Band 4 Associate Practitioner (Microbiology)

Job description

About

A Vacancy at Barking Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust.

We are seeking an enthusiastic, well-motivated and reliable person to join our friendly team in the Microbiology department at BHR University Hospitals Trust. The department is based on two sites; Queen’s Hospital in Romford and King George Hospital in Goodmayes. The King George Hospital site is the current primary work base, however working at the Queen’s Hospital site will be required.

You should have a science-based foundation degree, preferably Biomedical Science, or equivalent qualification. You will be computer literate, have the ability to follow procedures, have good written/verbal communication skills and an enthusiasm for learning. The post holder will receive formal training within the Trust as well as within the Microbiology Department. Performance will be assessed regularly by an appraisal system and laboratory based competence assessment. 

The post holder will work in all areas of the laboratory on a rotational basis, including the bacteriology sections based at Queens Hospital.

The position requires staff to work flexible hours during the week as well as at weekends and bank holidays, providing a seven day working week service.

We are a very busy department and require staff to work as a team to allow us to efficiently process the daily work load.   

Rotate through the various sections of Microbiology, working under the direction of Biomedical Scientists

For Microbiology requests, enter patient demographics, test request information, results and comments, taking responsibility for accuracy of new information entered onto the Pathology computer system database

Perform investigations on patient samples, ranging from specialised manual techniques to automated investigations on expensive and technically sophisticated analysers

To safely handle, use or dispose of patients samples including blood, urine, faeces or other biological material, and hazardous chemicals/materials.

We’re an organisation that is getting better and better and our improvements are driven by a determination to deliver care we’re proud of and our patients are happy with. 

They are benefitting from a new electronic patient record (we were the last acute trust in London to introduce one) and our maternity services have been rated good by the Care Quality Commission. 

We operate from two main sites – KGH in Goodmayes and Queen’s Hospital in Romford. We have two busy emergency departments with more than 346,000 people visiting them last year. We’re campaigning to secure the £35m we need to transform the A&E at Queen’s and get rid of corridor care. 

We’re proud of our regional Neurosciences Centre, Radiotherapy Centre and Hyper Acute Stroke Unit. We’re also part of the North East London Cancer Alliance. 

We run a Women’s Health Hub in Ilford; an Ageing Well Centre in Hornchurch; and Community Diagnostic Centres (CDC) at Barking Community Hospital and at St George’s Health and Wellbeing Hub. These CDCs are open 12 hours a day, 7 days a week.  

The majority of our 8,400 staff – who come from 146 different countries - live in the three diverse London boroughs we serve and are from black, Asian and minority ethnic groups. Many can work flexibly and more than 400 of them are on our Ofsted accredited apprenticeship programmes. We’re proud to be a London Living Wage employer.

For further information on this role, please see the attached detailed Job Description and Person Specification.

The person specification listed below is not the full specification requirements for the role.  Please ensure you review the full specification on the job description prior to submitting your application.

Applicants are advised to read all the information on the advert and the supporting information before completing and submitting an application. As you complete your application please ensure you clearly demonstrate how you meet the criteria in the person specification for this post by adequately completing the supporting information section of the application form.

All new staff appointed at the Trust are subject to a probationary period.

Applications should be made online, however, queries regarding the application process, assistance with completion of the application form or if you require any adjustments (for applicants with a disability) please contact Sarah woods, Recruitment Advisor, on 01708 435000 Ext. 4188 Further details regarding the post may be obtained by contacting the manager as per the contact details above.

This advert closes on Sunday 1 Nov 2026