Description

Job summary
To assist the Site Leads and other members of staff in the provision of a comprehensive Mortuary Service at Ashford and St Peters NHS Trust. The main base site for this post will be St Peters Hospital, Chertsey. (Surrey) Cross site working for other sites in Berkshire and Surrey Pathology Service on occasion is a requirement

To provide assistant in the core mortuary services for Trust which include, but not limited to:

Admissions and release of patients
Viewing preparation and conducting
Variety of post-mortem examinations including routine, high-risk, and Home Office
Maintain equipment and cleanliness of department.

Admissions and release of patients
Viewing preparation and conducting
Variety of post-mortem examinations including routine, high-risk, and Home Office
Maintain equipment and cleanliness of department.

The appointee will be required to participate within the on-call rota for the Mortuary on a 1 in 3 basis. This on call will run from Monday 17:00 - Monday 08:00. The reaction time is 1 hour.

The appointee will be supported to work towards continued personal development both professionally and as part of supporting the department.

The appointee will understand the HTA requirements that underpin the foundations of modern mortuary practice

About us
Ashford and St. Peters Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is the largest provider of acute hospital services to Surrey residents, serving a population of 410,00 people and employing approximately 4,800 staff.

Our vision is to provide an outstanding experience and best outcomes for patients and the team. We are committed to providing continuous professional development and flexibility to deliver our workforce plan.

We are part of a collaborative Group with the Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust. As part of this partnership, colleagues may occasionally work across both organisations to support shared services, development opportunities and patient care.

St Peter's Hospital delivers complex medical and surgical care, maternity and emergency services. Day and orthopaedic surgery, ophthalmology and outpatient services are delivered at Ashford Hospital. Additional services are delivered at Woking Community Hospital.

Our Values provide us with the behaviours we respect and can commit to. By living our values through our everyday interactions, we can build a stronger, more resilient, and forward- thinking organisation, guiding us to achieve success and make a positive impact on how we deliver our services.

We can offer you the full range of NHS benefits and discounts.

Please note that adverts may close early, so early application is encouraged.

For more information about careers at ASPH please visit:www.asph-careers.org

Job responsibilities
A. Duties and Responsibilities:
Communications and Relationships

To perform office functions such as communicating with service users in person or by telephone and arranging times for postmortems with Coroners officers and pathologists. This will include bereaved and grieving relatives, Coroners officers, police, pathologists, nurses, hospital-based Clinicians, bereavement officers, porters and other Trust staff.
To liaise with tissue and organ recovery teams always complying with the Trust consent process
To liaise with other trusts and local midwives with respect to transporting deceased babies from Central Delivery Suite

Analytical and judgement skills

To assist with the procedures required to prepare a deceased for identification and to viewing. This includes potential contact with distressed grieving relatives and legislated authorities.
Provision of appropriate specimen containers during postmortem examinations; accurately receive, label, store and transport specimens (Blood, urine, swabs, organs, tissues) taken for analysis and laboratory examination in a safe manner.
To be responsible for taking, packaging and arranging the transportation of blood, urine and other body fluids required for further analysis under the direction of HM Coroner to outside laboratories (eg Forensic laboratories). To keep an accurate up to date log on the mortuary computer and relevant paper records
To obtain skills to such a level as to be able to assist APT staff in the supervised reconstruction of the deceased after postmortem to an acceptable standard including packing, padding and suturing.

Planning and organisation

To be responsible for keeping accurate records of the deceased and their property in the mortuary register
To be responsible for the safe disposal of all clinical waste from the mortuary and postmortem room as required by Trust waste disposal policy including the safe bagging of dirty/soiled linen as required by the Trusts policy on dirty/soiled linen.
To be responsible for ensuring the safekeeping of property and valuables of the deceased in accordance with Trust policies and procedures
To be responsible for acquiring clean theatre gowns, towels and disposable personal protective equipment for Pathologists and APT staff.
To partake in the stock checking of all the mortuary stock items. To assist with the cost-effective purchase and provision of stock in order to maintain the smooth running of the office and mortuary area.
Ensuring all documentation is kept up to date and correct as required for accrediting organisations, including current HTA standards and kept in accordance with departmental protocols, this includes correct disposal of relevant documents.
Enact re-ordering protocols if stock items fall below minimum levels, to place any order direct to Pathology Administration.
Use and maintain equipment within the department in compliance with departmental policy.
To identify and undertake any training courses that may be considered appropriate.
To partake in the compiling and forwarding of relevant statistics to the Mortuary Services Manager.
To participate in cross site cover when requested.
To participate in the on call rota on a regular basis.

Physical skills

To use hand eye co-ordination and manipulation skills in accurately numbering patient sample containers and subsequent tissue cassettes
Assisting during receipt and removal of bodies from the body store, including bariatric cases and managing this process under the direction of the Senior APT by liaising with funeral directors and other hospital staff according to mortuary and load management protocols and using appropriate load management equipment. Bodies can weigh in excess of 50 stone but the average weight moved on a daily basis is between 8 and 15 stone
To assist in the post mortem service, performing eviscerations and reconstruction to a high standard.

Patient care responsibilities

To treat all deceased with appropriate respect

Policy Development

To assist the Mortuary Services Manager in reviewing and formulating escalation and contingency plans, especially for peak work times (eg winter and bank holidays)

Working conditions

To be responsible for the thorough cleaning and decontamination of the postmortem room.
To be responsible, under direction, for the correct cleaning and maintenance of equipment
To use appropriate personal protective equipment and clothing when dealing with dangerous substances as outlined in general and COSHH risk assessments, in particular care must be taken with formaldehyde and cleaning materials
To be aware of, and always comply with, Health and Safety regulations and safe laboratory practices.
To always comply with the requirement of the Data Protection Act

Health and Safety

As an employee, you also have a duty to take reasonable care of your own Health and Safety. This include ensuring that you are aware of and follow all Trust Health and Safety and infection control procedures relevant to your work and participate in relevant mandatory training and annual infection control updates. You will be expected to consistently follow high standard of infection control practice, and this include hand cleansing and aseptic techniques for clinical staff
To comply with lone working conditions outlined as part of mortuary procedures, ensuring the safety of self and others as per point 2 above.

Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential

Level 3 NVQ or equivalent

Desirable

Level 4 NVQ or equivalent

trust value
Essential

able to demonstrate trust values

Desirable

able to articulate trust values

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

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