGBT+ and disabled candidates. We are proud to be a Disability Confident Employer, a Stonewall Diversity Champion, we have a Gold award from the Defense Recognition Scheme, and we are delighted to support Apprenticeships, Age Posi+ive and are a mindful employer.
If you require any reasonable adjustments to attend interview please make the recruitment team aware as soon as possible by calling our HR Recruitment Team on 0191 203 1415 option 2.
Applicants who meet the Fit and Proper Person Requirements (FPPR) will require additional pre-employment checks in line with CQC and NHS England statutory guidance.
Make sure to read the ‘applicant guidance notes’ before submitting your application and make sure you know everything there is to know before joining our fantastic trust!
Certificate of Sponsorship
Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust proudly hold a sponsor licence. In order to provide sponsorship you and the role you are applying for must meet UKVI eligibility requirements. Please check your eligibility prior to submitting an application. Skilled Worker visa: Overview - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Please note that it is a requirement of this Trust that all successful applicants pay for their own DBS certification if a DBS check is required for the post. The method of payment is a salary deduction from your first monthly pay.
Apprentice Healthcare Science Assistants - Level 2 in North Shields employer: Northumbria Healthcare
Northumbria Healthcare is an outstanding employer, recognised as one of the best performing NHS organisations in England, where staff experience is prioritised alongside patient care. With a strong focus on employee well-being, flexible working opportunities, and extensive professional development programmes, you will thrive in a supportive environment that values innovation and community impact. Enjoy living in a region known for its clean air, affordable living, and rich history, making your work-life balance truly rewarding.
