Anatomical Pathology Technician | Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust

An opportunity has arisen at Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals for a qualified Anatomical Pathology Technologist (APT). A trainee APT would be considered for the right applicant. The Mortuary services managed by Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals spans 3 sites at Whiston, Southport and Ormskirk Hospitals and perform in excess of 750 post mortem examinations per year at the instruction of HM Coroner. The department is fully HTA accredited. The successful candidate will have a Level 3 Diploma in Anatomical Pathology Technology and demonstrable experience of working in a mortuary setting. They will be able to demonstrate good technical knowledge of mortuary policy, procedure, and human anatomy, as well as a good understanding of health and safety legislation and working in compliance with HTA guidelines.Continuous professional development is actively encouraged amongst all members of the team and the department has a good track record of developing its staff to realise their full potential. The role will involve performing a number of tasks including receipt and appropriate storage of the deceased, preparation for Post Mortem examination and release of the deceased in line with departmental policy, best practice and the Human Tissue Act, and in support of the Coroner, Pathologists and Police. Participation in an on call rota is mandatory, overtime will be paid for this. Anatomical Pathology Technicians work with the coroner's officer and the pathologist to ensure that the post-mortem workflow is maintained following the current policies and procedures. Assisting the pathologists by preparing the post-mortem room and the deceased for post-mortem. Supporting the bereavement service by preparing the deceased for viewing and maintaining good communication with bereaved families. Deceased are received from the Trust and from the community and thorough ID checks of all Patient identification data is essential during receipt and release procedures.

• The Mortuary services under the direction of STHK spans Whiston, Southport and Ormskirk mortuaries.
• Anatomical Pathology Technicians are able to practice within a mortuary environment upon completion of the Certificate in Anatomical Pathology and will have a minimum of 2 years' experience. They are engaged in Continuing Professional Development improving their knowledge, increasing the breadth of basic skills acquired for the Certificate and developing them into advanced skills for the Diploma.
• They are good problem solvers and as a member of a team are required to be good communicators with staff and outside agencies. They work without guidance and some medical supervision completing tasks in the delivery of a mortuary service., Ensure all duties are carried out in compliance with the Human tissue authority (HTA) codes of practice.
• Carry out procedures with regards to receipt, storage and release of the deceased completing associated documentation in compliance with current policies.
• Ensure all unidentified deceased are appropriately identifiable once identity has been established.
• Liaise with the Trust Bereavement Officers, assisting them in the functions of the service dealing with bereaved families.
• Assist, the Coroners Officers and carry out their instructions with regards to all deceased bodies in their remit.
• To assist with hospital postmortems on the instruction of the Consultant Histopathologists or other medical staff.
• To assist with postmortems carried out at the instruction of H M Coroner under the arrangements made with Mersey & West Lancashire Teaching Hospital.
• To perform, under supervision of the Consultant Pathologist, relevant postmortem procedures on patients which are in an advanced state of mechanical disruption or decomposition/infestation.
• To prepare the deceased for viewing in a sensitive and respectful manner demonstrating awareness of religious requirements subject to individual risk assessment
• Carry out surgical evisceration, and patient reconstruction processes in the postmortem suite in accordance with mortuary policies to enable identification for Police, viewings for relatives and dignified collection from funeral directors.
• Ensure effective reconstruction and cosmetic presentation of bodies following extreme trauma e.g. Road traffic accident, suicide and persons hit by trains etc.
• Perform invisceration of organs and suturing of bodies at the request of the Consultant Histopathologist or other medical staff on hospital and Coroners postmortems.
• Ensure that all tissues taken during postmortem for histological diagnosis are taken according to consent information provided by the coroner.
• Remove cardiac implants when required by the hospital and clean them prior to disposal.
• Liaise with the tissue bank teams and assist in the harvest of tissues in line with current Trust agreements, protocols, and consent.
• Liaise with the Bereavement Office and funeral directors in respect of sensitive disposal of fetal remains in line with departmental and Trust policies.
• To assist in the system for the receipt, handling, and disposal of Products of Conception from the Gynae and Midwifery Services at ODGH
• Ensure that high standards of cleanliness and tidiness are always maintained in the department in accordance with departmental SOPs and HSE guidelines.
• To maintain equipment on a day-to-day basis in accordance with policies/procedures and in accordance with manufacturer's guidelines
• Report equipment fault or incidents to the Mortuary manager or in his/her absence the Cellular Pathology manager
• Maintain and control adequate supplies of instruments, stores, linen, and consumables.
• To ensure that suitable personal protective clothing and equipment is available for staff and visitors.
• Keep up to date with relevant scientific information, trends, and developments to assist in the maintenance and development of mortuary procedures.
• Maintain an ongoing Professional Portfolio and an up-to-date Professional Development Plan.
OUT OF HOURS Take an active role in the out of hours service of the department, duties performed:
• Home Office postmortems
• Removal of tissues for transplant
• Viewing of bodies which have a high risk of infection.
• Restoring bodies badly traumatised in preparation for viewing
• Release of bodies on religious grounds and under exceptional circumstances
• Monitor and organise transfers of bodies to offsite storage facilities and outside mortuaries when necessary, completing all necessary documentation.
• Assist in the identification with the Police of the BIDs, ensuring all correct documentation is completed.
• Any other duties that may be required by the Trust, Home Office, or H M Coroner.
• The post holder will be required to participate in the delivery of the mortuary service outside core hours. This entails contracted participation on a rotational basis in the department's 'on-call' roster.
CLINICAL & PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES
• Maintain and foster the highest possible standards of technical work complying with Clinical Pathology Accreditation / UKAS, HTA and Health & Safety standards and regulations.
• Keep up to date with relevant scientific information, trends, and developments to assist in the maintenance and development of mortuary procedures.
• Maintain an on-going Professional Portfolio and an up-to-date Professional Development Plan.
ADMINISTRATIVE RESPONSABILITIES
• To ensure that records are kept up to date and stored safely for compliance with the standard of Clinical Pathology Accreditation (UK), UKAS and the HTA.
• To comply with good mortuary practice required for the standards of Clinical Pathology Accreditation (UK), UKAS, HTA and Health & Safety guidelines.
• Assist in the collation of statistics for finance on the total number of bodies within the department with special reference to each Coroner.
• Take an active role in departmental annual appraisal, keeping records and amending job roles where necessary.
• Assist in audit within the department and when necessary, collate the statistics from the mortuary database.
• Assist in the maintenance of all equipment and instruments, recording on the maintenance logs details of maintenance visits.
• Ensure that adequate stocks of consumables and instruments are available and appropriately always stored.
• Deputise for the Mortuary Lead in their absence.
TEACHING & TRAINING RESPONSBILITIES
• Participate in training any current Trainee APTs in accordance with departmental policies and SOPs.
• Assist Trainee APTs in the completion of the Royal Institutes Anatomical Pathology Logbook
• Assist APTs in further training within the department for the Diploma in Anatomical Pathology
• To attend educational and training courses as required by the departmental manager.
LABORATORY INFORMATICS
• To comply with the local and national policies for safe, secure, and confidential processing and storage of patient and other laboratory information
• Maintain the integrity and accuracy of the laboratory databases, checking and correcting, if necessary, information input by staff
• Follow trust policies, guidelines and procedures when using the Trust wide IT system.
• To assist in the audit of data held on the laboratory IT system.
COMMUNICATION
• To communicate with trust personnel, funeral directors, coroner's office, police officers, religious ministers, and the public in an effective manner while demonstrating an understanding of individual requirements e.g. religious rites
• To ensure that relatives are supported during the viewing process, offered advice if requested, and always treated with courtesy and consideration.
HEALTH AND SAFETY
• Always comply with the Trust Health and Safety Policy and the Laboratory Health and Safety Policy.
• The role will involve frequent exposure to unpleasant body fluids and tissue that are potentially infective with pathogenic micro-organisms/viruses (including blood borne viral infections e.g. Hepatitis, HIV, nvCJD, TB).
• Exposure to harmful chemicals, including carcinogens, will be dealt with and adhered to under the COSHH regulations.
• Participate in internal and external safety audits.
• Attend mandatory and statutory, fire, lifting and handling and health and safety training.
• All staff have a responsibility to report any risks, clinical and non-clinical incidents promptly and to co-operate with any investigations undertaken.
  
  Disability Confident
About Disability Confident A Disability Confident employer will generally offer an interview to any applicant that declares they have a disability and meets the minimum criteria for the job as defined by the employer. It is important to note that in certain recruitment situations such as high-volume, seasonal and high-peak times, the employer may wish to limit the overall numbers of interviews offered to both disabled people and non-disabled people. For more details please go to Disability Confident.

Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust serves a population of over 600,000 with a workforce of over 9000 dedicated and skilled staff across 21 sites.

We strongly believe that the communities we serve should all have access to Five Star Patient Care. Our Services Acute Care Providing emergency and maternity services at Whiston, Southport and Ormskirk hospitals, and medical and surgical specialties across all our sites. Primary Care Providing primary care services at Marshalls Cross Medical Centre situated in St Helens Hospital. Community Services Providing adult community services for St Helens and a wheelchair service in Chorley, South Ribble, and West Lancashire. Our inpatient unit at Newton Community Hospital is where patients needing acute hospital beds can continue rehabilitation, freeing up space for more unwell patients. We also provide urgent care at our Urgent Treatment Centre located in St Helens town centre. Specialist Regional Services We provide the Mersey Regional Burns & Plastic Surgery Unit at Whiston Hospital and the Spinal Injuries Unit at Southport Hospital to more than 4 million people across the whole of Merseyside, West Lancashire, Cheshire, Isle of Man and North Wales. Achievements:
• Rated Outstanding by CQC Inspection August 2018
• Top 100 places to work in the NHS (NHS Employers & Health Service Journal)
• National Preceptorship Accreditation (2023) for Nursing & AHP Preceptorship Programme